Valerie crossed her arms and looked at me sternly. “I’m going to let it slide today since I know you’re going through a lot right now. But it’s not fair to others to have to fill in for you when you can’t make it. And it’s not fair on me to not even send me a text message to let me know you’ll be late.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” I replied, sighing.
“Well, the tables need to be cleaned. You can tell me your excuse after. I’m dying to know what happened now.” She playfully smiled, walking away toward the back.
I grabbed the spray bottle and a rag and made my way to the dining area to wipe down the tables. I was spraying cleaner when Lucy stepped in front of me. I looked up at her, wondering what she wanted now.
She looked at me for a second and then said, “Jasmine, I just want to say thank you for finding Luke that day. He told me the whole story of what happened and what you did, and I don’t think he’d still be alive if it weren’t for you.” She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me. Then just as quickly as she hugged me, she pulled away and walked out the door.
I continued cleaning the tables, wondering if we’d ever be friends again. At least Lucy didn’t seem to hate me anymore. That was progress.
After I was back behind the counter and the café emptied, Valerie stepped out again. “Soooo.” She looked at me. “You owe me a story now. Where were you last night? I can tell it must have been pretty interesting for you to completely forget about work. Maybe with a certain hot, sexy alpha?”
I could feel myself turning completely red.
“Thought so,” she said, an amused look in her eyes.
“Okay, you caught me.”
“Well, spit it out. I want to hear all the details. And don’t leave any of the dirty parts out.”
“Stop!” I said, laughing.
“Come on, I’m getting old! And Lucy’s now betrothed. I need someone to live vicariously through.”
I smiled and said, “Well, you were right. He doesn’t want to be friends.”
“Of course I was right. The way he looks at you is not the way a man looks at his friends.” She grinned, pushing me on my arm playfully. “Well, now that you’re here and the lunch rush is over, I’ll be heading home. I’ll try to get the story out of you next time you’re in.”
When I was locking up at four, I felt a presence behind me and inhaled Blake’s scent. I turned around to face him, taking in his imposing presence looking down at me. “Hello, Miss Alpha. Long time no see.” He broke out into a large smile, his eyes shining with happiness as they locked with mine.
“Hi, Blake,” I replied, returning his smile, a warmth spreading through me at how cheery he appeared—much cheerier than he had ever seemed previously.
“I hope you weren’t planning to go home because there are some issues at the packhouse that need your expertise to fix,” he said in a gravelly voice, leaning close to me, his warm breath tickling my ear.
“What kind of issues?”
“Well, you see, I have a brand-new shower, and bathroom counters, and freshly tiled walls, that all need to be broken in. Oh, and then there’s also the brand-new king-size bed with the same issue. And, unfortunately, there’s no one else that’s quite right for the job.”
“I see,” I replied, maintaining an even voice and keeping my cool. I was already becoming very aroused, my whole body heating with desire and a tingle traveling up the length of my legs. “I could definitely take a look.”
“Wonderful, I hope you take payment in orgasms because I intend to pay you very generously for your work,” he said grasping my hand, his large, calloused hand feeling nice against mine.
As he led me toward the packhouse, something came to me. “Blake?”
“Yes?” He turned to look at me, his eyes soft and attentive.
“You never told me how the battle ended.”
He stopped and replied, “Well, we gained a new ally pack, the Pine Forest Pack in Ontario. After they withdrew their troops from the battle, we were easily able to overpower both the Silver Moon Pack and the Bois Sombre Pack. They withdrew their troops not long after. However, Alpha Édouard’s still alive and remains a threat. Although, I’d say it’ll be another few years before he tries to attack us again.”
“I see.”
“And, maybe, next time, you’ll be fighting alongside me as my luna.” He grinned, giving my hand a squeeze.
“Your luna?” I asked, taken aback by him thinking so far ahead with our relationship. But then, I realized, something about it seemed right and comforting in a way being with Luke never had.
“You would make an excellent luna, Miss Alpha.” He bent down to kiss me, pulling me against his body, his muscular arms holding me tightly against him. After he withdrew, he continued. “But, let’s not make any decisions today. There are some issues that need attending to at the packhouse, very urgent issues. So let’s not waste any time.”
*THE END*