By Monday morning, Ashley pressed the back of her hand to her mouth to try and stifle a yawn. Yesterday she’d spent all day away from home and arrived late. Her mother had been worried, and had saved her a large dinner of beef, vegetables, and gravy, but she’d not been able to eat.
She’d been worried about going home in case Phoenix was there. He hadn’t left town and she didn’t know why. She hadn’t slept well wondering what he was up to. Putting the nails on the shelf, she began cleaning away the loose ones, picking them up and placing them in the multi-box. Customers could come and grab a handful, and would be charged by the size of the bag. John was really excited when he came up with the idea. Ashley hadn’t cared. She’d been smiling and encouraging, but it was still just a bag of nails and bolts. Boring.
With the shelf full, she straightened the rest of the boxes before heading toward the other supplies on her list. John had given her a list of items to check for stock. Checking each item off with a number beside it, she moved around the store, every now and then pausing to yawn. She hated when she couldn’t sleep.
By lunchtime, she was ready to eat something. John had returned from his errand, and allowed her to leave the shop. She promised to bring him something back, which she did every single time.
She arrived at the diner to see that it was already busy. Waiting in line, she saw there was a single booth left. She made her order and walked over to the booth that was designed for two. An intimate booth. She took a seat, leaned back, and rubbed at her eyes. Her parents always told her that her exhaustion was caused by not eating enough. They didn’t seem to understand the concept of dieting. Not that it was doing her any good.
She reached into her bag and pulled out a romance book that she’d allowed herself to indulge in. It was a book she’d gotten from the library. When she was younger, before her transition and that awful encounter with hermate,she had loved reading. She soaked up every single romance she could find. There was something intoxicating about a hero who would do anything for his woman.
Being a wolf, her parents had told her repeatedly, she would crave a connection, crave attention from her mate. If only they knew. That had to be the worst part of it. Even as she tried to avoid him, a part of her wanted to go and see him. Shaking her head, she jumped as someone sat opposite her. She lifted her head and saw it was … Phoenix. What kind of game was he playing? Wasn’t it bad enough he rejected her five years ago? She was so over this man.
No, you’re not!
Ashley wanted to tell herself to shut up, but instead, she opted for glaring at him instead.
“I didn’t invite you to sit.”
“Ah, but as the alpha of this pack, you can’t exactly kick me out.”
She opened her mouth about to do exactly that, but he raised a single brow. There was nothing sexy or hypnotizing in the move. It was like it helped her come to her senses. There were rules when it came to the alpha, respect being high up on that list. If the pack started to question her, she’d have no choice but to expose the fact she was rejected. A rejected mate was unheard of.
Men and women went their whole lives trying to find the one. Ashley could imagine their horrible thoughts. Blaming her as if she were the defective one. Her hands were tied. Being rejected was one thing, being rejected by the pack’s alpha was another thing entirely. She’d probably lose her job and no one would want anything to do with her. That was the worst-case scenario.
Phoenix leaned on the table. “You want to go ahead and tell me to fuck off.”
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
“You won’t talk to me. All I want to do is talk.”
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
“And why is that?”
She couldn’t even risk stating the obvious. Wolves had great hearing. They were in a crowded diner, with their pack. Everyone could hear.
“You know why, and right now, you’re being cruel. Don’t you have the endless open road to keep you warm at night?” she asked, trying not to picture herself keeping him warm. That was none of her business.
Gritting her teeth, she forced a smile to her lips, to try and remind herself of how dangerous their conversation could get. She could imagine some fate laughing at her ass right now. In a former life, she must have pissed a few people off. There was no other word for it.
“Ah, I’m so pleased you have brought that up,” he said. “I’ve decided to stay a little bit.”
“What?”
“Yeah, Daniel showed me the old alpha’s place. Not that he should ever be called a fucking alpha, piece of shit that he was.”
“No, that is … why?”
“Simple. I want a place to stay but it would seem a lot of time has passed. It’s waterproof and decent but needs a lot of work. I just happened to go to the DIY place, and John sent me here. He said when you got back, you’d be able to give me a tour.”
“You asked for me, didn’t you?”
Phoenix smiled. “I certainly did.”
And because the pack wanted to impress the alpha, none of them would question why. Gritting her teeth, she looked up as the waitress, Susan, brought over their food. Phoenix had also ordered food. Could her day get any worse?
“Here you go, guys. Enjoy.” Susan winked at the two of them.