The Pawn

2 – Stars Aligning

THROUGH the glass window, Riley viewed the people who were coming and going outside the fine-dining restaurant where she and a client met.

It was a great business deal. For the next twelve months, her company will be supplying its construction business with steel materials.

This was not their first deal. They have been together for several projects in the past couple of years. He was a good client. He brought the 25% of the pack’s earning for two years in a row----

“Deal’s over, jackass!”

From the glass window, Riley’s attention went to the source of that voice. A very familiar voice.

Three tables away, a slender woman grabbed her bag from a chair. The sound of the heels of her stiletto echoed in the silence of the restaurant.

The man, on the other hand, remained behind the table. He glanced at the retreating woman before he focused his attention to the coffee he was drinking. What transpired did not seem to affect him at all.

“Thank you, goddess,” Riley muttered under her breath before she stood up. She placed a few bills on the table for the food.

She made another glance at the man from three tables down. He was on the phone. It did not take a genius to know that he thought he had the upper hand to whomever he was talking to judging from the smirk plastered on his lips.

Using the heightened excitement from her wolf, Riley walked ahead. She relied on her wolf than her other senses this time.

The female alpha stopped in front of the door of the restroom.

The restaurant was on the other side of the ground floor of the hotel where Riley stayed since last night. She had a series of meetings with several clients early morning yesterday until late last night. In fact, his last meeting was a few minutes ago.

She set the meeting in the restaurant for her own convenience.

Riley entered the restroom but she placed the out-of-order sign before she closed the door.

Swearing has been heard from the far cubicle. It was muttered in almost a whisper but because of sensitive hearing, Riley had the front seat to hear the whole thing,

“Akiku, you have been through this. You can pull this off. He was just one of many assh*le you had met.”

The female alpha looked at herself in the mirror while listening to the woman inside the far cubicle. It was a good thing that there were no other people in the restroom aside from them.

Nothing amiss in her face. Not even a single hair went out of the high ponytail she made this morning

She made a face when she noticed the bags under her eyes. Her dark brown orbs appeared black at the sleep deprivation she had for weeks. Bless the rosy lip tint she put on before she met the client a while ago. She would have looked like a junkie.

“At least, I am done with that jerk.” It was followed by the door to the cubicle opening. “Arggg! He’s a perv---- Dammit!”

The chinky-eyed woman was startled when she realized that she was not alone.

Riley mouthed an apology when their eyes met in the mirror. It was clear that the woman thought she was alone in her monologue.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Enough to hear your colorful speech.”

The woman huffed. She drew near the sink. She opened her purse and reapplied the red lipstick on her lips.

A frown marred on Riley’s face. She noticed the same shade on the man’s chin.

“He tried to put his hands on you.”

It was not a question.

“That’s how to put it simply.”

“What else did he do?”

“What a regular human man would do.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s a healthy man. He only acted what a normal man would do when he sees an attractive woman within reach.”

“A decent man would respect boundaries.”

The woman’s gray eyes focused on Riley from the mirror. She stopped shading her lips with the red tint.

“I met people like that a long time ago. However, they are becoming extinct nowadays. This generation stopped making well-mannered humans.”

Riley noticed the other woman’s speech. It was the second time that she brought the negative character of today’s generation.

She wondered how old this woman was. Although she already had an idea that Akiku was not a werewolf. She could be a witch that relies on the fountain of youth or she could be a vampire with decades on her sleeves. Until this moment, she was not able to decipher the origin of her so-called fated mate.

She finally learned the woman’s name when Akiku talked to herself while inside the cubicle.

Akiku closed the purse and made a beeline for the door. She gave Riley a fleeting look.

“For the record, eavesdropping and stalking fell on the category of ill-mannered.”

“W-what?”

Riley’s word was muffled by the closing of doors.

It took her ten seconds before moving her right foot forward. To her chagrin, she found Akiku nowhere in sight.

The woman has short legs but she could sprint faster than Riley expected.

F*ck, her mate was a vampire!

“Very astute.”

Riley smiled sheepishly. Sometimes, her wolf has a very smart mouth in contrast with her human who likes to keep everything to herself rather than speak her mind.

“Use your nose, please.”

“Only because you say please.”

Riley grinned. Indeed, her wolf was blessed with smart sarcasm.

At times, she wanted to purposely pick on her wolf. Since they met their mate, Akiku, her wolf has been restless. Although Riley was overwhelmed by the knowledge that she finally met her mate, she was more anxious about how to get her mate to accept their mating.

Inter-mating was often challenging. Others misunderstood the possessiveness of the werewolves. While for the witches and vampires, did not rely their fate on their destiny to acquire a mate or beloved.

If the werewolves have a pre-determined mate, the witches, and the vampires have the choice to select their own beloved. Some other shifters selected their own mate when they were already past their prime and had not found their mate yet. Or they wanted a better choice for a mate that would convenience them and the pack. It was common nowadays but others still wait for the person that the Moon Goddess destined for them.

And Riley waited who was meant for her. Despite the pressure of having a Luna on her side when she took the responsibility as an alpha, she was determined to find her fated mate. The pack understood. Her parents understood.

Disappointed, Riley went back to the suite. For the second time, she lost her mate. Maybe they were not meant to be chummy at this stage.

“Let go!”

That was the first thing that she heard when she went out of the elevator.

It was Akiku! Her voice came from the other side of the floor.

Sprinting, she went to the area only to witness her own mate being pulled by the familiar man towards the opened door of another suite.

“Help!”

“Shut up, woman! I knew what the likes of you want!”

He slapped Akiku’s backside. Much to Riley's chagrin.

“Let go! I told you that the deal’s off!”

Unbothered by the man’s size, Riley grabbed his massive arm.

It was packed with hard muscle. But it was not as strong as her displeasure of seeing him put his hands on her mate.

“You have no business here, woman. Go to your own suite.”

“Not when she said no.”

“Really?” Smirking, he regarded. “Do you know this woman? She was part of the deal.”

“But she already said no.”

“She has no say in it.”

“F*ck you! Get your hands off me!”

“Do not play hard to get, Akiku. We both know that it’s not how it works. You are going to fulfill your part of the bargain. It’s my prerogative when you are going to leave my bed.” The man said in annoyance.

Without warning, Riley’s fist made itself known. Her knuckles went to the man’s jaw. It was followed by a hard chop on his nape.

She pulled Akiku when he slumped on the carpeted floor unconscious.

They were silent until they reached the suite that she occupied.

Heaving in anger, Riley turned the laptop on. She worked on erasing the footage of what she did a while ago. There should be no evidence that the three of them had an encounter.

This was a human world after all. The man was human. He could be influential. He might retaliate using the authority. He needs evidence.

Akiku cleared her throat slicing the thickening silence between them.

“T-thank you.”

“No man has the right to manhandle a woman in any way.” The female alpha mattered without glancing. Her eyes were on the screen hacking the CCTV of the hotel. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Are you going to be somewhere else? He will be awake in half an hour.”

“No one’s expecting me until later.”

“I see. I’m checking out. My meetings are done.”

Packing the laptop, she placed it in the messenger bag. She pulled the luggage and motioned the door at Akiku.

Her things were packed when she went out of the suite this morning.

“My flight is in two hours. Where can I drop you off?”

“Why are you doing this?”

They were heading to the car that Riley rented from the airport.

“Helping distressed people?” Akiku nodded. “Isn’t that a normal thing to do?”

“No. Not this generation.”

The alpha chuckled. “Just how old are you, woman?”

“Too old.”

“Not from where I was looking.”

When she did not hear from the woman in the passenger seat, Riley glanced at her when the light turned red.

The chinky-eyed woman was looking at her intently. There was confusion on her face before it turned into fascination. Then, gone.

“You liked me.”

“I more than like you but I do not have to desire you to get that man’s hand off you. I see someone in need. That’s all.”

“Wow!”

There was disbelief and sarcasm in her voice.

“Where does that distrust come from?”

“You are young and innocent, alpha. You would be burned one day.”

To Riley’s relief, her mate finally realized that she was an alpha wolf. At least, there was no cynicism when she mentioned Riley being an alpha.

“Maybe,” Riley uttered. She was glad that Akiku seemed to have nothing against shifters.

“You’re still a stalker.”

“And ill-mannered?”

A smile formed on Akiku’s lips but she was looking out the window.

It was enough for Riley to know that she had made a huge leap towards getting to know her mate.