The Beta's curse (#1 of the Spike pack)

2019-11-04 It was starting to get dark outside. Winter came sneaking in, so outside, it started to get more and more white, the higher up north you went. I could clearly see the difference, just from making the drive from my pack, towards the small town I had never known, until a few weeks ago. Until I came here with my pack. We had just been travelling through, taking a quick pit stop, when my whole life had been turned upside down in the span of a few seconds. I sighed in relief, as my car passed the little town sign, a white wooden sign as the red letters ‘Redwater welcomes you’ waved at me. And I smiled, knowing I was almost where I needed to be. Because ever since the incident a few weeks ago, this place had been pulling me back like a freaking magnet, one I couldn’t get rid of, nor did I want to get rid of it either. Redwater was a small, little, nice town. Mostly farmers lived here. The place apparently got its name, because years ago, there was so much iron in the water here, it had slightly turned the water red. But now, years later, the only thing that remained was the name that the city had received for it. I drove along the main street. Which was all it was, just one small street. With a local grocery store, a barber shop, a doctor’s and dental office which seemed to be in the same building, and at the end of the street, the place where I needed to be, the bar. A little wooden shack with the red letters ‘Monty’s bar’ above it in freaking neon lights. The place didn’t immediately seem inviting, but since it was the only one in town, you didn’t really have much of a choice. If you wanted to go out for anything to eat or just get drunk, this was the place you needed to be. So, even with this place not looking too inviting from the outside, the parking lot was always full. I parked my car and rolled my head on my neck, groaning as I felt my sore muscles, wolves weren’t made to drive so many hours. I should have just shifted and ran all the way here. But I sighed again, knowing that wasn’t really a possibility. I needed to pull the attention towards me in a good way, not because I was too tired from running two states over. Suck it up don’t be a baby Go inside and you’ll forget all about those damned sore muscles. And I did. I looked at my own reflection in the rearview mirror one last time, and nodded at myself. As if I was giving myself permission to do so. Like I have another choice? And before I knew it, I was out of the car and walked straight into the bar. I had opened the door and my eyes were scanning the room, before they stopped and I stopped breathing along with it. there She was right there. I pressed my lips into a thin line and walked over towards the bar, the place I would usually sit at. It was the perfect spot to not be noticed, because well, being all alone and to go sitting in one of the booths would just be weird as f**k. And it was the perfect place to be able to see her from every angle. To see Lana my mate my true mate. Only… She didn’t know that just yet. Because she was human and not a werewolf, like me. She was taking an order at one of the booths, where a family was sitting. Two parents and two children, the girl seemed to be around six years old, and the boy around four. The little boy was looking up at Lana with his mouth wide open. Probably taken aback by her beauty. I know buddy I feel just the same way! As she was standing with her back towards me, I didn’t even bother to try and mask my stares at her. I just full out looked her way. Taking in every perfect inch of her while I could. Dark brown hair, falling in waves over her shoulders Small waist the most perfect ass I had ever seen legs to die for and the cutest little feet who always seemed to be packed in sneakers. Well Can’t blame her Working in a bar in heels would be weird. or another kind of bar Thank Goddess she doesn’t work in that kind of bar! She turned around, her eyes still on the notepad she was holding in her hand, and I could still see the smile on her lips, which she had given the family in the booth, while she was finishing up taking their orders. And once again, I couldn’t breathe, seeing the most beautiful smile in the world. Full dark pink lips, framing a gorgeous smile of pearly white teeth. And I wanted to frown, as her smile fell while she stepped towards the bar. I wanted her to keep smiling. Why did she stop smiling? “Stop staring so hard Jamie, your eyes will fall out soon.” I heard an elderly voice call out to me, and I was forced to look away from Lana, putting my focus on Billy, the bar owner. “Sorry Billy, guess I couldn’t help myself.” I smiled, ordering a beer, which Billy was already placing right in front of me. My orders were always the same. A beer, a coke, water, and then back out the door to head back home. Until I would be back in a few days, to do the same thing all over again. “You still haven’t grown the balls to ask her out?” He asked me, a smirk on his damned wrinkly face. I sighed, knowing how badly I wanted it, but also knowing I couldn’t. Not yet anyway. I just knew whenever I would, I would not be able to step away from her, ever again. “Nah.” I answered, shaking my head before I took a sip of my bottle, knowing already I would be taking my sweet time to finish it up. Every second that I could spend here longer was a win for me. “Jamie my boy, you have been coming in and out of here for weeks. I know for a fact it is not for my pretty face that you are coming back so often. And the puppy eyes you are throwing at my waitress, tells me all the answers I need.” I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump that had formed itself there. But all I could do was shake my head. “Just saying, if you wait too long, someone else might come in and sweep her from her feet. There are not many young ladies in this town, especially pretty ones. The single men are on her like hawks.” Billy informed me, while his words cut into my heart like knives. Each word cutting deeper and harder than the last one. But while I was dying inside, wanting to shift into my wolf and kill every one of those men that were ‘on my mate like hawks’ with my bare hands, on the outside, I just nodded again. Hearing Billy sigh, the old man was annoyed with me. Hell, I was annoyed with myself. “Just talk to her, Jamie.” He spoke to me, before he sighed again and looked over my shoulder and grabbed my bottle of beer out of my hands. “Lana dear, I am taking a bathroom break, can you handle the bar for a second please?” He yelled, to which my eyes flew open. I looked up at old Billy, who grinned wide at me and sent me a playful wink. “You can thank me later for that.” He spoke, before he walked from the bar, and the scent of my mate grew harder and harder. I looked down at the bar, while I could feel Lana come closer, I could feel how her body walked around the bar and as I took a deep breath, I knew she was standing right in front of me. fuck! fuck fuckedy f**k! “Good evening, can I help you, sir?” The most beautiful voice in the world called out to me, and I knew. I just knew right then, that I was f****d. I knew right then, that I would never be able to step away from her, ever again. So I just winged it, and I looked up, feeling how my heart stopped beating. The first thing that caught my eye was that she was even more beautiful up close than standing a few feet away from me. Her lips were looking so perfect and soft, and just the thought of kissing them gave me a f*****g boner I knew would be hard to get rid of. But as I looked closer, I noticed her eyes. They were the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen in my life. They were big and her lashes were full, but her eye color was a shade I had never seen before. They were a mixture of grey and the lightest of green. With her dark hair, her eyes popped out even more. And it was only until she started to bite her lip because I was blankly staring at her but not saying a word, that my brain found its function again. And the boner in my pants only grew harder. “Would you like something to drink?” She asked me again, a smile forming on her lips. She is f*****g gorgeous. and she is mine all mine! If only I could find my voice again and start a decent conversation… I cleared my throat, trying to find the right words to say. What do you even say, when you stand eye to eye with your mate for the very first time? And why the hell hadn’t I asked some of my mated friends about this? I felt like a f*****g toddler, who had just lost his mother in the grocery store. Not knowing what to do and just feeling utterly lost. “A beer would be fine, thank you.” I finally brought out in a hoarse voice, shaking my head and wanting to kick my own ass, as soon as Lana turned around to pick one from the fridge that was standing right behind her. For f**k's sake, man don’t blow this! Don’t screw this up! WIN HER OVER I cleared my throat again, before she turned back around and placed the beer bottle down. She smiled again at me, as curiosity filled her eyes. “So, are you passing by on business or what?” She asked me blankly. And I frowned, as I looked up at her. It made her giggle and once again I was almost knocked off of my seat, as her giggles sounded like the most beautiful sound in the world to me. Lana shook her head as she leaned on the bar, making the distance between us even smaller. And f**k, did I want to lean in and kiss her. Or at least touch her. Shit I want her so badly! “I couldn’t help but notice that you come to this bar every few days. But during the day, I never see you in this little town, which means you are passing by and not really living here. If you did, I would have noticed.” I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at her. She was curious about me. f**k, she even looked interested at me and the things that I did. “Yes,” I answered as I nodded my head. “You can say that I am passing through. I don’t live here.” And she tilted her head as she kept looking at me as if she was trying to read my mind. “What is your job? You don’t look like an attorney or anything like that, since you don’t wear a suit. Let me guess, you’re a constructor?” She asked me, as a strand of hair slipped past her ear and fell down to her cheek. And as my eyes zoomed in on her cheek, I had never felt so envious of a strand of hair before in my life. “Uhm, no, no constructor.” I admitted, while I couldn’t keep my grin away at her words. I am the Beta of the Spike pack. I am the second in command. I defend the Alpha with my life. Not quite the opening line for a human who knows zero about werewolves… “You could say that I am more into the security business.” I decided to tell her. I think that should be the closest response that I could give her, without making her run for the hills and never look back. And her eyes opened up wide, she was either very interested, or scared by that news. “Wow, so you are like someone’s bodyguard or something? Is it a famous person?” She asked, as she leaned in even closer. Unfortunately for me, a customer called out to her, and I had to fight every fiber in my body, not to growl throughout the entire bar, because some douchebag had intervened in our conversation. “Coming Joe!” She yelled, before she looked at me with a small frown on her forehead. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” She smiled softly, and that smile almost melted me off of my seat, before she walked away and started to serve some customers. Unfortunately, one customer became five, and it took her longer than I would have wanted, before she finally came back to me. “Sorry about that.” She apologized, while I shook my head, meaning she didn’t need to do that. She would never need to apologize to me. “Do you have a break any time soon?” I asked her. No, I blurted out. The words were past my lips before I could even think about them, but to my luck, she smiled wide again. Meaning that my words did not scare her away. But they had made her happy. “I’ll check with Billy. Why do you ask?” She grinned at me, and I smiled back at her. Fuck She is quite the tease. My little mate “I think it would be more fun, to be able to talk without you getting interrupted every few seconds.” I admitted, to which she nodded. And was, once again, called back to one of the booths. Unfortunately, the rest of the night only became busier inside the bar, and the time between Lana and me was very little after that. And I became frustrated by it, feeling how Lana’s eyes were on me from time to time. She wanted to spend time with me, all these f*****g people just needed to stop drinking and give us a f*****g break for a while. I looked at the clock, seeing that it was already past midnight, and knowing I still had a couple of hours to drive ahead of me, I decided to just go home and come back in a few days when I would try again. Maybe I would come back during a weekday, and hope that it would be less crowded. Or that on my return, Lana would actually get a break for once. She had been working her ass off, but she had not gotten a two-minute rest, another thing that was bugging me too hard. And I promised myself I would just ask Billy the next time I would be there. He had helped me out tonight. Surely, he would do it again. I paid for my drinks with Billy, and as I looked up at Lana one last time, I noticed that she was staring at me, while she was cleaning glasses. So, I just smiled and nodded at her, before I had to find all of my willpower, to turn around and step out of the bar. To step towards my car, step inside, turn on the car and drive off. Feeling how with every mile I drove further away from her, my heart clenched tighter and tighter.