Chapter 2 - Wait...What?
3016 Words
Adam POV
Mate.
The word screamed in my head, feeding the impulse to claim what was destined to be mine. We’d waited…so long… Aiden howled again, louder than before, and pushed to take control.
Put up your block, Adam!
Seth’s voice boomed through the channel he’d opened, just barely pushing through Aiden’s howling.
Humans, man! We’re surrounded by humans. Put up your block.
She’s human.
It was an absent thought at first, a quiet reminder, but I repeated it until it was as loud as a cannon blast, drowning out all other thoughts and sounds. I repeated it until Aiden and I both understood that we had no choice but to exercise caution. Our mate was human. She was oblivious to the existence of our kind and would likely be frightened when we revealed ourselves to her. We had to be patient and gentle if we were to have a chance of her accepting us.
Dragging in several slow, deep breaths, I focused on steadying myself before lifting my eyes to drink in the sight of the woman chosen especially for me by the Moon Goddess. She wasn’t what I’d been expecting. Nothing at all like the women I’d pursued relentlessly during my randy man-w***e days. The woman before me, who smelled of sweet, newly ripened peaches, looked nothing like those women who typically presented themselves to me like gifts waiting to be unwrapped.
She was the complete and total opposite. Her body was much softer than any woman I’d been with. She was thick and plump, just like those luscious peaches whose fragrance she carried and made me itch to take a bite. When she turned around, giving me a view of her ass encased in skin-tight black leggings, I knew what it was I wanted to bite first. My mouth watered at the thought.
Thank you, Goddess!
My mate’s differences didn’t stop with her body shape. Everything about her was unique and made her stand apart from every other woman. She was a study of contradictions. There was a boldness about her that showed in the medium-length, purple hair falling in waves around her heart-shaped face. A youth and innocence in her pale skin, natural blush, and the sprinkling of freckles that dotted her cheeks and pert little pixie nose, underlining wide, dark blue eyes.
She had a fondness for piercings, and I found it incredibly sexy how the studs winked in the light, making her appear to sparkle. When she raised her arm over her head to reach a high shelf, I caught a glimpse of a tattoo peeking from beneath the sleeve of her classic, metal concert t-shirt, and I wondered how many more I’d find after I’d peeled away her fabric barriers.
“Is that her?” Aiden growled at the disbelief in Seth’s voice.
I pivoted slowly in my seat and looked at my childhood friend. “Is that a problem?”
“What?” He seemed confused. “No! No, of course not. I would never question the Moon Goddess’s choice. I’m just a little surprised. She’s not the type you usually go for.”
Cocking my head, I narrowed my eyes in challenge. “And what type is that?”
Seth and Drake looked at each other, then spoke in unison. “Boring.”
“Maybe that’s the point. Maybe the Moon Goddess chose her because she’s different from the women I usually date. Seth, you used to go for the same type of woman and look who you ended up with. Drake, I have no idea what kind of women you dated in Oklahoma, but despite being a quad, Izzy is as unique as they come,” I pointed out.
“True,” Drake agreed. “So, are you going to go talk to her or sit here and stare at her all day?”
“Right.” I turned my attention back to the bar and the woman behind it. I had waited for this moment for almost two years, and it was finally here. All I had to do was walk across the room, and I’d be face to face with my future.
Man, it was harder than I expected it to be.
I was intimidated by the fact that she was human. She wouldn’t feel the mate pull, which would have made the process so much easier. Instead, only I would feel that intense connection and that desperate need for her while she remained indifferent to me. Like human males, I was going to have to woo her into a relationship. I would have to win her heart organically and cultivate those feelings that increased my chances of being accepted after I revealed my wolf. Only then would I be able to mark her as mine, and only then would she experience the mate bond. How long that would take, only the Goddess knew, but if I wanted my mate—and I really wanted her—I would have to learn patience.
Of course, it could have been worse. The Moon Goddess could have doomed me to living alone for the rest of my life. She could have, but she didn’t. She was granting me a chance to make up for my past and to earn the love and security I’d come to want so badly, and I wasn’t about to waste it.
Pushing myself to my feet, I crossed the room and slid onto a stool at the bar while she had her back to me. When she turned, a brief flicker of irritation played over her features before she carefully arranged them into a pleasant, professional smile. Goddess, she was perfect.
“Can I help you?” she asked. Her voice slithered along my spine like silk, raising goosebumps on the surface of my flesh.
I offered her a small friendly smile and glanced at her name tag. “Megan. Welsh, meaning pearl.”
Her brow lifted. “If you say so… What can I get for you?”
“How about your phone number?” It wasn’t original. In fact, it was a seriously outdated line, but I’d picked up at least a dozen waitresses using it, so I figured why not?
Why not, indeed?
She rolled her eyes, then said, “Sorry, fresh out. Anything else?” Reaching below the counter, she produced a tray of new salt and pepper shakers and started to move away, replacing the nearly empty shakers along the counter.
I stared after her, not exactly sure what to say next. I’d never had a woman rebuff my advances before. “I’m Adam. Adam Keller,” I tossed out just to keep the conversation going.
“Nice to meet you,” she said without looking up.
“I’ve never seen you in here before. Are you new?”
She chuckled, slipping the small tray back under the counter. “Hardly, I’m the owner.”
“Oh… I thought Bonnie was the owner.”
“Yeah, so does she.” Suddenly, she straightened and looked at me, her eyes scanning my face and her body tense. “How do you know Bonnie?”
Everything in me told me that I’d stepped into dangerous territory, so I chose my answer carefully. “I don’t really. I come in on Tuesdays when I’m in town on business, and she introduced herself—the food here is phenomenal, by the way.”
Those dark blue eyes locked on mine and narrowed. “Thank you. So, you’re the one who has her all aflutter.” It was more of a statement than a question, and I frowned in response.
“I wouldn’t know, but my friends seem to think she has a thing for me.”
Megan glanced over my shoulder at Seth and Drake, then returned her gaze to mine. “She does. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s in my best interest that she not see me talking to you.” She turned away, picked up the now empty black crate, and started toward the swinging door.
“Megan, wait…” I called as she disappeared into the kitchen.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Confused and worried that my mate might reject me because of Bonnie’s interest, I returned to my table.
“What happened?” Seth asked when I resumed my seat.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I tried one of my most successful pick-up lines, and she didn’t bite. She didn’t even nibble. So, I tried just striking up a casual conversation. As soon as I mentioned Bonnie by name, she made a comment about Bonnie being all aflutter over me, then she shut down and went into the kitchen.”
“Maybe it’s a loyalty thing. Her boss has a thing for you, and she doesn’t want to get in the way?” Drake suggested.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s it. There’s animosity there, and Bonnie is not her boss; she is Bonnie’s boss. She’s the owner, not Bonnie.”
Seth’s eyes widened. “Why would Bonnie tell you that she’s the owner when she’s not?”
“No idea.”
Drake took a long pull from his beer. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m not giving up if that’s what you’re asking. I’ve waited far too long to give up.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the brunette come bouncing around the corner. When I caught her attention, I waved her over.
She smiled brightly. “Hi! Did you need me to go get Bonnie for you?”
“Please, no,” I said without thinking about how rude it sounded.
She laughed. “I knew you weren’t interested, but you can’t convince ole’ Bonnie when she has her sights set on something. What can I do for you?”
I briefly read her name tag. “Well, Carla, I’m hoping you can help me out. You’re right, I’m not interested in Bonnie, but I am very interested in Megan.”
Carla’s eyes widened, not in surprise but in fear. You’d have thought I’d said I wanted to kill someone. After several seconds, she regained her composure and stared at me intently. “Are you serious?”
“Of course, I’m serious. Why would I say it if I wasn’t?” I asked, a little perturbed.
She scoffed. “You’d be surprised how many do…” Pausing for a moment, her eyes swept the dining room. “Okay, look, I’m not going to go into details, but pursuing Megan when Bonnie has her sights on you is a recipe for disaster. Things will get ugly really quickly. So, if you’re serious enough to want to pursue her anyway, I’d suggest, for Megan’s sake, that you make your moves when Bonnie is not around.” Carla and I both saw Bonnie come into the dining room at the same time. “Bonnie is off on Thursdays and Sundays,” she finished through her teeth as she smiled and patted her slight baby bump before hurrying away.
Megan POV
I don’t know why I was surprised that Bonnie’s latest infatuation was no better than any other man I’d come into contact with in my life. Well, other than my father. When they saw me, they saw a target, an easy mark. They saw someone they could humiliate for their own amusement. Well, I had news for this Adam guy. I wasn’t that person anymore. I’d learned the hard way that people, especially men, couldn’t be trusted, and I wasn’t about to be his next victim. No matter how good-looking he was. I just hoped that he took the hint and didn’t try to mess with me in front of Bonnie. Joke or not, she would accuse me of trying to cut in on what was hers, and she would make my life even more miserable than she already did.
My mind had drifted off to happier topics when Carla came scrambling into the kitchen. I plucked a pan from the sink and started to scrub at the baked-on mess while glancing over my shoulder and watching her stare intently through the porthole. After several seconds, she hurried over to the sink.
“Girl… That sexy golden stallion out there is into you!” she said in a low, conspiratorial whisper.
My brows furrowed as I scrubbed the pan harder. “No, he’s not. It’s a game, Carla. I’ve told you this. Guys like that are never really interested in me. It’s a joke. He just wants to see how bad he can get me to humiliate myself. It’s not happening.”
“I really don’t think he’s playing, Megan. I mean, I didn’t get that vibe from him. And when I asked him if he was serious, he seemed shocked by the question, like he’d never heard of anyone claiming to be interested when they weren’t.”
Setting the now clean pan in the empty sink bowl to my left, I turned to face Carla. “What did he say, exactly?”
Carla recounted the conversation verbatim.
“You told him when Bonnie was off? Why would you do that?” I demanded, ready to wring her neck and dreading him showing up to hound me without Bonnie around to deter him.
“I didn’t see any harm in it. He’s not from around here. He only comes to town for business once a week. If he’s not really interested, he won’t make any extra trips, Megan. No joke is that important to a guy,” she said, propping her hands on her hips. “Besides, I think you’re wrong about this one. He really doesn’t look like the type to play those kinds of games.”
“They never do. That’s why I fell for it so many times. There is no specific type. Every man has the potential of being one of them, and I’m tired of trying to figure out which is which.” I said, returning to the dirty pans. “I’ve been down this road too many times, and I’m telling you, this Adam guy is no different than any other.”
She linked her arm through mine and hugged it. “I’m sorry you’ve been hurt, honey, I really am, but not every guy is a bad guy. I have a good feeling about this one.” She said, leaning her head against my shoulder. “Just promise me that if he shows up tomorrow, you’ll give him a chance.”
“I’m sorry, Carla, I can’t make that promise. I’m done. With all of it, with all of them. I have no more chances left to give.”
She exhaled deeply and released my arm. “You’re too young to give up, Meg. Your perfect guy is out there. You just have to be open to it.”
“Carla, stop filling her head with false hope; it’s cruel. Men don’t like fat women. If she wants to find a man, she’s going to have to do something about that weight,” Bonnie said, a malicious smile playing at her lips. “Table twelve is waiting for their check,” she added and watched as Carla strode past her out of the kitchen. After the kitchen door swung closed, she sauntered over to the sink and leaned her ass against the lip, staring at me with that smile firmly in place. “Feeling lonely, dear?” Bonnie asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. When I didn’t respond, she folded her arms over her chest and crossed her legs at the ankles. “I don’t know why you even entertain the idea of finding a man. You know perfectly well that I will seduce them away from you at the very first opportunity.” She waved her hand toward the dining room. “You see the kind of men I attract without even trying. Any man who would be interested in you would be putty in my hands.”
My eyes raised to meet her cold, flat, green stare. “The only man I would choose is a man who wouldn’t have anything to do with you.”
Bonnie pushed away from the sink and fluffed her fuzzy blonde hair. “Well, then I don’t have to worry about you attempting to find one because there isn’t a man alive who wouldn’t give me the time of day.”
She laughed as she left the kitchen, and I fought the urge to throw the heavy steel loaf pan I held at the back of her head.
- Writer
