Chapter 2

"You're late, Cortex."

I had hoped I would have been fortunate enough to sneak into the kitchen unseen. But the universe was having a laugh at me at the moment. To my surprise, as soon as I entered the kitchen, Mr. George was by the stove, waiting for me and glaring at me with his arms folded. I wiped away a small bead of sweat that was forming on my forehead.

"I know, sir, but there was no way I would have made it on time. My brother's-"

"Ah, ah, ah." He raised his hand, silencing my protest. "We had a deal, Cortex. What did we agree on before you left earlier? Thirty minutes. And my thirty minutes means thirty minutes. No deduction. No addition. Time is money, young woman."

"And look here." He gestured to Daisy, who was putting some plates of food into a large tray. "You had Miss Kyle take a lot of the load from the work. Do you have any idea of how much she has done within the past thirty minutes?"

I shifted my gaze to Daisy, who had a tired appearance. Her blonde hair was a bit disheveled, and she was sweating a bit. I felt guilty at that moment, and my heart sank. I sent her an apologetic look, and she smiled in understanding.

"I'm sorry, sir." I turned to my boss. "It's not going to happen again."

"Oh, I'm very sure it will not." The fat on his face was more prominent as he sported a wicked grin. "Because I will be deducting from your pay. Fifty cents for every minute later than the time we agreed on. You're late by twenty minutes. That's ten dollars taken out of your pay."

"What!" I cried, my eyes ablaze with anger. "That's too much. I even did my best to make it on time. Come on, sir, you can't do that to me."

"I can, and I just did." He shook his head. "You're lucky I'm even generous. I was supposed to make it a dollar for every minute you missed."

'Is it alright to tear him apart now?' Celine had resurfaced again.

'I can't believe I'm almost inclined to agree with you,' I replied, glaring at the smug grin on the face of my boss. 'But no, we still can't do that.'

'Your funeral.'

My wolf went silent again, and I sighed.

"Get to work." Mr. George made his way past me to the door. "The customers are waiting, and their patience is running thin."

He made his way out of the kitchen, and I leaned by the counter. Today was one of those days that I wished was a nightmare. Daisy approached me with a tray of food.

"I'm so sorry, Daisy," I began.

"Relax, it's okay." She smiled warmly, placing her hand on my shoulder. "It was an obligation, and family was involved."

"Thanks." I managed a smile. "Now you're making me feel even more guilty."

"Come off it. So what's the issue with Eric this time?"

"He's been suspended." I rubbed my forehead with a heavy sigh. "Three weeks."

"What." Daisy's mouth fell open. "Suspension? Why? What happened?"

"Apparently, he sent someone to the hospital. And it's going to take a while for the poor guy to recover."

"Wow."

Daisy quickly jolted in realization. "Oh, the orders. I have to take this out. The customers have been on my ass for almost an hour."

"Damn," I muttered. "I really have to make this up to you."

"Not really." She laughed, despite the exhaustion on her face. "But if you insist, you can do so by taking one order. There's a customer who requested pasta and beef. He's at table twenty-four. I think you can handle that."

"I can."

"Alright."

Daisy made her way out of the kitchen, and I quickly went to the gas cooker. I dished out the customer's order and made my way out. Daisy looked flustered as the customers showed their displeasure at the delay. She muttered several apologies as she went from table to table, dropping off their orders. This was painful to see. Now I don't know who to be mad at. Eric or me. Even if my brother committed a savage act, the fact that he did it in my honor didn't make it easy for me.

As I approached the customer at table twenty-four, my wolf senses quickly kicked in. It was a man not much older than I was. He wore a thick, dark turtleneck and a gray scarf. He wore thick shades that covered his eyes and sported thick facial hair. He had a pointed nose, a square jaw, and long, straight, jet-black hair that went past his neck.

From his scent, I knew he was a werewolf. It was so weird. Werewolves have rarely patronized the restaurant since I started working here. But that wasn't what perplexed me. It was his scent. There was something intriguing about it. It was stronger than the scent of a regular werewolf. This guy must be very powerful. I felt Celine whine within me.

'What's the matter this time now?' I asked.

'This wolf before us,' she responded. 'He oozes strong power. There's something about his scent.'

'Yes, thank you for stating the obvious.' I nearly rolled my eyes.

'It's intoxicating.'

'I'm sorry, what?' I jolted at her comment. Celine was silent again.

The stranger's eyebrow lifted above the shades, and his lips curled in a smirk. I felt a bit of worry. Was he listening to the conversation I had with my wolf? I shook the thought away. That was not possible. I mustered enough courage and dropped his plate gently before him.

"Your order, sir." I smiled in as polite a way as I could.

"Thank you, Miss." His hand suddenly held my wrist before I could pull away. Despite my shock, his touch sent a jolt through my veins, and I nearly felt my knees buckle under his touch. I swallowed hard and felt the heat on my cheeks.

"What are you doing, sir?" I barely whispered, looking frantically around the restaurant for any prodding eyes. Thankfully, the customers were focused on their meals.

"That's one hell of a feisty wolf you have within. She's right, I do ooze power." His deep voice penetrated my ears, and I could swear I heard Celine bark.

"You can hear my wolf?" I gawked in disbelief. That was impossible. It had never been possible for a werewolf in human form to hear the voice of the inner wolf of another werewolf. Only inner wolves could communicate with each other. Who exactly was this man?

"Yes, I can." He released his hold on my wrist. "But I can do more than communicate with her. I wouldn't mind getting to know her host."

He sent a subtle grin my way, and I frowned. Great. A horny werewolf. That's just the last thing I need.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that would work out. You're not my type." I huffed and turned away.

 It was true. He wasn't my type. He was better. He could do better. From his strong scent, he was obviously a higher-ranking werewolf. I couldn't see the possibility of mixing myself with him and tarnishing whatever reputation he had.

"Is that what you really think?" I heard his voice behind me.

"It's what I know. Sorry, it's not happening. Try another woman, please." I didn't turn around. I didn't want to see that face again. Or the alluring grin that sent my heart tumbling.

I walked past a table where two men were chatting. As I passed, I suddenly felt the palm of one of them strike my backside. Shocked at first, I turned around to face the assailant. It was a middle-aged man with brown hair and a bit of stubble.

"Looking good, sweet cheeks," he said with a chuckle. His companion across the table laughed.

 I never felt so humiliated in my life, and at that moment, my shock turned into anger. Celine took over, and before I knew it, I slapped the smile out of his face. The impact nearly sent him out of his seat.

 Silence filled the restaurant as attention fell on us. There were slight murmurings moments later, and the man picked himself up. His face was red with rage.

"How dare you?" he bellowed, shoving a finger at my face. "Do you know who I am?"

"No, how dare you?" I smacked his hand away. "You think I'm one of those cheap sluts you can mess around with? Well, think again. The next time you bring those dirty fingers towards me again, I'll snap them off."

Maybe it was Celine talking for me. Maybe it was the stress of everything I had to go through this morning. But at this stage, I was furious, and I felt the need to maul something.

 Unfortunately, our outbursts had attracted the attention of my boss. He approached us with a look of worry.

"What's going on?" he said. His gaze switched to the man before me, and he had a look of surprise.

"Hugo?" he said. "What's happening here?"

I blinked slowly, taking it in. Wonderful! The old pervert happened to be friends with my boss.

"There you are, George," Hugo said, and then sent a heated glare my way. "This bitch here had the gall to raise her hands on me."

"What?" My boss turned to face me. "Cortex, is that true?"

"Yes." I gave him a defiant gaze. "This man sexually harassed me!"

My boss looked from me to his friend and then back to me.

"It must have been a misunderstanding," he said, to my shock. Hugo was grinning in triumph, and I felt like ripping off his head.

"Do you know this man is a valued customer as well as a beneficiary here? You disrespected him, and it could cost me a lot." My boss continued.

 My jaw clenched, and I vibrated with pure anger. Of course, the fat asshole only cared about his money.

 I looked around the restaurant for any form of assistance. The rest of the customers were now focused on their meals. Surely someone saw what Hugo did. Mr. George had a look of anger on his face. And anger told me there were going to be consequences for my actions. I imagined a lot of scenarios, and each ended up with me losing my job.

"Sir," I began.

"There is no need for any trouble here."

The deep voice was heard behind me, and I blanched. I turned around as the mysterious customer I served minutes ago approached us. He fished out his wallet and pulled out a huge stack of dollar notes.

"Here." He discreetly shoved the stack into the breast pocket of my boss. "Now, let's all act like adults and sweep this under the rug. It was all a misunderstanding, right?"

My boss cleared his throat. "Right. A small misunderstanding."

He grinned at his friend. "Sorry about that, Hugo. I'll make sure this doesn't happen again. Please enjoy your meal."

Hugo sent a final glare at me but obliged and sat down to resume his meal. My boss patted the stack of notes in his pocket before turning around and heading to his office. I exhaled when he disappeared and turned to meet the gaze of the stranger who happened to be my savior.

"You're welcome." His lips parted to reveal a set of perfect white teeth.

"Thanks," I scoffed, tossing my hair behind me. "But it still doesn't change anything."

I walked away into the kitchen before he could say another word. I ignored the loud protests of Celine in my head as I made my way towards the gas to take a breather.

I was grateful to be bailed out by the handsome, mysterious wolf, but I wasn't going to let my guard down. He either helped me because he felt obliged to or he did so to gain slow access to the path between my legs.

Either way, I was not to be swayed.