Claimed

Leah’s POV

My life story was nothing new. I was a pack omega. My mother died giving birth to me and my father didn’t want a girl, so I was sent to the pack orphanage. When I turned eighteen, it was revealed that the Alpha was my mate. My heart broke when he rejected me and chose another high-ranked wolf for his mate, but I survived and left the pack grounds for good. I didn’t have any real family there, so there was no reason for me to stay.

In the meantime, I found a couple of odd jobs working as a waitress, but they didn’t last very long, as the Alpha kept calling me at work, demanding that I return. Each time I would get fired because my personal life interfered with my work, I would pick up my things, pack up my old car and drive to the next town a little further away from the pack. There I would start over in the hopes that this time things would be different.

Today was yet another of my very bad days. I spent most of the night tossing and turning because of nightmares. Eli had rejected me all over again, and I was standing there on my birthday in the middle of the pack, looking at everybody who was looking at me. Their eyes filled with disgust and hatred, and all I could think about was crawling into a hole and dying.

Thanks to my wonderful night, I was late for work yet again and it was no surprise when my boss called me to his office and fired me without any notice. He was, however, kind enough to inform me that my boyfriend had called … Again.

I had no idea how Eli kept finding me, but then again, I wasn’t trying that hard to hide. I asked if I could use the phone before I left the wayward diner for the last time and although he frowned, he gave me privacy to make my call.

“Hello,” Eli answered on the first ring and I realized he must have saved the number of the diner.

“Eli, thanks again for getting me fired!” I shouted down the line. When I originally dialed his number, I wasn’t going to say anything about getting fired, but I was hurt and angry and couldn’t keep it in. He rejected me! Why wouldn’t he just let me go?!

“Come home, Leah.” He sounded almost heartbroken, but I knew if it was that, he was most probably faking it. Eli didn’t care about anybody other than Eli.

“No!” I slammed the phone down and stormed out of the office and out of the diner without so much as a goodbye. Why would I say anything? They never cared about me. Nobody ever cared about the young girl who came into the diner looking for work. If the diner owner was a certain type of male, he would try his luck, but I would soon put him in his place. Most of the cooks were either older women or men who belonged in a damn pigsty!

The people who frequented the roadside diners were either truckers or the odd tourist families who decided to take the scenic route on their way to their perfect holiday. That was why I chose the diners I worked at. They were slightly off the beaten path, but close enough that I could at least make a living from the tips I earned.

I slipped behind the wheel of my car and leaned my head back, closing my eyes. If I had known I was going to be fired today, I would have stayed in bed and saved on gas! Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes and pulled out of the parking lot.

There was no reason to waste any more time. I had to get packed and had to find a job. My savings were completely depleted since Eli had become more insistent of late and I couldn’t hold onto a job long enough to put away some money.

It didn’t take long to pack my stuff in my suitcase and I dropped it in the back of my car. Looking at the blinking sign of the motel as it announced that there were vacancies before, I pulled out of the parking lot for the last time. I had no idea where to go. I knew which way I wasn’t going to go, even if I sometimes wondered if going back wouldn’t be the better option.

I wondered if it was even worth going to the next town to find a job or if it wouldn’t be better for me to drive through to some big city. Would it be tougher for Eli to find me in a big city? How long will it be before he comes to find me himself?

I had been driving for a couple of hours when I found a roadside diner and decided I needed something to eat and I seriously needed to stretch my legs. I walked into the diner and the smell of cooked meat immediately caught my attention. I was hungrier than I had realized and I found a corner booth. Slipping in behind the table, an older waitress came to take my order.

She was friendly enough, or at least, I knew the fake friendliness all of us used with customers. I had not met a waitress who worked at one of these diners who was truly happy … I heard a couple of male voices come through the front door and ducked behind the seat. The last thing I wanted to deal with right now was some guy wanting my number.

That was one of the things I never understood about Eli’s rejection. I wasn’t bad looking. In fact, I’ve had many people compliment the combination of my ocean-blue eyes and jet-black hair. One of the waitresses I worked with before was convinced I had dyed my hair, but it was my natural hair colour.

Since I never really knew my parents, I had no idea who I got my looks from. I was fairly thin, but I was fit thanks to the jobs I did. People had no idea how much it took to be on your feet all day as a waitress.

The men sat down a couple of booths away from me, and the waitress brought them some menu, smiling brightly this time. That’s when I realized she would be on her way to getting my order! I closed my eyes and swallowed as she stepped up to me and gave me her fake smile, asking if I was ready to order. For a moment, I pondered rushing out the door, but then my stomach growled so loud that the entire diner went dead silent!

“Coffee and some pancakes, please.” I was in shock and, as that was my standard favourite, it was the first thing that came to mind. I kept my eyes locked on the menu and when she wanted to take it, I held on. “I might want something else later.” I smiled.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the four males and I almost breathed a sigh of relief when I realized none of them were paying any attention to me. One thing was for sure … I wasn’t going to apply for a job here! I quickly ate my pancakes and finished off my coffee and looked around for the bathroom, but just as I stood up, I bumped into a brick wall! I was sure it was a wall because my hand touched the small bricks. But these bricks moved! My eyes shot over to where my hand was resting on the abdomen of the most handsome man I had ever seen in my entire life.

“Mate.” His eyes turned black, and I shook my head. I was hallucinating! Wasn’t I? Power radiated off him as he frowned. I was frozen in place. Captured by his beautiful face, my hand was still lazily resting on his abdomen when my wolf howled from deep inside.

“Mate …” She drooled and my eyes widened.

“Uhm, I’m sorry,” I quickly excused myself, and in one swift move, I dropped money on the table and rushed out of the front door. How on earth was this possible when I had a mate? My hand fidgeted with the keys as my eyes darted from the diner door to my car door and back. My mind was going a mile a minute as I wondered if he would follow me. Would he claim me?

No, surely an Alpha wouldn’t want me. I jumped in behind the wheel and pulled the car out of the parking lot so fast that the tires screeched. As I looked into my rear-view mirror, I saw him rush out of the diner. Would he shift and chase after me?!

The thought made my heart race as I realized that I never actually checked on the different pack territories. I had walked into the territory of a strange pack! They could have killed me! He could have killed me! But … He was my mate … Had I just run away from my second chance mate?

I heard the howls in the forest on all sides of the road and wondered what the wolves were saying. Did he ask them to look for me? What were they going to do if they found me? NO! I couldn’t be found! If I was going to live to see the end of this forsaken day, I had to get as far away as possible! I stepped on the pedal and my car sped up as I manoeuvred my way through the twists and turns of the single-lane road.

I had finally run out of luck and as I turned a corner, I was faced with a pack of very angry wolves blocking the entire road. I slammed on the brakes and sat in my car staring at them. How on earth was I going to get out of this one? If only I had listened to Eli and gone home!

I would be heartbroken, but at least I would be alive! The silver-grey wolf stepped forward and started to shift back to his human form and I slammed my car into reverse and stepped on the pedal. There was no way I was going to get eaten today! That couldn’t possibly have been my destiny! But I didn’t get far when the wolf jumped in front of my car again and this time, I had to stop dead in my tracks. I was surrounded and they were enormous.

These wolves were easy twice the size of Eli, who was the largest in our pack.

I watched as he shifted and walked over to my window. His black hair and brown eyes were mesmerizing and had me captured the moment I looked out of the window beside me. He indicated to me to open the window and I shook my head. My window hadn’t rolled down in forever. My car was old. Then he indicated that I should unlock my door and I closed my eyes, swallowing hard to get rid of the knot in my throat before opening the door and slipping out of my car.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know I was in your territory!” The words were out of my mouth and I hated that my voice was shaking so badly. I had my hands clinched tightly together to stop them from shaking and my eyes were fixed on the ground when he lifted my chin with his index finger.

“My eyes are up here.” He looked amused, but I didn’t catch the joke. All I could think about was how damn stupid I was.