0007

~Cana’s POV:

I sat in the center of the queen-sized bed of a motel, staring absentmindedly at the two cards in front of me. The first was the black card Zane had given me and the second was his business card.

But the latter didn’t disturb me as much as the former did. For crying out loud, it was a freaking black card, with an unlimited spending limit. And, imagine the surprise that washed over me when I saw the balance.

The numbers were uncountable, unlike anything Axel had ever entrusted to me. This was one of the reasons why this card bothered me so much.

Groaning, I allowed my body to fall back onto the bed and curled on my side.

‘All this was too much,’ I silently complained.

As if being banished from my pack, being humiliated on my wedding day, and getting rejected by my mate wasn’t enough, the moon goddess had decided to do what?

Throw in a little funny trope into my already sad life?

Groaning, again, I turned and curled on the other side, seeking a certain amount of comfort that I knew I wouldn’t be able to find in this situation.

What was I going to do?

I had heard a few rare cases where a she-wolf finds a second mate after being rejected by the first, but those chances were slim, even slimmer when it came to a useless wolf such as myself, being mated with the top Alpha of a clan.

And even if it was true… Even if I played stupid and decided to believe Zane, what was going to happen to his betrothed?

Surely, she was more…valuable than I was. There was no way he’d drop her for someone like me.

Not to mention his uncle, the dislike was evident and his pack, what would they think if he brought home a weakling to be their Luna?

What if things repeated themselves, just like they did with Axel? What if-

‘No,’ I decided to stop myself before ruminating any longer.

I needed to do something that could take my mind off the reality of the situation, something that wouldn’t be an utter waste of time and still prevent me from leeching off the money Zane had put in the card.

Ah, an idea popped into my head.

What better way to kill time and get paid for it, than a job!

With that in mind, I hopped off the bed, slipped on a pair of flats, and grabbed the keycard off the bedside table.

Once I was outside, I began my search for a part-time job in the unfamiliar areas of this new city, making sure not to stray too far off.

By the time the sun was setting, I had already been to four different places and been rejected. Currently, I was on my way towards the restaurant Zane and I had dined in after recalling that I saw a vacancy sign placed outside, earlier in the day.

“Hello, good evening,” I greeted as I entered the restaurant, only to be met by the hostess who had attended to us when we checked in.

She instantly recognized my face and smiled. “Ah, good evening Miss. Did you perhaps forget something here or-“

“N-no.” I politely cut her off. “I’m here for the job vacancy.”

Her brows narrowed as she looked at me over and I felt the urge to explain further.

“I want to work part-time here, nothing much, just something to keep my hands busy. I don’t have a resume with me, but If it’s any consolation, I’m really good around the kitchen.”

The hostess looked me over once again before she offered a right smile. “I understand. Please come with me.”

Relief washed over me, glad that I hadn’t been turned down, yet.

I followed her into a room and she instructed me to have a seat and wait while she spoke to her boss.

What type of interview didn’t require the employee to meet face-to-face with the boss?

I wondered, but considering the nature of this place, it was only natural that they operated differently.

Moments later, she returned and asked for my name and date of birth before saying, “You’ll start tomorrow.”

My eyes widened. “I-I got the job?”

The hostess nodded, looking pleased with her decision. “You’re expected to check in around 8 in the morning and you’ll clock out around 6. Oh, and you’ve been in charge of serving the customers.”

“T-thank you so much.”

The hostess smiled once again and stood up. “It was a pleasure having you, I look forward to working with you.”

With that, we parted ways. I returned to the hotel feeling like I had just gotten my first big win.

‘At least I could afford my food and stay at the hotel until I found something better,’ I told myself.

Although it wasn’t a lot, I was satisfied with it.

I made a mental note to return the black card, and possibly, payback Zane the amount I had used from it before he realized.

‘Tomorrow,’ I said to myself as I lay down and prepared to sleep.

‘My new life starts, starting from tomorrow.’

~•~

The next day, I was up early. After a quick shower, I wore a plain white shirt and black jeans, tied my hair into a low ponytail, and made my way towards the restaurant.

My superior, Vivian, put me through all the basics and showed me where the locker room was. Once all that was over, I was given my first assignment.

Vivian stuck around during my morning shift and taught me how to properly greet and attend to customers.

Although I had never worked at a restaurant or worked at all, I picked up the rules quickly, and soon, I was on my own, serving customers left and right.

Towards the close of my shift, I felt like things were finally shifting in place. I hadn't thought about the pack or Zane in the 8 hours I had been working here.

If things carried on this way, I might just as well forget about the series of events that have happened in life, or so I tell myself.

The sound of the restaurant door opening, the bell above it chiming, caught my attention, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Welcome!" I plastered on my customer-friendly smile and turned to greet the new wave of customers.

However, the moment I saw the person standing there, my face paled.

"Cana?" Ivy looked like she had seen a ghost but in a good, comedic way.

She snickered and the people with her, pack members as I recognized their faces, joined her.

"Oh my god, is this you?"

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. Of course, I had to jinx it!

But, despite the feeling of running away, I held my head high and faced them.

“Welcome, do you have a reservation?”

Ivy and her gang laughed a little more at my situation- like she wasn’t the cause of it- before she deemed it necessary to answer me.

“Yes,” Reaching into her purse, she pulled out their reservation slip. “Here.”

I stepped forward to collect it, but Ivy dropped the paper before my fingers had graced it.

“Oops.” She feigned a look of shock. “Looks like I dropped it. Be a dear and pick it up for me, will you?”

I clenched my fist tightly, the wolf inside of me screaming for a chance to punch this bitch right in the face.

But I knew better than to blow this job. It was the only one I had managed to get and I sure as hell wasn’t going to blow it over some homewrecking recessive omega.

I bent down and picked the paper, ignoring the way Ivy’s clique laughed and cackled amongst themselves like hyenas.

Fuck them.

“Right this way…ma’am,” I said, leading her towards the table.

As they walked behind me, they commented like “Oh Cana, look how you’ve fallen.” And “I guess the only thing you were ever good at was pleasing Axel, even though that didn’t seem like your strong forte.”

I ignored them all.

Once she was seated, I abandoned the duty of serving her to one of my colleagues, wanting to be anywhere but near her.

Knowing my shift was about to end, I made my way towards the changing rooms but just before I could step in, the sound of glass shattering from Ivy’s table caught the attention of all.

I looked over to see that one of them had dropped a wine glass.

None of my business, or so I thought, because the moment I decided to close out, my colleague came to fetch me, looking worried.

“The customers at table three asked for you.” She informed me.

My brows creased. Table three was Ivy’s table. What could she possibly want now?

“Me?” I pointed to myself and she nodded.

“They were very persistent.”

I sighed and slammed my locker shut. As I exited the locker room, I prayed to the moon goddess to give me strength, because I knew, if Ivy did one damn thing that touched a nerve, I could explode.

And that had never been a good thing.

“Hello,” I greeted once I reached the table, making sure to keep a calm, friendly tone. “How may I assist you?”

“My steak,” She pointed at the piece of meat, “it’s not cooked enough. I want a refund.”

Refund? What was she, a kid?

“I apologize, but refunds are not allowed here. You can either request for the chef to cook your meal again, or have the steak served as it is.”

“I want a refund,” Ivy insisted, her voice taking a demanding tone.

“Like I said-“

“I don’t care what you said, the opinion of a lowly waitress such as yourself doesn’t matter. I want a refund and if you don’t give it to me, then I’ll have to speak to your manager and make sure, you’re not only pack-less but also jobless.”

Her friends giggled behind her.

‘This bitch!’ The wolf inside of me growled, but I gritted my teeth, restraining myself from doing anything that I knew would cause me to lose my job.

“I’ll discuss it with the manager.”

Ivy smiled at my announcement and scooped the plate off the table. She offered it to me, but just as I reached for it,

“Oops.”

She dropped it to the floor.

“My hand must have slipped,” She shrugged, and her friends laughed.

I stared at her with the deadliest expression I could muster and she smiled sweetly, daring me to do something.

"Aren't you going to get down and clean that up, waiter girl?" She taunted.

'Don't blow this up,' I said to myself. 'Don't give her the satisfaction, don't give her the victory.'

I repeated the mantra in my mind as I bent down and gently began gathering the broken piece in my hand.

The last piece was near Ivy's and the moment I reached for it, she stomped on my hand.

Pain shot through my entire hand and Ivy and her clique laughed at this. However, their enjoyment was cut short by the intervention of a sudden voice.

"What the hell is going on here?"

All their heads shot up and color drained from their faces at the sight of an angry-looking Zane.