Chapter 2

Four years later. 

Rose quickly tied the apron around her lower body and adjusted the work T-shirt she was putting on. Once again, she had arrived late to her part time job. If the manager wasn't nice to her, no doubt she would have lost her job a long time ago. 

She hurried to the bar, where her colleague Doe was arranging drinks on a tray. 

"Quickly give me a tray before the manager gets here and sees me standing idly by." 

Doe twitched her lips and regarded her with a playful smile. "As if. We all know you have the manager's favor. Thanks to your good looks." The other lady released a sigh as she passed the tray full of drinks to Rose. "Why wasn't I lucky enough to be born with a face as gorgeous as yours?" 

Rose carried the tray and winked at her. "You are just as gorgeous." She then rushed to start serving the customers. 

"What a sweet girl. She is getting better at lying." Doe says as she starts arranging other drinks. 

The manager walks up to her when he sees Rose rushing among the customers with a smile, while skilfully trying to avoid their advances. 

"Rose just got to work right?" 

"Yea." 

"This lady." He face palms himself and tells Doe. "But what would we do without her glorious face that continues to bring more customers?" 

Doe acted like she didn't hear what the manager had just said and continued with her work. The special treatment was just too obvious. 

Meanwhile, Rose seems to be having a hard time pushing a customer off her. The man grabbed her hand and began to rub it softly. His smile was perverted and his eyes stared at her chest with no shame. 

"Come on. Dont play so hard to get. I will treat you well. I have money. All you have to do is come with me." He winked at her and tried to touch her waist but she dodged it. 

"I am sorry but I only serve drinks. I don't serve the men here." 

"How arrogant…" 

He was cut off by the manager's appearance. With a hard gaze, he raised his voice at her. "Hey! What are you doing standing there? You came late to work just because this is part-time job. I don't want to see your face for now so go to the warehouse and move all the alcohol." 

She stared at the manager with a surprised look. Shocked that he would raise his voice at her. But he glared at her and glanced at her wrist that was being held by the perverted man. Understanding that he was trying to help her, she quickly bowed her head and rushed out of the bar. 

"Sorry about that. Insolent ones like her need to be shown their place." He tells the customer and quickly turns around before the man could say a word. 

There wasn't much alcohol to move in the warehouse as she saw that Dave, her colleague, had done almost all the hard work. 

The minute he saw her, he smiled as usual and pointed to the remaining alcohol. "I trust you will be able to move the rest. Spare me as I go get some rest." 

Rose couldn't even refute since he had done most of the job. She began to move the crates of alcohol, arranging them to the appropriate aisle. She did this for about an hour before feeling pain in her back. As she had been standing and bending for too long, she needed to take a break. Wiping her head, she walked to the door and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. She tried it again but it was the same. 

Rose knocked on the door and shouted. "Dave! Dave! I think the door is jammed again. You locked me here." 

The break room wasn't far from the warehouse and so she hoped he would hear her. She tried calling his name a few more times but it was to no avail. Checking her pocket, Rose almost hit her head against the wall when she noticed that she left her phone in the locker of the employees changing room. 

"Fuck!" She cursed hitting her leg against the door. Thinking of what to do next, she hurriedly negan to arrange the empty crates close to the small window in the warehouse, in hope that if she was tall enough, she would see someone walk by and ask the person for help. 

But then she remembered the warehouse window was facing the backyard of the bar and no one went to the back yard unless on Saturdays when the cooking team decided to throw the general trays out. 

She stopped arranging the crates and sat on the floor, leaning her body against the wall. Hopefully, her manager will realize she has been gone for too long and would ask someone to check on her. 

Rose toyed with the hem of her cloth for minutes, starting to get bored. She heard something move in one of the empty wine boxes beside her and she quickly got on her feet, her body already at alert in case there was any danger. Slowly moving towards the box, she was surprised to see a cute little boy staring at her with surprise in his eyes. His eyes were big and watery and his lips seemed to quiver when he saw her.  

She moved her body to the left to get a better view, her intense gaze on him as the moon streaming from the small window shines on the boy. His eyes that were black as the darkness suddenly turned golden, his teeth bared at her and Rose had to blink twice to be sure she wasn't seeing things. 

The little boy gazed at her with watery eyeshadow, his hands clasped to his chest. He was obviously scared of her. But Rose didn't think there was anything to be scared of about her.

His gaze moved to her fisted hand that she had raised in the air and she quickly hid them behind her and wore a sweet smile. 

"Dear, are you stuck here too?" She asked, trying to get closer to him. "How did you end up here? Did you come with your dad?" 

She asked him a series of questions but all the little boy did was gaze at her like she was a creature he had never seen before. He finally lowered his gaze and stared at his small hands. 

Feeling sorry for him as he had cramped himself inside the box, she braced herself and reached forward. Grabbed the little boy whose eyes went wide with shock. She took a seat on the floor and hugged the boy in her arms, softly rubbing his back. 

"Don't be scared. Auntie is here with you. Don't be scared." She cooed trying to calm him down. 

At first, Timothy was scared when she held him. But then she began to pat his back and rock him back and forth on her leg. Slowly, his fear began to fade away and he soon relaxed in her arms. Gently resting his small head on her chest while he toyed with the collar of her T shirt. He thought that this lady was different from the ones he always saw. Something about her was familiar and soothing. 

Zeke was fuming. Absolutely seething as he turned the corners and trued to zniff his son out. The scent was faint meaning that the boy had wandered deeper into the bar and it made him more furious. He knew bringing him to a bar was a wrong idea and that the little boy would try to throw a tantrum. What he did not expect was for him to run off on his own. 

At last, his sons scent negan to grow stronger. With his hands in his pocket, he followed his instinct and stopped in front of a door that had 'Warehouse' on it. His wolf ears picked up as he heard the sweet sound of humming and patting coming from the room. Afraid that zoemthing mught have happened to hisbson, he attempted to bend the door knob and break in. 

Just then, a man who seemed to be in his fifties was approaching the warehouse with a worried look on his face. "God knows why she…" the Manager stopped when he saw the man standing in front of the door. This man was a VVIP he had personally sent drinks to. "Mr Freeman, what are you…" 

"Open it." Zeke commands. "My son is stuck inside." 

The manager didn't bother questjoning him and hurried to open the door. He noticed that the door knob seemed to be a little bent he spoke nothing about it. He then gestures for Zeke to walk in first. If the man decided he didn't want the manager to ever have a job again, it would simply be the end. 

Everyone who knows Zeke, knows he wasn't a man to be toyed with. 

Zeke regarded the man with a dirty look and walked into the warehouse. 

Everyone who knows Zeke, knows he wasn't a man to be toyed with. 

When Zeke saw his son, the little one was being cuddled by a young lady. He glanced at his father, pretended he didn't know him and buried his face back into the young lady's cloth. It was as if he was refusing to leave. He stared at the young lady who had now gotten to her feet with his son still in her arms. 

"Are you the child's father?" She asked although it looked pretty obvious. She could see where the boy got his gorgeous genes from.

A little surprised by her presence, he cleared his throat and reached forward to take his son but the boy simply clung tightly to the lady. "I am his father." He responded, rubbing his forehead with a tired look in his eyes. 

He couldn't understand why his son was being really clingy towards a stranger.