One

Blake’s Pov

If there was a gold medal for barely surviving life, I would have at least three of them hanging on my cracked apartment wall right now.

My life? Yeah, it was a dumpster fire.

I worked myself half to death at this crappy little diner on the edge of nowhere, sweating, scrubbing, hustling, all for a paycheck that probably wouldn’t even cover a box of cheap wine. I wasn’t even paid the minimum wage, please.

These people acted like giving me a job was some kind of charity case, a favor, and maybe it was. But that didn’t mean I had to like it.

I wiped a line of sweat off my forehead with the back of my arm and scowled at the sticky mess of ketchup and crumpled napkins frat boys had left behind. They came in loud, left louder, and tipped like they were allergic to money

“Hurry up, Blake. It's almost closing hour.” Kenny, my colleague and roommate said. She was the only semblance of kindness in my life, the only person that ever treated me like I was human, and she was my best friend. She was one of the few people in this whole town who treated me like I wasn’t radioactive waste.

I didn’t mind or blamed how I was treated, or even how people looked at me and whispered behind my back when they didn’t think I was listening, because I was the daughter of the man who had killed seven women, and was serving time in prison, wearing a big, fat orange Tshirt.

People didn’t forget stuff like that. Not in a town like this. They stared like it might be contagious, like I was carved from the same rotted, violent wood he was.

Whatever.

I kept my head down. I worked. I survived. End of story

The bell above the door of the diner juggled and I snapped out of my self-pity thought I was in. I had to get the table as soon as possible.

Quickly, I finished wiping the gross table and then I walked to the counter, dropped the napkin, and then I grabbed the little notepad I had dropped there earlier, before walking to the table the people that arrived just now had occupied.

But one of the people that had arrived wasn’t sitting down. He was still standing up, and the moment I turned towards them, he was the first person… the only person I could see.

He was six feet of solid male muscle, or over, I wasn’t sure, his muscle rippled beneath his shirt like the waves from the sea. He had hair that looked like he had just crawled out of bed, except it was late in the evening, and not morning.

Damn if my hormones didn’t do a happy dance just by looking at him. I studied him as I stood there, trying to gauge how old he was, then I told myself he was probably in his early thirties. He had a mature air about him that made him appear so.

Then something happened. His bottomless, glacier blue eyes suddenly found mine, and everything sort of went tits up. An electric snap of attraction hit me hard, sending a buzz of sexual energy sweeping across my skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

It wasn’t lust. No, lust didn’t snare you or make your breath stutter. This was so much more powerful. And intensely fucking scary.

Kenny had always had a thing or two to say about chemistry, and I never really believed all those things she said happened all the time with people when they felt that pull, but damn it, I was feeling every bit of her exaggeration.

I had told her she watched too much N*****x, but here I was, standing here, staring at him like I had forgotten how basic motor skills worked.

Yeah. I was officially eating my words.

I was, dazed by an unmistakable, blindsiding, uncontrollable force of sexual chemistry. There was nothing rational or intellectual about it. No, it was visceral. And I felt ... ambushed. Seriously. It came out of fucking nowhere and now ... It was like when you were watching something enthralling, hanging on the edge of your seat as you waited anxiously to see what happened next.

His eyes was still holding mine, and I was still in a holding cell his eyes left me, but then, I snapped out of it when he spoke. “Maybe take a picture. That should last you in your bed or shower or wherever you would like.” He said, his voice all low and breathy.

Oh shit.

My face heated and I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I knew that there was a slight telling flush on my cheeks, one he didn’t miss it. He didn’t miss a thing; his eyes raked over me, drinking in every detail. There wasn’t anything impressive to see. My long, dark ruler-straight hair was styled into a simple, high ponytail. My shirt and pant were casual and nondescript. And I used a minimal amount of makeup, mostly because I was too lazy to spend much time on it.

When his eyes once again caught mine, there was a curious, irrepressible tug in my stomach that seemed to draw me toward him. At the same time, my scalp prickled, and I felt uncomfortable. His dangerous vibe would have reeled in many girls, but I made a point of staying away from bad boys. I was not my mother.

She was the one that married a man that killed seven people. I wouldn’t even go near anyone I thought was average bad, much less a full blown bad boy.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I finally started to move towards them. But before I could get halfway, my boss rushed past me.

“Hello, Alpha Ridge. I didn’t know you would be coming in tonight.” Mr. Salvo said, smiling, but even from here, I could tell it was unnecessary.

But that wasn’t what got me frowning. I just heard Mr. Salvo called the man Alpha Ridge. He’s was one of those… those people we hear about were werewolves and shapeshifters, and from what we’ve heard, an alpha was like their leader or something.

Well, I really shouldn’t let myself feel chemistry with a monster when I already had one to deal with, the one that gave me life. That was enough to last me my lifetime.

“Isn’t that that killer’s daughter?” I heard one of the two men with Ridge asked Mr. Salvo and I stiffened, but I had heard a lot of whispers like that in my life not to dwell on it. It wasn’t who I am anyway.

“Yes, but Blake is a very kind and nice girl.” Mr. Salvo said. Well, he was kind too, kind enough to hire me when no one else would, to give me a reason to keep striving.

“Blake, huh…” I wasn’t facing them anymore, but from the way my name sounded, I knew the alpha guy had been the one to say it, testing it against his mouth. “I don’t care who she is, anyway. Tell her to bring us some beer while we talk business.” He said.

Behind me, Mr. Salvo called my name and asked I to bring some beers, so I nodded.

Kenny's eyes met mine for a brief second, but she said nothing. Maybe she couldn’t, because I could tell she wasn’t all that comfortable. Getting behind the counter and towards the fridge, I grabbed some beers and placed them on a tray, then I walked to them.

Alpha Ridge or whatever his name was had hisal attention on my boss, but as soon as I neared the table, he turned his head my way and growled, his eyes jumping to mine, and maybe I had been confused before about his eyes being blue, because right now, they were they brightest shade of golden hue I had ever seen.

Then he said in a low voice that made me almost unsure I had heard him properly. “She’s our mate.”

What the fuck was that?

“Oh hell no, no way she’s my mate.” Ridge said, his teeth baring. Then to no one in particular, he said. “Get her the fuck away from me, right now.”

I was confused, I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I took a few steps back, but that didn’t seem to be working, because Ridge growled again, louder this time, and he commanded, his voice ringing out hard.

“Get her away from me.” He repeated.

Before I could react, one of the men with him was beside me. I didn’t see him stand or anything, I just blinked and the next thing I knew, he was beside me.

He grabbed my wrist, and then he started to pull me away, through the back and outside, then yelling at me to leave.