3: Double Date

LUCIAN

I don’t know why I decided to look for her.

I never see a woman twice. One I met in a club no less but something about her draws me in, and I’m weak against my baser instincts.

‘She might be ours.’ My wolf says in my head.

I shake my head, not wanting to get our hopes up.

I have been looking for my mate, my fated mate for the past ten years, since I turned eighteen.

The year every werewolf looks forward to because you have the ability to sense your mate.

I’d been so confident I would find her during the first full moon but nothing. Same with the second and before I knew it, I was counting the years, not months anymore.

Many insisted I should just give up and picked a chosen mate instead but I decided to wait it out for my fated one first.

Wolves, especially from the alpha bloodline, can choose a mate when they don’t find their fated. I was never interested.

I was born from two mates, and I saw how much they loved each other. I wanted something similar to what my parents have.

When I realized that wouldn’t happen soon. I focused all my energy and attention on my pack and my business.

We barely do business with the humans. Choosing to stay in our small gated communities and packs, scared of being discovered.

Humans are scared of things they don’t understand. Mythical creatures like wolves were out of their ordinary.

I have always had dreams bigger than that and I wanted to make them a reality. Being the next alpha hadn’t stopped me and after doing this for more than five years, I don’t regret the decision I made.

My beta and best friend, Owen, is beside me and if he hadn’t been flirting with the barista. He would have bitched about me sitting and staring at the little brown haired girl I haven’t been able to get off my mind.

I’ve been searching for her since our night at the hotel.

I can remember how confident she was when she walked up to me and told me she found me handsome.

I get that quite a lot and it never went to my head but with her, I couldn’t explain why I’d been so drawn.

I had a meeting with a client. He was the one that thought bringing me to a club would be a fine idea and all I wanted to do was get into bed.

After she showed up, it felt like she’d brightened the place and it suddenly seemed more lively to me.

I forgot all the reasons that made me want to leave in the first place.

I invited her to sit with us at the VIP and after a few more drinks, I asked if she wanted to go back to my place. She said yes.

She was a great lay, she was small but damn, did she know to use that body.

We were at it like animals in heat before she passed out around three in the morning. When I woke up the next morning, she was gone and so were her things.

She didn’t even leave a note or her number or anything.

I’m a one night stand guy but that had burned.

Still, I couldn't understand why I wanted to see her again.

“Can’t we go now?” Owen whined from beside me.

I looked up at him, tearing my eyes away from the woman with so much irritation.

“Where is your little barista?” I ask, cocking a brow.

He smirks and lifts a napkin with a number scribbled on it.

“We made plans for later, and now I’m done here.” He inclines his head toward the woman that is eating by herself. “And I’m not much of the stalker type. Just fucking go up and talk to her.”

I ignore him and go back to silently watching her.

Her awareness is shit because how could she not know a man has been staring at her for the past half hour? What if I was some type of creep and I wanted to hurt her?

Raw possessiveness squeezes my chest. I have to remind myself she is not mine for taking, or protecting. But another more adamant voice says she will be, soon enough. I agree with that voice for a reason unknown to me.

I watched her for a while longer while she finished up her breakfast. She got a call when she was about to leave. I’d already started getting up to follow her when she sat back down.

For a fleeting moment, I thought she had caught on but then I paid attention to what the other person on the line told her.

I can’t explain the satisfaction I felt when I found out it was a woman.

Our hearing abilities as wolves are much higher than humans. It is why I easily overheard her conversation on the phone.

She sat for a while, looking around.

My temperature spikes higher when I think of her meeting my eyes across the room. Will she recognize me? She was pretty drunk when we left. But she couldn’t have been that drunk right?

And the morning after, I’m quite sure she got a good look at my face before she left.

Or maybe, that is just my ego talking.

A minute later, she brings out her phone and starts taking selfies.

The act makes me smile for some odd reason. I’m not a fan of pictures but suddenly, I wanted to see what I would look like beside her.

I make a mental note to take my stalking to the next level when I go back to the hotel later. I want to see how good she looked in those pictures she took.

She stops all of a sudden, her back stiffening. I notice every micro emotion on her face but before I can pinpoint what it is this time. She brings her phone up and pretends she is taking another selfie. I can see how she rotated the phone.

It doesn’t click in my head until I hear the shutter that she must have felt someone was watching her. Me.

And she just got a good look at my face, I’m sure. I wasn’t exactly being subtle.

I weigh my options, to either leave or wait and see her reaction. Her eyes narrowed when she looked at the screen and she almost dropped her phone.

I feel myself smirk, satisfaction coursing through me at the fact that she didn’t forget me.

It has been a little over three weeks since we met. That look of recognition just made my day.

Fuck that, it just made my month. Maybe the entire fucking year.

I admit that I don’t have anything else to do here, but I didn’t want to go back simply because I wanted to see more of her.

She has turned away from me so I can’t make out her expression, not that I care at this point. I’m elated she remembers and now, I just have to think of how to get her to want a repeat of that night.

Maybe if I have her one more time, I’ll get her out of my system.

“You gonna talk to her or not?” Owen nudges me, having noticed what happened too.

I’m in the middle of contemplating whether or not I should walk up to her, when the door to the diner opens. The bells chime gaining my attention.

I recognize the girl that walks in instantly from that night. I already know she was the one that had called my brown-haired girl at first.

Mine? I’m on some crazy shit if I’m already staking a claim.

Now, I really need to fuck her out of my system and move on with my life.

She noticed her and waved her over to her table.

I don’t look away from them, although I’m sure she knows I’m watching her now.

“Why do you look like that?” the new girl asks her and she waves her hands around, meaning for her to keep it down.

That makes my lips tip up because I would still hear if I wanted, even if she chose to whisper.

“Never mind that. I did a little digging and I found your baby daddy.” My heart stops at the mention of a baby daddy.

It has another meaning, right? It can’t be what I’m thinking.

Panic starts rising in my chest at the thought of her having another man’s child.

I can’t explain why I even care in the first place but I do. And currently, my heart is threatening to stop because of jealousy.

“You don’t need to look too deep. I just saw him.” she whisper-yells at her friend and if the first words she said didn’t get my attention, that definitely did.

“What?” her friend says the exact thing that is on my mind.

I turn to Owen to find him looking at me, but he has an almost knowing look in his eyes. I quirk my eyebrow in question but he just shakes his head and motions for me to keep listening.

I sigh and breath through my unwarranted jealousy. The need to find the man that dared touch her and make him regret ever laying eyes on her is potent.

Easy there. Breathe.

I shut my eyes for a second, trying to regain my cool.

The last thing I would want is to stomp there and demand she tells me who the hell the man is.

“Where is he?” There is an angry tone to her friend’s voice now. “Please tell you at least slapped the fucker right in the face and told him to invest in condoms.”

I want to reach out to her and give her a big hug for that. I want to do the same thing she said to the asshole that got her pregnant.

The words tasted bitter on my tongue.

I didn’t want her to have another man’s child.

Shit.

From the way they are talking, it must have been unplanned.

I don’t know why the hell that makes me feel better. Knowing that she is not in a relationship of some sorts with this person makes my heart gain a semblance of normalcy.

“I can’t do that in public. What if someone gets it on video and posts it online. Dad will kill me.”

A low growl makes it up my chest, thinking of anyone hurting her.

Okay, now I really need to get a grip.

I sound like a crazy person.

“Is he close by?” the friend asks, with a resigned sigh.

I hold my breath, waiting to hear it so I can meet him and teach him a few things about manners.

“Yeah, he um…here.” She slides her phone over to the friend.

“Damn, this can’t be.” Owen mutters from beside me.

I want to ask what he means but when the friend looks up and our eyes meet.

I could swear my entire life stopped.