Alpha I’ll be Yours Novel – I glared at my parents across the breakfast table as they sang happy birthday to me in an overly joyous tune. The last thing a twenty-year-old college student wanted to hear was them still singing birthday song to her like she was still a child. It was bad enough that I still lived under their roof but the fact they still treated me like a child made it much worse. I was itching to be independent for some time now but I just didn’t have the resources for it.
Going to college didn’t leave much time for working, so with my part-time waitress job on the side, I was barely paying the bills I had now. Mom and dad had been more than understanding about my situation and agreed to keep me up, as long as I needed, until I was able to move out. Neither of them was rushing me though, so I was thankful for that. But still, sometimes I get nervous and irritated by living under the same roof as my parents. Now that summer was here I’d at least have a good two months before classes started back up again at the local campus. Maybe Charlie will let me pick up a few extra shifts so I can start apartment hunting. I’m sure that by the end of summer I’ll have enough saved for first and last month’s rent. At the song’s end they both stood and clapped before mom pushed the chocolate iced cake in front of my face. I stared it down grudgingly, unsure whether or not to taste it. Why did chocolate have to be my weakness? “Oh, come on honey. It’s your birthday. One slice of cake won’t kill you,” Mom urged. “I suppose,” I mumbled just to make her happy.
“Pass me a plate.” Mom clapped her hands happily as dad passed out the plates. I don’t know who was more anxious to eat it, me or them. “Don’t forget to make a wish,” she said, watching the lit candles in the middle burn. I closed my eyes and leaned in close while thinking what I wanted to wish for. Within a few seconds I automatically knew. My Mate. I dug my fork into the chocolaty goodness that now sat in front of me. Ah, heaven. I smiled. The creamy milk chocolate melted away in my mouth. It was perfect. Truly and utterly perfect- “Oh honey, before I forget, there is a pack meeting taking place tonight. Alpha Daniel has requested that everyone be there. Apparently he has some news to announce.” Well almost perfect. What could be so darn important that they needed everyone tonight? Now I’m gonna have to switch my shift with Celeste and she is not going to be happy with that. She hates covering the weekend shift. The nights were always the worst. That’s when the diner was filled with the less desirable people. You know the ones that were a little too touchy and the worst tippers? Well after nine pm at least. Those last three hours until the diner closed were the most dreadful though.
“Honey, you’re spacing out again. Have you been losing sleep? You remember what Dr. Peterson said-” “I know mom,” I replied, cutting her off before she could lecture me further. “I was just thinking about the diner.” I don’t know exactly what I said that made her smile but she had the biggest grin of all on her face at the mention of it. In fact, it slightly worried me. “You know, that reminds me dear. Now that it’s your twentieth birthday you might meet your mate tonight.” I raised an eyebrow to her in confusion. “What does that have to do with the diner?” “Well when you find your mate you won’t have to work so much. You know he’ll take care of you. You might actually start to enjoy life again.” Oh, so that’s where she was going with this. “Mom you know good and well I don’t want a mate for that reason. I want my mate because he’ll love me unconditionally. I don’t plan on changing my life style because of him,” I stated. “I know honey but you may find yourself doing a lot of things you thought you wouldn’t normally do,” she smiled. “Mates change everything.” I rolled my eyes at her but didn’t reply.
There was no sense arguing with her over it. She’ll just pull the experience card at me. After all, she had a mate and I did not. Maybe mom’s right. Maybe that will all change tonight. Maybe he’s waiting to meet me as well. Let’s see, who all has turned twenty since our last meeting? Well, there was Tim, the Beta’s brother, and Zack, my cousin, who couldn’t be my mate. But that was only the of age males. That didn’t include the unmated ones who were of all ages. Hmm who else? I know there was one more. Oh… our Alpha, Daniel. Even though Alpha Daniel had turned twenty exactly a week before I had, I know there was not chance I was his mate. I’m not Luna material. Besides I’m pretty sure he was going to announce his mating to his long time girlfriend Jasmine tonight. That seems like the only logical reason why we would be holding a mandatory meeting if it was not an emergency. Jasmine was a good year older than him but I never heard her mention that they were mates.
Perhaps they were keeping it secret until they knew for sure, and now that Daniel is twenty there is no need to wait any longer. He could confirm it. I guess we’ll find out tonight. My thoughts were cut off by my phone. I groaned and picked it up from the table to see who was calling me. When the name Charlie flashed across my screen it only served to irritate me further. “Hey, Charlie,” I answered, hiding my annoyance. “Claire, just the person I needed to talk to! I’m in need of a small favor,” He chuckled nervously. “Someone bail on you again?” I asked keeping my friendly tone. After all, he was still my boss and I needed this job until after college to help keep me up. I heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the line before he replied. “Celeste quit this morning.” “Not another one,” I groaned. Lately, waitresses had been quitting left and right, and now one of the senior employees had just quit as well. I suppose this job didn’t help that most of them were finding their mates. I’m sure the male wolves didn’t want their mates working in place like this. If they did there was sure to be a fight every night with one of the many inappropriate customers. What was I supposed to do now? I was going to ask Celeste to cover my shift tonight.
Andrea was working the lunch rush with me so that left no one for tonight. At that thought I knew why he was calling me. “You want me to pull a double shift today don’t you?” I asked hesitantly. Seeing has how bad I needed the money I would have normally accepted his offer, but sadly I had to be at the pack meeting tonight. Too bad he wasn’t a werewolf, so I couldn’t explain the situation to him. Was there no one else who could take my place? “You know I hate to ask, but Rita is on vacation and Andrea is still new, so I have no one else.” He explained. “I’ll give you an extra two dollars on the hour for coming in on such short notice.” he quickly added. Now he was singing my tune. How could I resist an offer like that? Do you know what an extra two dollars an hour could do to my bank account? “Fine,” I said. “I’ll do it.” “Oh thank you, Claire,” He said in relief. “You really saved me here. I owe you.” “Yeah, about that. I kind of need a favor as well,” I said. “Well two actually.” “Anything,” he said. “First, I’d like to take on all the extra shifts this summer so I’d like to ask that you don’t hire anyone else.” “Done,” he agreed. “And….I need off work for a couple of hours tonight for something important,” I added. I cringed slightly, waiting for his reply while the silence grew. I almost feared that would be a deal breaker, but I silently hoped it wasn’t.
I couldn’t miss the pack meeting tonight. That would land me in hot water with the Alpha. “Okay, but just two hours and I expect you back here immediately,” he said, trying to sound like a firm boss again Oh thank goodness. I felt such relief at his cooperation. “Thank you Charlie. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I smiled as I pulled the phone away from my ear and hung it up. Was it weird of me to be happy about this? I mean I’m getting extra hours, more money, and still able to attend the meeting tonight. That’s something to be happy about, right? I just might get that apartment after all. And with only thirty dollars in my account right now I could definitely use the extra money. I trudged through the bustling diner to the counter to pick up the two dinner orders for table twelve. They were growing increasingly impatient and had already asked me about their order three times. Didn’t they notice we were incredibly busy tonight? It had been going full swing since lunch today and it hadn’t let up since.
This was you went through when working on a Saturday and with only one waitress. Well until ten minutes ago when Andrea finally showed up. I guess she was here to temporarily relieve me. I looked up at the clock on the wall counting down the minutes until I had to leave. I could not be late. After I sat the plates down at table that ordered them, I walked back to pick up my second order while letting out a yawn. It has only been five hours since I started the shift and I was already feeling mentally and physically exhausted.I think I might need a five hour energy shot just to get through the rest of the day. “Warren, break time,” Charlie yelled across the noisy diner and pointed to his watch. “Two hours starts now.” I gave him a quick nod of my head and sat the plates down before I tore the apron off and tossed it aside, then made my way to the counter. After grabbing my belongings from behind it, I quickly rushed out the door in a hurry. In the summertime, the clouds hang low and the sky reflects an orange hue. If I wasn’t in such a hurry I might have taken the time to enjoy the summer air, but now was not the time for that. Without a moment’s delay, I quickly slipped into the car and drove onto the road.
If I was even so much as five minutes late I was sure to get into heaps of trouble by the Alpha or the Elders. As I pulled up in front of the large pack house I was silently thankful that I wasn’t the last to arrive. From the looks of things it seemed parents were already here, as was most of the pack except for the few that were arriving just as I was. I guess I drove a little faster than I thought I did. Oh well, whatever gets me here on time. I’m not complaining. I walked through the mass of cars following behind a couple who was also heading towards the back of the house. In the evenings, weather providing, we always had outdoor meetings. However, on occasion, the alpha held them in his office. And when I say office I mean a room the size of two or three of my bedrooms put together. I suppose it had to be rather large in size though to accommodate the size of the pack. “Clairey!” a little girl screamed as soon as she had caught sight of me. “Is that my little Jess Jess?” I chuckled, lifting her off the ground. Jessica was a little girl I used to baby sit when I was in high school for extra cash. Her parents were always busy with pack duties, so they hired me to take care of her in the evenings until they were finished.
That was two years ago. She was barely even walking then. Now I’m standing here looking at a very tall three year old who was still as cute as ever and whom I had missed with all my heart. “Hello Claire,” Mrs. Thompson’s warm voice interrupted us. I set Jess down on the ground and turned to greet her in return. “Hey Mrs. Thompson. How are you?” I asked. “I am well, thank you, but I believe the meeting is about to start. Would you like to sit with us?” she offered. “I’d love to,” I replied before following her to the seats. I sat next to Jess before she looped her arm through mine and looked towards the front. Seeing as Mr. Thompson was third in command, we had great front row seats so we weren’t bothered with looking over top of people’s heads to get the view. I was grateful for that seeing as I wasn’t exactly the tallest person in the pack. “Hello. Thank you all for coming this evening. I realize this meeting was sort of last minute but I have an important announcement to make,” the sweet, melodic voice of our Alpha said. He stood no more than ten feet in front of me looking out into the crowd of people with the most beautiful, proud, smile on his face I’d ever seen. Nothing could be more perfect. He was just so…so…wonderful. I just wanted to touch him. Oh no. What’s wrong with me? Why am I thinking about Alpha Daniel that way? It’s not right.
He had a girl friend and he was way out of my league. “Today I’d like to announce my wedding and mating to the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met, Jasmine Marshall.” Just then I felt my wolf about to jump out of my skin. Something had really gotten her riled up. Mate. She whispered. No. It can’t be. He can’t be my mate if he’s already proclaimed his love for Jasmine. I mean, he’s just announced getting married for goodness sakes. So why was I feeling this way? Maybe it’s just confusion. Yeah, that’s it. I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast and I’m really tired. That’s bound to mess with your head. The sound of the crowd applauding brought me from my thoughts and my eyes drifted back up to them. They were smiling brightly and holding hands while gazing at all the pleased wolves. It was like they were the President and First Lady. Just as everyone got up to shake their hands I immediately began think of ways to get out of here. I didn’t want to be around him if I couldn’t even hold it together just by hearing his voice. What if he thinks I like him or something? I can’t. He’s Daniel, an alpha, and I’m me.
We don’t even make sense. “Did you hear? Jasmine is going to be our Luna,” Jess grinned with excitement. I looked down at her with my best fake smile without a word then quickly turned away. If I was going to go now would be my chance. As the pack crowded around them I took my chance and disappeared behind everyone slowly making my distance. Surely no one would notice me with all the excitement going on. Once I was sure I wasn’t in sight of anyone from the pack I started to pace a little quicker until I reached my car. I had never been so glad to see it in all my life. As my hand stretched out the grab the handle, a voice caught me off guard, sending a wave of panic through me. “Where are you going?” Jess’s soft voice called out. “Are you leaving?” I quickly looked in her direction and saw the saddened look on her face staring back at me. “Yeah. I need to get back to work,” I said, which wasn’t a lie technically. He features then became saddened. “But you didn’t say goodbye.” My heart clenched and I desperately wanted to reach out to her, but I knew I had to leave. I needed to put some distance between me and this place as soon as possible. “Look Jess, I really have to go, but I promise I’ll come by and see you Thursday. Okay?” That seemed to perk her up and she ran to me for a quick hug.
“You promise?” she asked with a toothy grin. “I cross my heart,” I replied adding the X over my heart for extra effect. “Okay,” she nodded before letting go of me. “Now you better get back to your mom before she gets worried about you,” I said. She then turned from me and started back in the direction I had just come from before calling back to me. “Bye Clairey.” I smiled fondly after her until I made sure she did as I said, then immediately got into my car and left. With the windows down and the music turned up, I did my best to drown out my thoughts and forget everything that had just happened. With the passing days I thought of my mate often. All hopes I had of forgetting him were now gone and, I found myself unable to distract myself from thinking about him. I don’t know why it was so hard for me since it didn’t serve a purpose at all. He was off planning some extravagant wedding with Jasmine, while I sat here saddened by the thought of my mate mating with someone else. Yes, I had finally come to terms with what was happening to me. I had found my mate and that’s all there was to it.
I couldn’t change it or do anything about it. I just had to accept it. I tried to ignore the urging of my wolf to go to him, but at times it was a bit overbearing. It was exhausting having her in my mind all time with no way to switch her off. I knew she wouldn’t give up until we had him. The only problem was….he didn’t know we existed. I’m not exactly sure what I was going to do about that either. Some parts of me wanted to let him go since he seemed so happy with her, but another part of me wanted to claim what’s mine. It wasn’t fair that she belonged to him and it wasn’t right either. Didn’t she have a mate of her own? Where was he in all of this? Had he rejected her or she him? Had they not met yet and got tired of waiting? I’ve seen it before. Some people didn’t find their mates until they had already aged and had lived out their lives. One of our pack members only found there mate a few years ago and she was seventy-five. It must have been so hard to wait that long but worth it when they found each other though. Finding your mate was the most special thing in the world. Nothing could make you happier. That’s why you should seize every opportunity to be with them. But I couldn’t because she had him. Jasmine.
Over the past few days I’d come to hate that name. Just knowing what she was to my mate killed me. I know that it wasn’t her fault though. She didn’t even know about me. But that still didn’t stop the hatred. “Order up!” Frank yelled while ringing the bell. I laid down the rag I had been using to wipe the same spot with for ten minutes and went to get the plates. It was fairly slow right now with it being between rush hours, and also I was trying to find ways to keep myself busy so I couldn’t think. Thinking was only painful for me. I preferred not to do it. “Here you go,” I smiled, setting down the plates in front of the elderly couple. “Can I get you anything else?” “No, thank you dear,” The woman said kindly. “I believe we have everything we need.” Her husband must have agreed because he didn’t even look in my direction before eating his meal. I nodded my head at them both before turning away to go back to the counter I was wiping down before I was interrupted. I let out a sigh once I reached my destination and propped myself up on my elbow. I took a glance around the place, seeing if anyone needed anything before realizing that no one else was there. This was going to be a long three hours.
I suppose I could make more coffee but I don’t want it to go to waste. Two of out three burners still had full pots on them so it really wasn’t necessary for the third. If Charlie was here no doubt he’d have a list of chores for me to do, but thankfully he wasn’t coming today. He had to take his wife for some kind of yearly check up and only said he’d be by to close up shop tonight. The bell on the door rang, bringing my attention the new customer walking in. He nodded to the elderly couple who were watching as he entered and offered them a kind smile as he passed by. He was practically radiating with confidence, which I found rather odd. Normally only Alphas gave off that kind of energy, but to be honest I could tell if he was even a werewolf, and if he was I hadn’t seen him around here before. He continued passing by the many tables not bothering to give them a second glace as he made the way to the counter where I was standing not breaking eye contact the entire way. The moment felt quiet intense. He took the stool directly in front of me while giving me a breathless smile and running his hand through his thick dark hair. His ocean blue eyes staring back at me made me feel more nervous than I already was.
For some reason I couldn’t look away from him. It was like he was willing me to keep eye contact with. There was no doubt about it-this man was very attractive, but something about him seemed suspicious. He had a smell I couldn’t place. It didn’t seem human, but it wasn’t werewolf either. It’s almost like he masked it or something. “Hello Claire,” he said staring at me with those hypnotizing eyes, waiting for a reply from me. My breath caught in my throat at the sound of my name escaping is full smooth lips. “Y-you know me?” I stuttered, probably sounding like a complete idiot in front of this Greek God. A smirk quickly covered his face as he reached towards me, taking my name tag between his fingers then quickly releasing it. I could feel my heart going into overdrive at his closeness. “Oh. Of course,” I chuckled nervously while trying to cover up my embarrassment. “What can I get you?” “How about today’s special and your number?” he asked. I stared at him in disbelief, making it fairly obvious I was taken by surprise at his request. Had he really just said that? I mean sure, I had guys that hit on me occasionally but he…he was different.
Something about him seemed so dark. I was even more surprised by my wolf. She didn’t have much to say about Kieran and remained quiet in the back on my head, remaining unspoken. It was as if she were studying him. “Uh,” was all I could manage to get out while staring at him blankly. I honestly didn’t know what I was supposed to say to that. I didn’t want him to have my number but I had feeling that he wasn’t going to give up that easy either. “I’m sorry, but that’s not on the menu.” I said before forcing myself to look away from his and writing down his order. I wasted no time distancing myself from him, taking his order to the cook. Once I had returned he was still watching me intently. I sighed while brushing a stray blonde hair out of my face and shook my head. “I don’t go out with guys who don’t have a name.” “Well lucky for you I do,” he said offering me his hand to shake. “Kieran Knight.” I looked down at his hand, cautiously debating on whether or not to shake it before finally giving in. His warm hand embraced mine gently, holding it there so that I could not move. “Claire Warren,” I said. “You’re not from around here are you?” I asked him. I didn’t want to seem too suspicious, but I had to ask him.
I think I’d remember if I saw a face like his before. He chuckled while releasing my hand and leaned back in his seat a little. The absence of his hand in mine made it seem so empty and dull now. “Am I that transparent?” He had an amused expression on his face as he waited for my reply. “It’s just that I haven’t seen you around here before,” I stated. “Actually this is only my second time here,” he admitted. “I’m looking for someone.” “Well what’s their name? Maybe I know them,” I said, hoping he’d tell me and allow some insight into who he was. He just seemed so mysterious. That made me eager to find out more about him. If he was looking for someone in my pack then most likely he was a werewolf like me. But if he wasn’t then he was just the most intimidating human I had ever met. And that was a lot coming from a wolf. “I’d bet on it,” he said. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I had a feeling there was some kind of hidden meaning behind it, that I was sure about. Mr. Tall, Dark and Mysterious wasn’t giving anything up. “So how long are you in town for?” I asked, changing the subject.
He shrugged as if he didn’t even know the answer to that question himself before replying. “A few days, maybe less.” He was purposely being vague. Figuring out this guy was like trying to solve the Da Vinci code. It wasn’t going to happen. He was treading lightly, making sure not to give up too much information. He was up to something. I just didn’t know what it was. “What would you like to drink?” I asked, grabbing a cup by the beverage dispenser. “Water’s fine,” he said while searching for something in his jacket pockets. As I began filling up his glass with ice I glanced at him from the corner of my eye.
“Would you happen to know where the Raven Hill community is?” he asked, squinting at the paper he held in his hand, that just came from the pockets he was previously digging in. His question had taken me by sheer surprise and only confirmed what I had speculated to begin with. I fought to push away the shock. No one goes there. Unless they are a werewolf. “R-Raven Hill?” “Yeah, I have some business there,” he said easily. So he was a wolf. Then why couldn’t I smell him? All wolves have a scent but he doesn’t it. Something is wrong with this picture.