Chapter Fourteen
Karissa
Eating breakfast and shifting with the males had been the best time of my life. No matter how much I told myself not to get attached, it wasn’t working. Holt and the others were nothing like any male I’d ever met, and every moment in their presence was a pleasure.
I’d been wary about males, even as a little girl.
Watching the omegas interact with the alphas, I’d seen nothing good and dreaded the day when I would be old enough to be assigned to a mate.
Omegas in our pack were not allowed to choose their mates, and the alphas either did not believe in fated mates or just didn’t care.
I wasn’t sure. Matings were arranged to suit the pack alpha, to meet his goals and reward or punish the member.
Holt had suggested I skip my shift and take a day to relax, a sentiment echoed by the others, but that would not help me to pay for my truck repairs.
I couldn’t get too comfortable and forget what I was doing.
The diner was not such a bad place to go, and once I was beginning to work, I was able to put my worries to the back of my mind and serve the customers their food without much stress.
The menu had been easy to learn, so all I had to pick up each day was the specials, and I took pleasure in coming up with ways to make them sound as delicious as they really were.
“Meat loaf today?” I asked Henry. “For lunch?”
“And dinner, too, with mashed potatoes with a corn-and-lima bean succotash. Very old-school.”
“Perfect. It looks good, too.”
“Go sell the loaf,” he joked. “And we have the ribs too.”
“On it.” I pushed through the swinging door into the front and approached my first customer. “Hello, I’m Katie, and do you have any questions about the menu?”
“No, but I understand you have some lunch specials?”
“Yes indeed.” I loved this part of the job.
“We have some incredible baby back ribs, grilled to perfection with a house-made ginger teriyaki. We serve that with jasmine rice and a little side salad with sesame dressing. In addition, our old-school bacon-wrapped meat loaf with whipped potatoes and succotash.”
“Lima beans and corn?” he asked.
“Exactly.”
“I haven’t had that in a hundred years.” Since he was some kind of cat shifter, he might not be exaggerating. “I’ll have the meat loaf, although the ribs sound good too.” He handed me the menu. “With coffee.”
“Right away.” The man had been so happy when he placed his order, I was smiling, too. When I turned away, a grin that quickly disappeared when I saw a familiar and unwelcome face standing in the diner doorway.
Oh, hell no. They’d found me. The face belonged to a beta from my former pack, and I could only hope he hadn’t seen me yet.
He was also the last male they’d tried to mate me to, but in that case, I had not even allowed him to try.
He repulsed me, and had been cruel to me ever since I was a young child.
I slipped back into a corner as he approached the front desk and placed an order with the owner.
A to-go order. Could it be possible that he had not seen me? That he might not?
He started to turn toward where I hid, and I ducked low and almost crawled to the ladies’ room door. He couldn’t come in here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay in here forever. I had tables waiting for their food and orders to be taken. Dishes to clear away. How long could I hide?
Opening the door just a little, I peeked through and saw the male, Marco, taking his package from the other server and paying. He was almost out the door when his phone rang and he stopped to take the call.
Straining, I tried to hear what he had to say, but without getting closer—something I was not brave enough to do—it wasn’t happening.
Members of the pack rarely went far from home, and I couldn’t come up with another reason why he might be here besides looking for me.
Marco rode a bike, one of those big, loud ones, and finally he hung up and went out the door.
Daring to move, I crept toward the front window to see him mounting his bike.
It roared out of the parking space and I let out a long breath.
“Miss? We’re waiting for our food?”
I dove back into work, my heart still beating double-time and the fear I’d had when I left home fully back.
Somehow they’d followed me this far, and how long would it be before they actually found me?
Marco had not taken my refusal to accept him well, and I doubted he’d just take me home.
His cruelty was never discouraged, and he would punish me to the fullest extent of omega law.
As in, kill me after doing whatever else he chose first. There would be nobody to stop him.
“Katie?” I turned to see Holt standing behind me, Poe and Vaughn behind him. “Is everything okay? Who was that guy? Did he bother you?”
“No, I never even spoke to him. I’m fine.” I was not fine at all, but there was nothing they could do about it. After all, I belonged to my old pack, and they would have to turn me over if asked. It was the law. So, why couldn’t I imagine them doing that?