32. Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Two
Gio
A s much as I dislike the mall, I’m grateful for the endless row of escalators and their overly complicated layout when it allows me more time with my future mate.
Beth seems happy to talk about anything and nothing as we descend to the ground floor, and I’m enjoying listening and encouraging her random musings and questions.
Her eyes are bright as she hugs the pink plushie she won from the arcade to her chest.
She uses her free hand on the railing as she steps onto the last escalator.
“So, what about pets?” she asks, glancing at me as I move onto the step above the one she’s standing on. “Do you at least have a dog?”
“I’ve never had any pets,” I admit, half-wishing I did when I see the disappointment in her eyes.
Maybe I should be thinking about getting a dog.
“So, are you a hitman then, or a serial killer?” she asks, just as casually as she asked about pets, though, clearly, this one’s not serious.
“Neither.”
“So, you’re just a garden-variety murderer?”
I laugh. “That’s the one, yeah. I’m just your typical friendly neighborhood psychopath.”
She smiles. “Well, then what’s your day job, Norman Bates?”
“You don’t think murdering is a full-time position?”
“It might be if you were a serial killer. Otherwise, nah. You’re just unemployed.”
My smile freezes on my face.
It’s a joke, but it smarts more than I know it should.
My employment history is a mess.
Holding down a real job has never been easy, and the restaurant doesn’t really feel like it’s mine, even in part. I’m just in there trying to make it work like I have every other job I’ve failed at in my life.
It’s Enzo’s restaurant, even if he insisted on using our pack name for it.
“God, sorry. I had no idea,” Beth murmurs. “I figured with the suit, and everything …”
“It’s fine. I’ve never had much use for the typical nine to five. I’m a little more … creative when it comes to making money.”
And that makes it sound like I rob banks for a living.
Dio mio! Think about what you are saying, man.
She raises an eyebrow at me. “Creative?”
“I’m a gambler,” I admit.
“Oh,” she says, nodding slowly.
It’s not exactly a conversation starter of a confession, and I’m not sure how to elaborate or even to change the subject now that it’s out there.
This woman’s fated to be my mate, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to be okay with my flaws.
It’s been an issue with Enzo for a while now, and I haven’t found a way to stop.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be capable of quitting for good.
She clears her throat. “How did you get into that? Is it a professional thing?”
I shake my head. There’s no real way to tell her without bringing up my past. It makes my stomach tighten to think about the day I discovered my talent, but she deserves to know the truth. Clearing my throat, I start, “The day after my mom died, I discovered it was something I had a knack for.”
She watches me with those big, bright eyes, shock seeping into her expression.
I look down at the ground floor of mall before I continue. “Considering I suddenly needed money to pay for a funeral, I got a fake ID, and I went to my first casino, out of town. I hit big that night and it’s something I went back to whenever I needed it. I’m not a professional, but I do win more than I lose. That’s mostly down to Alpha instincts. I also have a decent poker face.”
“Your mom died when you were a teenager?” she sounds shocked.
“I was almost seventeen, but I looked older.”
“Well, Alphas usually do, I guess,” she murmurs. “That must have really sucked.”
She looks back ahead as the escalator gets to the ground floor.
Once she steps off, she waits for me to do the same.
“How did you cope?”
“I kind of knew it was coming,” I tell her as I reach her side. “My mom wasn’t a typical mother. I looked after her as much as I could, but when I was younger, I thought she was sick, not addicted to drugs. She was never happy while she was alive.”
“That’s awful.”
“It’s in the past now,” I remind her.
She looks at me curiously. “You’re so different to any guy I’ve ever met.”
“Is that a bad thing?” I ask, knowing it’s not.
She sees me differently because we’re meant to be together.
If she were an Alpha, she’d know it instinctively.
If she were an Omega, she’d feel it too deeply to ignore.
As a Beta she’s attracted without knowing why.
“It’s good,” she says, smiling at me.
“Do you still have other places you need to be?”
She bites on her bottom lip, and I can tell she’s trying to find a reason to say yes.
My past might be messy, but it’s not going to stop us from getting together.
Hers, on the other hand …
“How bad was he?” I ask, making her gasp.
“How …”
“You mentioned you’ve had bad luck with men, so I figured there might be one that’s still on your mind. Am I wrong?”
“I bumped into him tonight, actually,” she says. “And, believe me, that’s the only reason he’s on my mind.”
“So, you don’t have other places you need to be tonight?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Where did you want to take me?”
I know exactly where I want to take her, but I need to be careful about this. It might not be a good idea to make her aware that she’s not just attracted to me because I’m an Alpha. At least not until she’s met the rest of my pack and started to catch feelings for them, too.
Outright telling someone they were fated to be yours sounds like a bad pick-up line.
Considering Beth has had enough bad experiences to want to quit dating, I can tell how well it would go down if I blurted the unvarnished truth.
“I have an idea,” I admit. “It’s close by, and it’s a public place. Do you trust me?”
She barely even blinks before she answers. “I do. I’m not sure why.”
“It’s because I haven’t given you any reason not to, and I don’t intend to.”
“I guess that’s true,” she admits, nodding slowly. “Okay. Sure.”
I lead her to the mall’s exit, and she gives me a warning look.
“Don’t make me regret this,” she warns, her tone threatening.
The hint of shaky vulnerability underneath that bluster makes my jaw clench.
If I ever find out who her ex is …
That’s for another time, Gio.
Tell your mate what she needs to hear.
“You won’t regret a second,” I promise.