The Unwanted Wolf

Scythe approached the counter to order. He looked directly and waved. “Hi Adira!”

“Oh, you know her?” Haley said. “She can just take your order then.”

I sighed, approaching the cash register. So much so subtle. “Good morning Scythe. What can I get for you?”

He hummed, looking at the menu. “I can’t decide. What is your favorite drink here?”

“I am pretty simple in my coffee orders. Usually, I just order iced coffee with cream. Many people like the nutella frappuccino though.” I smiled at him, trying to hide the worry I felt.

“That sounds amazing! I will take a large nutella frappuccino. Do you have any food here?” Scythe was bursting with energy, even before having any coffee. He was definitely a morning person.

“We have bagels, croissants, muffins. There is a display to your left with a few other items.” I gestured to the counter that had glass containers of the various food we had.

Scythe looked over at the display. He looked like he was calculating something in his brain. “Let’s get a buttered croissant and a chocolate chip muffin.”

“Coming right up! We will call your name when it’s done.” I rang up the order on the cash register and told him the total.

Scythe pulled out a twenty and handed it to me. “Keep the change.” He winked at me and left and sat down at a table to wait for his order.

“I think he likes you,” Crystal said from right behind me.

I laughed at the idea. “No way. He’s just friendly.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Crystal teased. “I saw that wink.”

“Why are you so interested in her today?” Haley snapped.

Crystal turned on her heels and glared at Haley. “Why are you in such a bad mood?”

“We still have a bunch of customers. We need to get orders out as fast as possible,” I quickly said to diffuse the situation. Haley and Crystal were definitely acting a little weird. Usually they were on the same side, which was against me. I hadn’t seen the two bicker since they started working here. It made me wonder if there was something else going on with them that I wasn’t aware of. I shook it off and focused on work. I had enough going on to worry about an argument between teenagers.

After Scythe got his food, he pulled out a laptop and sat at one of the tables in the corner. He mostly kept to himself, typing away on his computer. I was a little surprised after the initial interaction, but then I realized there was nothing wrong with him saying hi to me earlier. We didn’t have to pretend to not know each other just because he was here to make sure no one attacked me.

Hours passed by, but I found myself distracted at work. I kept going over everything that had happened the past few days. I had been so focused on the fact that I wasn’t full werewolf and that Mark was supposed to be my mate, but I hadn’t thought much about the fact that someone tried to kill me. Scythe’s presence was a constant reminder of that. I tried to think about how someone even managed to dose me with the wolfsbane in the first place.

There was a possibility someone had broken into my apartment to give me the dose. I quickly ruled that out though. If they had done that without me noticing or me smelling their scent in my apartment, they likely would have just killed me in another way that was more guaranteed. I looked around the coffee shop, realizing this was the other place I spent most of my time. Maybe someone slipped something into my water or something. I looked at Crystal and Haley, feeling uneasy. I knew they didn’t like me, but I couldn’t imagine them trying to kill me. They seemed to be too young to be a hunter as well.

I couldn’t imagine Lana trying anything either. She wouldn’t offer me a manager’s position if she was planning on having me killed. It just seemed unnecessary. Maybe a customer snuck into the break room or something? I was starting to feel extremely paranoid standing in the coffee. It felt too open and exposed.

“I’m going to take a break,” I said, hurrying to the bathroom. I splashed water on my face and took a few deep breaths. I only had a little bit of time left at work, and I couldn’t start panicking. Mark said he would make sure I was okay, and I believed that was his full intention, but part of me worried that he wouldn’t be able to stop something when he didn’t know what it was.

After a few minutes, I felt a little better, convincing me that no one would attack me in the public coffee shop. I would just be careful about my stuff, and I wouldn’t venture off alone. I would be okay. I washed my hands and then left the bathroom.

Scythe was waiting for me outside of the bathroom. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “I just needed a moment.”

He nodded, understanding. “I’ll be over there if you need anything.”

“You don’t have to linger in the coffee shop if you don’t want to.” I was worried he would get bored sitting here until the end of my shift.

Scythe smiled. “Nonsense. I have my laptop, and I can do my work here for the day. It’s a nice change of pace. I like the atmosphere of this place. For the most part.”

I c****d my head at the last part of his statement. He looked away from my gaze, and I got the feeling that he didn’t want to go into more details, at least not here. “Okay, well, I only have a little more time left on my shift. Then I want to go back to my apartment for a bit to get ready.”

Scythe raised an eyebrow. “Ready for what?”

I felt a little shy suddenly and looked away from his gaze. “Mark said he wanted to take me on a date tonight.”

“Ooo, a date,” Scythe cooed. “This is an exciting development! It’ll be so fun helping you get ready!”

I couldn’t help but smile at Scythe. He seemed so bubbly. “You want to help me get ready?”

“Girl, please. Of course, I want to help you get ready! We need to make sure you look hot for Alpha.” He winked at me, making me blush again.

“Okay, I’ll come get you when my shift is over.”

Scythe waved goodbye and returned to his table. The rest of work went by faster after that conversation. I felt better knowing Scythe had my back, and I was feeling excited about my date again. When my shift was over, I signaled to Scythe and he met me outside of the employee’s entrance to the building. He walked me back to my apartment, and I felt comfortable around him.

After climbing the two flights of stairs, I stopped in front of my apartment door. “Please don’t judge the mess. I don’t usually have people over here.” I couldn’t remember the exact state of my apartment, but normally it was a little messy. It never got too bad, but there was usually a pile of dirty laundry on the floor and a few dirty dishes not where they were supposed to be.

“No judgment here,” Scythe said, holding up his hands.

I chewed my l*p, hoping that was true. I proceeded to unlock the door and go in. The apartment wasn’t in the worst condition it had been, but it wasn’t what I considered guest-worthy. I walked into the room and gestured my hands to show off the room. “Well, here it is. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s what has gotten me through the years.”

Scythe looked sad for a flicker of a moment before a grin pulled his lips. “It’s cozy. And you made it on your own. That’s pretty impressive. I’m not sure how I would’ve handled not having a pack for years.” Scythe covered his mouth, suddenly realizing what he said was probably inappropriate.

I laughed at his reaction. “Don’t worry. I’m not really sensitive about the not having a pack thing. I’m used to it by now, and I have managed well enough.”

Scythe dropped his hand and gave me a tight smile. “You should be proud of yourself.”

I felt touched by Scythe’s words. Usually pack members were criticizing me, saying I was stupid for not joining a pack sooner. They made it out to be my fault that I was alone, but then they would turn around and reject me. So far my interactions with Mark’s pack were very different. It gave me hope that this time it would be different.

“I’m going to take a shower. Make yourself comfortable. I’m not really sure what I have in the fridge right now, but feel free to rummage through it.” I started walking to the bathroom, when Scythe’s voice stopped me.

“Do you mind if I snoop around a bit? Alpha wants me to look for any signs of your attacker.” Scythe seemed a little nervous at the question.

“Oh yeah. Um, that’s fine.” I proceeded to the bathroom, excited to wash the day off of me. I felt grimy after not showering for one day, especially after running around at work for the first half of the day. I let the hot water run over my body for longer than normal. My body still felt like it wasn’t at one hundred percent, so it felt nice to let the heat relax my muscles.

When I was done, I dried off and then wrapped the towel around my body. I left the bathroom to look for clothes and froze when I saw Scythe standing there, staring at me. I normally didn’t have anyone around, so I fell into my old habits.

“I, uh.” I paused, feeling embarrassed.

“Did you have any ideas about what you want to wear tonight?” Scythe asked, trying not to make things uncomfortable.

I pulled the towel around me a little tighter. If he wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it, then I wouldn’t either. “I’m not really sure. I don’t go on dates very often.”

“I was hoping you’d say that!” Scythe practically skipped over to my closet. I watched him with my brows furrowed as he looked through my closet. “While I was snooping through your apartment, I found this little number and just thought you had to wear it tonight. Alpha will just die at the sight of you.” Mark turned around, holding a red dress out in front of him.

I had completely forgotten about that dress. It had been gifted to me last year on my birthday, but I had never worn it. It was too flashy for my taste. The sleeves were two thin straps, and the neckline plunged down. The dress was a slender fit that stopped midway on my thighs. There was a small slit up the side of the dress that would reveal even more of my thigh.

“Are you sure that’s not too much?” I gulped at the idea of wearing that dress.

“You will look amazing, Adira! You have to wear it.” Scythe skipped over to me, shoving the dress in my hands. “I will just step outside for a moment while you get dressed.” He left my apartment, leaving me standing there with the dress in my hands.

I let out a sigh. He seemed so confident about the dress, and I felt like he would be disappointed if I didn’t wear it. I didn’t have a bunch of fancy clothes either, so my options were limited. I pulled the dress up, but I couldn’t quite get the zipper up. “Scythe! You can come back in.”

Instantly, the door flung open, and Scythe’s mouth dropped. “That’s even better than I had imagined! Alpha is going to drool all over you.”

I felt my face getting hot in response. “Can you help me with my zipper?”

“Of course. Now where’s your makeup? I want to give you a look to go with that dress. Oh! I could do your hair for you too.” Scythe was practically bouncing with excitement.

I giggled at his response and pointed him to where I kept my makeup in the bathroom. I had a feeling Scythe liked playing with dolls, and I was his real life doll right now. By the time Scythe was done with my makeover, I hardly recognized myself. I wore makeup on occasion, but I didn’t usually go this all out. I used to dress up more as a teenager, but I lost the desire to after losing my family. I had forgotten how much fun it could be. I felt myself tearing up a little.

“Oh no! Don’t cry. It’ll ruin your makeup. Is something the matter?” Scythe grabbed a tissue and handed it to me.

I dabbed my eyes carefully, not wanting to ruin Scythe’s work. “No, no. This all just brought back some pleasant memories. It’s been a while though.”

Scythe pulled me into a tight hug. “Good. I don’t want you to be sad. Besides, Alpha is almost here.”

As if on queue, there was a knock on the door. I smiled at the thought of seeing Mark. I ran to the door and flung the door open. The moment Mark saw me, his jaw dropped.