Chapter 1

Phoebe

I’m perfectly calm as I stand in front of my locker, preparing for my daily shift at The Coffee Bean. But my heart nearly jumps out of my chest when Courtney bursts into the changing room like a gust of wind. She is a human and doesn’t know I'm the Omega of my pack - that’s why we get along.

“Oh my god, Phoebe! The hottest guy I’ve ever seen just walked into the cafe!” Courtney exclaims as she opens her locker. Her blonde hair is wild around her face like a mane, and her eyes are livid - like she has seen Jesus himself. “He was so gorgeous!”

I snicker. “You say that about every guy that you see.”

“But this time, I mean it!” Courtney gathers her blonde hair in a ponytail in front of her locker. There are hairpins sticking out of her lips as she talks. “He was ridiculously attractive, and his butt?” she rolls her eyes and sighs dreamily. “I wish I had snapped a picture...”

I laugh. Courtney is single like me, but unlike me, she isn’t afraid of being out there chasing men. I actually admire her for that, even if the other girls our age are spreading around a rumor that Courtney is a slut. She is not - I’m pretty sure she is a virgin, just like me.

“Is that so?” I ask.

Courtney inhales dramatically. “Mhm…”

“Did you ask him out then?”

“I didn’t, but I wish I had...” Courtney places her hand over her chest before opening her locker. We both work at The Coffee Bean. It’s a small cafe where all college students go because it’s right next to our campus. “He was so tall and handsome, and he must have been a hockey player too - he was padded that way.”

I arch an eyebrow. “Padded that way?”

“He was huge!” Courtney exclaims and releases another dreamy sigh. “So sexy… And I could have sworn I’d seen his face before…OH! It’s on that poster right outside campus! Wait… don’t tell me - did I just run into your Adrian? The team captain of the Devil Cats?”

I grow a bit uneasy hearing that Courtney ran into Adrian and that she finds him sexy and gorgeous. She is more beautiful than me and...dang it. More competition is the last thing I need right now. Not that I have a chance with Adrian anyway - he would never be with someone like me!

Adrian is the Alpha of my pack, my childhood friend, and also my crush. He is such a nice guy: loyal, brave, funny, scary intelligent and very powerful. He is close to perfect. His only flaw is that he doesn’t seem to understand why I’m working at The Coffee Bean. He knows that my mother is ill - she has a special kind of cancer only werewolves with the Omega gene can get. But he doesn’t seem to understand that I want to be more independent. Adrian is paying for my mother’s hospital bill right now, something which I’m very embarrassed about. Therefore, I am working hard to pay him back.

“It might have been Adrian,” I say in a shy tone and close my locker. My eyes meet the ones belonging to Courtney. “Should we go and check?”

Courtney nods enthusiastically, and we step out of the changing room. When we are behind the cash register and counter of The Coffee Bean, my gaze sweeps across the cozy cafe until I lock eyes with a familiar set of hazel ones in one of the booths - Adrian.

Courtney elbows me playfully. “Well, is it him?” she asks, grinning.

My heart thuds. Adrian is smiling at me, and, like usual, my body is responding. I want to go to him. But I’m working right now, and I have no idea what I would tell him. Most of our talking happens through text messages anyway since Adrian is a very busy man and Alpha.

“It is him,” I whisper.

“Really?” Courtney lifts her eyebrows at me. “Girl, why aren’t you tapping that already?” she looks over her shoulder and shakes her head. “That dude is a walking daydream. Ask him out before somebody else does, okay?”

I blush and look away from her. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. He is my friend, and...we can’t be more.”

“You never know,” Courtney says with a wink before she takes off her apron. “Anyway, I will clean a few of the tables, yeah? You handle the customers.”

With those words, she takes off, and I turn to face Adrian again. He gives me one of his charming smiles that makes me weak in the knees. Then he saunters over to the cash register, ready to order.

“Good morning, Phoebe,” he says, lips forming a small smile on his sexy lips.

“Morning, Adrian,” I’m a bit flustered under his gaze and clear my throat, hoping I won’t sound nervous. “What would you like to order?”

He continues smiling. “A vanilla latte with an extra shot of vanilla, please.”

“A vanilla latte with an extra shot of vanilla...” I mumble while tapping it into the computer. I then look up with a perfect, sunny smile. “Would you like anything else?”

“Yes,” he says, and his face grows more serious. “Why didn’t you come to the hunt last night?”

My eyes widen. There aren’t any other customers in the line, but I still never expected Adrian to talk loudly about supernatural stuff. Is he insane? What if someone had heard him?!

But Adrian isn’t the type to be careless. He is very rational and never does anything without thinking it through.

“Oh, I didn’t feel like hunting last night. I was tired,” I say with a shrug, trying to sound nonchalant.

Adrian nods, looking at me intently. “Phoebe, I know you’re not telling me the whole truth. What’s going on? Did something happen with your mother?”

I’m unsure what to tell him, so I end up saying nothing. My eyes turn to stare at the ground. I expect Adrian to get mad at me, but instead, he sighs as if in pain.

“Oh, Phoebe, why didn’t you just tell me?”

I bite my lower lip. “Because I didn’t want to cause trouble for you...” I look up. “You’re already doing so much for me.”

Adrian gives me a tired smile. His dark hair is fixed, and he smells like clean clothes, but it’s obvious that he just rolled out of bed.

“I would do anything for you,” he says. “You know that, right?”

Wait, what? He would? I’m touched beyond words and just stare at Adrian. He continues smiling but frowns when his phone chimes with a message.

“I need to take this,” he mumbles. “Make me an iced coffee, okay? I will be right back.”

As he leaves, I notice there are a few girls from the pack heading for the cash register. It’s Linda and her two friends, Sara and Felicia. They are the most popular and beautiful girls on campus and in the pack. They are all very fashionable, but they treat me like I’m worth less than them.

“Good morning, Phoebe,” Linda says as she approaches the counter. She gives me a once-over, and her eyes linger on my plain clothes. I know what she sees - an ordinary girl in jeans and an apron who is nothing compared to her beauty. It’s like she doesn’t think I’m worthy of serving her coffee.

I take a deep breath and paste on a polite smile. “What can I get you?”

“A double cappuccino with extra foam, one shot of espresso, two shots of caramel syrup, a sprinkle of cardamom and nutmeg on top, and don’t forget the cinnamon dusting too,” Linda orders with a smirk.

My heart drops into my stomach at the long list of ingredients for this complicated order. All these flavors together would make an awful combination! But I can’t show how much I doubt her order, so instead, I nod and type it all into the computer as fast as possible before beginning to prepare the awful order for her.

I want to run away and never come back, but I have to finish this cup. I take a deep breath and try my best to make it look right. Finally, I hand her the weird drink combination with a polite smile.

Linda takes one sip of the drink and immediately wrinkles her nose in disgust. “This isn’t what I asked for!” she spits out angrily. She slams the cup down on the counter so hard that it spills over onto my apron and jeans.

“This is unacceptable,” Linda says through gritted teeth as she stares at me with a disdainful expression on her face. “I demand my money back and a free coffee!”

I feel my face flushing with anger. Linda knew what she was doing – she gave me a ridiculous order and then got mad when it wasn’t perfect. But I can’t say that to her, so I just nod and try to keep my voice steady.

“I’m so sorry about that, Linda. Let me make you another one - on the house.”

I turn to make another cappuccino, this time much simpler and without any of the strange flavor combinations that Linda had demanded. But I can feel her eyes on me the whole time, and it’s making me nervous.

When I hand her the second cup, Linda takes a sip and seems to be pleased. “This is much better,” she says with a nod. “I guess you’re not completely hopeless, Phoebe... Well, you are a weak and ugly Omega, but at least your brain is working...somewhat, at least.”

Relief washes over me, but it’s quickly replaced by shame. I hate feeling like I’m worth less than these girls, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

As Linda and her friends walk away, I start cleaning up the mess she made. My apron is ruined, and my jeans are stained with coffee. I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes since taking care of my mother and dealing with bullies is draining all of my energy, but I blink the tears away. I can’t let anyone see me cry at work.

Just then, Adrian walks back into the café. “What happened?” he asks, noticing the mess on the counter and my stained clothes.

I explain the situation to him, feeling embarrassed and humiliated all over again. But instead of getting angry like I thought he would, Adrian turns around. His eyes land on Linda and his friends, and he growls.

“Come with me.”

I blink in confusion. “W-what?”

“Just do it.”

Not wanting to speak against my Alpha, I leave my workstation and follow Adrian as he walks to Linda’s table. We pass Courtney on the way, and she shoots me a “What is happening?” look, and I shrug. I have no idea what is going through Adrian’s head right now.

We stop in front of the girl’s table, and a shudder passes through my body when Adrian claps his hands. I’ve only seen him use his magic once before, but I’m just as shocked now as the first time I saw it when every human turns to ice - Adrian has the ability to stop time. It comes from him being half-angel.

“Linda,” Adrian says in a calm, authoritative tone. “I believe you owe Phoebe an apology.”

Linda and her friends look up from the table. Her friends seem frightened by their Alpha’s presence, but Linda plasters a fake smile onto her lips.

“An apology for what?” she asks.

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Adrian says. “I heard what happened, and calling Phoebe a weak and ugly Omega isn’t okay.”

“And why is that?” Linda challenges. “She IS the Omega.”

I shrink back into my shell, but Adrian doesn’t back away. No, he is...smirking?

“Phoebe won’t be the Omega for very long,” he says and looks back at me. “Because I plan on making her my Luna. That is, if she will have me and let me claim her as my mate through choice...will you?”

The girls gasps in unison, and I do the same because what the hell is happening here? Am I dreaming? Did Adrian just say he plans on making me his Luna? Unlike normal werewolves, an Alpha can claim their own mate, but why me?!