chapter 7

I had been in a bad mood ever since my encounter with Heather. I decided to skip the breakfast rush and have Jack and Melissa open up for me. I was still really upset that she tried to accuse my dad of keeping her away from me, even if he did she could have fought for me, she could have taken him to court and got visitation, but she didn't and that speaks for itself.

I spent my morning cleaning up the house while listening to classic old R&B records. The house hadn't been properly clean since my father's death, everything that he had left lying around was still where he left them. One thing about my dad is, he was a very messy person, so in a weird way having his mess around comforted me, it made me feel as though he was still living here and that he was just on vacation but the day has come and it was time to clean up.

Even though I wanted the house to be cleaned I stayed clear of my dad's room because I wasn't ready to go through his things. I wanted some things to stay just as he left them. Bed unmade, clothes scattered across the room, bottles of water on his dresser next to the same cologne that he has put on every morning since I could remember.

I had cleaned the kitchen, both of the bathrooms, my bedroom, the living room and the dining room. Once I finished cleaning the house, I fixed myself a baked florentine omelet.

Since I had grown up in a restaurant my cooking skill had grown to be above average, thanks to both my dad and Jack. Even though my dad wasn't a chef he was a very good cook and helped out from time to time and even occasionally added things to the menu.

When I got done eating and cleaned my dishes. I got the dress to head to the restaurant. I took a shower and dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt with our logo on it and Nike gym shoes, I left my hair in its natural curls and decide against makeup besides a thin layer of lip balm.

When I arrived at the restaurant it was busier than it had been in a while. Since the opening of The Red Café, we weren't as busy as we use to be so I was surprised when the restaurant was packed with a line of people waiting to be seated.

"Why are we so busy?" I asked Melissa. "Not that I'm complaining," I added as I put on my apron.

"It's Mother's Day." She smiled. I nodded before getting to work.

Mother's Day wasn't a holiday that I had to celebrate since I was a child, therefore, I wasn't as familiar with the date unless it had to do with the restaurant because it was one of our busiest days.

In my younger years, it was a hard holiday to get through. I didn't understand how my mom just disappeared from my life without an explanation. As I got older I begin to not let the holiday bother me. My dad definitely helped to fill the void that she had left. But with him being dead and her showing up it did kind of bother me especially seeing all the mothers here with their children. I tried to ignore the pain and went to work.

The rush was pretty much over by the time it hit 2 p.m., we still had a few customers but there was no longer a long line. "Remember the guy that I told you about, the one who's asked about you." I nodded. "There he is." Melissa pointed behind me to a man who could potentially be the most attractive man I've ever seen. I could tell by the way he carried himself that he was a few years older than me at least in his mid-twenties.

He was tall, like taller than most basketball players, he had broad shoulders and judging by his muscular physique he mostly likely worked out every day. He has light green eyes and his hair was dark brown and he was also sporting a thick beard. I usually wasn't into guys with beards but on him, it just made him look even sexier.

"Mate!" He growled as if he was some type of wild animal.

"Alex, what's a mate?" Melissa asked from behind me.

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ALPHA RYAN

"Happy Mother's Day, Mom."

When I woke up this morning the first thing I had done was called my mom to wish her a Happy Mother's Day. My mom and dad were still on vacation, so Lily and I weren't able to celebrate with her, but I had sent her a gift which she had received yesterday morning. She had called me later that day to thank me, even though we had spent a few minutes on the phone I told her I would still call her today.

"Thanks, honey! How's are things in the pack, and the restaurant." She said sounded as though she had just woken up.

"Great, we're in the middle of trying to expand, and the packs has been well."

"That's great." She yawned. Her and my dad were currently in England, and since the time difference, it was later at night.

"Well, I'll let you get back to sleep. Love you mom."

After hanging up with her, I showered and got dressed in basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I headed to the backyard where the pack fighters were training. Training had started later than normal, I had given them the morning off to spend with their mom and or spouse.

"How are they doing?" I asked Tyler.

"Okay, but I think we have a couple slackers." He pointed to the three pups in the back of the yard.

It was Charlie, Jason, and Eddie, three teenage wolves that all looked hungover, they were laying on the ground under the tree. It took a lot for wolves to get drunk, because of how fast we burned things off, so for them to be hungover proves that they must have drunk a lot of alcohol. Believe me, I know. Even when I use to spend all evenings at the bar, when it came to pack work I made sure no one knew and that I was completely sober.

"Alpha." They bowed and stood up when they saw me coming over to them

"Do you guys know why training is important?" I asked them.

"Yes, to prepare for if there's an attack or for war," Jason answered, and the other two nodded in agreement.

"Correct." They smiled. "But what good does that do, if you guys are HUNGOVER OFF YOUR ASSES AND CAN BARLEY STAYING FOCUS."

They were all a bit taken back by me yelling and so were the others around us. I wasn't a mean Alpha, so when they saw me yelling I was sure that they were shocked. "So-Sorry Alpha." They all apologized.

Doing things in wolf form were a lot easier than in human form, and it also took longer. "Yes, Alpha." they bowed and ran to the beginning of the track and began. "Daniel, keep an eye on them." He nodded.

"100 laps in human form, now," I ordered.

I stayed for a little while after to help Daniel and Tyler with training. While they helped the older wolves, I helped the younger pups that had recently shifted improve their fighting techniques.

Afterward, I had to make another trip across town to once again try to talk with the owner of Mel's Dinner. Each time I had gone there to meet her, she had been gone, I was growing tired of this routine so I decide that if she was not there this time that I would just give up and have Willie look into another location.

I pulled up and surprisingly they were busy, unlike each time that I had gone there. Willie had told me that since we had opened, their business had been decreasing, so I feel like buying them out will in the end benefits them as well.

This time, when I walked inside, it felt differently. My wolf was whining, and I had no idea why. It also smelt differently to, usually when I walked in it smelled like food and humans, but today it smelled like lavender.

I looked around the restaurant and my eyes locked with a girl who was standing next to the same girl who I met the first time I came here. She had blonde curly hair and dark brown eyes. She had a slim figure with a good amount of curves that was accentuated by her tight jeans and t-shirt. She was beautiful, beyond beautiful. She was also...human.

"Mate!" My wolf growled.