Two Years Ago

                                                                                     Ashton (Ash)

    

   

“ Somebody looks expensive tonight,” I heard Cohen say from across the room.

Laughing, I said, “You the one to talk to?” He looked like a gentleman in his suit and bottom-up shirt. This guy spends most of his time in jeans and a T-shirt. Looking at him, I can't tell if he was my best friend by how well he cleaned up.

Fixing his tie, “Tonight I'm looking for the love of my life,” he said with a wink.

If anyone else hears him talking like that, they’ll think he is a big player when, in turn, he is just a big romantic softie man, except when he is not fighting.

“It's a restaurant opening, not a" find your mate night,” I remind him; we are opening our third restaurant tonight  “The Bolden'' It is a big thing for us because the pack depends on our business to go well, even though everyone has their own little thing going on for them. Those businesses are for the pack, so when we have to make a good impression on the opening with so many other pack members coming, it's nerve-wracking not for me but for them because some of them are enemies, and I don't want to fight in the restaurants.

“I said the love of my life, not a mate” Cohen bought me out of my head.

“what's the difference between that?” I ask him because I don't see the difference, but knowing him, he will have some corny explanation for what makes the difference.

“ Are you two coming?” my brother peeked inside the office to tell us everyone was waiting for us.

With one last look in the mirror together, we followed my brother outside, where the car was waiting for us with Harley waiting for us since he was the designated driver for the night, not that I was going to be drunk; they don't like it when I drive, act like I'm going to kill them when I'm behind the wheels, they even call my driving is the type for a getaway job.

“ What took you guys so long?” Harley asks while he drives the car out of the gate, we are the only ones left, and I've been getting texts from my parents asking when we are getting there; I'm assuming everything is going well so far.

  I was lost in my thought that I didn't realize that my wolf Ghost was excited; that was something new “What's going on?” I asked him, but as usual, I got nothing; leaving it alone, I watched as we drove to the restaurant. It was thirty minutes later that we pulled up in the parking lot. I was shocked to see that many cars were already there.

“ Looks like we have a full house?” my brother said once we were out of the car.

“ Yeah, we know what that means,” Harley reminds us; we don’t know who we might meet tonight; together, we walk inside doing our greetings since we were very late; I decide to stay clear of my parents cause I don't want to hear my mom goes “ son how many times do I have to tell you, being late is not a good for business” even now I could feel her eyes on, but I didn't look back.

   Throwing back my shot, I walk out through the back door, only to be met by the incredible smell. It's like fresh coconut; moving towards the smell, I met the most beautiful person I have ever met. “It’s our mate; don’t mess this up,” Ghost says in my head, now I realize why he was so excited the whole night.

“Oh, hi, I didn't think anybody would be out here,” her sweet voice said, and I almost felt right here and there and asked her to marry me.

Clearing my throat, I say, “Uhm, it's fine; I just came for some fresh air,” 

“I don't blame you; I didn't know there would be so many people here tonight,” she says.

I couldn't agree with her more because I didn't expect so many of them to show up; curiosity got the best of everyone since this is our first restaurant in town, so it would only be fair for everyone to come and check it out.

“ Me neither; looks like the whole town shows up,” I told her; I watched her closely because she didn't give off the vibes of a regular wolf; she’s most likely an alpha from which pack I don't know. “  Which pack are you from?” 

“ why? Though we were having a nice conversation,” she said with a smile; while she came to stand in front of me, with her standing toe to toe, I could see the deep brown of her eyes and plum lips that were begging me to kiss them.

“ Nothing wrong with a nice conversation,” I took a step towards her, “ but I want to know where my mate comes from, don’t you think?” 

“ You say I’m your mate,” she asks with a hint of a smile. “We are two strangers who happened to bump into each other.”

Smiling, I say, “We're about to change that, ain't we?” I ask her since she wants to play; I don't mind playing along one bit; I do know that tonight we ended up together.

“ you so full of yourself if you think I'm going just to agree to be your mate” Raising my eyebrows at her, she continued, “I'm not as easy as you might think; you want me as your mate. You are going to work for it,” she said, before turning to walk back inside but someone else came out.

“ MATE!! Who’s your mate ?” the old man asked her with a bit of fear and excitement.

“ Daad, come on, you are embarrassing me,” she whispered, but her dad wasn't listening because his eyes focused on me. Since I enjoyed the drama too much, I approached them and shook his hand. I knew he was the Alpha of the Vargas pack.

“ Alpha Ashton! Oh, you, my daughter’s mate, “ he asked, and before I could say anything, I heard, “ MATE!!! Who’s mate?” It was my mother, and I knew this would not be over anytime soon.

Walking up to me, my mate whispers, “That's all your fault; now look at it” She points to where my mom and her dad are chatting.

“ It would've happened if you weren't running away from me.” I reminded her, rolling her eyes at me; she left me standing there and went to get her dad to walk inside. If she thought that was the end of the little chaos outside, she was wrong because once we got inside, my parents announced that I had found my mate in the Vargas pack. It's none other than the Alpha daughter Lilia, the future Alpha. From across the room, I could feel her eyes shouting dagger at me, and if she could kill just by staring at me, I believe I would've been six feet under.

Right after the introduction, she walks out, and I knew if I didn't go after her and get her number, I wouldn't get a chance to do so; catching her by the elbow, I say, “Leaving so soon?” 

“ After what just happened, I couldn't leave fast enough,” smiling at her. “What do you want with that cheesy smile on your face?” 

“I mean, we are mates; after all,  we….” Stopping me, she said, “You don't have to remind me of that, dont forget im going to be Alpha next month, and im not leaving my pack; you want to talk, come over” She got in her car and drove off, leaving me to stare at her tail light. 

With my hands in my pockets, I smile, thinking this will be fun, and I can't wait to get to know her.