Chapter 2: Noah

I smile at seat a customer and her child who smiled just as happily back. I hand them menus before heading to the kitchen area to pick up the order for a group of werewolf teenagers at the booth in the corner of the restaurant. 

"five mega burgers, six medium fries, and two special subs. Ella will come over with your milkshakes in a bit." I smile at them and the one guy smelling like pine thanked me while the other two ignore me and the three girls rolled their eyes while the other growled at me. 

"Missy calm yourself." the one guy kicks the girl under the table while her eyes shift to bright green and I narrow my eyes "Control yourself. We have human children here and I have no interest in your little mate in the damn corner." I snap walking away and they look at me wide-eyed as Ella comes over to place their super large milkshakes.

Ella snickers as we wait for John, the owner, and chef, to hand us our next orders. "They still staring..." she whispers and I pour myself a cup of coffee.

"They can hear you Ella, and Forest eyes thinks I want her mate." I laugh as the group turns to us with surprised looks and narrow eyes. "I'm going to help John, you good here?" I ask downing the last bit of my coffee and she nods.

The kitchen was my happy place, it blocked out people's scents and I could use my special gene to blend ingredients make unique treats, and make sure John doesn't burn anything. 

John and I worked in harmony, I prepped ingredients and finished cooking a few pasta and dishes while he grilled and plated food. "My pack warriors have informed me that you left the restaurant at three a.m again," John comments as I chopped more onions for him. "Why were you here until three a.m again Emi? I told you Twelve was late enough." He says to me gently passing two plates to the kitchen window.

"A few people walked in before closing and I check the inventory because Elisa was coming by with new stock this morning and ... I redid the cheesecake.." I say confidently and mumble the last part and he chuckles.

"I thought as much something tasted different. What did I do wrong this time?" He asks in amusement and I blushed to move on to the tomatoes and peppers. "the ingredients separated... so I remade them." I shrug making him laugh as he plates a pizza and two subs and calls for Ella. "Thank you. What am I going to do when you leave?" he says amused waiting for Ella to appear 

"I found an easier recipe already, I will make you mini versions at clean up and I asked Elisa to come by so you can finally ask her out on that date," I say pulling out the clean up the dish as Ella appears at the kitchen window taking the pizza and sub, "Emi you have a new table and  Can you take the next walk, I have three tables ready to pay." "On my way..." I say putting down and heading out of the kitchen.

I smile entering the dining area with my notepad and pen and walk over to the table where a couple sat, my nasal passage was blocked with the smell of onions but I knew their werewolves from the slight scent of puppy that whiffed around them.

I could get the full picture of the girl that looked like a porcelain doll with her black short-haired, white skin a round shaped face, large hazel eyes, small pink lips, and a button nose but the man that was with her back was too me and head bent reading the menu. I put on my brightest smile walking over to them. 

"Hi, welcome to John's, I'm Emi-" I start and stiffen coming face to face with Noah who was the man that was seated with the porcelain doll. 

I immediately divert my eyes from his widens ones and look down at my notepad then look at the girl with a tightened smile.

"What can I get you?" I say clearing my throat and trying to act cool while the mate that rejected me sat there with who I assumed was his chosen mate Charlotte. 

She smiled at me and then turns to Noah "Babe What would you like?" She asks sweetly and I shift from foot to foot as he clears his throat awkwardly "Anything you want is Fine Char..." he says to her. 

I stiffen looking at the perfect untarnished mate that replaced me. I couldn't bring myself to hate her, she seemed sweet, kind, and innocent unlike me who had hunters' blood, tarnished blood as Noah called it when he rejected me. 

"Call when you are ready to order," I say stiffly backing away from the table and from the love-struck girl that blushed at the man sitting there arrogantly eyeing me and her.

I sigh deeply going behind the counter collecting a few orders and carrying them over to their respective tables while watching a bright-eyed Charlotte who giggled at something Noah said and entwined her fingers with his.

I go back behind the counter leaning on it and looking down at my inner hand which held a scar from a deep gash I received from the night I saved Noah from The Elite's cell. I can't help my mind drifting to the day Noah found out that Genie was my mother, and stumbling away from me screaming that my mother killed Henry, his beloved cousin, screaming that my blood was tarnished with hunter blood, that I was an unsuitable to be Luna of the Blood Moon pack then the rejecting me in front of a whole restaurant of onlookers and his Marcus, Henry's Father, who smirked at me as Noah snapped the bond. 

That was not the worse part, the worse part afterward was when I refused to accept the rejection. Noah grabbed me by my neck lifting me up from the floor squeezing it and shaking me from my throat screaming at me to accept it as some of his pack members watched along with a few onlookers at the restaurant.

Marcus made him drop me saying he was making a scene which he listened to dropping me on the floor like I was nothing. I coughed on all fours as he crouched down and whispered I was going to regret and boy did I.

Noah used the mate bond against me. He used it as a personal torture device on me. It started small at first, kissing girls in front of me causing a pin and needles to erupt on my lips and neck, then escalated quickly when he realized it was causing me physical pain. He started sleeping around and having me fight the crippling stabbing pain that erupted all over my body.

I remember the scream that erupted from my throat that brought me to my knees and lie on the floor curling into a ball until he was done. 

It became round the clock, happening in school, at work, and at home, luckily Ivy, a friend who was a hybrid helped me through it every single time.

I clenched my jaw circling the scar remembering how Noah treated Ivy as an abomination because she was half-witch and half-werewolf, yet when The Elites captured him it was Ivy and I still went and saved him not his precious pack members and Uncle.

I am immediately brought back to the present by Charlotte's voice and I snap my head up to see the "happy couple" staring at me with bright smiles.

"Excuse me... Emi? right." Charlotte says and I nod with a smile "We ready to order..."

I took down their order and told them it would take fifteen minutes and I will get them their coffees while they wait. I turn away to go put their order in, smiling at John who was at the counter when Charlotte touches my elbow. I quickly shrugged her off turning back towards her with my jaws clenched.

I hated being touched especially by people I didn't know or wasn't comfortable with. Rachel said it was a coping mechanism I developed from the physical and emotional abuse The Elites and specifically Genie and Sheni put me through when I was younger.

"Yes." I snapped at her and Noah growled loudly at me not liking the tone I used on his mate. 

"I don't appreciate you growling at my staff boy," John snapped from the counter noticing my stiffened form from where he stood. 

Noah didn't like that, he did not like being spoken down to by someone he considered lower than him, after all, he was an Alpha and John was just some hybrid.

I rolled my eyes as Noah stood up towering over me and turned towards John who looked unimpressed at him. "You speak to me with respect filth, I am the Alpha Of-" Noah starts in his Alpha voice before being cut off by John, who the voice had no effect on even though he was half-werewolf.

"Boy, You are no Alpha here. I suggest you and your company leave. This is hybrid territory. We protect our own. Now get." John says in a gruff voice and nods towards the door 

I step back as Charlotte gets up and touches Noah shaking angry form and he shrugs off her touch angrily while not taking his eyes off John "You savage lot have No respect. I am an Alpha, you are nothing but a lowly servant." Noah Fumes.

My eyes bug out in shock at how disrespectfully he spoke to John, one of the kindest hybrids that always helped anyone in need.

"Don't speak to him like that Noah, You and Charlotte should leave immediately," I say in warning looking around and seeing the hybrid pack members eyeing Noah dangerously

"Did you not hear John and Emi. Leave unless you would like to be escorted to our Alpha, who I am sure would enjoy listening to your views on his pack members and members under his protection." a new voice says in a posh British accent. We all turn to a smirking Collen, the head warrior of the hybrid pack and according to John the younger brother of his Alpha.

"Come Char. We don't need to eat with these kinds of people. especially dirty tarnished ones." he snaps cupping Charlotte's hand and pulling her towards the exit and out of Johns leaving me feeling gut-punched and hurt again.