Moonlit Bonds

Daisy Louise Harmony Thompson POV (Name given as part of Witness Protection program) “Hi, welcome to Sneakz Burger Emporium. I’m Daisy. How can I help you today?” I spoke through the mic of the drive-through headset. “Ah yeah, can I please have one of your Sneakz Classic Sizzle Steak Burgers?” A woman’s voice came back through the headset's earpiece. “Sure can. Which sauce would you like on your Sneakz Classic Steak Burger?” I replied. “Ah, now that’s tough, as I’ve never been here before. What would you recommend?” The woman spoke again. “Although it does depend on your personal preferences, if it were for myself, I would most likely go for Uncle Mateo’s Secret Sauce. However, this sauce has three versions: light and tangy, mild, and hot. Any of these can make the burger taste different. Since it's your first time here, I recommend you try the light and tangy.” I reply. That’s when a male voice chimes in through the mic, “What’s the Volcanic Sauce like?” I had groaned internally, knowing all too well where this was heading because it was hardly ever sold to anyone. Besides, it’s more suited to were-beast over humans, not to say that can’t handle it. It's just that they are more likely to end up hospitalised from the Volcanic Sauce and then try to blame us for selling it to them even though we go out of our way to warn customers against it beforehand. This is also because, in some rare cases, the sauce can be fatal to humans, and a family tried to sue the company over it. However, all of our drive-through conversations are recorded for training and customer quality purposes, and the warning is written on the top right-hand corner of the drive-through menu to cover us in those moments. I had to do my best to compose myself for the very conversation that was about to happen. I knew I had to explain why I hadn’t suggested the Volcanic Sauce as a potential option; I was ready to face-palm, knowing how this would go. “Sir, the Volcanic Sauce option wouldn’t be a choice that I would generally suggest to anyone…” I paused to what humans would call to take a breath, but I used the second to sniff the air, and I looked back at Uncle Mateo, who was doing the same thing; as I looked at him, I could tell he couldn’t smell anything that suggested that the male voice had come from a were-creature of any species. Still, some use masking sprays to hide their scent for one reason: common for wolves on the run or who had to be hidden like me. As I began again, “… as it isn’t for the faint of heart and has been known to hospitalise and even can be fatal to people in rare cases. Reasons vary from case to case, but most range from being too spicy for the person's digestive system to having an allergic reaction due to one or more of the ingredients that make up the sauce. I would advise against trying that one, but if you were to go for it, I would have to advise the kitchen to only put a small amount of the Volcanic Sauce on the burger for your safety. Or the other option is that we could put it into a container on the side so that you can test your tolerance first. Then, you can add it to the burger as you see fit. This is only a recommendation at the end of the day, as I don’t know how well you tolerate spicy foods normally, so at the end of the day, it's your call.” I replied softly and tried to let out the breath I was holding, knowing it wouldn’t come out until I knew his answer. I wasn’t sure if it would be my lucky day, but the woman’s voice made a weird noise and said, “Ah, give us a moment, deary. We need to think about what sauce to use for a second.” “No worries at all. Let me know when you're ready to finish making your order,” I said once more before turning off the mic on the end of my headset. The breath that I was holding only half came out, as it seemed to know that this wasn’t the end of the conversation regarding the Volcanic Sauce; however, for the moment, there was at least a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel—well, I can only hope there was. For some unknown reason, our warning about the sauce was like some weird dare to try it and disregard the warnings completely, like the cartoons I had seen growing up in the human world, where there is a warning label not to push the red button. Still, the cartoon character feels compelled to push it to discover what will happen if they do, which usually means 99% doom to everything around them. I could have sworn I heard a growl from a were-beast coming from the other end of the headset. I know the growl didn’t come from the woman in the car, as it wasn’t a female growl. Also, humans don’t growl, and I could smell her as a human, so it was easy to rule her out. ‘Nah, can’t be. Come on, you're just hearing things. You are still on edge after that rogue wolf came into the diner three weeks ago and said weird things about your late father’s old pack and something regarding a rogue Alpha, rogue king, or something along those lines.’ I tried to swallow my thoughts and feelings, but I subconsciously took my wolf pendant between my thumb and index fingers. Something I was told never to do, as someone might work out who I am and what the pendant meant. Luckily, that rogue wolf was high on ice, so once Uncle Mateo’s security restrained him and removed him from prying eyes, Alpha Logan Steel’s men came and took him. He went to Alpha Logan’s pack, as it was the closest pack to the human territory to where this Burger joint stands, which rogues should know better if they were hunters, let alone go near unless they were clean and on their best manners. Especially one that boards on another pack’s territory. I had to breathe, calm, and compose myself, but when I looked at Uncle Mateo’s face, I knew I wasn’t hearing things. His wolf, Sneakz, was trying to get out and deal with the situation; after all, he had been my protector for as long as I can remember. I also had to hand over the headset to another female staff member and head into the stockroom, which hid a special safe room in case the wolf was there for me. But now, other members of Uncle Mateo’s security had also been quick to move, and one of them was a female trained to work as a staff member who was the one to take my place in these situations. Her name is Millie. She looks and sounds similar to me, so most people hardly notice, but she knows just what to say if, by some chance, they do realise the difference. However, a were-beast most likely will, but the differences are barely noticeable to a human. That’s when the front doorbell went off; as customers entered the door, it was none other than Alpha Maison without his twin brother, Alpha Jackson and their Alpha unit. Great, that's one more problem we don’t need right now. Alpha Maison is the eldest of Alpha Logan’s sons, and since both Maison and Jackson are twins, they are the heirs of the pack that I happen to have to live in with my adoptive human parents and Uncle Mateo. Which is meant to be for my protection, so I have been told by just about everyone. I wondered if my day could worsen when I noticed Maison watching me. His unit must have seen it because they began to make fun of him. This allowed me to get to my safe room in the diner, where I was closely followed by one of Uncle Mateo’s guards. “GROWL,” roared from outside of the diner. ‘What the hell is going on? Has someone found me?’ The thought that ran through me, along with fear, seemed to get Maison’s attention. I have no idea why, though he hated me for some reason. ‘No, it's nothing. He probably also heard growls from outside, which got his attention.’ My safe room also had cameras and an auto, so I knew what was happening outside. This was so my guard, and I knew if and when it was safe to come out, and if the s**t hit the fan, we were to take the hidden passage back to Alpha Logan’s pack from a panel only I knew about besides Alpha Logan and Uncle Mateo. Although Uncle Mateo trusted his guards, he knew he could only trust them to a point. Each of them had been a rogue at some point in their lives, either exiled, on the run or even just liked living independently from pack life for one reason or another. Also, Uncle Mateo knew that those who had been a rogue from one point in their life were easier to turn for the right price if it meant they could live another day. Like most humans, rogues could be easily swayed by money, or for some rogues, being offered a chance to join a pack after exile would be more than enough to get them to do something they normally wouldn’t do. That is not to say that rogues aren’t nice people. Most generally are nice people; they have had a hard life, either growing up or after being kicked out of their old pack. And for many of them, it isn’t their fault. However, that’s all hearsay, as we rarely get the whole story from either party for varying reasons. Alpha Maison and his Alpha unit took their seats, pretending nothing was happening. However, it wasn’t unusual to hear growls this close to the Moon Diamond pack; regardless, this was considered human territory. I stood at the main counter as Mille had taken the drive-thru headset just in case. Alpha Maison watched me from his seat at the diner. His Beta Dean noticed, giving me a smirk that could only mean one thing: I was going to get yet another round of the stray is in town comments. Delta Carter and Gamma Tristan seemed to be up for their usual banter. Beta Dean noticed Maison watching me as usual. “Dude, if I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were attracted to that weirdo, " he teased. That’s when Jackson strolled into the diner. His face looked grim, but he was otherwise uninterested in the situation going on outside. That wasn’t a big surprise. He walked over to the counter to be served. “Alpha Jackson, what can I get for you today?” I asked, just trying to do my job, not that it made a difference, I won’t be fired. As Uncle Mateo owned the burger joint, I could have just gone upstairs to our apartment; he wouldn’t have cared. I stood there waiting for the usual smirk of disgust to appear on Jackson’s face at the sight of me, but to my surprise, it wasn’t there today.