The Green Witch and the Alpha

Chapter 10: Samantha

After thankfully uneventful sleep, I woke up feeling slightly more rested despite a sore body. We had been taking inventory and moving fall garden starts around all week. It was much harder physically than my previous jobs in corporate America but I’d much rather be doing this. The plus side was that it made me so tired, there were no unnerving dreams of being chased or seeing people crushed by monstrous vines last night.

I stood and got out of bed; my body rebelled. I definitely need to get some stretches and coffee in before starting on today’s project.

Hold up, Ian is bringing me some coffee in a little bit and I shouldn’t overdo it, the responsible part of my brain interjected.

Coffee now would help me finish waking up and function better. But with the slight amount of nervousness I felt about seeing Ian again, the risk of being an over-caffeinated, over-talkative, jittery mess later was real. That was not the version of myself I wanted Ian to see. After washing my face, I reached for my toothbrush and it registered that I had already brushed my teeth.

Coffee was needed now. Stat.

After a few sips, I texted Cora about my order. She’d already seen my text from last night, giving a heads up that he would be stopping by. I asked her to just make me my regular coconut milk latte but skip the extra shot this time. She texted back a thumbs up emoji; they were probably really busy this time of the morning.

While I moved through a gentle morning yoga routine, I thought about my meeting with Ian later. Part of me loved the certainty that a relationship with him would bring and wanted to run straight into his arms to tell him I was all in.

The other part of me screamed, “That is crazy! Do not pass go, do not collect $200, do not jump into something serious with a man you just met.”

I finished getting dressed in my favorite black leggings with rainbows and kittens and a black T-shirt with the name of an obscure punk band I once saw in Atlanta. My hair was pulled into a low bun that would hopefully stay somewhat neat. It wasn't my first choice outfit for a coffee date, but I needed to dress comfortably for work. The morning was cloudy and kept the air cool enough I thought about grabbing a hoodie, but I didn't want to run the risk of getting sweaty before Ian showed up.

About 15 minutes before he was due to show up, I told Mimi I’d be back after taking a little break.

“Oh a break sounds good! I’m ready for one, too,” Mimi said, putting down the tablet she was noting inventory on. “Wanna hang out under the big oak?”

I braced myself for her reaction.

“Well, Ian is bringing me coffee and we’re going to talk a little. You know, get to know each other better.”

Mimi's eyes narrowed while she kept her gaze on me.

“Samantha Hilary Tobin, you set-up a coffee date with this hot-ass werewolf man, made what I’m assuming was a conscious decision to dress like that for it, and worst of all: didn’t tell me until now!”

I rolled my eyes before replying, “First of all, my middle name is not Hilary, Mom.”

She mumbled something about figuring out my middle name eventually.

“Secondly, it wasn’t even planned until last night right before I went to bed. I called Ian and after we chatted for a while, he asked if we could see each other today,” I walked to the sink to wash my hands. “And why do I have to tell you anyway? We're adults. We don’t need a chaperone.”

Mimi grinned mischievously, “Didn’t Ian say he was supposed to ‘court’ you, like something out of a Jane Austen novel? Maybe I should come sit in, make sure the both of you act like respectable adults.”

She was probably kidding but just in case, I needed to shut this down. Now.

“Nope. Absolutely not. You stay the hell away, Mimi, or I will cockblock, poon-block, whatever-block you for the rest of your life. Also…”

I placed my hands on my hips and stared her down, “I will tell you-know-who that you’re the one who set the you-know-what on fire.”

“Okay, okay, wait! I’ll concede defeat this time,” she said, then pointed at me. “But I want final say on your outfit the next time you see him. What are you even wearing?”

“No, constructive input only, and what’s wrong with this? He knows I’m working and it’s similar to what I was wearing the day we met.”

Mimi threw her hands in front of her with exasperation, “Well, at least tie it or something to make it not so…baggy. Right now, you look like a goth grandma.”

“Goth Grandma would be a great name for a band,” I said, halfway serious.

Mimi chuckled, “The merch alone would be worth it.”

I put my arms down after she finished tying the hem of my shirt into a knot in the back, which pulled it closer to my body. Mimi was always on me to show off my curves more.

“Alright, now he can see that you have titties and an ass,” Mimi said, giving me a once over.

“A fat ass, and a belly,” I countered, and moved to untie the knot on my shirt.

Mimi swatted at my hands, “Stop! Leave it alone. Everyone has a belly, Sam, and I guarantee he likes your fat ass. Caught him staring at it when you walked up the steps the other day.”

“I knew it! You were spying on us. From where?”

“I’ll never tell. Now go get that alpha d**k, Sam! And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“That’s a very short list,” I retorted.

She grinned and shooed me off. I walked around to the front of the main house and saw Ian had already arrived. He was getting a large box out of his backseat with the logo for ‘Strange Brews and Bakery, Too’ on it. He was wearing charcoal slacks, a light blue button down, and had his hair pulled up in a neat bun. Way neater than mine.

Oh my word, Mimi was right; I look like a goth grandma and he looks like--

My thought remained unfinished because Ian looked in my direction. When he saw me, his face lit up with the most gorgeous smile and I think I stopped breathing for a moment. I gave a little wave and started walking toward him again. He turned to place the box on top of his car and I took those few seconds to smooth over my hair and pull the knot out of my shirt so it hung loose again.

He turned back around and his smile faltered a little bit while looking at my shirt. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn it after all; the band’s logo had a demon baby vomiting on it. It may have been too much.

“Hi,” my voice came out a little breathy.

“Samantha, good morning,” Ian’s smile came back full blast. “Cora and Dakota sent muffins for everyone. Where should I take them?”

“Oh, I can take them. I’ll put them on the front porch and text everyone to let them know. Thank you for bringing them.”

After I set the box of muffins down on the little table we keep on the porch, I took out my phone to send the text and saw a couple of notifications. Cora had sent me a gif of a cartoon wolf with heart-eyes and his tongue rolling out of his mouth. Mimi had sent a group text to me and Alex with a series of emojis, including an eggplant and a peach somewhere in the middle; I don’t even want to know what the rest meant.

When I walked back over to where Ian was standing, he handed me my cup of coffee and a small bag.

“It’s a cinnamon scone. Cora said it’s one of your favorites.”

“Aw, thanks! There’s a little sitting area under that tree canopy. It’s away from any of the work areas so I was thinking we could sit there.”

He grabbed his own cup of coffee and another bag, “Lead the way, my Lady.”

I felt so self-conscious walking in front of him and tried to discreetly tug my shirt down a couple of times to make sure my rear end was covered. Guess it wasn’t as discreet as I thought because when I stopped and started to turn around, Ian was looking at my butt.

Ignoring it, I gestured to the chairs, “Make yourself comfortable.”

We both sat down and started in on our coffee and treats. Ian opened his bag and pulled out two raspberry muffins.

I took a sip of coffee, “Mmmmmmm, this was exactly what I needed. Thank you for bringing me this. You’ve probably saved Mimi’s life this afternoon.”

Ian chuckled, “Happy to do it. Who is Mimi? Was she here the other day?”

I nodded, “Yeah, she was here. A little taller than me, curly brown hair.”

“I remember her. She was in the greenhouse watching us when we were talking to Moira,” he looked at me with his eyes crinkled. “Connor said you were there, too, but I only saw two blurs running away and Mimi standing there waving at us. He was convinced you were spying on us.”

“We weren’t spying, we were just curious about our visitors. We were supposed to meet the three of you anyway.”

I shrugged and took another sip of my coffee.

Here goes nothing.

“We thought you heard us talking because you all looked over at the same time. I think it just startled us and that’s why we ran.”

A look of amusement crossed Ian’s handsome face, “Dave and I noticed Connor staring at the greenhouse and looked over because of him. We didn’t hear you but we were also focused on what Moira was saying at the time.”

Oh, thank goodness, thank the Goddess, thank whoever and whatever that they didn’t hear us.

Before he had a chance to ask us what we were talking about that day, I decided to steer us in another direction.

“Speaking of Moira, she has some books about werewolves and mate bonds that I’ve been reading. I noticed there are specific phrases used for both claiming and rejecting a mate.”

“There are,” Ian replied evenly. “Although most werewolves nowadays skip the one for claiming and go straight to mating and marking. The times I’ve seen it used, it was because there were concerns about fully accepting a mate. Then they talked everything through and decided if they wanted to accept or reject each other.”

There was a noticeable shift in his demeanor. He seemed more serious, a little somber. Was that sadness I was picking up on?

“You seemed upset when I said I was claiming you the other day, so I’ve held off on saying it officially,” Ian looked at my face, his deep brown eyes so serious. “I would like to do that, Samantha, and I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

“I appreciate that, Ian. Just out of curiosity, does it affect anything if we claim each other and then decide to reject each other later?”

He nodded, “Rejection is painful on both a physical and an emotional level. Officially claiming each other strengthens the bond, so if it is broken after that point it’s more intense.”

My jaw dropped; this was a lot to process.

Ian noticed my reaction, “It only affects werewolves that way, though. You won’t feel anything.”

He put his coffee cup down and turned to me.

“Samantha, there’s something else. We talked about being exclusive and monogamous last night. Once a mate bonds snaps into place when mates meet each other, werewolves can feel what we call 'betrayal pains' if their mate is intimate with someone else. The pain level has been compared to childbirth and heart attacks. Again, you will not feel the pain, but I will. All I ask is that if you feel like this is not working and you want to pursue someone else, please reject me first.”

Ian’s face was so serious right now, and this time there was no question that it was sadness I was picking up from him.

“Well, betrayal pains aside, that’s a shitty thing to do to someone,” I replied. “Thank you for telling me, though I have a clarifying question. What level of intimacy are we talking about here? Would hugging or kissing a friend on the cheek trigger this?”

“No,” he stated, “there has to be mutual s****l arousal and contact for it to happen.”

“So, since we’re on the subject anyway, what’s the story behind Moira being the reason you haven't been with anyone in three years?”

He told me about the conversation in his office the first time he met Moira, when we were first moving here. I couldn’t help it and started giggling.

Ian smiled and his eyes sparkled at me, “You have the most beautiful smile and laugh, even if it is at my expense.”

I felt my cheeks blush; this man was smooth.

“Thank you, I guarantee Moira knew what she was doing,” I said, “But she probably didn’t expect you to wait that long.”

He chuckled a little at that, then broke his second muffin in half and gave it to me. Both of us seemed more relaxed now so we talked about our backgrounds a little. I was kind of vague about some things, but shared where I’d grown up, how I joined this coven, and told him how my family disapproved of me being a witch so we weren’t that close now.

Ian told me that his mother passed away in a car accident when he was in college. His dad never recovered emotionally and was ready to hand the pack over to Ian as soon as he finished law school at 25. He ended up moving to the Florida Keys because he was still grieving over Ian’s mom and wanted a change of scenery. Ian would usually visit him in the winter for a week or two, and then he and his dad would meet in a different location for a week every summer.

Soon, it was time for me to get back to work, so I walked him to his car.

“Thank you again for the coffee and the treats. I really enjoyed our chat.”

He smiled down at me, “When can I see you again, Samantha? I know you’ll be in the city tomorrow but would you be up for something tomorrow night?”

“We’d already planned on staying there tomorrow night. Coco offered us her condo since she’ll be here for the weekend. We’ll be back midday on Sunday. Are you free that evening? I could cook dinner. Although, fair warning: I’m vegetarian.”

He smiled, “That sounds lovely, Samantha. I’d like that.”

I told Ian I’d text after we returned on Sunday to let him know what time to come over. He started to get in his car when we heard Moira calling out to him.

“Mr. Alpha,” Moira sang out, “I had a quick question about the crew that's clearing off the land for the expansion.”

“I’ll see you later, Ian,” I said, then turned to leave.

“Looking forward to it, beautiful,” he replied in a soft, low voice.

As I passed Moira, I whispered to her, “Don’t you dare say anything that keeps me from getting laid for the next three years.”

Moira gave me the same lopsided smile as Jimmy.

“I wouldn't dream of it, darling.”