An Unlikely Mate

Surviving

Pulling himself out of bed was incredibly hard. He felt feverish with aches and pains, but he knew it wasn't anything normal humans came down with. No. He was sick over his mate. He decided he'd work the weekend and then take a couple days off. She'd have the next two off and by then he'd feel well enough to be able to handle her presence.

He made sure to work security and bouncer that night. He was painfully aware that she was there, but he wasn't in danger of touching her.

Suddenly, he felt a strong need to find Amelia. He couldn't sense danger, but something was wrong. She wasn't at the bar. The other bartenders told him she was on her break. He went to the break room behind the bar and kitchen. He opened the door and saw her sitting with a man. His eyes focused on how close they were and their hands. They were holding hands. "Who is this?" he demanded.

"My boyfriend. He wanted to see my on my break," she answered without looking at him.

Alexander shut the door, a little harder than he intended, and pointed at the sign on it. "Employees Only," it read. "Get him out of here."

she threw her hands up. Okay! Sorry!" They stood and left the room.

Alexander followed a couple minutes after. He wished he hadn't. That man had his arms around her and they were kissing. A guttural sound tore from his throat as he turned and went outside. His mate in the arms of another man was too much. He needed to take her and mark her and rip that man apart. He couldn't though... he couldn't do either. He had to just wait it out until she was out of his life.

He composed himself and went back inside. Just a couple more hours and she would go home. She was back at the bar, doing her job. He ignored her and went about his duties.

A drunk group spilled drinks all over the floor, they were laughing and barely able to stand up, so he called them an Uber and made sure they were on their way to their respective homes before going to get cleaning supplies. He groaned when he saw Amelia in the back room. She was stretching to put a box on a top shelf. She hadn't noticed him, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her hair was just so shiny, her skin glowed and her shapely body was perfecly flattered in the outfit she wore. She looked toned enough that he was sure she was a regular at the gym, but she still had enough sofness that cuddling her was probably akin to heaven. A mental image of her cuddled in her boyfriend's arms crashed through his mind. He clenched his fists.

Just then, she noticed him. "What the f..." she said before he walked toward her. Her words lost in a surprised gasp.

"Who is he?"

"Who?"

"Your... boyfriend."

"He's none of your business, that's how he is," she pushed past him. When she brushed against him she gasped and looked up at him. The confusion in her eyes made him want to take her in his arms and reassure her that everything she felt was normal.

"I... just... leave me alone, okay?" she said as she fled the room.

Leave her alone... if only he could.

He did manage to avoid her for the rest of the night. He went home exhausted from all the emotions he'd been fighting all night.

Sunday, the last night before his break, he hoped for a reprieve. But he was off to a bad start when Amelia's boyfriend walked her to the door of the bar. he playfully slapped her behind and kissed her before opening the door for her. She said her goodbyes with a beautiful smile on her face. She was happy with him... However new their relationship was, Alexander didn't know, but she was happy with him. Alexander wanted nothing more than to feel at peace knowing she was happy without him, but he couldn't get there. He was in agony, his heart torn between rage and grief. It felt like losing his mate all over again. He had to stay away from her, he couldn't trust himself.

So when she walked up to the bar and cautiously said hello to him, he stood and walked away without a word. It was his turn to sit in the office and handle numbers and phone calls. He hated that aspect of business, and Lucious loved it, but tonight they needed to swap roles. Lucious was more than happy to do this for him, so he just left a to-list for Alexander and went out to the bar area. Alexander had found a way to avoid Amelia for the rest of the night.