An Unlikely Mate

Too Close for Comfort

He kept bumping into her, no matter how hard he tried not to, she was always there. His only solace was her two nights off a week. He'd just had two nights of peace and was now tensing up as he waited for her to come in. He was sitting at the bar polishing glasses when the bell above the bar door rang. His head whipped up. It was Amelia. She smiled at him. A warm, genuine smile. It sent warmth through him before his stomach flipped with dread. To his deismay she walked right up to him and sat down on a bar stool across from him.

"Anything exciting go down while I was gone?" she asked.

He avoided her gaze and mumbled a "not really".

She folded her arms across her chest and crossed on leg over the other. "Is something wrong?"

The way her skirt rode up caused his throat to tighten and his palms to sweat. That feeling of his wolf form trying to break free crept up again. "No, he said. He put the glass and towel down hard, too hard, and walked away. He went straight to the office to find Lucious.

"Either you fire her or I will reject her," Alexander said the moment the office door had clicked shut behind him.

"What reason do I have to fire her? She could come at us with a wrongful termination lawsuit. You know you can't reject her."

"Oh can't I? Alexander's eyes flashed red.

"You know as well as I do that humans don't always survive rejection. You can't subject her to that."

Alexander sat down and put his head in his hands. "You don't understand..."

"I'm not heartless, I understand this is hard. But why don't you open up to her? Give it a hsot?"

Alexander looked at his friend sharply. "You know I can't do that. I can't spit on Rebekah's memory that way."

Lucious sighed. "Rebekah wouldn't wnat you to be miserable like this. For centuries. She'd want you to forgive yourself and find happiness. We live too long to spend it miserable."

"Rebekah would've wanted to live. To be here with me still." his voice cracked as his emotions threatened to swallow him.

"Alright," Lucious said with a sigh. He'd given in. "Give me time to find her replacement and a reason to let her go. Lack of work isn't going to fly."

Alexander nodded. "Thank you." He stood and left the room, taking a moment to collect himself before heading back to work.

The bar was packed. It was Friday night and everyone looked about as drink as they could be and still stand up.

Amelia was waving him over. He steeled himself and went to the bar.

"Alexander, please, could you run and grab a full restock? I'm running low, but none of us can get away right now."

He nodded and stalked toward the back room. He grabbed a box and put one of every bottle he could fit into it and took it back to the bar.

Amelia was pouring drinks, taking orders and keeping up conversations with customers like it was nothing. She was a natural at this job. He hated that because of him they couldn't keep her. She would be a great asset. He pushed his thoughts to the side and brought her the box. She was busy, so he began to unload it himself. He stepped back and bumped into a warm body, the thrill it sent through him told him exactly who it was. He quickly turned, causing Amelia to stumble over him. He caught her and helped her get her footing. The shock wave that ran through both of them threatened to undo him and it was clear Amelia was confused... and excited.

"What where you're going..." he grumbled before quickly leaving the bar area. He made a beeline for the door and stumbled out into the alleyway. He barely cleared the doorway before vomiting into the gutter. Denying himself his mate when she was so close was making him sick. How long could he handle it?