An Unlikely Mate

Cold as Ice

Alexander found himself looking at the door as the hours ticked by. She'd be coming in tonight... he hated himself for feeling anything but disgust at the thought. He felt the need to beg Rebekah, his first mate, for forgiveness. She wasn't his first mate, he corrected himself. She had been his only mate. She would still be his mate if he had protected her. He couldn't sit at her grave and talk to her like he used to. Her grave was long gone. What had once been the wilds of Northern Scotland had become a sprawling town. Where her grave had been now sat a museum. Only so much could be done to keep a late medieval era grave of little importance around. He'd had to flee the area, and when he could finally return, her resting place was gone. It felt like losing her all over again.

Lucious was keeping an eye on Alexander. He could see the turmoil going on in his head and heart. Maybe he should've taken back the job offer... But they desperately needed her and Alexander needed a mate. It was time to heal. Lucious had had his own mate. They were together for 400 years before she rejected him and moved on. He could tell she was still alive, but he'd gotten past caring. It had nearly killed him when she'd left him and it had continued to tear him apart, but slowly, over the last century he'd healed and moved on. He was open to finding a new mate, it just hadn't happened yet. He wanted to help Alexander get there too. Even if that wasn't the case, they were desperate for help. The high salary bought in a lot of applicants, none had worked out so far.

Finally, the bartenders and other staff began to filter in. Amelia was among them. She wore the uniform, a fitting black polo with a black bottom. She'd chosen a skirt and tights. You could pick pants or a skirt, but you had to have opaque tights on if you had a skirt above the knee. She tied on the little apron and shoved straws into it's pocket. Her voluminous red curls were pulled into a high pony with some left hanging around her face. She looked absolutely beautiful. Alexander tried to keep his eyes off of her, but he was fighting in vain. He didn't like how men naturally flirted with her and she always had a witty comeback. Great for business, not for a Lycan watching his mate.

The night wore on and Alexander kept himself busy. Restocking from the back room, working as security and bouncer. There were considerably less roudy people tonight, thankfully, but still enough going on that he needed to be brilliant. Human life was fragile, he couldn't allow it to be harmed on his watch.

The night began to wind down as closing time drew near. The bar emptied out and the staff members began clean up. Amelia came up to Alexander with a handful of cash. Her intoxicating scent just about sent him over the edge.

"My tips, how do you handle those?" she held the money out to him.

Her voice was so soft and sweet. It sent a soothing shiver through him. Guilt washed over him as he saw Rebekah's face in his memory. "Keep it," he said gruffly.

She looked a little taken aback by his gruff tone. "You don't split it among all the bartenders?"

"You earned it, why in the hell would we do that?" He was practically spitting his words at her. He needed her to get away from him. His heart couldn't take the pain and turmoil that washed through him.

She shoved the money into her pocket and glared at him before turning to walk away.

He caught himself watching her body move as she walked. He quickly turned around and got back to work bussing tables. He saw Lucious watching him with a disappointed look on his face. He had seen the whole exchange. Alexander didn't care. He needed set firm boundaries with Amelia. Hopefully she'd avoid him if he was cold enough to her.

As he lay in bed that night willing himself to sleep, all he could think about was Rebekah. Her silvery laugh, her long brown hair and the way it felt when she held him in her arms. Everything had been right with the world. He hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about her in recent years. HE'd dissociated the best he could to numb the pain and guilt. Amelia had brought tall back. Why did she have to come into his life? He had to get her out of it as soon as possible.