The Alpha's Uncovered Mate

5

When I left home to come to Oregon, I crossed state lines, entering another wolf pack's territory. The dominant wolf pack in Portland is an aristocratic family. Since Oregon is huge, I never expected to run into any wolf shifter from their pack, especially not in a seedy little bar like Silver Brawl. But if one did come in there, it might cause a problem. They might not like the idea of me entering their turf. It depends on how territorial they are.

I sink my teeth into my lower lip.

This is not good.

Not good at all.

"Aisha?"

I nearly jump out of my skin when I realize Harry is standing next to me.

"Y-Yeah?" I stammer, one hand on my racing heart.

My brother gives me an odd look, "Can we have lunch already? I'm starving."

I get to my feet, "Alright."

He watches me while I move around in the kitchen, boiling some potatoes, "Why can't we have meat?"

On the surface, his complaint sounds childish. But I know his body is craving meat.

I glance out the window, feeling desperate. It's a thought I've considered now and then, but venturing into the wilderness surrounding the city can be dangerous. There are more chances of running into a wolf shifter there. I can't afford the meat, and the only other way to get it is to hunt.

My fingers tremble as I take out the boiled potatoes, and I force my voice to be steady, "Soon. We'll get some meat soon."

I don't know how many more jobs I can do. Even my body has its limits. My rib cage is starting to show, and that worries me. If I'm weak, I can't protect Harry. Maybe I should try hunting some rabbits or something for us, just around the edge of the forest.

Anxiety fills me.

If anything happens to me, Harry will be all alone.

I'm trying not to take any necessary risks.

I pack some of the raw mincemeat in the potato cutlets before frying them. I take one while Harry gobbles up the rest. However, he tries to give me some of his.

"Why do you eat so little, Aisha?" He asks curiously.

I lean over and pinch his cheek, "Because when you eat, I feel full."

"That doesn't make any sense," he makes a face.

I laugh lightly, "It makes sense to me."

"You're weird."

"Alright," I get to my feet. "Just for that, you get to do the dishes. All of them."

I hear him groaning as I walk away, and my lips twitch.

After the park, I'm going to sleep till my shift starts. At least, that's my plan. However, my phone begins ringing, and I stare at Henry's name on the screen. Reluctantly, I answer, "Hey, Henry."

"Aisha, listen. Tom isn't coming in for his afternoon shift. He's got some family emergency. There's not a lot of work in the afternoon, and I have to head to the airport to pick up my son. Can you take Tom's shift?"

I run agitated fingers through my hair, "My new semester begins tomorrow, Henry. And I still have the night shift. I need to sleep right now."

However, Henry refuses to give up, "I'll give you double the overtime. Or triple. We have a few day drinkers, Aisha, but they pay well, so I can't have nobody there."

I let out a sigh, "How much is triple?"

When he names the amount, my eyes widen, "Ah, I'm on my way."

I hear him chuckle, "I've never seen somebody so motivated by money. Alright. I have to leave in an hour. I'll see you soon."

I hang up the call and look in the direction of the kitchen, where I can hear Harry eating. He's going to be so mad.

Before saying anything to him, I hurry next door and knock on Maddie's door. She opens it in a couple of minutes, "Now, how did I know it was you, Aisha?"

"Maddie," I give her a beseeching look. "I need a favor. A huge one."

Maddie opens her door wider, "Of course he can stay here."

I don't know how she knew, but I just gave her a tight hug, "I can never thank you enough!"

As I hurry back to pack Harry's lunch so that he can take it over to Maddie's, she calls out, "Yes. You can. By putting some meat on those bones of yours!"

Harry grumbles, complains, whines, and even latches on to my leg, but I manage to get him to Maddie's apartment. Fortunately, while he looks miserable at having our Sunday together cut short, Maddie manages to bribe him with cookies, and his mood lifts.

However, the upset look on his face is carved into my memory as I make my way to work. I had promised myself that I would give Harry a better life, but is this sort of life any better than what we had? I can’t feed him properly, I can’t give him the attention he needs, and I can’t make him happy.

I can sense his loneliness.

I oftentimes try to reassure myself that this is just for another year, tops. Things will change. Once I have a proper job, I’ll be around more, and he can eat as much meat as he wants. But a year is a long time. And each time he gives me that look filled with misery, it breaks my heart just a little bit more.

I drag myself out of my thoughts as I reach the bar. Taking a deep breath, I walk inside.

The only time I've been here in the afternoon is when I came in for my job interview. There had been a few people around then. The place is dimly lit, with some match playing on the large TV screen. A few of the tables are occupied with people eating lunch, some watching the reruns of the game, whilst others are on their phones or with a newspaper. The bar has a couple of people as well, a few of them stinking drunk.

Hurrying to the backroom, I drop off my things in my locker before making my way to the bar.

Henry is already there. He seems to be in a rush, "Okay, you just handle things here. I've called somebody to help you, just in case."

I frown, not understanding what he means, but before I can ask anything, he's already out the door.

He had other options, and he chose to call me?

Despite my slight irritation, I pick up a bottle of tequila and pour myself a shot, "Who cares? I'll be buying a s**t ton of meat tomorrow."

Feeling slightly gleeful, I drain the shot, enjoying the temporary buzz.

The first half of the afternoon is quite boring, but once my shift begins around nine in the evening, I'm beginning to feel tired as more and more people show up. To my surprise, sharp at nine, Tom also shows up.