THE ALPHA’S UNWANTED PLUS-SIZE MATE

Chapter 9

Clara’s pov

The first sign was the way my wolf went still.

I was wiping down the counter after the lunch rush when it happened, sudden silence inside me, like she’d stopped pacing and locked onto something outside the diner walls.

The heat in my chest flared once, sharp, then settled into a low, watchful burn.

I paused with the rag in my hand and glanced toward the front windows.

Nothing looked different. Main Street was the same as always, two trucks parked outside the hardware store, a woman walking her dog, the usual afternoon quiet.

Marnie came out of the kitchen with a stack of clean plates. “You freeze up for a reason or just daydreaming?”

“Thought I heard something.”

She set the plates down and followed my gaze to the window. “Street’s empty. You good?”

“Yeah.” I went back to wiping, but the feeling didn’t leave.

My wolf stayed locked on whatever she’d noticed, tense and quiet in a way that made the hair on my arms stand up.

Frank came in a little later for his second coffee of the day. He took one look at my face and frowned. “You’re jumpy. Something going on?”

“Just a long morning.”

“Uh-huh.” He sat at his usual spot and accepted the cup I already had ready. “You hear about the strangers out by the old mill road?

A couple of the construction guys mentioned it this morning. Said a small group passed through last night, looked rough, didn’t stop to talk. Probably just travelers, but people get nervous when folks don’t stick to the main roads.”

I kept my expression neutral even though the heat in my chest pulsed harder. “Didn’t hear about it.”

“Well, now you did. Keep your doors locked, yeah? Millbrook’s quiet, but quiet doesn’t mean nothing ever happens.”

“I will.”

He nodded and opened his paper, but he watched me over the top of it for a few extra seconds.

I poured a refill for another table and moved on, trying to ignore the way my wolf refused to settle.

She was focused outward, like she could sense something the human part of me couldn’t name.

I took my break early and walked the two blocks to Theo’s shop.

The afternoon air felt normal, but every time a car passed I felt my shoulders tighten. Theo already had the coffee going when I stepped inside.

“You look worse than usual,” he said, sliding the cup across. “And that’s saying something.”

“Thanks.”

“I mean it. You okay?”

I sat at the counter and wrapped my hands around the cup. “Frank said some strangers passed near the old mill road last night. Rough-looking. Didn’t stop.”

Theo’s expression didn’t change much, but his hands stilled on the towel he’d been using. “Yeah. I heard the same from the bakery guy. Said they cut through the trees instead of using the road. It gave him a bad feeling. Said one of them looked right at him even though he was inside.”

“You think they’re still around?”

“Probably not. People like that don’t usually linger in a town this small. Still.” He glanced at me, eyes steady behind his glasses. “You living alone above the diner. Just… be careful walking back at night, all right?”

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know. I’m still saying it.” He leaned on the counter. “You get that look again. The one where something’s pulling at you. Is it the same as before?”

I hesitated. The heat was stronger now, reacting to whatever my wolf was tracking. “Sort of. It’s hard to explain.”

“You don’t have to. Just don’t brush it off if it gets worse.” He grabbed a napkin, wrote his number on it, and pushed it across. “Text me if anything feels off. I mean it. I don’t care if it’s two in the morning.”

I took the napkin and folded it into my pocket. “Thanks.”

“Don’t be stubborn about using it.”

“I’ll try.”

Back at the diner the afternoon dragged. Every time the bell over the door rang my shoulders tightened.

Every time a truck passed on the street my wolf lifted her head.

The heat in my chest never fully faded. It stayed low and constant, like a warning I couldn’t interpret.

I caught myself staring out the front windows more than once, searching for something that wasn’t there.

Marnie noticed near closing.

“That’s the fifth time,” she said, drying her hands on a towel. “You expecting someone?”

“No.”

“Then stop looking like you are. You’re making me nervous.”

“Sorry. Frank’s story got under my skin a little.”

She leaned on the counter and studied me. “Good. Means you’re not completely reckless. Lock the upstairs door tonight.

And the windows. I don’t care if it’s warm. And if you hear anything that doesn’t sound right, you come straight down and wake me. I sleep light.”

“I will.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise.”

She nodded once, still not fully satisfied, and went back to counting the till.

I finished the side work in silence, the heat still present, my wolf still watching something beyond the edge of town.

That night I locked the door twice, checked the windows, and sat on the edge of the bed with Theo’s number on the nightstand.

The second letter from Kael was still in the dresser drawer. The coffee can of tips was under the mattress. Everything is ordinary and mine.

I tried to sleep. The dream came anyway, same clearing, same silver thread, but this time the trees at the edge of the clearing felt watched.

When I reached for the thread the gold light in my hands flared brighter than before, and somewhere far off I heard the sound of wolves moving through underbrush, restless and uneasy.

I woke with a start, the real heat in my chest strong enough that my fingers tingled.

The room was dark and quiet. Nothing moved outside the window.

I sat up, pressed both hands against my sternum, and waited for my heartbeat to slow.

My wolf was still alert, still focused on something beyond the town limits. She didn’t feel afraid. She felt… noticed.

I didn’t know what the strangers were. I didn’t know why their presence made the heat in my chest burn hotter.

I only knew that for the first time since I’d arrived in Millbrook, the quiet human town didn’t feel completely safe.

And whatever had passed near the old mill road had felt me too, even if I didn’t understand how or why.