The Alpha's Hybrid Mate

Chapter 6

The next course was Bottone pasta stuffed with chicken, its consommé, "Bonito" tuna and fermented Umeboshi plum, the waiter explained while setting down the plates. Raffaele watched as Vanessa licked her lips and dug in. Nobody could resist carbs, especially not when they were presented like this.

Over one hour into their date, he was still trying to solve that enigma that was Vanessa. She was not like the other girls he dated. Not that he had dated a lot, but he wasn’t completely new to this. Her voice was soft, and she didn’t talk much about gossip or clothes or makeup. She also didn’t take pictures of every dish they received, he noticed, his nose crinkling involuntarily as he was thinking back to one very specific girl he had gone out with once, who spent the entire evening either taking selfies, taking pictures of the food or editing those pictures so she could post them on i********:. She barely touched the food, incessantly blabbering about some diet she was on. What was ketosis anyways, and why had she ordered food she couldn’t eat in the first place? Apparently, because it would look good on her stories. What a waste. When she asked if she could see him again, he fled from the doorsteps of her apartment as fast as he possibly could.

He noticed Vanessa staring at him.

“Don’t you like pasta?”, she asked, looking at his untouched plate.

“I do, I’m sorry, I was just… uhmm… thinking,” he stammered, and picked up his fork.

“I do apologize if I don’t talk much while eating, but I am used to eating alone,” Vanessa shifted nervously in her seat, slightly flustered and afraid he would think she was boring.

“No, please, it’s alright. I don’t mind being silent with you. We can talk whenever you want to talk,” Raffaele smiled at her, trying to put her at ease again. She seemed to accept his remarks, as she took another sip of her wine and continued eating.

When the waiter returned to clear their plates, Raffaele asked him to give them a little break before bringing the next course. The waiter silently nodded and turned away after refilling their wine glasses again. When they finally were by themselves again, Raffaele enquired “Why are you eating alone? Don’t you live with your family?”

Vanessa looked down at her folded hands as she murmured “I live with my mum, but she… doesn’t eat.” As if she realized what she just said, she quickly added “with me. She doesn’t eat with me, I mean. She works a lot”. Raffaele noticed that she was holding back something, but he didn’t want to probe any further. She would tell him when she was ready to, and he would try his best to patiently wait for her to open up.

“How about you? Do you live with your family while you’re here?” Vanessa asked while turning towards him, giving him her full attention.

“Yes, I do,” he replied, “I live… in the packhouse with my parents and my little brother.”

“Tell me about them,” Vanessa encouraged him to go on.

Raffaele wondered if he should tell her about his father being the Alpha of their pack, but decided against it. Too many times had this information changed a girl’s perception, and it was never a good change; they usually started clinging to him, hoping that he would choose them to be his future Luna, and although he didn’t expect Vanessa to react this way, he was still wary about it.

“Well, I’m part of the Badia Mountain pack, and I live there with my parents and my little brother. I mostly love staying there because of my mum, she makes the best food,” he said dreamily, the love for his mother evident in his sparkling eyes. “But I also enjoy being in Milan. I live on my own, that gives me a little more privacy than living in a pack. I know, I’ll have to come back after I finish my studies, that makes me enjoy it even more.”

“Why do you have to come back?” Vanessa enquired. “If you like it better being by yourself, why don’t you stay there or, I don’t know, anywhere else?”

“It’s… complicated. But I have… uh… obligations. My family allowed me to leave for university, but they do expect me to return afterwards. It’s alright, though, this is the place where I want to be. Being away for now is just like a little vacation,” he explained, a determined look on his face. He knew his responsibilities, and he wasn’t going to shy away from them. All he had asked for were a few years to do what he wanted, to further his studies. It would benefit the pack if he had a proper education. His father had reluctantly agreed with him. That was the only reason why he was allowed to leave. He strongly suspected that his mother used her influence on his father. She was always on his side, she knew that he would eventually take over his father’s position. Although many Alphas took over their pack when they turned 18, he didn’t want to start running it without having experienced anything in life. Not only that, but he wanted to be a good leader, he wanted his pack to become stronger, better, and he knew he could only do that if his whole heart was into it, without wondering what could have been if he only had taken the opportunities he had right now.

“How come you are not part of a pack, Vanessa?” He was genuinely curious about that. She lived so close to the pack grounds, and attended high school with the other wolves, but she wasn’t part of their pack, but lived just outside their borders.

“Uh, my mother is not… part of the pack… I guess, so, you know, neither am I.” Her reply was worded carefully, and he could tell that she was trying to tell the truth but didn’t want to give away all of it. Something was weird, but he couldn’t put his finger on it just yet. He wanted to ask about her father, but again, he felt like that would only make her even more uncomfortable.

Raffaele nodded to the waiter, who was discreetly standing in the opposite corner of the room, indicating that they were ready to proceed with their meal.

They didn’t have to wait long until they sat in front of a steaming plate of spaghettoni with garlic, oil, red chilli and king crab. Raffaele thanked the Moon Goddess that werewolves had a fast metabolism, so they could enjoy a large meal like this without having to fear any consequences. Although he might have to go for a run afterwards, just to burn off some of those carbs. He watched Vanessa enjoy every bite, her tongue darting out every so often to lick the sauce off her plump, rosy lips, and he was glad he brought her here, glad that she agreed on this date even though she had no reason to trust him at all. He couldn’t believe they had only met the night before, he felt so comfortable around her, it seemed they had spent a lifetime together. On the other hand, he knew nothing about her. Even though he could tell she hadn’t been lying about anything, she was keeping part of herself hidden from him, and he was eager to tear down those walls and conquer all of her. He wondered how many questions she would allow him to ask tonight, without running away from him. He wanted to see her again, so he tried to hold his curiosity at bay to not scare her off.

While they were sipping their wine, waiting for the next course, he tried to probe a little further, as he just had to know. “Would you consider being part of a pack?” He couldn’t leave his pack, but she was his mate. Raffaele didn’t know what he would do, if he had to choose between them. He didn’t want to be without her, couldn’t imagine losing her after having finally found her, but his family’s legacy was weighing  heavily on his shoulders.

He could see her eyes darting around, as if she was looking for an escape from this question, and he nearly blurted out that she should forget about it. But he stayed quiet. How far could he go, how well did he want to get to know her if he couldn’t be sure that she would stay with him? And if she wanted to stay with him, she had to become part of the pack, if not now, at least at some point in the future.

“I…,” Vanessa nervously licked her lips, weighing every word she was about to say as to not disappoint him. “I have never thought about being part of a pack, to be honest. I would need some time to think about that, if you don’t mind.” She looked at him pleadingly, hoping he wouldn’t push any further and demand an immediate answer.

They were interrupted once again by the waiter who brought their next course. Lamb, black garlic, tender creamy spring onion, celeriac and mint hollandaise sauce. He could hear her sigh, thankful that he couldn’t press on at this moment. We need to know if she wants to be with us, Lucio growled in his mind. Don’t worry, we have to take it slow or we scare her off. Let her think about it, Raffaele tried to calm his wolf.

But in the meantime, he promised himself that he would do everything he could to move the odds in his favour, by getting to know her better and making her understand that if she wanted to be with him, she had to be with his pack as well. Not just as a pack member, but as their Luna.