The Alpha's Hybrid Mate

Chapter 4

Huffing impatiently, Raffaele was going through all the clothes he had brought with him. No, no, not this, horrible, absolutely not… he mumbled to himself. Angry with himself that he didn’t have time to go buy something suitable, he settled for some black trousers and a dark blue, long-sleeved button-down shirt. He decided against wearing a tie, and just left the top buttons open. Looking at the clock, he cursed lightly. Merda (s**t), it was too late to shave. The five o’clock shadows would have to do. Combing his hair by running through it with his fingers with a small amount of hair gel on them, he looked in the mirror. He looked like a child that was invited to a chocolate factory, his green eyes sparkling with excitement, but a tiny fraction of his mind couldn’t help but wonder if he would screw this up. And what would happen to him if he did. He hadn’t known Vanessa for long, hell, he didn’t actually know her at all, so why was she already so important to him? She’s your mate, scemo (i***t), Lucio chuckled.

Ignoring his know-it-all wolf, Raffaele quickly slipped on his shoes and walked out of his room. His father was sitting in the living room and questioningly looked at him.

“Where are you going?”

“Out,” was all he answered, before closing the door behind him with a soft thud. He was still upset at his father and hadn’t yet told anybody that he had found her. His mate. The other half of his soul. The one he longed to hold in his arms for the rest of his life. The one he dreamed of at night.

He was just on time when he approached her cottage. Only a small, unpaved dirt road led to her home, so he had to go slow, but because he managed to leave a few minutes earlier, he wasn’t late. Taking a deep breath, he got out of the car and approached the front door to knock. When it opened, the intoxicating smell of stone pine emerged, and he froze when he saw her. She looked beautiful. The simple black dress was hugging her in all the right places, making his palms itchy with the thought of running across the soft material. Her hair was long and shiny, held up on one side by a sparkly clip. Her face was bar any make-up, not that she needed it because she was a natural beauty. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath, until she whispered “Hi”.

Unable to hold back a smile, he answered “Hi, Vanessa” and the sound of her name warmed him from within. He stepped aside so she could come out and lock the door behind her, then led the way to his car. He opened the passenger door of his dark grey BMW, and she gracefully slid in and put on the seat belt. He carefully closed the door and went around the car. Sending one last prayer to the moon goddess, he got in and looked at the girl next to him. She seemed nervous, but gave him a tentative smile, so he started the car and slowly maneuvered to turn around and get back to the main road.

The drive lasted about 20 minutes, and they didn’t talk, but just listened to the soft music from his Italian Oldies playlist. It wasn’t uncomfortable though, it felt like they didn’t need to say anything to communicate and they were content with just being next to each other. He wanted to know what she was thinking about. Vanessa was sitting next to him, looking out of the window, and watching the different towns they drove through fly by. She hadn’t even asked where they were going. His palms were a little sweaty, he hoped she would like the restaurant he chose; it was one of his favourites.

Raffaele had experienced his fair share of dates, he was twenty years old and living away from his family. What he found out was that most of the girls that went out with him were fairly shallow, interested in him because of his money or his good looks, but none of them really captured his mind. All they wanted was to go to fancy restaurants and for him to buy them gifts. Of course, he didn’t care about them much either, and only kept them around for company and so he wouldn’t have to go to the clubs and bars by himself. His friends had girlfriends as well, and he had grown tired of being the fifth wheel when they went out. But this was different. She was different. She hadn’t commented on his car, or his outfit, and it seemed like all she cared about was spending time with him, regardless of where he brought her.

Finally, they reached their destination, and he parked the car. He went around and opened the door for Vanessa, offering her his hand so she could step out easily. When they touched, sparks ignited his skin like electricity, and he didn’t want to let her go.

The building in front of them was imposing, made of white walls and dark wood. Above the arched entrance were the words “La Perla” in cursive writing. The hotel was not very big, but around here, none of them really were. Built in the 18th century, it had been carefully renovated and modernised, offering everything from wonderful rooms, a bar, restaurants and a spa. In the winter, people flocked here to go skiing, while in the summer tourists came to hike in the mountains.   

They went inside and approached the front desk. A young receptionist smiled at them. “How may I assist?”

“I made a reservation for La Stüa de Michil.”

“Certainly, please follow me” The receptionist stepped around the front desk and led them to the restaurant. There, she wished them a wonderful evening and the maître d’hotel took over. She warmly smiled, and recognizing Raffaele, she welcomed him back and showed them to a small table in the corner of the cozy restaurant. The bench they sat on was attached to the wall and was made from the same dark wood that covered the entire interior walls. It looked very charming and traditional. On the opposite corner of the table, next to a vase with flowers, was a champagne cork with a white index card in it that read “Sig. Raffaele”. The maître offered them the menus and placed the wine card on the table. “Please let me know if you need any assistance. May I bring some water in the meantime?”

“Yes, please, still water, room temperature,” Raffaele ordered. He looked over to Vanessa, and she just nodded, agreeing with his choice.

Left alone, they started studying the menu, but every now and again, Raffaele could feel Vanessa looking at him. He closed the menu and put it down, he had already chosen. “Are you alright? Do you like it?”, he asked.

Vanessa smiled. “How could I not? It is beautiful, isn’t it? Can you recommend anything from here, I heard you’ve been here before.”

He thought about it. He didn’t really know what she liked, but she was right, he had tried almost every dish from here, so he could certainly try and offer some advice.

“What do you like?”, he enquired.

“Everything, actually, I’m not picky and I trust you,” Vanessa stated after thinking about it for a little.

“Alright, if you trust me, then allow me to order for you, ok? We can share, so you can try a little bit of everything.”

She nodded at that.

Raffaele looked at the waiter, who was waiting for him to be ready to order to approach their table.

“We’ll have the Simbol menu, all eight dishes, please,” he told the waiter.

“Would you like to add the wine tasting experience as well or would you prefer to order your drinks separately?”

“Separately, please, if you could bring two glasses of Arunda to start, that would be all for now. Thank you.”

The waiter nodded, collected the menus, and left their table.