Alpha's Influence

Chapter One | The Dollface and the Puppy

***Amber's POV***

    "Excuse me." The omega squeaked, rushing away from him. She was halfway to the kitchen before adding: "Oh, also. Please feel free to sit anywhere. Someone will be out soon to take your order."

    "Thanks love." One of them said. In total, there were three boys and two girls. And one of them was her mate. She watched as her mate growled at the one who slouched down at a booth, propping his feet on the table after calling her love. 

    "Marco." He growled.

    "Sorry, bro." The man said, putting his feet down and raising his hands in defense.

    So, they were brothers? Now that she got a good look at all of them, all the boys looked rather similar. Perhaps they were all brothers? They all had the same handsome features. High cheekbones, chiseled chins, defined jaws. Especially her mate. She felt heat flush to her cheeks as she thought that; although, whether it was out of embarrassment or anger, she couldn't say. She didn't want a mate.

    She rushed back into the kitchen before any of them could stop her, taking a deep breath and leaning her back against the wall. Her wolf was jumping with excitement and anticipation because they had found their mate, but she herself was outraged. Why did she have to find him now? While her life was a mess and she was working at a cheap diner. Why not later in her life, where she would have a professional career and her mental state wasn't a wreck? She looked around for Stacy, but only found the cook in the kitchen.

    "Hey Dean, where's Stacy?" She asked him, trying her best not to sound irritated.

    "I think she took a smoke break out back." The tall man behind the stove said, flipping an egg at the same time.

    She nodded her head in thanks and headed over to the freezer and filled a cup with ice. The kitchen door flew open and another waitress walked in, placing some orders down and prepping drinks. 

    "Angela, could you please take table 6?" Amber asked her quietly, popping an ice cube into her mouth before crunching it down hard. It was a nervous habit she did when she was anxious. Somehow it helped her relax.

    "You mean the table with the hot guys? I think two of them have girlfriends, so I totally call dibs on the other one." The waitress said, hand on her hip.

    Amber's wolf growled territorial at that. She was about to say nevermind, but she stopped herself. She needed to talk to Stacy. Popping another ice cube into her mouth, she shook her head. "Actually, he has a girlfriend. He's a friend of mine." Amber said nonchalantly through a mouthful of crunched ice.

    "Well then," Angela exclaimed. "If he's your friend, why don't you take their order?"

    "Because," Amber said, glaring at her. "We're fighting right now." She lied cooly. "And, I need a smoke." She added quickly, heading for the exit at the left side of the kitchen. "Thanks, Angela, I'll give you twenty bucks later." Then she dashed out the door, only hearing an exasperated sigh from Angela before she heard the kitchen door open again.

~~~~~~~

***Lucas's POV***

    He was tapping his foot on the ground nervously, sitting on the edge of the booth with his eyes glued to the kitchen door. He frowned. His wolf was whining to see her again, to smell her again. Just then, the kitchen door flew open and his entire body jumped up like an excited puppy. His rage escalated as he saw it was not her, but another waitress walking out of the kitchen. The girl was pretty, with blond wavy hair that went past her breasts and with tan skin. Then he thought of how beautiful his mate was, with beautiful silvery hair and ivory skin. He smiled at the thought of her.

    "Hello, I am Angela and I will be your waitress today. What can I get you guys to drink?" She said politely.

    "I'll take a diet coke and she'll take a sweet tea please," Antony said with a smile, grabbing Marleen's hand in his. She glared at him, snatching her hand from his. "I can order for myself." She said harshly before looking back up at the waitress. "Yes, a sweet tea please," Antony growled quietly at her, bringing his focus back to the menu.

    "And we'll take two coffees." Marco, his other brother, said with a smile as he ordered for himself and Andrea.

    Andrea was his fiance. They were not mates, but the two insisted that they were madly in love and the mating bond given to them by the moon goddess didn't matter. Andrea had already found her mate and Lucas found it rather odd she could let him go so easily. He could never imagine leaving his mate now that he had found her. Lucas was almost positive that if Marco ever found his mate, he would immediately leave Andrea.

    "And what about you handsome?" The waitress said, snapping him back to reality.

    "I'll just take a Pepsi." He muttered quietly, not making eye contact with her.

    "Sure thing." She said, jotting it down on her notepad before lowing down to his ear and whispering in his ear. "So, I heard you've got a girlfriend. That true?"

    His stomach knotted in disgust as her breath brushed his ear. Normally, he might flirt with her a little before going home. Except now he had found his mate. "I'm taken." He remarked, finally meeting her eyes.

    "Oh, I see."She said sadly before rushing back to the kitchen.

    He glanced quietly at the menu. He hadn't eaten anything since lunch, yet he was no longer hungry.

    "Cheer up, Lucas. I'm sure she'll come back." Marleen said with a confident smile. "I'm sure of it."

~~~~~~~~

    When Amber finally exited the kitchen, she let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the wall next to Stacy. "Finally, some peace and quiet." She whispered and threw another ice cube into her mouth before crunching it down.

    "Hey Chica, want one?" Stacy asked her, offering her a cigarette.

    Amber declined and shook her head. She looked at her friend with a sad look in her eyes and noticed Stacy's smile fade and turn serious. She always did that when Amber acted this way: just looking at her friend for comfort as if she was a fragile glass that was in the midst of cracking and breaking.

    Stacy hugged her, rubbing her back. "What is it this time Chica?" She asked her quietly, not breaking their hug.

    Amber wanted to cry. She wanted to so bad. She refrained herself, knowing she had to be strong. "Stacy...I-" She felt the words get stuck in her throat and she swallowed. "I found my mate."

    "What? Chica that's wonderful!" Stacy yelled, pulling away to look at her face before hugging her tighter and letting her go.

    "No, it's not, Stacy. I can just look at him and tell he's a spoiled brat!" She whined. "He's wearing a nice suit and walked in with these other fancy people and I-" She was interrupted by Stacy. 

    "Look, Chica. If that's the case I know he might remind you of Leon and when you were still in the pack, but you shouldn't be so inclined to judge him based on looks. If you give him a chance, he might just change your life for the better." She smiled, poking Amber on the nose. "Now, my break is almost over and I need to go finish some orders." And then her friend was gone, rushing back into the kitchen.

    After a while of leaning against the wall and crunching on ice, Amber finally decided to go back inside. She needed to count the money in the register before she left and her shift was almost over, thank the moon.

    When she was back inside, Amber noticed that Angela had lost all her snarky remarks. Amber knew she should feel bad for her or even remorse, but all she felt was the joy of knowing Angela probably got rejected. She chewed on some more ice before refilling her cup and frustratedly walking out of the kitchen.

     Almost as soon as she walked out, that intoxicating smell filled her nostrils again. She gritted her teeth as she looked up to meet his eyes. She felt frozen in her place, yet somehow managed to stick her tongue out at him and scurry away behind the counter and to the register. Before she opened it and started counting the money, a customer came up to pay his bill. He must have come to meet the girls she was serving earlier because he also smelled like drugs and booze. He looked to be in his late 20's, and she sighed as he approached the cash register.

    "Finally, I was wondering when I was going to be able to pay my bill." He said with a charming smile.

    "Sorry sir, we've been quite busy this morning." She said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Werewolves had a keen sense of smell and the smell of alcohol she was getting from him felt suffocating. She hated alcohol with a passion. The smell, the taste, the effects.

    She took his ticket and began to tally up the numbers. Normally there was a calculator nearby, but she couldn't seem to find it.

    "Yes, you do seem rather slow tonight. Perhaps you would like some help?" He said in a low, breathy voice as he leaned slightly over the counter.

    She got a huge whiff of booze from his breath and almost gagged. Not only was it the smell, but it was the fact that he was hitting on her. He already looked tussled up, as if he had already had some fun tonight. She was about to reply when she heard someone clear their throat and the intoxicating smell of her mate and the smell of booze started filling the atmosphere. She was going to be sick.

    "Sorry, I've just been waiting to pay my bill for quite some time." He said nonchalantly, looking down on the male customer who still hadn't stopped looking at her after he asked if she wanted help.

    She picked up her almost empty cup of ice and her head back. The ice came crashing down on her face to which she flinched, but then relaxed as she felt the coolness of it. She took a few cubes into her mouth and nodded her head.

    "That'll be $19.50, sir," she said politely as she could through a small mouthful of ice. Her voice sounded weak and tired.

    He smiled, pulling out his wallet and handing her a twenty-dollar bill. She went to take it, except his grip was firm on it. When she looked up the man's eyes almost immediately met hers. Her stomach churned with disgust as she ripped the money from his hand and stuffed it in the register. She heard the low growl from her mate. Heat flooded her cheeks and ears. It probably looked like she was blushing, and maybe she partly was, but she was also upset that he had the nerve to do that when she was handling the situation.

    "Thank you, come again." She said, not smiling this time as he stood there silently.

    "You heard her," her mate said in a low voice, inching closer to the man. "Leave. Except do not come again." He growled, and the man's eyes widened before he darted out the door looking as if he had seen a ghost. She felt a mixture of anger and fondness at that. He was protecting her, yet at the same time, she did not want his protection.

    "Hello." He said.

    She looked back down and started to count the money, purposely avoiding his eye contact. "Hey." She said quietly, trying to focus on the numbers. Her head hurt. "So where's your friends?" She said, not looking at him. She couldn't stand how close he was, making his scent stronger.

    "They left a few minutes ago. I offered to pay the bill." She finally glanced up at him."What's your name?" He asked. His voice made her feel butterflies. What was he doing to her?

    She merely pointed to her name tag, which had the fake name of "Amelia" spread across it in bold letters. Well, it wasn't a total lie. Amelia was her middle name. She had to have a fake name because her real name would bring along too many problems for both her and Stacy.

    "Here," he said, holding up a one hundred dollar bill. "I'm Lucas, nice to meet you Amelia." He emphazied Amelia, as if he knew it wasn't her real name.

    She narrowed her eyes. "You only owe us $15.60. Don't you have a twenty?"

     When he didn't answer, she went to grab the change but stopped herself. He had folded the bill into his hand, holding it in such a way their hands would have to touch. 

    "Well?" He asked impatiently, moving his hand closer towards her.

    "Dirty little trick," she growled at him before zapping her hand out to try and pinch the bill out of his grasp. He stopped her with his free hand, holding her wrist. Sparks flew from their touch and a shiver went down her spine. A small grin moved to his lips before he loosened his grip, allowing her to reel her hand back. She growled at him.

    "Sorry, dollface." He said quietly, meeting her eyes.

    Her breath hitched in her throat. A pet name already.

    "No you're not, you prick." She spat.

    "No, I'm not." He said, putting his elbow on the counter and resting his chin on his hand. She felt her body tense up as he inched closer to her face and she licked her lips.

    Her wolf whimpered. She wanted to kiss him, suck on his charming smile. She watched as his eyes traveled down to her lips before back up to her eyes. She clenched her jaw, snatching the cash from him and stuffing it in the cash register without breaking his eye contact. She wanted to look at his lips so bad. To taste them. 

    As if snapping out of a trance, she suddenly bit the inside of her cheek so hard she bled. Dammit, Amber! Snap out of it already!  She thought to herself.

    She could feel someone's eyes digging into the back of her head and glanced over to see Angela standing there, not looking happy. She shifted her feet uncomfortably, reaching for her cup of ice only to find that it was empty. She gritted her teeth. She needed something to occupy her, so she picked up her pen and started clicking. And clicking. And clicking. Until her mate reached down and grabbed it from her.

    "You alright dollface?" He asked, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

    "You look cute like that." She said, poking at his forehead between his eyes with her index finger. His eyes widened at that and she gave him an apologetic smile. "Don't be so uptight all the time, puppy." And then she took his change out of the cash register and held it out to him, holding the folded bills just as he had. He smiled a quirky grin and she felt butterflies in her stomach.

    "It's the tip." He said with a smile, his head still propped upon his hand.

    She felt her heart drop, "Oh..." She said quietly, looking down. Of course, he wanted to tip Angela. Who wouldn't? She was gorgeous! Her wolf whimpered. She felt reality like a slap in the face and all the stress she had felt today came flooding back to her. She felt hot tears form in her eyes and she turned away to grab her cup. She needed ice. She needed to calm the urge to crush something between her teeth, to calm the urge to crush Angela's neck between her canines.

    As soon as the thought hit her she whimpered loudly, receiving some odd looks from the few customers that were still at the diner. She felt Lucas lean even more over the counter, heard his concerned breathing speed slightly up as he tried to see her face. She sucked in a breath before nodding her head. "Okay, a tip. I'll go give it to Angela." And then she started walking towards Angela, seeing the smug look on that b***h's face when she saw her tears. She tried to furiously blink them away.

    Before she knew what was happening, she felt a strong bicep wrap completely around her petite arm. She saw Angela's shocked face reflecting her own as she was turned to face the other way. The arm slowly traveled and snaked around her lower back. The sight she saw made her breath hitch in her throat. There was Lucas, practically fully on top of the counter at this point. Everyone was staring, and at this point, even Dean had come out of the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about. She felt everyone's eyes on them, and she especially felt the daggers shooting out of Angela's eyes and to the back of her head. 

    She cleared her throat, trying her best to tear herself away from him, but his grip was firm. She couldn't move. She looked up at him, her lips pouting. She hated all this attention. She just wanted to disappear. As if he got the message, he let go of her and got back off the counter.

    "Alright people, your orders are almost done!" She heard Dean yell, and then the normal conversations of the customers continued. "Angela, I need you in the kitchen." He said, pointing his spatula at her. She groaned, glaring at Amber once more before disappearing into the kitchen. Amber gave Dean a thankful smile before he followed Angela and disappeared back into the kitchen.

    She let out a breath, rubbing her temples. Her head was pounding.

    "You okay?" Lucas said, and she looked up at him.

    "Sorry, I-" the words got caught in her throat again. Why was she such a mess? She wanted to cry again. "I guess I'm just really stressed right now." She opened the register and took out his change again. "You should just keep this." She said, handing it out to him.

    He frowned. "I meant it was a tip for you, doll face." 

    "Just take it, I'll never hear the end of it from Angela if I kept it." When he made no move to take it back, she pressed her money against his chest with her hand. She could feel his heartbeat, and she felt her shoulders unvex. "Please." Her voice cracked.

    "Fine." He said, grabbing her hand and putting the money in his pocket. Her eyes widening as he didn't let go of her hand, but instead brought it up to his mouth and kissed it. Her wolf wanted to howl in excitement. She couldn't help but smile.