Chapter1
Daisy Louise Harmony Thompson POV (Name given as part of Witness Protection program)
“Hi, welcome to Sneakz Burger Emporium. I’m Daisy. How can I help you today?” I spoke through the mic of the drive-through headset.
“Ah yeah, can I please have one of your Sneakz Classic Sizzle Steak Burgers?” A woman’s voice came back through the headset's earpiece.
“Sure can. Which sauce would you like on your Sneakz Classic Steak Burger?” I replied.
“Ah, now that’s tough, as I’ve never been here before. What would you recommend?” The woman spoke again.
“Although it does depend on your personal preferences, if it were for myself, I would most likely go for Uncle Mateo’s Secret Sauce. However, this sauce has three versions: light and tangy, mild, and hot. Any of these can make the burger taste different. Since it's your first time here, I recommend you try the light and tangy.” I reply.
That’s when a male voice chimes in through the mic, “What’s the Volcanic Sauce like?”
I had grown internally, knowing all too well where this was heading because it was hardly ever sold to anyone. Besides, it’s more suited to were-beast than humans, not to say that they can’t handle it. It's just that they are more likely to end up hospitalised from the Volcanic Sauce and then try to blame us for selling it to them, even though we go out of our way to warn customers against it beforehand.
This is also because, in some rare cases, the sauce can be fatal to humans, and a family tried to sue the company over it. However, all of our drive-through conversations are recorded for training and customer quality purposes, and the warning is written on the top right-hand corner of the drive-through menu to cover us in those moments.
I had to do my best to compose myself for the very conversation that was about to happen. I knew I had to explain why I hadn’t suggested the Volcanic Sauce as a potential option; I was ready to face-palm, knowing how this would go.
“Sir, the Volcanic Sauce option wouldn’t be a choice that I would generally suggest to anyone…” I paused to what humans would call to take a breath, but I used the second to sniff the air, and I looked back at Uncle Mateo, who was doing the same thing; as I looked at him, I could tell he couldn’t smell anything that suggested that the male voice had come from a were-creature of any species. Still, some use masking sprays to hide their scent for one reason: common for wolves on the run or who had to be hidden like me. As I began again, “… as it isn’t for the faint of heart and has been known to hospitalise and even can be fatal to people in rare cases. Reasons vary from case to case, but most range from being too spicy for the person's digestive system to having an allergic reaction due to one or more of the ingredients that make up the sauce. I would advise against trying that one, but if you were to go for it, I would have to advise the kitchen to only put a small amount of the Volcanic Sauce on the burger for your safety. Or the other option is that we could put it into a container on the side so that you can test your tolerance first. Then, you can add it to the burger as you see fit. This is only a recommendation at the end of the day, as I don’t know how well you tolerate spicy foods normally, so at the end of the day, it's your call.” I replied softly and tried to let out the breath I was holding, knowing it wouldn’t come out until I knew his answer.
I wasn’t sure if it would be my lucky day, but the woman’s voice made a weird noise and said, “Ah, give us a moment, deary. We need to think about what sauce to use for a second.”
“No worries at all. Let me know when you're ready to finish making your order,” I said once more before turning off the mic on the end of my headset. The breath that I was holding only half came out, as it seemed to know that this wasn’t the end of the conversation regarding the Volcanic Sauce; however, for the moment, there was at least a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel—well, I can only hope there was.
For some unknown reason, our warning about the sauce was like some weird dare to try it and disregard the warnings completely, like the cartoons I had seen growing up in the human world, where there is a warning label not to push the red button. Still, the cartoon character feels compelled to push it to discover what will happen if they do, which usually means 99% doom to everything around them.
I could have sworn I heard a growl from a were-beast coming from the other end of the headset. I know the growl didn’t come from the woman in the car, as it wasn’t a female growl. Also, humans don’t growl, and I could smell her as a human, so it was easy to rule her out.
‘Nah, can’t be. Come on, you're just hearing things. You are still on edge after that rogue wolf came into the diner three weeks ago and said weird things about your late father’s old pack and something regarding a rogue Alpha, rogue king, or something along those lines.’ I tried to swallow my thoughts and feelings, but I subconsciously took my wolf pendant between my thumb and index fingers. Something I was told never to do, as someone might work out who I am and what the pendant meant.
Luckily, that rogue wolf was high on ice, so once Uncle Mateo’s security restrained him and removed him from prying eyes, Alpha
