The Alpha's Pretend-Boyfriend

The Staff

Sunday was a day-off, which Louie looked forward to in order to get some much-needed rest. Working at Hestia’s wasn’t too tiring the first few days, but it was the Friday and Saturday shifts that were fully-loaded that took his breath away. It also didn’t help that Fig didn’t give him a time to breathe the entire week. So, came Sunday afternoon, just as he was finishing his weekly grocery run, it was much to his surprise when he got a call from Dane telling him to hurry back to the restaurant. He had failed to provide a reason, but Louie took the first cab he saw anyway.

With two grocery bags in his arms, Louie busted in through the doors in such a hurry, only to find everyone except for Germain seated in the largest table. The lights were turned off, except for the few directly on top of them, which made it feel as if they were on-stage with a spotlight. Opened boxes of take-out were laid on the table alongside packs of beer and three large pitchers filled with ice and a suspicious blue liquid.

“What’s happening?” Louie asked, wildly looking around. Everyone was eating and drinking. There seemed to be no emergency.

“You made it!” Dane greeted him with a smile as he stood up and helped Louie set down his bags. “Did you bring food? We already have lots here.”

“N-no, I was shopping for toiletries when you called me,” Louie answered, still confused. “Why did you call me, exactly?”

“Oh, I just remembered I forgot to tell you that on Sundays, we usually have dinner and drinks together,” Dane said, leading him to the table. “It's a small tradition. And since you’re one of us now… Come on, sit here next to me.” He sat and patted the empty chair between him and Callie. Louie sat, then realized that Gadreel was seated in front of him while Fig was across from Dane.

“I-if you don’t mind,” he said in a small voice as he sat, slightly shrinking in fear from the angel's gaze.

From beside him, Dane cleared his throat and looked meaningfully at Gadreel, who rolled his eyes in response. “Fine,” he mouthed at Dane before turning to Louie. He intertwined his fingers and placed his hands on the table as he sat up straight. “Hey,” he called out, forcing Louie to look up at him. “I apologize for shouting last night,” he said so flatly.

Gadreel glared at Fig who was snickering beside him. Louie, surprised at the sudden apology—even though it was obvious that he was only talked into doing it—awkwardly smiled. “It's fine,” he mumbled, “I was the one at fault anyway.”

Dane triumphantly smiled and discreetly gave a thumbs-up to Gadreel. Just then, Germain entered the restaurant in a rush and sat right next to Gadreel as he tied his long blond curls into a ponytail.

“Of course, you’re late,” the angel muttered.

Germain sarcastically smiled at him. “I ran into some unexpected traffic,” he said, immediately drinking from the can of beer that Fig handed to him.

“Well, if you had come with—” Gadreel was about to argue, when Dane raised his glass.

“Alright, alright, save the fighting for later, kids,” he warned, making the two effectively shut up. Even if Dane seemed carefree as a boss, Louie noticed that everyone still seemed to listen to him. “Since all of us are here now, let’s make a toast! Fig?”

Fig perked up at the sound of his name and began pouring that curious blue liquid into everyone’s glasses. Louie politely accepted his, but he couldn’t help but be suspicious of how it looked and smelled.

“It's my own concoction,” Fig winked at him when he noticed his hesitation. “Only demons can make this sort of drink. How well can you handle your liquor?”

“I’m not sure,” Louie honestly replied, frowning down at his glass.

Fig devilishly smiled. “Well, this has thrice the strength of your typical human drinks.”

“Don’t drink too much of it,” Callie whispered beside him, and he nodded.

“Okay! Everyone raise your glasses,” Dane excitedly exclaimed, “Here’s to our new employee who did a great job on his first week!” he smiled at Louie. Everyone raised their glasses to him and drank. Louie reluctantly held the drink to his lips but followed suit, and when he finished every drop, he noticed that everyone was expectantly staring at him.

“How is it?” Fig asked excitedly.

“It's… sweet,” was all Louie could say. It went down smoothly, but as soon as it did, he felt a small tingle in his lips and his eyes dilated. This drink, he was sure, really wasn’t intended as a casual human drink.

Fig looked happily surprised but didn’t say anything. Instead, he began refilling everyone's glasses once again then exclaimed, “To the human!” and everyone drank.

The night went on as such with everyone steadily drinking, and before Louie knew it, most of the food and drinks were gone and some of the staff were behaving unusually—and by some, it meant Callie and Dane, who had somehow begun challenging everyone into an arm wrestle that Louie politely refused.

Louie watched with amazement as Germain and Callie had at it and seemed to be in an endless tie. Dane, who had gotten out of his seat, was energetically cheering and banging on the table. For some reason, his tie was hanging loosely on his neck now and his shirt had blue stains on them from the liquid. Fig, who was playing referee, finally concluded the game into a truce, which both parties complained about. And then a while after that, Dane and Callie were both head-down passed out on their chairs beside Louie, Fig was placing small bits of food on Dane's hair, while Gadreel was munching on his food unbothered.

“Werewolves and their inability to hold liquor,” Germain had disapprovingly said, even though he too was wobbling as he stood up and reached for another can of beer.

“I think you’ve had enough,” Gadreel sternly told him, grabbing the drink from his hand and making him sit down. To Louie's surprise, Germain didn’t argue and instead placed his chin on his hands as he smiled up at Louie in a drunken daze, showing his sharp canines.

“Have I ever told you that you smell nice?” he asked, blinking slowly. “Your blood, I mean.”

“Germain,” Gadreel warned as he sipped on his drink. For some reason, it was only him and Fig who seemed to be unaffected by all the alcohol they consumed. Thankfully, Louie had the mind to refuse all the drinks he was continuously offered after that first shot.

“I was just saying an observation,” Germain complained with his speech slightly slurred. “It’s the first time I’ve ever been close to a human this long, so his scent is fascinating to me. The last time I drank human blood was like, two decades ago?”

“Two decades ago?” Louie asked. Germain looked like he was around his age, but Louie knew different creatures aged differently.

“I’m older than you think, honey,” Germain smirked. “And so are these guys.” He sat up and gestured at Fig and Gadreel on his left.

“Oh, are we talking about ages now?” Fig asked with amusement in his eyes. “Gadreel over here takes the cake. He's older than me by a few years, and he has never let me forget it for a day in the decades we’ve been friends.”

“You’ve known each other for decades?” Louie asked, completely amazed.

Fig nodded and put an arm around Gadreel's shoulders. “He and I have been friends for a long time before we moved here. I decided to venture out on my own but this guy followed me.”

“You needed someone to keep you grounded,” Gadreel stated, which Germain wildly nodded at.

“We used to live together as roommates but this guy kicked me out.” Fig made a face.

“Because you’re a lazy roommate,” Gadreel glared, making Fig pinch his cheek and laugh.

“How did you end up working here?” Louie asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Mmm,” Fig thought for a second. “I think it was 6 years ago? I was dating this rich werewolf and he took me to a party which turned out to be Dane's father's. That’s where I met Dane, and he talked about the restaurant and I offered my services just like that. I was bored being spoiled by my lover then anyway, so I decided to work. Then I recommended Gadreel since he did study culinary arts and he didn't want to work with other angels.”

Germain scoffed. “Only Dane would hire an angel with that attitude.”

Gadreel raised an eyebrow at him, which the vampire challenged.

“How about you, Germain? How did you get here?” Louie asked before another argument sparked. Dane was preoccupied with his nap to break things up, and Fig… well, he would probably just sit and watch in amusement if a fight broke out.

“Oh, Master Germain here is a rich kid,” Fig teased, flicking a noodle at Germain's direction but it landed on Gadreel's shirt. Fig immediately picked it out and smiled apologetically at his friend. “He hails from a manor, did you know?” he continued.

Germain nodded to affirm him. “I cut ties with my family because of…” he hesitated for a second, “differing beliefs.” Beside him, Louie caught a glimpse of Gadreel lightly scoffing as he drank.

“I came to the city to look for lodging and Dane here helped me out,” Germain continued, patting Dane's unconscious head. “Then he offered me a job and I accepted so I—” he stopped and put a hand on his mouth. “I think I’m going to throw up,” he said in a panic.

Gadreel sighed but got out of his chair and helped Germain up. “Come on,” was all he said, before led the vampire to the staff room.

“Are they going to be okay?” Louie whispered to Fig, concerned that the two would be left alone.

Fig seemed untroubled by it and just waved a hand. “They don’t fight as often as you think,” he said with a knowing smile that only confused Louie. He was about to ask more questions when the two werewolves beside him suddenly started groaning as they regained consciousness at the same time. Without any prompting, Fig refilled both their glasses with water, which the two thankfully drank.

“Ow, my head,” Dane complained, touching his forehead as he sat up. Bits of food that Fig had placed on his hair began falling onto his clothes. Dane shot an accusing glance at Fig as he ruffled his hair to get everything out. “Where’s Gadreel and Germain? Have they left?” he asked Louie.

“They’re at the staff room,” he answered. “Germain had to throw up. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Dane smiled, but the way he was leaning on the table said otherwise.

“We were just talking about how we all ended up working here,” Fig filled him in, refilling both their glasses with water. “It’s Callie's turn now.”

Callie, who was still a bit disoriented, blinked at Fig with her large brown eyes. “Me?” she asked.

Fig chuckled and reached over the table to flick off a grain of rice on her forehead, effectively making her cheeks redder than they already were. “Louie was asking how we began to work at the restaurant. Your background.”

“Oh,” she muttered, clumsily shoving away the messy strands of hair from her face. “I came from a family of omega werewolves. My older cousin was classmates with Dane, and he referred me for the job since I had to move to the city for my education.”

“How is Tony, by the way?” Dane interrupted.

“He's great,” Callie replied. “He might come by to visit some time.”

“Great!” Dane smiled and nodded. He turned to Louie and said, “Her cousin and I used to be best friends. We had fun together and went hunting around.”

“Fun?” Fig leaned closer and suggestively smiled. “Tell me more.”

“Not like that, you foul demon,” Dane sighed, gently pushing Fig's forehead away. “Alright, anyway, I’m beat. I think I’m going to head home now,” he said as he tried to stand up, but his balance failed him and he sat back down once again.

“I don’t think you can drive home like this,” Louie said with concern, grabbing at his arm to steady him.

“Alright, as a self-proclaimed second-in-command,” Fig stood up and pointed at Louie, “do you know how drive a car?”

Louie frowned, unsure where this was going. “I do, but—”

“Great,” Fig threw a set of keys towards him without warning, which he was able to catch with great panic. “That’s Dane's. You can drive him, right? I’ll take Callie since she lives one block away from me.”

“How about Germain and Gadreel?” Louie asked, looking at the door to the staff room. They had been in there quite a while, but thankfully, they didn’t seem to be screaming at each other for once.

“Go tell them we're headed out so they can lock up the place afterwards,” Fig commanded. “I’ll clean up here. Does anyone have any objections?” He called out loud, but when Louie looked to the man he was holding, he saw that Dane was fast-asleep on his chair once again. Callie, on the other hand, giddily smiled and raised a hand. “Fine by me!” she happily said before her head thudded onto the table, unconscious.

“Werewolves, I swear to Gadreel's father,” Fig groaned as he moved around the table to lift Callie’s head up. Louie put Dane's arm back down and let the man sleep as he walked to the staff room to find the other two.

He lightly knocked once then turned the knob and pushed the door open, only for his jaw to hang slack as soon as his eyes laid on the scene before him. He did not know what he expected to see behind the door, but it surely wasn’t this—Gadreel sitting on the bench, with Germain sitting on top of him, and both engaged in a passionate kiss with the angel's arms around the vampire’s waist.

Louie wasn’t sure if this was the effect of the blue drink he had consumed, or if it was an illusion that either the angel or demon had cast, but he couldn’t believe his eyes as he remained frozen in place.

“Oh, you found them,” Fig suddenly appeared behind him. He didn’t seem to be panicking much like Louie was. Instead, he chuckled and said out loud, “Looks like you two made up.”

The two broke their lips away from each other and turned to look at Fig and Louie by the door. Germain's cheeks were slightly flushed, his ocean-blue eyes were bloodshot, and a spot of red was on his chin. It took a while for Louie to realize what it was until he saw teeth marks and blood on the side of Gadreel's neck.

“What’s he looking so spooked about?” Gadreel asked Fig, who only shrugged as he patted Louie's shoulders.

“We're all headed out. Lock up the restaurant, alright?” Fig told them. Without waiting for a response, he placed an arm around Louie's neck, closed the door, and dragged the stunned human away.

“A-are they—but they—” Louie stammered out, shaking his head in confusion.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Fig feigned surprise. “They’re together. They just fought about something before you got here, but looks like it’s all patched up now.” He let go of Louie and easily scooped up the sleeping Callie in his arms.

“You got that one handled, right?” Fig nodded towards Dane, whose head was tilted back and his mouth hanging open.

“Y-yeah,” Louie weakly replied as he helplessly looked at Dane who had begun snoring.