The Chubby Omega and her Alpha Mate

Chapter 8

A waitress waltzed up to Gale, giving a small wave to get his attention. He smiled at her.

"Usual table for one, Alpha heir?" She cooed, rocking backwards and forwards on her heels.

"Not today, I have company," he said flatly, gesturing to Lauressa. "Table for two please." The waitress seemed taken aback, turning her head slightly having only just noticed Lauressa was there. She looked her up and down, turning her nose upwards.

"Certainly, this way." She said, briskly walking away from the couple towards an empty table. Lauressa looked up at Gale, her eyes pleading with him.

"Perhaps this isn't a good place after all." She whispered.

"Ignore her, this place is perfect." He replied, his eyes softening as he looked at her.

They followed the waitress to the table. Lauressa sat down first with Gale tucking her chair in for her before sitting in the chair opposite her. The table they were seated at was within a sash window, tucked out at the back of the cafe. The window overlooked the garden where roses of every colour were in bloom. The sunlight trickled through the glass, highlighting Lauressa's face perfectly. The waitress handed them some menus then walked off to leave them to decide.

"Were you and her ever..." Lauressa began to ask but she was unable to finish the sentence. Jealously bubbled inside her chest, a feeling she hadn't experienced this intense before. Gale reached out for her hands, rubbing her fingers with his thumbs.

"Absolutely not!" He retorted, "She has always craved my attention but I've never reciprocated those notions. With you here now, hopefully she'll back off." He laughed, lifting her hands up and planting a kiss on each of them. Lauressa blushed, his public affections causing her throat to choke up.

He released her hands and passed her a menu, taking one for himself. They sat in silence for a few moments as their eyes read along the words.

"What would you like?" Gale asked, still reading the pages. Lauressa's face paled.

"Oh no, I didn't bring my purse." She wailed. She had left it at home the previous morning as it wasn't needed for the ranking tests.

"I didn't ask that, I asked what you would like." Gale reiterated, glancing up from his menu. Lauressa swallowed, looking back down at her own menu.

"I do like pancakes." She uttered, still a little flustered from his kisses.

"Same, and the pancakes here are amazing." Gale emphasised, a smile gracing his face. Lauressa nodded, pancakes it was.

The waitress returned to take their order, a disgruntled expression still on her face as she looked at Lauressa. She turned to Gale, trying to take his order first but he stopped her, gesturing to Lauressa to go first. Lauressa bit her lip, he was so courteous; her giddy nature infuriating the waitress more. Lauressa composed herself and ordered some simple pancakes with lemon and sugar as well as a pot of tea. Gale ordered the same, except he opted for black coffee instead. The waitress jotted down their order, looking up to glare at Lauressa before strutting off.

"She won't do anything to my food will she?" Lauressa asked, her eyes following the waitress as she walked off.

"Not if she knows what's good for her," Gale huffed, taking Lauressa's hands in his own once more. "So, tell me about this warrior ambition of yours, Laurie." There it was again, her shortened name sounding so sweet in his voice. Lauressa's wolf purred contently as they looked at their mate.

"Well, where can I begin?" She giggled, "For a few years now I've wanted to be a warrior. After reading about the previous wars and witnessing some training sessions, I knew I wanted to be part of it. To protect my pack, to give my life for my pack, it's everything to me." She said, her words filled with passion and pride as she spoke. Gale absorbed her words, nodding as he listened.

"Perhaps you'll still be able to do it." He said, trying to sound supportive. Lauressa laughed at his words.

"When has a judge's ruling ever been overridden?" She said, amused. Gale pouted as he mulled over her question.

"I don't think-." He started.

"Never." She said. Gale lowered his eyes for a second but bought them back up to meet hers.

"We can still give it a go, even if I wouldn't want you to do it." He replied. Lauressa pulled her hands from his grasp.

"You wouldn't want me to?" She snapped, disgust lacing her words. A pain shot through Gale's chest as she said that. "How is that your choice?" Her voice had gotten a little louder, drawing a few states from the other occupants of the cafe. Gale held his hands up.

"I didn't mean it that way, I promise." He said, "I just meant with you becoming my Luna and all, I wouldn't want to lose you to battle." He tried to explain. Lauressa scoffed.

"Gale, I've known you for less than 24 hours-" She began, but he cut her off.

"I know, I'm sorry. I've been thinking about finding my mate for years now, and now I've found you I don't want to lose you." He insisted. Lauressa stared at his eyes and she relaxed, she could see the sincerity in them.

"I understand. But you also need to understand that until yesterday, you were just an Alpha heir. Being Luna never crossed my mind." She sighed. Gale nodded accordingly, accepting her words. He laid his hands on the table, waiting for her to react. Her hands were sitting on her lap but she lifted them up to lay them onto his.

The waitress had arrived back, a smirk on her lips. Their conversation hadn't been so privy so their little dispute was amusing to her. She held the tray up, signalling for the couple to move their hands. Lauressa plonked hers back on her lap, having never made contact with Gale's. Gale withdrew his hands as well, resting them on his knees. The waitress nodded, offloading her tray, ensuring she gave Gale his order first. Gale's eyes met with Lauressa, who rolled them at him. A cheeky grin lit up his face. They both thanked the waitress and bid her farewell as they tucked into their food.

The food smelt divine, with three pancakes stacked on top of one another. A small pot of sugar was placed between the duo and lemon wedges had been placed on a small plate. Lauressa poured herself a cup of tea, topping it off with some milk. She stared down at it greedily, but hesitated to eat as she noticed Gale hadn't moved. She cast her eyes up to him, he was smiling to himself while holding his coffee in his hands. His gaze moved towards her and then at her plate, realising she hadn't touched anything.

"Ah, don't wait for me. Tuck in, we can talk some more in a little while." He said, gesturing to the table. Lauressa smiled, reaching out to the sugar and lemon before covering her pancakes. She sat there happily eating them, their warmth filling her body. Gale continued to smile, taking a sip from his coffee.

"Why black?" He heard her ask. He looked over at her, her eyes focused on him as she continued to cut off pieces of pancake before placing it in her mouth.

"Thought I'd try and be cool." He said, "But it's bloody disgusting." He wretched. Lauressa snorted as she laughed, having to muffle her noises with a tissue after the other occupants stared their way again. Gale chuckled to himself as well, taking a spoonful of sugar and dumping it into his cup before mixing in some milk. He took another sip but he still shivered as he swallowed.

The two continued the rest of their breakfast in silence, stealing glances at one another between their bites. Lauressa felt her heart race every time he looked at her with a cheeky smile on his face. His eyes made her melt inside, making her feel all mushy when she looked into them. Gale was also feeling the effects of the mate bond, the butterflies in his stomach not resting as he tried to drown them with the coffee.

With their breakfast finished, Gale paid for the meal and took Lauressa's hand once more. He pulled her from the cafe and began to walk back towards the pack house.

"We should get the rest of your things from your room," He said, stroking her hand with his thumb as he spoke. "You can stay in the guest suite for the time being until I can arrange another room for you."

“Why would I need a room in the pack house? I’m sure they’ll be a room in the ranked members' housing.” She asked, confused by his statement.

“No Luna of mine will be staying in any joint accommodation.” He said, “Sou unless you wish to stay in my room with me, you’ll be needing your own.” He flashed a look at her, a glint of jealously appearing in them. Lauressa seemed a little shocked but that quickly subsided.

“If you insist,” she mused, “we best go and get my stuff then.” She pulled on his hand and steered him towards the dormitories.

“Oh, no, we don’t need to collect anything, I can arrange some Omegas to do that for you,” Gale insisted, trying to pull back against her grip. She turned and glared straight at him.

“You want me to do everything you say – you may be used to people doing that for you, but I will not. My room – my choice who goes in.” she spat. Gale’s eyes widened, surprised to have someone talking back to him that way. “And we won’t need Omegas, you’ll be helping me.” Gale began to stammer a response, but Lauressa pulled on his hand, continuing to guide him to her room.

As they walked through the entrance and through the corridors of the unranked dormitory, they received numerous stares from the wolves; their eyes darting between Lauressa to Gale and to their joined hands. More excited murmurs and giggles could be heard. Lauressa ignored them the best she could, digging her nails into Gale’s hand as she strung him along. He whimpered slightly, but the glare he received from Lauressa silenced him swiftly enough.

They arrived on Lauressa’s floor, Gale having to stop to catch his breath after climbing who knows how many stairs. Lauressa stood with her arms folded across her chest, a satisfied smirk on her face as she waited. After he was done panting, they continued down the corridor. A pile of blankets and cushions were sitting up against her door. As they got closer, two figures moved within the covers and looked their way.

“There she is!” Freida cried, jumping up from the floor, knocking Felix over as she did. She ran down the hall, wrapping her arms around Lauressa’s body before bursting into tears.

“Freida! What’s wrong?” Lauressa asked, pulling her blubbering friend away from her new dress.

“After you got taken away, no one told me where you went. So, I came here, and you didn’t come back. And… And I was so worried.” Freida wept. Gale ducked his head; Lauressa’s friends hadn’t crossed his mind as he took her away. Lauressa gently patted Freida’s shoulders, trying to sooth her.

“I’m so sorry to have worried out, I was… Distracted.” She said, pained with guilt.

Felix had gotten up from the floor, wrapping his arms around Freida’s waist and nuzzling his face into her nape. Her cries slowly softened as she relaxed into his arms.

“Why is Alpha heir here?” Felix asked scornfully, glaring at Gale. Gale stiffened as he detected Felix’s tone. His own wolf growling within his head.

“Oh, well, Gale is my mate.” Lauressa said confidently. Freida and Felix raised their eyebrows, looking between Lauressa and him. Felix kissed Freida’s cheek, letting her go and passing her to Lauressa as he strode up to Gale. Gale backed up, but Felix’s large strides put him in front of him before he could move too far.

“I don’t care if you’re the Alpha heir, you hurt her and I am coming for you,” He whispered in a vicious tone, his finger pointing directly in Gale’s face. Gale released a growl, pushing his hand aside.

“I would never.” He hissed. The two men stared at one another, sizing up the other as their annoyance brewed. Lauressa and Freida shook their heads, it seemed both men were too hot headed to be contained.

“I asked Felix to stay with me, in case you came back.” Freida explained, gesturing to the pile of duvets and pillows on the floor. Lauressa put her hand on her chest, her heart touched.

“I’m sorry. I was too tired after what happened yesterday, so I stayed in the pack house guest suite.” She replied. Freida’s mouth dropped slightly.

“What was it like?” She asked, excitement bubbling through her as she bounced on her heels. Lauressa chuckled.

“It was incredible, the bed was so soft – it was like sleeping on a cloud.” Lauressa replied. Both girls indulged in the thought of the soft bed, an audible hum coming from their direction. Gale and Felix looked over to them, both females pulling dreamy expressions as they hummed together. They both exchanged confused looks at one another before they snarled one more time, only then joining up with Lauressa and Freida again.