The Mafia Boss's Alpha Addiction

CHARLOTTE It's ten o'clock in the evening, and the bar is already busy and loud. Same crowd as always. Same sticky floor, same cheap perfume, and beer smell hanging in the air. Everyone's running around. My feet are already in pain and swollen. I've been in these heels since seven, and my uniform is starting to stick to my back. I was just trying to catch my breath near the counter when Claire shouts. "Charlotte! VIP room number four!" I look at her. "Why me? I'm not on VIPs tonight. That's Sydney's." Claire doesn't even look up. She's pouring two drinks at once. "Yeah, well, Sydney didn't come in. No call, no text. So it's yours now. You're up." Great! So I really need to tend to the VIP clients in that room now. I glance around. Of course, it's packed. Everyone else is busy with their own tables. No one can take it. I don't really have a choice. I grab the tray, even though my hands are a little shaky. "Alright. Fine. I got this," I mutter, more to myself than to her. Claire finally looks at me and gives me that quick, sorry-but-not-really smile. "Thanks, hon. You're my savior tonight!" And she means it. I can tell she's swamped too. It's only my first month here. I can't exactly say no to anything. If I start picking which tables I want, Manager Han will fire me on the spot. And I need this job. Like, I really need it. My rent is already past due since last week, and my tiny apartment is at risk. If I miss it again, I'm out on the street. So yeah, whatever they tell me to do, I do it. I never go up to the top floor if I can avoid it. Everyone knows that the clients occupying that place are different. They are rich, arrogant, and bossy—the kind who look at you like you're nothing. Plus, I'm new. Manager Han told me on my first day that I'm not allowed to go to the top floor because that's not my area. The top clients are VIPs, so he has specific girls for that floor—a waitress who knows how to handle them, and Sydney is one of them. But Sydney isn't here tonight, and everyone else is busy. So here I am. My hands are shaking so badly right now. I'm scared I'll drop the whole tray if it slips from my hands. I can feel my heart just hammering in my chest, fast and loud. I've been standing right in front of the door for a minute, but I can't get it to calm down. I squeeze my eyes shut for a second. "Breathe. Just breathe, Charlotte," I murmur. I straighten my back and force a smile. I can feel my lips stretching; it probably looks fake, but whatever. I have to look okay. Slowly, I push the door open and step inside. "Good evening, Mr—" I freeze. A guy—no, I'm seeing a God! He's handsome, with a sharp nose and the perfect shape of a pair of black eyebrows, the kind of face you know comes from money. His aura and figure scream power, wealth, and something I can't identify right now. "Mate!" Everyone else at the table turns and looks at me too, confused. Like, why is he looking at me like that? "Apha—” So that's his name, but why does it send shivers down my spine? He's still staring at me, like he knows me. And I swear I have to be careful around a guy like that. "Mate!” I froze and swallowed hard because I swear I just heard a low but angry growl. I'm sure it's from this room. It's like a wild animal growling in the corner. But when I look around the room, there's nothing. No animal. Just them. Just him and his friends. He's still staring at me and didn't look away even though he knows I caught him. My heart is racing heavily. I don't understand why he has this effect on me. I've never seen him before in my life, but it feels like I know him. I know it's impossible because I am very sure that this is the first time I've seen him. There are only three guys in the room. All of them are looking at me now. I quickly look away. I tighten my grip on the tray handle because the way the guy on the single sofa is looking at me is completely different from that of his friends. It's not normal. It's like he wants to pounce on me or something. The way he's looking at me makes my skin crawl, but not in a bad way. There's something in his eyes. I can see it, but I can't read it. I can't name what he's feeling. Is he angry? Hungry? I don't know. God, that sounds so weird. I can't even explain it to myself. He's still staring straight at me. And then he licks his lips—slow and seductively—but his eyes never leave mine. And then I hear it again. That snarl. Loud. It fills the whole room and vibrates in my chest. "Everyone, out!" Mr. Alpha commanded his friends. His voice feels deep, arrogant, and commanding. His friends stand up right away without any questions. I start to move too. I was about to turn to step back out the door, but then he spoke again. "Except you, Kitten." I stopped and froze. Kitten? I'm not a cat. I don't even know this man, so why is he already calling me that pet name? My heart is beating so hard it feels like my chest is going to explode, like it wants to rip out of my ribcage. I don't know why, but after I let out a heavy sigh, I managed to step forward, and slowly I walked closer to him. "Here's your drink, sir." I put the whiskey and the glass on the center table. I'm trying so hard to be careful. I really don't want to lose this job. But my hands are shaking so much that the bottle clinks loudly against the table when I set it down. "Look at me, kitten." His voice ordered, not asking. I stand up straight and look at him. I want to look away, I really do. I don't understand why I feel so weird when we're staring at each other like this. I try to regain my composure, but I can't do it. It's like something is controlling me, forcing me to keep staring at his beautiful eyes. "What's your name, kitten?" he asks, his voice low and deep. "Charlotte," I answer with a shaky voice. "Charlotte," he repeats. For the first time, hearing my name from his mouth feels like something is running through my veins. I can't explain it—this weird, hot feeling. Slowly, he rose and took a big step as he walked straight toward me. I stepped back quickly, trying to get away from him, but his arm was already around my waist, and before I could even think, his hand was on the back of my neck, holding me tight. "Alpha, what are you doing?" He didn't reply. But his eyes—God, his eyes changed color! I'm sure of what I saw. They were blue—natural, clear blue. And then, in a second, they turned completely black. Like pitch black. “Please let me go, Mr. Alpha!” I pleaded nervously. I gathered all my strength and tried to push him away, but he was so much stronger than me. "You are mine, Kitten," he muttered. His voice was low but full of possessiveness, as if he owned me. Like I already belonged to him and he wanted to claim me right here, right now. Before I could even react, he closed the gap between us and kissed me passionately. He's crazy! He has to be crazy. Why would he kiss a stranger? With his looks, his aura, and his status, I'm sure he has plenty of women around him; there's not a lack of someone who will warm his bed. So why does he suddenly want me? I shouldn't allow this. I shouldn't let him kiss me. But why did I give in? Why did I let him? Why am I letting him kiss me like this, devouring my lips as if he's starving and my mouth is the only thing he wants to taste? I should push him away. I should bite him. I should scream. But I'm not. Instead, I close my eyes and welcome his tongue inside my mouth.