The Alpha's Unknown Fated Mate

Victoria Today was a gloomy and slow day at the diner. It’s a bit windy out and it’s been raining on and off. Katrina had called out from work because she was, once again, hung over. I internally chuckled and shook my head; that girl could party until the crack of dawn. Luckily for her, Ms. Ginger was very lenient with us, but as always, Kat would get an earful when she returns to work tomorrow. Kat is the same age as me and has been my best friend since we were thirteen years old. My mother had moved us again, and we settled in the apartment that was next to Kat and her mother. They were also werewolves, and weirdly enough, her mother’s situation was like my mother’s. We found out that Kat’s mother was from a neighboring pack close to where my mother’s pack was from. Since then, we have been inseparable. I was daydreaming for the hundredth time today. I felt extremely sluggish, and I didn’t want to do any work. Maybe it was the weather, but even my wolf was being extra lazy. I had to keep myself busy for the time being. I tidied up the front area and started sweeping behind the registers, but I found my mind wandering off again. The little bells on the door chimed, and finally, I had customers. “I’ll be right with you,” I called out, not looking up as I rested the broom against the wall. “Hi, how many—” was all I could say, as I stared at those gorgeous men in front of me. Werewolves. Ranked werewolves, at that. Go figure. Tall, extremely gorgeous, with muscles on every inch of their bodies, tattoos. Their aura just screamed power. Especially the one with emerald-green eyes; he was the tallest of the three. Super naturals come in and out of the diner often, and I paid no attention to them; until now. Ranked werewolves hardly ever come here, and when they do, their aura isn’t as powerful as these men. “Miss… table for three, please,” the guy with the man bun said. The other two were quietly speaking to one another, but as soon as the one with emerald-green eyes looked at me, he narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows. He looked at me like I disgusted him. I lowered my eyes, as a low growl left his throat, and his friends snapped their heads toward him. They both looked at each other, then between him and me. They were both confused just as much as I was. Why was this guy growling at me? He stared at me for a few seconds then shook his head in confusion. “Don’t you have any manners? It’s rude to stare,” he said and glared at me. I gasped, as my eyes widened in embarrassment. Oh, goddess… dumb ass me, I was just caught staring at him. “I… I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--…” “Sure, you are,” he scoffs. “Yo, chill man,” the other guy told him. He whispers something to him and sighs. Not taking his eyes off me, he stayed quiet for a few seconds, but his eyes began to glow; he was communicating with his wolf. “What’s your name?” he finally asked. “Tori,” the man-bun guy said, looking down at my name tag. “I asked her, not you,” he retorted. What the hell? What’s his problem? “I don’t know, but he had better lose that attitude towards us, or else!” my wolf, Valentina said as she came forward. Their eyes lightly widened as my wolf made her presence known. “Tori, please excuse my friend, he’s been in a shitty mood lately,” he rubbed his face and grunted, as he turned to his friend, “Come on, man, I’m starving, let’s get something to eat so we can head on home. Your annoying girlfriend has been calling nonstop since we got here, and she’s getting on my last nerve!” Girlfriend. So he has a mate. “Tori, would you so kindly show us to our table?” “Sure, right this way,” I gave him a curt smile and led them to their table, but not before glaring at that asshole who just growled at me. “I’ll give you guys a few minutes to look over the menu,” without waiting for them to say anything, I walked towards the kitchen and began making their complimentary water. “My, what gorgeous men,” Ms. Ginger whispered. There were some humans that worked in the diner, so we had to be discreet when we had conversations about our kind. “Any chance one of them being your mate?” I whipped my head towards her and scowled, making her chuckle. “They do look a bit familiar,” Ms. Ginger was a middle-aged woman, who was in her fifties and happened to be a light witch. She was a very sweet lady, who was also like a mother to everyone in the diner. “Really? How so?” I asked, and she just shrugged her shoulders. “You know, you’ve been saying that to me and Kat for the past six years that we’ve been working here with every male wolf that walked through that door, and it has never happened, nor do I think I’ll ever find my mate. I’m twenty-three years old, Ms. Ginger, and I’m still mateless. Maybe I’m just one of those that aren’t so lucky,” “Well, Victoria, you may never know,” she replied and tapped my arm. “Oh, it looks like they’re ready to order,” “And no, Ms. Ginger, none of them are my mate. You know how wolves are when they find their mate, and how they will react to it as soon as they sense it. And I didn’t sense it, nor did any of them do,” she stood there looking at the three guys as she crossed her arms and made a thinking face. “Why are you making that face?” “Nothing, dear, it’s just that I want to see you happy, that’s all. You deserve to be loved and taken care of by someone who will appreciate everything you do. You’re gorgeous, you work out every day, you take care of everyone else’s needs before your own, and you’re one of the sweetest people I know. You’ve been taking care of yourself since you were seventeen years old, and with you working your little butt off, it would be nice for you to get a little break. You deserve so much more, and it was a good thing you dumped that no-good-of-a-cheater human, Brad. He didn’t deserve you from the beginning,” I sighed. She was right, I had been dating Brad on and off for the past two years, and it was great in the beginning, but then things started changing when he got that promotion at his job. We began arguing daily, we didn’t spend as much time as we did before, the s*x had stopped, and he was always working late, or so he says. That’s when I later found out that he had been constantly cheating on me with someone from his job. When I confronted him about it, he didn’t even try to deny it, but he had promised that he would end it, only to do it over again. I had given him a few chances, (I know, stupid me), but the final straw for me was when his side chick called me and said that she was expecting their child. I was heartbroken. She had also sent me pictures and videos she took of them while they were f*****g, and it was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen. I remember it was the day of my twenty-third birthday. That night, I was waiting for him at my apartment to come and pick me up, and he texted me to say that he was running late because he had a few more things to do at work. It was the worst birthday ever. I had promised myself not to fall in love so easily the next time. I loved Brad, and even though he was human, I sometimes wondered if he was my fated mate. But it didn’t seem that way from what I have heard about the mate bond. I have heard that the Moon Goddess sometimes pairs us with human mates, and I never understood why. But I would’ve felt it, even if he didn’t, because he was human. I finally ended it six months ago. Thank goddess I didn’t end up moving in with him. I always thought about it after he had asked countless times, but I was always hesitant. Even after I had ended it, Brad was constantly calling me, begging for my forgiveness, asking me to take him back, and on different occasions, he would show up to my job unannounced. He would get frustrated every time he came to the diner because I wouldn’t want to give him the time of day. It got to the point where he would wait for me to finish work and wait by my car. I also decided to put a restraining order on him, even though I knew he wouldn’t do anything outrageous, but it was for my own good. And since then, I haven’t seen or spoken to him. I finished making their drinks and walked back to their table. I gave each of them their water and waited for them to start ordering. “I didn’t ask for water,” emerald-green eyes said, not taking his eyes off his menu. “It’s complimentary, we do it for every customer,” I replied. “If you don’t want it, then you don’t have to drink it, simple as that. Then, you can order something that you would like to drink,” his friends smirked and tried to hide their laughter. “Now, are you guys ready to order, or do you still need a few minutes?” He lowered his menu and gave me the meanest glare. I rolled my eyes at him and glared back. I looked at his friends and graciously smiled, “What can I get you?” I asked. “For starters, I would like the fried calamari, and for my main dish, I would like the rib-eye steak, with the baked potato, fully loaded please, and sweet corn,” “Perfect, and how would you like your steak?” “Rare,” “Anything else? Would you like something else to drink other than water?” I sarcastically asked, glancing over at that gorgeous asshole. “Water is fine, thank you,” “All right, and for you sir?” I asked the other friend. “I’ll have the garden salad, with a thousand island dressing on the side please, and I’ll have the same as he does, but I would like French fries instead of the baked potato,” he smiled and handed me his menu. “Oh, and a Pepsi for me,” “Got it, and for you?” I said rather than nicely. He pursed his lips in a tight line, and I saw his eyes turn a darker shade. I knew he didn’t like the way I was speaking to him, but I didn’t care. I don’t know what his problem was, but whatever. He was already growling at me the moment he came into the diner, and he looked at me with disgust. “And for you sir?” I asked again. “I don’t want anything. I’ll just enjoy my water,” he finally replied, and took a sip. I nodded my head and gathered the menus. I waited for him to hand his menu to me, but he slammed it down in front of me. I sighed heavily and grunted. I thanked his friends as I picked up his menu off the table. “You know, you shouldn’t be rude to your customers,” I heard him say as I was walking away, making me stop in my tracks and turn around. I walked right back to their table. His friends leaned their heads back, shook their heads in dismay, and pinched the bridge of their noses. “Me? Rude? I don’t think so. From the moment you walked in here, you looked at me like I was the most disgusting person you had ever seen! Yes, I was staring at your gorgeous emerald-green eyes, and I’m sorry! But who wouldn’t want to look at those eyes?! But then! You had the audacity to growl at me for no apparent reason! Here I am, just doing my job, kindly giving you some water as I patiently wait for you to order your food, then, you want to slam your menu on the table like you’re some kind of madman! What did I ever do to you?” I exclaimed. “Who are you to speak to me this way?!” he snarled, as his eyes turned a dangerous shade of black. “No, who are YOU to speak to me this way! I’m sorry, that you must have had a rough day, but that doesn’t give you the right to treat anyone this way! Is it because I’m just a waitress? Because, obviously, I am beneath you… your powerful aura is something you can’t just ignore! Do you feel the need to act like the big bad Alpha, goddess forbid if you are... in front of your buddies here? Hmm? As your friends here were so kind to me and treated me with respect, maybe they should give you a few lessons on how not to be such a d**k!” I don’t even know what came over me, but by the time I was giving him a piece of my mind and realized what had just happened, my eyes widened, and I covered my mouth with my hands. His friends looked at me with smiles on their faces. Was I overreacting? Probably. Was I sorry? Not really. “I like you, Tori! I like you a lot!” the man bun guy said and smiled, “I’m Rocky, this is Sylvester, and this guy here is Trevor.” So, Trevor was that asshole’s name. “We hardly, if ever, come to this part of town unless we really must. But we’ve been through many meetings today, so excuse my friend and his shitty attitude,” Sylvester explained, which made Trevor glare at him. “So, what pack are you from?” “I’m not from any pack,” I whispered. “I’ve been on my own since I was seventeen,” “Whoa! Really?! Seventeen? But that means you haven't even gained your wolf yet,” Rocky asked, stunned. “How old are you?” “Just turned twenty-three a few months ago, and I’m still alive, so that’s that.” “And your parents?” I lowered my eyes and sighed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to pry,” “Long story short, I don’t know who my father is. I was raised by my mother until I was seventeen. My mother left her pack before I was born,” goddess, I think I just said too much. Trevor still hadn’t said anything since my outburst and was utterly quiet. “What pack was she from?” Sylvester asked as he and Rocky leaned forward, eager to know. “Golden Moon,” Trevor whipped his head up and furrowed his brows. Rocky and Sylvester looked at each other and then at Trevor. My mother would tell me bits and pieces of her pack, and how they were one of the strongest along with another pack, Blood Moon, but their pack was bigger. I cleared my throat to get their attention, “I’m sorry, I need to go put in your orders. I shouldn’t have said anything. And Trevor, I do apologize for my outburst, even if you did deserve it,” before they could say anything else, I gave them a curt smile, and walked away. “What was that about?” Ms. Ginger asked me. “It was nothing, really,” I replied and put the menus down. I started punching in their order on the register screen and quickly glanced over to their table. This time, Trevor was the one staring at me. I instantly became flustered and quickly looked away. “Huh, he’s looking at you.” “He’s not looking at me, well, not anymore,” I sighed heavily. “It doesn’t matter, anyway,” “Valentina, why did I let that guy get under my skin? I don’t even know him!” “Tori, I feel a connection to him,” “YOU WHAT?! HOW CAN THAT BE?!” I exclaimed, shocked at what my wolf had just said. “I don’t know, but I feel a connection to him. I think his wolf was feeling the connection with you, and was telling his human, but he is ignoring it. Maybe that’s why he was being such an asshole!” “What connection would that be? He has a girlfriend who is probably his mate, so I don’t understand why there would be a connection between us,” Valentina didn’t respond and I was left dumbfounded.