The Alpha’s Fated Choice (Alpha's Fated Encounter Trilogy #1)

“Yes, Mom.”

“What was that?” she asks sharply, and I blink innocently.

“I said, ‘Yes, ma’am.’”

Elsa shakes her head at me and, picking up the menu for the day, walks into the kitchen.

I turn my attention back to the jar. I’ve finished wiping it down, so I empty a bag of coffee beans into it. I’ve run out of things to do in the storage room, so I guess I should head back out to the bar.

After all, I’ve decided I’m not going to let Alex drive me out of my own space. Let him do what he wants. I will keep our interactions to a minimum, but that doesn’t mean I have to skulk around trying to avoid him. I have a feeling that’s what he wanted. He may think I’m not good enough for him, but I want to make sure he knows I don’t give a shit.

It is amusing, though, that he seems desperate to talk to the Wily Vixen but has a problem with me. My lips curve in a wry smile.

I check the time. Usually in the afternoon, people are only here to have lunch. There are not a lot of heavy drinkers this time of day. Maybe a beer or two, but the bar is not as crowded as it is at night. I’m pouring a draft for a customer when I overhear the conversation between two people sitting on the other side of the bar.

I don’t pay attention till I hear Freddy’s name pop up. My interest is automatically piqued.

I lean toward them. “What’re you guys talking about?”

The two men are from the human police station, local cops. We have a human population here in Oakrest, so human police are required. Fortunately, they don’t treat me with the disdain that the shifters sometimes do.

“You didn’t hear?” One of them looks around before telling me, “Freddy and his crew were out running in the woods. They were attacked.”

I stare at him, shocked. “When was this?”

The other cop shrugs. “Two days ago. None of them were able to identify their attacker. They said it looked like a black wolf, but they’d been drinking.”

The two officers exchange a look, and then one of them leans forward, his voice low. “Aren’t all the wolf shifters in this region brown-haired?”

“Well, yeah,” I reply slowly, stunned by the audacity of someone to attack Freddy, apparently unprovoked. “Black wolves are from the North Alliance. But there’s no way one would show up down here. The South Alliance has never allowed anyone from the North access to our area. And the security around border towns is intense. You can’t enter or exit easily.”

I leave them to their drinks, my thoughts in disarray.

A black wolf? In Oakrest?

That’s simply not possible.

I never did ask Elsa what happened to Freddy after that night in the alley. Since Migael, his father, didn’t come for my neck, I assumed Freddy was alive and well somewhere, making somebody else’s life difficult. I was sure he’d return to take his revenge, once again, for the humiliation he suffered, but he never came back. I hoped that would be the end of the matter. But if someone attacked Freddy, that’s a whole new issue.

I look out the window, and suddenly, it hits me. There’s been an influx of pack security around here. I didn’t notice it before, but now I can’t miss it. They’ve been crawling the streets. I spot at least five members as I peer through the glass right now. They could just be hanging out, minding their own business, but I doubt it. In fact, now that I think about it, I saw two of them around my building last night. I don’t typically engage with them, so I just kept my head low and walked past them.

I find the likelihood of a black wolf attacking Freddy a little ridiculous. What’s even more ridiculous is that the pack security is buying into his lies. He most likely got drunk and picked a fight with somebody who was stronger than him. And since he doesn’t like losing, he probably made up a whole story.

I shake my head in disgust.

Just then, one of the servers, Reese, appears in front of me, knocking on the wooden surface of the bar to get my attention. He looks stressed, and he jerks his head toward the dining area. “Can you take table five for me? I’ve got to drop off food at three other tables, and I don’t have time to take their order. They’ve been waiting on me for a couple minutes now.”

My eyes dart around at the many filled tables. I hadn’t realized the place had become so crowded. I look over at table five, and my heart sinks. It’s Alex and his friends.

“I can deliver the food to the other tables for you,” I offer to Reese, but he just gives me an annoyed look.

“Can you please just do what I asked? The bar will be fine without you for one minute.”

There’s no point arguing with him. Reluctantly, I grab one of the notebooks and head over. They’re talking quietly among themselves, their menus open in front of them.

“Any luck?” one of them is asking Alex.

“I haven’t seen her for the past few days. But she’s still listed as one of the fighters, so she’ll be back.”