Page 18 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

It’s an old-fashioned name, but it suits her well.

But why is a vampire working in a cafe? They all work in lofty positions in businesses owned and run by their respective clans. Status and power are everything to them. I’ve never met one who works in what their kind would consider a menial job.

When I saw her the other day, I was curious and wary, and I decided to keep my eye on her in case she had been sent here as a spy. I even went so far as to do a background check on her. Her name is Charlotte Beaumont. I couldn’t find any vampire families with that surname on this side of the world. She’s an enigma, but ever since our first meeting two weeks ago, she seems more frightened of me than suspicious. If a spy had been planted across the road from my office, they would be using something like the bracelet I designed a couple of years ago. It’s a scent blocker, and while it’s wildly expensive, I’m sure a spy would be using it.

Charlotte jumps at the chance to escape and quickly puts down the cup. “Why don’t you help this customer? I’ll go and—”

“No, no,” the woman interrupts, shaking her head. “You finish up here. I’ll just put in the next batch of scones.”

She turns around and goes back into the kitchen. Despite the situation, my lips twitch at the dismay on Charlotte’s face. She really doesn’t want to deal with me.

“What kind of coffee do you want?” she finally turns to me and asks, weakly.

“Cappuccino.” I put my hands in my pockets. “What happened to your eye?”

Her body tenses, and her voice is uneasy. “Walked into a door.”

“You seem to be very accident-prone.”

To my surprise and amusement, she shoots me a dark look before turning around and preparing my drink.

As she puts in the coffee grounds, I ask lightly, “We met a few days ago, didn’t we?”

She’s quiet, and then she responds, “You came in to get some coffee.”

“I meant at night.”

“No, we didn’t.” Her voice is a little calmer than before. It’s as if having her back to me is giving her the time to compose herself. “Do you want one espresso shot or two?”

“One,” I murmur, my eyes fixed on her slender back. She’s got a full figure, slim but curvy, a generous chest, and a perfectly shaped behind. It feels like I’m leering at her; ashamed, I focus my gaze on the back of her neck. Normally, if I’m in close proximity to a vampire, my wolf is uneasy, sensing the threat, but Charlotte doesn’t incite the same reaction.

My wolf is watchful and curious—and a little playful, for some reason.

She doesn’t feel like a threat to it.

However, if I let my wolf decide everything for me, what kind of Alpha would I be? I’ll have to keep an eye on her. Even if the scent is familiar, and she seems to have a bruise on her eye, I still need to be sure she’s the one who rescued me. But what does it mean if it was her? Why would she save my life? Was it to gain my trust?

If that were the case, she wouldn’t be pretending not to know me right now.

“Which clan are you from?” I ask abruptly.

This time, I see a response in the way her shoulders turn stiff. She takes a good minute to reply, and there is no small amount of hostility in her voice when she does.

“How is that your business?”

“You’re in my territory, little vampire,” I say, studying her. “That makes it my business.”

The look of annoyance she shoots at me makes me wonder if she really is all that scared of me. But I’m not wrong. Portland, like every other city out there, is divided into territories that are run by different wolf packs and vampire clans. The restrictions are limited to living accommodations and jobs. Those who want to work in other territories have to request permission. Since most of the wolf packs in Portland are allied, they don’t make a huge deal over wolves from other territories working in theirs. But vampires are different. At first, they used to be allowed special permits to carry out business in our territories, but now, slowly but steadily, we are pushing them out.

Their own territory is small, and while they are able to carry out profitable ventures, losing out on the gains from the other territories is too massive a blow.

It was easy to weed the vampires out of my territory because all that entailed was shutting down their businesses and canceling their leases on the buildings their businesses were being run out of. However, I never expected them to work in places like coffee shops, which is why I’m suspicious of Charlotte’s intentions.

“You can’t stop me from working here.” She turns to look at me, putting my coffee down on the counter in front of me. “I don’t work for you. This is a human-owned establishment.”

“Sure.” I give her a small smile. “But the rules are clear. Vampires are not allowed to do business in my territory.”

Her eyes sharpen. “But I’m not doing business in your territory, am I? I’m working a minimum wage job to support myself. Is that a crime? Did you come here just to harass me?”

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