Page 47 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

I just went from keeping a ten-foot distance between me and any wolf shifter to having them roaming around in my apartment.

This cannot possibly end well for me.

******

Robert doesn’t call me, nor does he drop by.

I’m incredibly grateful for this. I don’t really know how to face him just yet. My memory of our night together is a little too fresh, and I think I might just spontaneously combust if I have to look him in the eye and remember everything he did to me.

I do manage to get back to work the following day.

Jazz was slightly irritated, but her irritation has morphed into curiosity now when I refuse to tell her how my “date” went.

“Oh, come on!” She hands me the clean cups from the dishwasher as we start setting up early in the morning. “Give me something. If you just went home after dinner, then why didn’t you come in yesterday?”

“I told you, I had food poisoning,” I say unconvincingly.

“And food poisoning made your throat all scratchy, huh?” She gives me a knowing smirk.

I ignore her.

“Just tell me,” she needles. “He hasn’t come in, you know. Since he took you out. What happened? Did things work out between you two?”

I give her an annoyed look. “Jazz, do you remember me playing Twenty Questions with you when you came to work a few months ago and were all jumpy?”

I glance down at her lower area meaningfully, and her eyes widen. “You noticed?!”

“What do you think?” I ask dryly. “You scared half the customers that day. Now, I didn’t pester you with questions about what happened with your ‘friend,’ so butt out, please.”

Jazz doesn’t get offended by my words, grumbling instead, “Damn it. Fine. I told Marcus it was a bad idea.”

“It really was,” I chuckle, recalling that particular day. “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about Robert, so let’s just give it a rest, okay?”

Jazz, nosy as she is, is also a friend. She gives me an apprehensive look. “He didn’t cross a line or anything, did he? Because we can ban him from the coffee shop. That’s easy.”

My lips curve into a warm smile. “I really appreciate the sentiment, but everything’s fine. Let’s just focus on work. I have to be at the animal shelter tonight, so it’s going to be a long day for me.”

******

It’s my second day back at the cafe after my unexpected holiday, and it hasn’t escaped my notice that Robert has not been showing up like he usually does. One of the reasons I don’t want to discuss this with Jazz is because a very small part of me feels a little insulted.

Tommy Decker has begun repairing the marble. He found the same design, and he’s going to be at it for at least one more day. However, there has not been a single peep from Robert himself. I don’t know what his absence means.

Did he simply want to get me in bed? And now that he has managed to do so, he’s done with me? In an ideal world, that would be the best possible scenario. At least, for me, the less involved I am with Robert, the safer I am. But at the same time, whenever I think about this particular possible motivation of his, my heart hurts. I don’t know why.

I have always tried to make decisions that would benefit me. I’ve always known that I have to be smart and look out for myself because nobody else will. I should be happy. I should be relieved, in fact. Robert avoiding me is a good thing.

But my eyes keep staring at the door. And every time a customer walks in, I feel disappointed that it’s not the person I want it to be.

As the third day passes, I finally come to terms with the fact that I was indeed just a notch on Alpha Montgomery’s bed post. Maybe he wanted to see what a vampire was like in bed? My mood plummets at the thought, and there’s a burning sensation in my chest.

It’s fine. Not like it’s the end of the world. So I got manipulated into bed by a wolf Alpha. At least he left me alive and in one piece. I need to be grateful for the small things and focus on my life.

But I find myself dabbing my eyes every now and then, an unfamiliar sting in my heart.

As the evening rolls around, and the number of customers drops, I wave goodbye to Jazz, who is heading to the library to work on her thesis.

Shelby is going to come later today, so I have the cafe to myself for a while. It’s almost seven now, and I’m munching on the sandwich I brought with me from home today. Recently, my appetite has increased. I’m hungry most of the time.

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