Page 8 of Rome's Mate: Hunted Omegas

“Thanks, Maddie. Call me Amy.” It probably wasn’t good to use her real name here. She was still too close to the pack, in her opinion.

Maddie gave her an extra bright smile. “Can I get you something to drink? Water, coffee, or maybe a soda?”

She had a fondness for Mountain Dew and only got to drink it when her father took her out to eat. It wasn’t often enough. He never approved of her drinking it.

“Can I get a Mountain Dew?” Part of her expected Maddie to scold her for asking for a drink with so much sugar in it.

“Sure, sweetie, I’ll grab your order and be back shortly. Let me know when you decide what you want.”

Amelia looked over the menu to discover they had a trucker’s breakfast special. It was two eggs any way she wanted them, a double order of sausage, bacon, or steak, a bowl of grits, and six flapjacks. All the butter, syrup, and honey a girl’s heart could desire.

When Maddie came back carrying a large glass of soda, Amelia knew this place might be as close to nirvana as she ever found.

“Are you ready to order?”

She took a deep drink of her soda before nodding. “I want the trucker’s special with the steak, please.”

Both of Maddie’s eyebrows flew up. “Are you sure? That’s an enormous amount of food.”

“Thanks for the warning, but I haven’t eaten for a while.”

“Alright, I’ll call it in.” Maddie went to the front counter. “Jack, one trucker’s special, steak, over easy.”

Amelia reached into the pocket in the back of her pants and took out the phone her father had recently upgraded for her. It was a guilty pleasure that there was an app that allowed her to read. Her secret love was romance. When you didn’t have any in your own life, you found it where you could.

“I hope you’re as hungry as you think you are.” Maddie sat down a bowl of grits, followed by a plate with two thick steaks on them. Amelia could feel her saliva trying to come out of her mouth.

She didn’t have a wolf inside of her, but it didn’t matter; she ate like she did. Her body needed the calories like any other shifter she’d met. Then Maddie sat down a plate of eggs, then a plate of flapjacks. Lastly, she added rolls and condiments. Amelia had to wipe her mouth, or saliva would be everywhere. She felt like the condemned, starving man finally getting his last meal.

Not only was she starving, but she felt a pressure inside of her. A change she couldn’t explain. It felt like something she should understand. Maybe her non-existent wolf looked out of her eyes at the food and growled.

“Thanks.” She gave Maddie a fake smile and waited, almost digging her nails into her hands, until Maddie left her table.

“Thank you, goddess, for your bountiful blessings.” There was no doubt she was thanking Luna. There was a howl in her head that thanked the goddess differently. Then she fell onto the food, inhaling it until she had to push away the different plates to keep her from licking them. When she sat back, not only was she full, but she was content. She could feel the smile on her face. Her eyes closed for a few minutes. Now that she was full, she could take a nap.

“I’m pretty impressed and slightly scared. You ate everything.” She looked at Maddie, her silver eyes catching her green ones. “Oh, your eyes are beautiful. I wonder why I didn’t see them when you first walked in.”

“Thank you. I love your eyes too. The green is perfection,” Maddie blushed and mumbled. “Can I get another Mountain Dew and the bill?”

“Sure. I wanted to tell you, if you don’t have any place to be, we have a server job open for the second shift, and we’re looking to fill it.” She left to get her drink and bill.

Amelia’s mind came to an abrupt halt. Could she stay here and work? Even if it was just for a short time. It would allow her toassimilate into the human world. Who could say she wasn’t one of them?

Her feet itched, and they marched underneath the table. Taking steps as if to say they need to leave. She was shocked enough that leaning down and looking at her feet was all she could do. Sure enough, her feet were moving in a marching rhythm. The unfamiliar presence she felt in her head was growling. She was wearing the new boots the old woman gave her. And until now, they hadn’t hurt or pinched her feet. If asked, she’d swear she was barefooted. That’s how comfortable they were. This was her decision, but that didn’t mean that things around or inside of her weren’t going to throw their opinion into the mix.

“Thanks.” Maddie came back with her soda. Hopefully, the caffeine and the sugar would keep her awake. She pulled out the card to her bank and prayed there was enough money in it to cover this tab and handed it to Maddie. The balance on the card was the next thing that needed checking.

“Stop.” It was a whisper, not wanting any of the surrounding tables to hear her talking to herself. “I’m not staying.” Immediately she felt her boots calm down and her feet went back to feeling great. Whatever was happening in her head stopped.

Amelia realized her mistake the minute Maddie handed her card back and the receipt. The card had her real name on it: Amelia Dumas. Taking both the card and the receipt, she tried to find an explanation. When she looked at her card, it said Amy Martin. She couldn’t explain the name on her card, and she didn’t try. She simply signed the receipt as Amy Martin and added a large tip since she didn’t have any cash on her.

Her father had taken the time to explain why he gave large tips, more than once. “Sweetheart, for people like us. Shifters, the tip is sacrosanct. If we don’t leave a tip, people willremember us and talk about us. If someone was looking for us, they would be the first to volunteer information. What we were wearing, what direction we took off, even our name if we paid with a credit card.”

“If we leave a tip, and it’s only okay, some may still be tempted to talk. If we leave a hefty tip and someone comes in to ask about us, our server will develop temporary amnesia, even going as far as to give the person asking the wrong information. Humans tend to take care of those that have taken care of them.”

Amelia watched as Maddie’s eyes got wide as she saw the tip. The look in them made her feel good. After being a piranha around the pack, she was going to do whatever she could do to make other lives a little easier.

“Thanks for the job opportunity, but I have somewhere to be. You ever have that itch that you needed to keep moving?”

---