Page 28 of Alpha's Baby Girl
It had hurt to see her like that, my mate, looking so lost.
The Thalia that opened the hotel room door was a far cry from the one I’d seen in the lobby. She’d applied a light layer of makeup to her pale face, her lips painted blood-red, a color that immediately had me wanting to kiss her. Her eyes were brighter, the dark circles beneath them covered up. Eyeliner winged out from the corners of her eyes, making her look fierce. Whether this was a mask or a genuine attempt to make herself feel better I didn’t know.
“You look beautiful,” I said, feeling like a fool for how speechless I was. I’d seen her dressed up for the banquet but this was a more casual look. This was forme, not for the Games. This was for the date we finally got to have.
“Ready to dodge the attention of the other she-wolves?” I asked, laughing. She smiled brightly at me, her mood so changed. Whatever she’d worked out with herself in the last hour must have settled her slightly. A small satisfied part of me wanted to believe that it was because of me taking out that cheered her up.
“Where are we going?” she asked, shutting her door as we walked down the hall, to the elevator. Immediately, I reached for her hand, and she let me link my fingers through hers. Perhaps it was risky amid the Games but as long as we weren’t spotted, we would be okay. I was tired of denying us any intimacy, especially after our night together last night.
“There aren’t many places you won’t know here so I can’t impress you like I would want to.” I grinned. I’d driven my own car up from my house so I could pretend like this was a proper, normal date. I opened the door for her and then got on the driver’s side. Her eyes ran over me, my hand on the gear shift, my other hand gripping the wheel. She swallowed, and I resisted a smirk. “Like what you see?”
“This,” she said, gesturing to my outfit—a navy short-sleeved shirt, a Rolex watch, and dress shorts—“Is something out of a dream.” I knew I looked good; I lookedexpensive, and I liked that. I liked that it impressed her.
I drove towards a diner that I’d loved in my late teenage years. It hadn’t come here since, a week after my father had died. It had been the same day Thalia had told me we were mates, and I’d laughed, turning her away. I hadn’t wanted to make fun of her; I hadn’t intended to humiliate her. She’d approached me, and I knew exactly what she was trying to do that day.
She had wanted to recreate the day we’d met having dropped her phone, the very thing that had drawn my attention to her. But that had only served as a reminder of how I’d lost my father the week before. I had remembered the boy who had started college, compared to the one Thalia had asked to be her mate, two years later. The grief had hit me all over again. The pressure of sports season, graduation on the horizon, my friends watching me, figuring out a funeral service… And then she’d called me her mate. Of course I had known but how could I have let another thing in at the time?
Coldly, I had turned her away, not realizing the consequences of my actions. I knew her father had resigned from the council not long after, her mother quitting her job at the college. Conall had been right the other day: it hadn’t been a simple breakup at all.
Jack’s Diner was on the corner of Main Street, facing a bookstore and a bakery. Further down the street was the Inferno Lounge, a nightclub and lounge, something pretty high-end for Silverlake Valley. Further down was the bar that Conall worked at. I would avoid being there tonight. I guided Thalia to the diner. Part of her hair was braided back, away from her face, and we were both entirely too dressed up for a casual diner, but it was about the time I got to spend with her rather than worrying over where we spent that time.
In a sleek black dress with flared capped sleeves, she looked out of place in the old-style diner but I grinned across the table at her as we both picked up laminated menus.
“I hope you weren’t expecting something fancier,” I said.
“This is perfect,” she answered. There was still a furrow to her brows, like something was in her mind, just pushed further back. I wanted to smooth it away but knew that whatever she was processing might be a solo thing. If her feelings were due to our history, I needed to let her think through that in her own space. The most I had to do was focus on earning her trust.
“Thalia—”
“What’s the club burger?” she asked, cutting me off,.
Surprised at her interrupting me as I’d been about to tell her that I wanted to be with her through anything she needed to figure out. The message was clear: for now, talking about earlier was off the table.
“Just… I just want this time for ourselves,” she said, sensing me being taken aback. “We can talk later, I promise. For now, can we just be us? A normal date, right?”
“Right,” I answered. “Got it.” Okay, the club burger. So it’s this four-patty burger that’s absolutely insane. It has 3 types of cheese on it, packed with every bit of salad you can think of, all topped with sauce and onion rings. I don’t know if you remember Conall, my—”
“I remember Conall,” Thalia said, a stiffness to her voice. Oh, that wasn’t good. I made a note to introduce them properly. I wanted her to know my whole pack now, grown up and somewhat matured. My mate needed to know my pack. She needed new associations with them that had nothing to do with college. “I would like to be reacquainted, but I remember him.”
“Right,” I said. “I’d love that. As my mate I want you to get to know my pack properly. Anyway, Conall and I used to come here every Saturday to see who could eat it the fastest. The burger’s a beast, but it’s Jack’s signature. He’s been cookin’ it for ten years now.”
Thalia’s eyes had a challenging look as she grinned at me for the first time in hours. “The challenge is on.” She flagged down the waitress, and ordered two of the club burgers, fries each, and a large milkshake to share.
I couldn’t help admiring her as she talked, her eyes were so striking yet soft. That carnal need from last night had dimmed to a more manageable intensity, and while I would have happily taken her right on the table in the diner, onlookers be damned, I wanted to let myself have the simple pleasure of simply admiring Thalia.
When our burgers arrived, she cocked her head at me in a challenge. “Have you ever heard that story of the Luna who bested her alpha?”
“No,” I answered. “What is it—”
Thalia took a massive bite out of her burger, giggling, and I realized she meantoursoon-to-be story if I didn’t hurry up. I could out-eat her but watching her devour it was actually very attractive. It made me think of how we might hunt together, take down our prey, feed our pack, and feast together.
Lust for her curled in me as I thought of our future together, knowing she was what I wanted. And the fact she had referred to me as my Luna already had me adjusting my pants as my cock twitched in interest.
She was making keeping my hands off her very difficult.
After we finished eating, she sagged against the leather booth. “I owe you an explanation.”
“Only if you’re ready to,” I assured her.
