Hate Mates (The Alpha Shifter)

Chapter Two

Three years later

Alexa smiled at the small tourist family, trying to be her most welcoming self. Whenever civilians came through the town, she tried to be normal for them. It happened often, as Marcel wanted their town to thrive, but fortunately, other than a few wolf-human matings, not many stayed for too long. The harsh winter elements always helped to deter any unwanted stays.

They had hot summers, freezing cold winters, and lots of different weather in between.

She gave the little girl a wink and turned back to the main counter to post another order.

Wolves had big appetites, but she had noticed so did humans, in their own way.

With the order placed, she stuffed the pencil behind her ear and went back to cleaning up the table.

Whenever it was her time to work at the diner, she liked to keep busy. Her wolf had developed keen senses. She had superb hearing, and she detected rotting flesh from miles away. There was always that pesky little problem she had with her strength as well. Only her parents and Marcel were aware of it.

From the moment she turned, her hearing had been impeccable, able to detect hunters, animals, and even when one of the pack was injured down at the lake. They also had a problem last year when some of the young kids wandered off into the woods and got lost. Marcel had come to her, to listen.

She’d found them within ten minutes, afraid of the dark, cold, and more than ready to face the wrath of their parents. Then a few months ago, she had discovered … her strength had gotten a hell of a lot stronger. Like, crazy, scary strong. She wasn’t scared.

Of course not. Why would she be afraid of the fact that she broke doors and had even knocked down a tree? It always happened. No big deal.

Admittedly, she hadn’t told Marcel that the reason she was so angry was that she wanted to punch Cheryl in her rotten face because she was a bitch who liked to tell her in great detail that she and Landon were a couple. The same Landon she didn’t want or care about. The same guy who had just entered the damn diner with the woman who liked to get on her nerves.

She kept a smile on her face, and glancing over at Denise, she saw that her coworker was not going to serve Landon and his crew.

It was up to her. They had sat in her spot, and there was no way out of it.

Sometimes she tried to avoid serving him when he came to the diner. She wished she was on her library rotation because then she’d never see him or his girlfriend. Marcel made them all pitch in to work. Being part of the pack came with a responsibility of being useful. He demanded it of them all the time.

For three years, when she wasn’t studying for online courses, she helped around the pack. It was what everyone in the pack did. Help out. Serve. Become a unit. They were their own community, and it was what helped them run as an efficient and close pack.

Taking the pencil from behind her ear, she walked to the table, aware of their gazes on her.

She wondered if Landon was aware of Ben and Drew hitting on her on separate occasions. She had turned them both down because they were gross.

“What can I get you?” she asked, keeping her voice clear.

Cheryl ran her fingers across Landon’s arm.

The whole pack knew Alexa and Landon were mates, but still, Cheryl liked to insist that each full moon, he would eventually pick her.

Alexa didn’t have a problem with that.

Each full moon, she hated that they somehow found themselves close to one another. She always sensed him near her, all the damn time. Her wolf loved it. Nothing ever happened. They would be close, and their wolves were happy with that, and then, they would spend the next cycle until the next, avoiding each other. For three years they’d done this successfully.

Landon still hadn’t picked another mate.

“Well, isn’t this cute. You know, you should tell the manager to get a bigger size. It looks a little indecent,” Cheryl said, laughing as she also chewed gum.

Did she not realize how … horrible that looked?

Alexa smiled. She knew she was fuller-figured. She’d developed tits and an ass at an early age. At first, she’d been embarrassed by her body, but her mother refused to let her hide. She had to be proud of who she was.

She winked at Cheryl, aware that her uniform fit to perfection. “I’ll be sure to mention that to Marcel, seeing as he is the one who supplied my uniform.”

Cheryl went completely pale.

The other woman hadn’t been in Marcel’s good books for some time. She’d been caught slapping her little sister around the face, and well, violence within the pack, against a younger sibling, wasn’t accepted. Especially when the younger sister was afraid of the water. Cheryl had slapped her sister, and then shoved her into the lake. Alexa had been there, rushing into the lake, pulling the little girl out, and comforting her. Cindy was a sweet girl, and Alexa had been teaching her how to swim for the past few months.