Chapter 2 02

ELIZA

What the actual F...!

I couldn't believe myself. I never talked to strangers, especially the handsome ones. You couldn't be too careful these days...I knew that better than anyone. But something about the man...Ethan, felt oddly different.

And did I just tell him where I worked? Do I want to be followed or worse...stalked? What was I thinking?

But who was I kidding. Was he even going to follow me? His actions told me otherwise. And stalking? Bet I was more likely to stalk him because him stalking me felt nothing more than a dream.

Back at the Black Cat Hotel, I tried to focus on my baking, but my mind kept wandering back to Ethan. There was something about him, something that felt impossible to explain.

And burn my cakes if I was wrong, his charm and aura were irresistible. It wasn't just his icy blue eyes or the way he looked at me.

It was more than that.

Was that love at first sight? No. Not again. I couldn't be in love. My past lovers, they all proved to me I wasn't worthy of anyone's love and trust. I shouldn't...

But Ethan...he wasn't like any of them.

As the afternoon stretched on, I found myself stealing glances at the clock, wishing for the workday to end. I didn't know if I'd ever see him but I was impatient to see him again.

"Ellie, did you get yourself in trouble?" Danial, a fellow chef, asked me in a tone just above a whisper.

"What?" I was confused.

"They called for your file," he told me.

My head wandered to every possibility that would get me in trouble. The bosses here were pretty tough and there were no second chances here. I couldn't lose this job.

And then a staff member appeared out of nowhere, "Eliza, Miss Margaret called for you."

I exchanged looks with Danial and took a deep gulp. My heart thudded faster with every step. My stomach curled up to my chest as I knocked on the open door of Margaret's office.

"Eliza, you know that the hotel's 100th Anniversary is in three weeks." she spoke as she wore her glasses, "I want you to stay on top of your schedule for the dessert."

"Yes, Ma'am," I managed to say, "I have a few ideas already. I'll pitch you them tomorrow maybe."

She nodded and gestured to me to leave. That was a close call. I almost thought this was my last day at the hotel.

ETHAN

I sat at my desk, trying to focus on the reports in front of me, but my thoughts kept drifting back to her. A sharp cough made me jump back to reality.

Landon, my second-in-command, stood in the doorway with an eyebrow raised, clearly aware that my mind was elsewhere.

"Alpha," Landon began, "the pack meeting's tonight. The elders are concerned about the recent crimes involving the hotels in the area."

I nodded, though my mind was still half on Eliza. "Landon, can you check on the staff at the Black Cat Hotel? Focus on the kitchen...especially the pastry team."

Landon tilted his head. "The kitchen staff? May I ask why?"

"There's someone I need information on. A chef. Her name's Eliza. Ellie maybe."

"Eliza or Ellie? Do you have her full name, Alpha?"

"All I know is that she works on the confectionery side."

Landon gave a nod, "I'll see what I can find."

Thomas and Margaret were old friends. They owned 50% shares of the Black Cat Hotel. I had known Thomas since college, and while we belonged to different groups, we had always worked well together.

Grabbing my phone, I dialed Thomas.

"Ethan!" Thomas answered.

"Thomas, I need to talk with you. Can we meet tomorrow?"

"Of course. Why don't you stop by for lunch?"

"Perfect. I'll see you at the hotel tomorrow."

As soon as I hung up, Landon returned with a file in hand. "Alpha," he began, "her name is Eliza Angelica Potter. She's nineteen and moved to Luparan about two years ago from Tigrath. She lives alone in a small rented house by the river. Both her parents are deceased, and she has no siblings."

I leaned back in my chair as I absorbed the details. Parents deceased, no siblings, living alone.

"Does the hotel let humans work?"

"Alpha, you know that's against the community rules."

"That's why I was curious about this woman." I spoke, letting out a sigh.

"What's so special about this woman, Ethan?"

"I met her at the park today." I hesitated before answering, choosing my words carefully. "I think she might be my mate."

Landon's eyebrows shot up. "Your mate?"

"Yeah, and I bet she doesn't know what she is," I said, more to myself than to Landon. "I think she doesn't know about shifters. And I'm certain she's a shifter as well because she's working at the hotel but maybe...she hasn't shifted yet."

"But isn't it strange for a shifter to not shift till nineteen?" Landon curiously spoke.

"That's what's worrying me. Maybe she's a human adopted by the Potter family since they had no other children. Or maybe she's been shifting but she isn't aware of it."

I had to help her. She had to know who she was and the truth about where she worked. She had no one else to tell her the truth about the part of the world she was dealing with.

That evening, the pack meeting confirmed what I had feared. A rogue pack of wolves had been causing trouble in the area, and their actions were escalating. Being the Alpha, I wasted no time organizing a group to track and neutralize the threat before it grew out of control.

Later that night, as I lay in bed, my thoughts returned to Eliza. There was something about her scent that had sparked something in me which I hadn't felt in years.

Infact, I ever hadn't felt that before. That scent told me she was my mate. A shifter or not, I knew she was mine.