Beauty and the Supernatural Beast

Chapter 2 "Who are you?!"

Alana's POV

Closing time.  I thought the day would never end.  I wasn't sure what was worse, first or second shift.  I grabbed my things and took my hair down from the sorry excuse of a ponytail.  I walked out the door into the night.  This was my first time walking back to the hotel at night. The moment I got into town, my car decided to break down.  I of course took it as a sign that this was where I was meant to stay.  Then again, even if it wasn't, I was stuck here until I could afford to pay the bill at the mechanic's shop.  So.....I decided to settle in.

The hotel wasn't far from the diner, thank god!  It wasn't a bad walk during the day, but at night, all of buildings and sounds creeped me out.  As I was walking past a small alley, I noticed a group of three men hanging out. And they noticed me. "Hey you. Where ya goin?" One called out, throwing his cigarette on the ground.  He sounded drunk. Shit!  I started walking faster to try and lose them, but I was sure they'd catch up. I noticed a large dumpster in the next alley, so I quickly ran to hide behind it.  I watched as the men walked quickly by, not noticing me at all.  My breathing started easing itself again with my close call. Safe. I thought to myself.  Until a deep voice startled me once more.

"You usually hang out behind dumpsters at night?" I quickly turned in a panic, about to run away. But I stood up and noticed the familiar face.  It was the customer at the diner earlier. The one I couldn't stop looking at. The one I couldn't stop thinking about. The one who gave me all kinds of weird and new feelings when he touched my hand.  "No. I was hiding from those drunk guys that just walked by." I explained. He huffed a bit and gave out a small kind of growl thing.  His face turned to almost anger. It was a little strange.  "You shouldn't be walking these streets alone at night.  We don't exactly have some of the best characters around here. Especially men. And especially when they've been drinking." He said as he took a step closer.  I took a small step back. "Are you one of those men?" I couldn't believe I said it out loud.  I didn't mean to. I didn't want to anger this guy.  He could kill me in a second with his bare hands! His large, masculine, manly hands. That connected to perfectly sculpted muscular arms filled with all kinds of tattoos. That trailed up all the way to his neck. Which made me stare at his beard, then lips. Which made me think of.........WHAT THE FUCK STOP IT!!!! I yelled at myself.

He then took another step closer. This time I didn't move. "I am one of those men babydoll.  But not to you." His smile was more of a sexy smirk.  My insides began to burn. I had to keep myself from jumping on top of this stranger. "What's your name?" He asked suddenly. ".....Alana." I answered through my heavy breathing. He looked down on the ground with the smile staying put. Then reached out his hand. "I'm Leo." I slowly raised my arm to shake the hand before me. Once I touched it, that feeling from earlier began. Only stronger. It felt amazing. But scared me a bit as well. I quickly retracted my arm to my side. What was wrong with me?!

He walked passed me out of the alley then turned to face me. "You coming?" He asked. I was confused. "To where?" I questioned, even though I didn't care. I knew I'd follow this man anywhere. Get it together woman! I said in my head. "I'm walking you home." Oh. Home. Back to the hotel. Of course. He had just said it wasn't safe for me to walk alone at night. It wasn't like I was assuming he meant back to his place or anything. Oh how I'd love it if he suggested that instead.

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Leo's POV

She began to follow me. As we walked next to eachother on the sidewalk, I stole a few glances. God was she gorgeous.  Even more so with her hair down.  Usually I would be all over her. However, seeing as she was my mate and not some random chick I picked up at the bar, I didn't want to give her the wrong impression or have her run away from me. Not that running away would last long in this case.

We walked in silence for a few moments. For the first time in forever, I couldn't think of what to say. "So......are you new around here?" I asked. I sounded so dumb asking a question like that. "Yeah. Been here about two weeks." I could tell by her voice she was nervous. Good thing she couldn't read my mind.  "What brought you here?" I asked. She cleared her throat and slowly glanced up to me. "I'm not sure really.  Wanted a change. So I left home.  Car broke down here so I took it as a sign that I would stay." Her answer made me excited. I knew how she ended up here. It was to meet me. "Is that why you're walking home?" No shit that's why she's walking in the middle of the night after working 9 hours on her feet. "Yeah. It's fixed, I just have to save up the money to pay for it." I could sense a little sadness in her voice. It pained me.  I didn't want her to be upset about anything. Not ever again. My instincts were yelling at me to fix it and make her happy.

We made our way to the Bell Motel.  I was confused at first. Wondering why she led us here.  "This is where you're staying?" I asked. She cleared her throat and starred at the ground in embarrassment. "Yeah. Until I can find and afford somewhere else." Her voice was quiet.  Now I felt bad again. I didn't want her to feel embarrassed. What the fuck?! Is this what having a mate does to you?! Makes you constantly want to make them happy and comfortable or else you stay in a weird annoying pain?! "Don't worry. You won't be staying here long. Not as long as I'm alive." The words came out of my mouth the same time they entered my mind.  Shit. "Ummmm ok? What do you mean?" She asked. I was scaring her. Fuck! "I'm gonna help you find a place better than this shithole. This place is for druggies and hookers. Not a place for a girl like you." I wasn't wrong.  That literally all that stayed there.

I heard her chuckle a bit. "Well, I'm not a druggie or a hooker. So I guess you're right. I shouldn't stay here. Don't want to give anyone the wrong idea or anything." Her smile was glorious. Made me melt in a second. Suddenly, the thought of a guy mistaking her for a hooker came to me. It made me burn with fury.  Thinking of another man touching my girl. I'd fucking kill him. "Are you ok?" She asked sounding concerned. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked down at her, not being able to contain my smile as her eyes met mine. "Yeah. But I'll be at the diner tomorrow night. I'll have a lead or two for you by then." I would walk right into someone's house and kick them out myself if I had to. Especially after seeing her smile becoming bigger. I had done it. I had made her happy.  These feelings are going to be the death of me.