The Alpha's Reluctant Mate

Chapter 1

6 years later...

"Order up!" Ding! Maggie rushed to the pick up window to grab her table's order. She had managed at The Watering-hole Tavern for a few years now and her body seemed to be able to move on it's own. Unless it was super busy she could zone out her mind and let her body just naturally go through the motions.

Tonight was your typical Thursday night. Only the local regulars were here. Made it kind of slow but Maggie was ok with slow. She could always use a little more slow in her life. She dropped the basket of burger and fries next to Old Ben and grabbed his beer glass to get him a refill.

She had just replace Ben's beer when she caught a whiff of lilies and sunshine. Maggie smiled knowing who the scent came from. What was she doing here on a school night?

"Boo!" A pair of arms grabbed around Maggie's waist. Had they belonged to anyone else Maggie would have torn them off but she knew the young she-wolf attached to them was only being playful.

"Hello Candace. What on earth are you doing here?" Maggie turned to face her one friend.

"Aww...how did you know it was me?" Candace was a petite young woman with light brown curly hair. She must have come straight from her school library as she had her backpack with her still.

"I could smell you," Maggie replied touching her nose. Plus anyone could hear you in those clunky shoes." Maggie gestured to the wedge sandals at Candace's feet. "What on earth are you doing here on a school night? Does your dad know you are here? I don't want to be getting on his bad side."

Candace's dad was to local pack's Alpha. Although Maggie was technically still a rogue,  she was granted status of friend of the pack when she helped Candace out of a few scrapes. Help the Alpha's daughter stay out of trouble and he would look over your status as a rogue as long as you didn't cause any trouble. Maggie was lucky. Most Alpha's were not as understanding.

"Dad gave me permission to see you tonight as he knows you are going to be making yourself scarce here soon. Although I don't see why. The gathering happens only once every three years and it's happening here of all places. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to host the royal family. I wouldn't miss it."

Candace was young, still in her last year of high school and thanks to her dad very sheltered. Not that that was a bad thing. Maggie in fact quite envied her naïveté. It was one of the things that endeared Candace to Maggie. Maggie began wiping the bar down to distract herself from Candace's query.

"I don't do well with packs. I have a hard enough time dealing with one pack and I actually like your pack. I don't want the added pressure of every pack across the nation breathing down my neck. I'll just whole up with my plants and my books til this all blows over" Candace rolled her eyes.

"Well I on the other hand can't wait. Dad says he's going to let me join in the mating run...although he says he still won't let me leave the pack until I graduated. Can you imagine waiting eight months before being able to live with your mate? That sounds like torture! I guess it's better than having to wait another three years. Better to know who it is and look forward to it than to wait and wonder if they are out there."

Maggie smiled as her friend spoke of her excitement. The gathering of the packs happened every three years. During this time the Alpha King would meet with pack leaders and settle disputes while also developing pack relations. The mating run was the pinnacle of the gathering where unmated wolves would meet in hopes of finding their mate.

When she was young Maggie dreamed of attending a gathering and the magical moment when she would find her mate on the night of the full moon running together for the first time. Of course all that changed when she realized Bryce was her mate.

Bryce. Even after all these year that name would still stop her in her tracks as she tried to keep herself from falling into that pit of despair it so longed for. Candace focused on Maggie and lightly touched her hand when she saw Maggie had stilled mid swipe of the bar.

"Hey.." the touch broke Maggie out of her thoughts and she was grateful for the reprieve. "Where did you go just now Maggie." Maggie smiled at her kind friend. She went by Margret now. Maggie for short. It was her mother's name. Made it harder for old problems to find her. 

"No where important." Candace analyzed Maggie with her gaze knowing Maggie was not telling the truth but not knowing how to get it. Maggie wanting to further distance herself from the topic went in for a distraction. "Hey want to see if I can sneak you a milkshake?" Candace lit up at the suggestion.

"Double chocolate Oreo with extra whip cream?" She asked with her eyes hopeful.

"As if I make any other kind," Maggie replied with a sly smile. "Go take your stuff to your regular booth and I'll bring it to you when it's ready and we can chat in between orders." Candace scampered to her booth while Maggie went to the milkshake machine behind the bar to get her shake started.

Maggie was blending said milkshake when the tavern door opened and two giant men wearing jeans and flannel shirts walked in. Maggie looked up to greet the men when her eyes made contact with a pair of deep blue eyes. Maggie stilled what she was doing.

Lost in those eyes she was only able to vaguely notice how tall and big the man connected to them were. His hair was pitch black which he wore short on the side and longer on top. He had a strong jaw with a shadow of stubble. To say this man was gorgeous was an understatement. In reality this man oozed sex and power. In all her years as a rogue she had never met a man who she was attracted to as much as this one.

She broke the eye contact only momentarily to put down the milkshake before returning her focus back to the Adonis. As she began to once again admire the specimen before her, the tavern door closed behind them causing a draft of air to hit her. Her senses were immediately rushed with the smell of rain and pine. It was intoxicating. But underneath that she smelt the smell of power and thinly veiled control. These men were wolves. Not only that but the one she was gawking at was an alpha and a big one at that. Fucking great!