Sorry I've been absent guys!! I was in Disneyland with a friend for her birthday :D Which also put a strain on my schooling which I'm really not doing so hot right now . . . YIKESSS STRESS I HATE YOU AHAHALAKJDSLFMA;LDSKFNA;SLDFJA;J
same.
Pic above is Brooke and Jess.
The blonde is Brooke and the brunette is Jess which is funny cuz they're each from the movie the duff and I'm pretty sure that the brunettes name is jess in the movie xD
AYE 3.4K READS THOUGHHHHHH!!!! YEEET
Well...anyways, I'm really excited to get to the plot of this book and have things become more well known. I think I'm going to have Demetri's POV in this chapter, finally we'll get some more insight on that hot piece of meat ;)
I really do have high hopes for this book and it makes me happy we at least have 2k views all together!
I would absolutely love for this book to take off, so I pray that it does and thank you everyone who stayed with it AND is just now reading it and enjoys it, without my fans I'd be a flopping zero xD
I'll be introducing some new characters in this chapter so don't freak out if you don't recognize any of these names (: ENJOY ~
Demetri's POC
I stalked through the office and shut the door behind me. I felt my palms sweat anxiously, so I rubbed them on my jeans. I took a deep breath, fully aware I was being ridiculous. I was the leader of my pack for God's sake and should any of them see me like this it'd be an understatement to say it would be shameful.
"Sir," I heard someone call from beyond the closed door. I took in a breath, realizing it was just Allistaire. (AUTHORS NOTE HIS NAME IS PRONOUNCED AL-ISS-TERR)
I opened the door and allowed him to walk in. He shook his long blonde hair that hung to his shoulders, and lightly rubbed his cheeks which held onto the remains of an elder beard. Allistaire wasn't my second but was genuinely close to me after saving me in a battle against a different pack.
I often confided in him when I needed help on certain matters though my second grew green with envy at our trust.
"Demetri, I have news on the Silver Moon pack," He said with a slight raise of his eyebrows. He spoke lackadaisically and lightly tugged on his long overcoat with brown cuffs and stuffed his calloused hands in his tighter black jeans.
I felt my skin prickle with anticipation as I heard those very words come out of his mouth. The Silver Moon pack had been our rival pack, which led to problems considering we both had a large amount of people in our packs yet the area we inhabited was much smaller than usual. Two Alpha's could not rule together in the same small area. We had the urge to dominate, and sharing power was not something that ran in our blood.
"Landon Silver set another complaint to Reece the other day, whining that some of the pack keeps crossing the borders into his pack," He explained, lightly rolling his eyes. I sighed and leaned against my dark desk.
"I was on the phone with Reece the other day and I'm afraid his judgement isn't up to par at the moment for he seems distracted."
"Did he find her?" Allistaire asked with raised eyebrows as though asking was a chore. I nodded.
"Which Her?" I retorted.
"Either his mate, or the one we've been looking for, whichever works," he replied.
"Both. He found both. While Reece's responsibility is solely to ensure that our two packs stay out of war, we both know who he'll side with now that he knows who his mate is. Of all the Peacekeepers, Reece is the only one who stays reasonable and respects everyone's different views, so if we lose his neutrality to Landon Silver then the chances of war are slim."
Allistaire nodded in agreement and sat on my leather couch nonchalantly. I ignored his disrespect had it been anyone else I'd come unglued.
"That brings up a few problems. Reece is the head Peacekeeper and should he line his tickets up with Silver Moon, then Morgiana will be the head and that alone will cause more problems. Not only are her abilities incredibly powerful but her mind games will definitely send each pack to war and make it seem as though its our fault," I sighed.
"Morgiana knows she'll earn head Peacekeeper with Reece siding with Landon's pack, so that is what she relies on. She'll base the new governing system completely off of new magic. However," Allistaire paused, earning my attention, " I hear a rumor about her mate being in town and I can't help but wonder who'll she will side with but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. As for now, what can we do about Mrs. Skaarsgaurd?"
I rubbed my temples.
"Assuming she is close with Reece's mate, she'll be lured into meeting Landon for his own personal gains, but of course I have the upperhand since she belongs to me by fate. I plan on pursuing her of course. I need to make sure she'll be a strong Luna to the pack without any confusion on where her loyalties lie. Should she rethink what she wants during when the two of us reign in the future it could very well destroy all I've built."
"And you're sure you can get her to love you in such a short amount of time, no doubt intended of course?" Allistaire asked with a flat stare.
I growled in my throat. "Of course. As long as her meddlesome friends and bodacious boss stay out of the picture. I just need time before she has any long run ins with Landon. If she finds out too early what we are, let alone with she is, everything will be at stake and everything we've done will have been for nothing. Let's hope it doesn't come to that," I said with ease.
"As for now?"
"As for now, I go and find Venus, though I'm sure I won't have a problem finding her."
"Fate seems to work that way with you two doesn't it?"
"Indeed," I smirked, "It does."
Venus's POV***
I was jumpy today. Too jumpy. And everyone seemed to notice it. Marge told me to calm down as she applied more blush to her cheeks this morning in the compact mirror hidden in her bustier. Moira teased me asking if I'd just popped a bit of adderol due to my jitters. Will asked if I was sick and needed to go home after I'd dropped a glass of water on my lucky table 4. Hell,even Dennis our cook made a crack at a joke.
But no, I wasn't on adderol, and I wasn't sick, but I knew what today was and no one else did. It was day 5. I wasn't sure how I would run into him today. Maybe I'd taken hostage by someone trying to rob the diner. Perhaps there would be a fire and he'd come in with fire fighter pants, no shirt but the overalls, and save me. I had to knock on wood that none of those things would happen except for maybe seeing him shirtless while wearing a sexy firefighter costume.
"Boo!"
I jumped again and hit my back on the sharp of the counter. Will sat stood there with a grin plastered on his face while I clutched my heart and tried to regulate my breathing.
"You ass, don't scare me like that!" I hissed, taking a deep breath. Will merely smiled, crossed his arms and laughed.
"Well don't be so damn jumpy. Seriously," He sobered up, "did you drink too much coffee or something? You haven't stopped moving all day."
I contemplated telling one of my best friends about my "supposed" date tonight. Well, as long as Will promised to keep it between us. I went out on a limb and decided to share my excitement.
"I have a date tonight, and you know I haven't really been on a date in well . . . forever it seems," I said with a shrug. Will's face dropped noticeably but he did smile.
"Sounds fun, who's the guy?" He asked. I bit my lip and wondered if I should say. I knew if word got out to Marge or Moira, the two would decide to bash me for whatever reason. I felt my palms begin to sweat.
"Eh . . . well . . "
But before I could answer the question, the welcome bell rang. I felt my adrenaline once again pierce through me like a sledgehammer pounding on a nail. I turned, lightly jumping back in shock but took a deep breath when I realized it was just a girl walking in with a friend to eat.
I took a deep breath, somewhat relieved and disappointed it wasn't Demetri. "That's my table," I said and hurried away. I thanked the Gods that I was able to escape conversation with Will even if I did feel a little guilty for leaving him in the dust.
I walked around the counter and stopped at table 2. I noticed it was the same blonde girl who showed up with her sketchy father a few days ago.
"My name is Venus, and I'll be your server today, is there anything I can get started for you two ladies today?" I asked, pulling out my notepad from my white apron.
The girl, I believe her name was Brooke, turned to smile at me. "I'll have a strawberry milkshake please. Jess?" she turned to face her friend who had been twirling her long curled black locks. Her daunting green eyes narrowed in on me and I wasn't sure if it was just me or not, but I swear the tip of her lips curled like she was holding a scowl. "A salad, extra tomatoes and grilled chicken with balsamic on the side."
Jesus, way to say please. I thought to myself. I tried my best to ignore this Jess's barely contained scowl.
"I'll have that right out," I said with a smile.
"Oh!" Brooke's hand shot out and tapped my wrist. I turned to face her with open eyes.
"I was wondering if I could speak with Marge Dalley when she has the time? I'm applying for a job as a waitress here and she told me to visit today but I just figured might as well get something to snack on with my friend."
"Oh! Sure, I'll let her know you're here," I told her in surprise. I knew we'd been short on staff yet I had no clue Marge was hiring. Brooke smiled politely and nodded before returning to her conversation. I walked away from the two, still feeling the other Jess girl burn holes into the back of my head as I made it to the closed kitchen doors.
"Strawberry milkshake," I called out, followed by the other order. A cook from the kitchen called back an "Okay!"
"Moira, have you seen Marge?" I called across to the goth gutterpunk who was slacking on her work and painting her nails black on the counter. I frowned.
"Nah, haven't seen the old bat anywhere," she said with nonchalance. I frowned at her again. "Did you know we were hiring?" I asked. Moira's eyes snapped towards mine in shock. Clearly I had gotten an answer.
Her eyes glazed over and a look of annoyance crossed her face. Her lip twitched as she gave a raise of her eyebrows before examining her nails. "I didn't know that," She pursed her red lips. Moira - considering she was the queen of petty town gossip - wasn't too big on not knowing things. Plus here at the diner, we were all a small family and let's be honest, newcomers would throw off the air.
We weren't catty nor were we . . . I . . . not willing to be nice or anything. Everything here had been good through the years we worked together despite our small disputes. We could only a hope another new waitress wouldn't cause any problems.
"Maybe Will knew," I said with a shrug. After all, Marge was his aunt. Moira scoffed and a devious look. I recoiled from her and crossed my arms.
"What's that look?"
"What look?" She mocked with a grin and wink.
I groaned. "Moira, really," I added.
She smirked but kept her mouth shut. I was about to pester her further yet Marge walked out from the basement and made her way towards us.
"You're hiring someone?" Moira asked, crossing her arms and hopping off the counter. Marge rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yes, well, I'm considering."
The old woman put her hands on her hips and I could sense a new coming standoff between her and Moira, and maybe even me and her since our last run in.
"How do you know she's not a complete psycho?" Moira said with quite the attitude.
"Because she's not," Marge poked Moira's chest, "Like-you!"
Moira smacked away her hand and glared at her. "How'd you find her then? Let me guess . . . she was about to commit suicide and you convinced her not to. Or maybe she had abusive parents. Maybe she's one of the kids who actually cries when Daddy doesn't buy her a new ferrari. Which one is it?"
"Moira," I warned her. But she ignored me. "Or maybe she's another stray like one of the rest of us. Either way there's enough background problems in this diner and we don't need another naive blonde 12 year old running around with her so called problems."
Marge crossed her arms in frustration and I knew Moira was already crossing the boundaries.
"I expect you each to behave and treat her like you would with each other. No petty gossip and no treating her like you treat me by making my hair fall out!" Marge shouted with a groan.
"It falls out because you're an old hag!"
The two continued to argue for a bit longer before someone cleared their throat. We turned to see Will with a confused look on his face.
"Why are those two at each others throats again?"
Moira and Marge's faces were a tinted shade of pink and their knuckles were white and clenched at their sides. If only they knew how alike they were when they showed certain emotions.
Will's eyes glimmered when he saw I shrugged, making him smile, which made me smile.
"Did you know she was hiring?" Moira seethed, pointing a black nail at Marge who sat there with a scoffing.
"Well yeah, her dad's name is Landon Silver. He owns a major company and said he'd donate money to the diner a while ago so we're paying him back by letting his daughter, Brooke Silver, work here," Will explained with nonchalance and shoving his hands back into his pockets. Moira's face was priceless and she seemed caught between disbelief and anger.
"Why didn't anyone say anything?" I asked.
"Well her coming wasn't guaranteed. She was still going to school but she's staying here for a bit before she decides what she wants to do, so she might as well get a job here," Marge added with a chipper smile, obviously trying to aggravate Moira and succeeding in the process.
"Yeah so be nice to her. We need her dad to keep funding us to make this place work. And she's a nice girl," Will said, earning a groan from Moira.
"She was just asking for you by the way," I said to Marge. She teased up her hair and ran her fingers through the stringy layers and wiped her hands on her skirt.
"Best go meet her then."
"Oh, she's with a friend. Careful, the brunette has claws," I said with a flat tone. Marge ignored me and walked out the door, plastering a smile on her face. I frowned.
"Good going Will," Moira grunted, stalking out of the door. Our friend stood there with confusion on his face as Moira's heels dissipated down the hall and to the main room.
"She'll get over it," I said.
"Yeah after she chases her away," Will added. I smiled and shook my head. Moira sure could be thick headed and unfair at times.
"We'll keep her in check. As for now, how's your day been going?" I asked him, leaning against the counter.
"Better now that I'm with you," He said with a cheeky smile. I looked at the ground and at my feet. A warm feeling crept up through my stomach.
"We'd better get to work," I told him, and so the two of us walked out to begin to our shifts.
-
It was a painfully slow day. Only 2 customers walked in the whole day, and now I had the graveyard shift. Moira took off the second she got off work, and Marge had given me and Will the new girl to show around and train.
"As I'm sure you know, the customer is always right, even if they're wrong. Worse comes to worse, Marge will just chew you out in front of them then we'll laugh about it in the back," I explained. Brooke giggled and so did Will.
I learned she really was a sweet girl. Will and I dug around a bit to get to know more about her though I was sure she noticed that the two of us said nothing about ourselves. I learned she had a younger brother named Alan who seemed to have a depression and anxiety disorder and was trying to pick things back up at school after an 'incident' occurred when he was 13. Brooke was 17, and her brother was now 15 and the two attended the same boarding school for a while before she came here to "clear her head". She seemed to be perfect despite her family. Her light blonde hair and ocean blue eyes did nothing more than remind all of us that she seemed to be a little angel from heaven. Hopefully we weren't wrong.
"And I'll be covering the graveyard shift tonight with Will, which is 12 to 6am, so go ahead and go home, learn the proper sayings and greetings when dealing with troubled customers and you'll be fine," I said with a smile and led her towards the door.
"Thank you both, I appreciate you taking the time to show me around," She said, smiling. Will nodded and shook her hand. I couldn't help but notice the hairs on Brooke's arms stand up when she did so, causing her and Will's eyes to widen noticeably. I pried my eyes away, trying to see if maybe there was a draft, but felt nothing. I shrugged it off, and also shook her hand, watching her leave the diner.
"I hate this shift," Will complained. I nodded, now feeling frustrated with myself, and Demetri. For one, I shouldn't have held on to so much hope that a complete and utter stranger would be here to pick me up on a date. And two, he shouldn't have set a time or anything let alone made me feel hopeful if he was just going to drop on me.
"So," Will broke me out of my brooding silence.
"What about that one guy?" He asked. I clenched my fists at my sides to prevent myself from lashing out. I wasn't even sure why I was so bitter in the first place, I mean it's not like I knew a whole bunch about him anyways.
"I don't know, it's not like we really contacted one another so . . ." I trailed off, feeling embarrassed. Was this what being stood up was like? If so I can gladly say it didn't feel good.
"Hey, then the guys is an idiot," he said with a welcoming smile. I tried to wipe the anger off my face but it stayed in my body.
"C'mon let's just try and close up," I muttered, finding the cleaning supplies.
By the time it was around 1 in the morning, a car pulled up in the lot. Will was sleeping down in the basement seeing as I was the only one awake. I didn't dare to sleep, the fear of another daunting nightmare seemed to weigh in my mind.
I was sitting at table 4, still reading the book from Richard's library. I had yet to finish seeing as I never had the time and he was loaning it to me for free.
I peeked over my shoulder to the window but saw nothing but the flash of headlights in the darkness. I frowned, too tired to want to deal with a customer who would try to barge in at the crack of dawn. Nonetheless, I set down the book though it was getting to the good part, and went to wait at the door to get a better view.
A black SUV.
I felt a part of my stomach jitter for a second. The car turned off its lights and I heard the car door shut. I began to feel anxious though I wasn't sure why at first until a familiar figure strode towards the door.
It was him, the one who had promised me a date by the fifth day and made me feel like he was a no show.
He walked up with his hands in his pockets, wearing a white tee that hugged his torso with some dark denim jeans. He looked up through the window and his eyes met mine. I crossed my arms, lifting up an eyebrow.
"You gonna let me in?" He asked on the other side of the glass.
"Maybe," I replied. He dropped his head and laughed.
"I'm sorry I didn't reach out alright, but you said 5 days. I'm just following your rules," he smirked, making him look ten times more attractive, but of course I'd never say that.
"It's a bit late," I retorted.
"I hope I'm not, that is, if you're willing," He said with a shrug. I lightly big my lip and contemplated.
"And besides," He added, rubbing a hand down his face as though he was a bit tired, "I had to wait a max of 5 days and technically it's been 4. Right now is what, 10:45? I'm actually early," he regarded. I sighed and couldn't help but laugh and open up the door.
"How'd you know I'd be here?" I asked, unlocking the door. The cold breeze brushed my face as I opened he door for him. He walked in with ease, taking a step right up to me and getting a bit close for comfort. I lightly backed away and shut the door.
"You have an aura around you that says you like to work," he regarded, eyeing me up and down. I turned my back and sat down at table 4 again.
"So, you come to my work on day 5. What's to happen now?" I asked. I had expected him to sit down but he never did and instead he stood above me and a mischievous glint lit up in his eyes.
"Want to find out?" He asked, and held out a hand.
MWAHAHA cliff hanger :D