The small diner is rather full when we walk through the doors.
Many of the pack members that are inside bow their heads discreetly and greet us as we walk past them towards an empty booth in the back. I smile at those we pass and nod back politely. Mason helps me sit down before sitting down across from me. He smiles at me and wraps his fingers around my hand. I glance around the diner and note the number of humans in there as well. Our waitress comes up to take our order and smiles politely at the two of us. She's not part of the pack. I sit back in the booth and start to glance at the menu when I see her eyes drift to Mason and stay there. I narrow my eyes at her as she bats her eyelashes at my mate. Wolf or not, she has to see him sitting here holding my hand. Hell, we came in together, it's obvious he wouldn't be interested in her.
"What can I get for you, sweetie?" she asks, placing a hand on his shoulder. I want to growl but seeing as she's not a wolf and there are many humans inside, I can't do that. I tighten my grip on Mason's hand and my breathing escalates as I try to control my wolf. Mason glances at me, no doubt feeling my anger through our bond, and tries to smile. He's uncomfortable with her affection and he knows it's getting to me.
"We'll have the pancakes with eggs, scrambled hard, with sausage and bacon. I'll have a glass of orange juice and he'll have coffee, black. That's all," I say, a soft growl leaking into my voice, catching her attention. She glares at me slightly before writing down our order and walking off. I glare at her retreating back. I want so badly to just yell out that Mason is mine, but she would never be able to understand the meaning behind those words. Humans don't understand the concept of having a mate. They play around with the word soulmate, but they don't actually understand what it means to have one. The only way a human would be able to understand the grasp of having a mate is to end up the mate of a wolf, which is unheard of.
"Alaina, calm down," Mason whispers, squeezing my hand. I look back at him, but I'm still pissed off. I take a deep breath and close my eyes as I search for some inner peace. My wolf is still pacing around but she's starting to calm down at least. I focus on Mason's finger as he traces a circle on the back of my hand. "You know she doesn't matter to me, so just let it go and try to ignore her." I open my eyes and glare at him slightly. I'm well aware that she doesn't mean anything to him but reverse the situation and he would be acting the same way. I have every right to not like any female ogling him every chance they get. He's mine!
He gives me a pointed look, no doubt knowing exactly where my mind is going. I sigh and shake my head. He's right. I need to get over this and enjoy our day together.
"Well, I hope pancakes are okay with you," I grumble as I look up at him. Those amber eyes dance with laughter as he watches me. I'm glad he can find this situation humorous. "I know that you like them, and I wanted her to get her hand off you," I explain softly as I glance over to where the waitress is standing by another girl and they're both staring at our table. "They're staring at us, Mason. I sweat if she touches you again we're getting another waitress. You're mine!" I growl as I look back at him.
Mason's chuckle fills the air around us as he nods his head in agreement. My wolf calms down as Mason continues to rub his finger over my hand as he changes the subject. The conversation is light, but I can feel him skirting around the conversation that really needs to be had right now. It's late enough in the morning that something, any news, should have surfaced about Mary's whereabouts. I can't help the gnawing feeling that there is more to this disappearance than her just being gone. "Mason, do you think Mary left the territory?" I finally ask.
He sighs and leans back in the booth. I lean forward to keep hold of his hand and watch his face closely. I can see the worry in his eyes. "I honestly think she may have. I don't want to believe that because if that's the case, she's turned herself into a Rogue, and knowing what happened to her before she found Brandon, I don't want that for her again." He shakes his head and glances around the room. I know he's keeping his voice low enough that the other wolves in the diner can't listen in to our conversation. "No one can find her, and if she was still in the territory someone would have noticed her by now."
"Well, it's only been what? A day or two since she's been gone? She may just be thinking about the argument with Brandon and hiding out somewhere. Like you said, she was a Rogue, she may know how to hide herself better than others." Mason looks at me skeptically. I know it's unlikely, but I can't let my mind wander right now. For Brandon's sake, I need to try to stay positive. "I need to at least think that for right now. I don't want anything to happen to her, for Brandon's sake as much as her own. I don't think he would make it through that if anything happened to her. We're already risking the Brandon we all know and love losing himself if we don't find something out soon. I don't want that to happen."
"I know," he whispers as he tries to force a smile onto his face. "I don't want that to happen because they're a part of our pack, but also because I know losing Brandon would hurt you too." I lower my eyes and nod. I don't know what else to say about it. My stomach is in knots just thinking about what could happen. Mary doesn't seem like the type to just run away over a fight. I've seen how she is with Brandon, the way her eyes follow his movements when they are in the same room. Her love for him is greater than any fight. What if she was taken? It would have been possible, Rogues were in the territory around the area she was last seen. I open my mouth to ask Mason if it was a possibility, but before I can speak our waitress comes strutting back over with our food balanced on a tray. I roll my eyes at the excess sway in her hips and the awkward position she's in to push her breasts out while still carrying the tray. She has a smirk on her face as she hastily sets my food down in front of me. She leans forward, much more than necessary, when she places Mason's plate in front of him. Her shirt is pulled down so much that I'm sure if she leans over anymore, her breasts will fall out the top. My wolf growls lowly in my mind, not liking the little show she's putting on.
"Anything else I can get for you?" she tries to purr at Mason. He doesn't even look at her. Instead, he grabs his fork and knife and starts preparing his pancakes the way he likes them. She keeps watching him like a lost puppy waiting for attention. I'd actually laugh at how pathetic she looks if I wasn't so pissed off.
"You can go now," I say glaring at her. She smirks and steps closer to his side, leaning her hip against the side of his booth. I watch Mason slide away slightly. I'm not sure if she's just trying to test me or if she's just that stupid, but she's pressing her luck.
"You know, jealousy is a very ugly trait," she speaks in what I'm assuming is supposed to be a condescending tone. I raise my eyebrows at her, and I feel some of my anger vanish as she tries her best to make me think she's actual competition for Mason's affections. "I can honestly say it doesn't look good on you. If your relationship is so great, then why are you worrying about me?" She smiles widely as she leans forward. "Unless you think he'd actually rather enjoy the company of someone with much more to offer than you."
Yeah, that's it.
"I have no doubt in my mind that he would rather be with me than some slutty waitress that is trying to throw herself at anyone who might pay attention to her. He clearly isn't interested in you, he's not even looking at your pathetic attempt to shove your breasts in his face. Sorry, honey, but I have some self-respect for myself, and guess what, he likes that about me." She glares at me and opens her mouth to retort but I'm not done. "Now, I would like to talk with your manager." Her eyes widen as I ask for her boss. She steps away from Mason and tries to mutter an apology about her behavior, but I start looking past her for the manager on my own. I'm not going to deal with this behavior the entire time we eat on my day out with my mate.
She moves to try to get my attention back on her just as a man walks up to our table with a name tag that reads manager on it. I smile sweetly at the girl before turning my attention to him. "Is there a problem here?" he asks politely while smiling at us.
"Yeah, actually there is. Your waitress here doesn't know how to treat her customers respectfully. I refuse to sit here while she tries to throw herself all over my boyfriend right in front of me. It's trashy behavior and if that is the kind of thing you allow of your employees in here then we won't be coming back." Mason shakes his head and tries – and fails – to hide his smile. He knows exactly what I'm doing, but he doesn't intervene.
"That is by no means the behavior that is expected from employees that work here." He turns to the girl. "You know better than this, Michelle. Now apologize to this lovely couple and head back to my office. We will send out someone else to cover your tables." He looks back at me with a smile. I'm very sorry for this. It doesn't normally happen and due to this inconvenience, your meal will be on the house. I do hope to see you two again in the future. Someone will be with you shortly to see if you need anything else. I hope you enjoy your meal." He smiles one more time before walking off towards the back of the building. I watch the girl's back as she follows after him, head hung low.
"You know you pretty much got that girl fired, right?" Mason asks as he shoves a huge bite of pancakes into his mouth. The small smile playing on his lips shows that he isn't really concerned about it.
"Well, it was either that or let my wolf tear him limb from limb for touching what's mine. So, I think I made a pretty good choice. Don't you?" I smile at him and start eating my own food. I hadn't realized how hungry I had my food sitting in front of me.
We sit in a comfortable silence while we finish off our food and stand to leave. My arms ache from my crutches but I push past the feeling as I remind myself it won't be long until I don't need them anymore.
"So where do you want to go?" Mason asks as we stand outside by the car. I lean back against the warm metal and look up at him. I shrug my shoulders and smile at him. He chuckles and reaches forward to pull me against his chest. I sigh and lean further into his hold. I love being in his arms. I lie my head against his chest and listen to the steady beat of his heart. "I love how you were dead set on me taking you to town today, but you don't know what you want to do," he teases as he kisses my cheek.
"Let's just go to the mall. I could use a few more clothes so maybe I can stop needing yours as much," I tease back even though both of us know how much we both enjoy that I wear his clothes.
"What's wrong with your clothes?" he asks, clearly confused. I sigh and shrug slightly. There's nothing wrong with the clothes I have, they all fit just fine, but there's nothing wrong with wanting something new. Werewolves go through clothes so fast because you never know when you'll need to shift, and if there isn't time to shed your clothes, they are torn to pieces in the shift.
"Nothing, I just want some nice clothes for when I have to go around the pack," Mason growls lowly and pulls me flush against his chest and further away from the car. "What?" I ask looking up at him as I rest my hands against his chest. I don't mind him holding me, but he isn't doing this in a loving manner, he's being possessive again and I have no idea why.
"You shouldn't want to look nice for anyone else but me," he growls out, tightening his hold on me. I narrow my eyes at him slightly. He glares down at me, waiting for me to submit to him. He may be an Alpha, and he may even be my Alpha, but I'm not about to bow down to him because he's jealous. The irony of the situation is not lost on me as we just left one situation where he told me to calm down because I didn't like someone looking at him either.
"I can want to look nice for whomever I want, Mason." I struggle to get out of his hold. He growls again but lets me go anyway. I settle fully back on my crutches before turning away from him. Without waiting for him to open the door, I open it myself and climb inside the car. It's not at all graceful, but I get the job done. I get that he doesn't like other guys around me, but he has no right to say I can't even look nice in front of other people. What does he want me to do? Just walk around in sweatpants and baggy shirts all the time? That's not going to happen. I want to look nice for the people who are risking their lives to help keep me safe, not someone who looks like they don't give a shit about anything. I want the pack to respect me for more than just being their Luna. I want them to respect me as a person.
Mason stalks around the car with a scowl on his face and climbs inside. I look out the window and ignore him as he starts to drive off. I can feel the irritation practically rolling off him as we sit in silence. I glance at him as he drives. He's glaring at the road and his knuckles are almost white from how hard he's holding that steering wheel.
I know he's jealous, he is always going to be because I'm his mate and that's normally how wolves are. It's even worse for Alphas, even for me it would seem. I sigh and look back out the window. This jealousy is misplaced and surely he knows that. I want to reach over and grab his hand, but I don't. He needs to understand that he can't just act out this way out of jealousy. He knows I'm his, as he is mine, and that there is no one else for me. There is no need for so much jealousy over me wanting to look nice. I can feel his gaze as he looks over at me every now and again, but I make no move to talk to him. I feel like our day together is headed in a disastrous direction.
The car is filled with an uncomfortable silence. Neither of us even try to talk to each other the entire ride to the mall. Mason pulls into the parking lot and starts looking for a parking spot. I consider suggesting he just drop me off at the front while he parks, but I highly doubt he'd even consider the possibility of me standing up there alone for such a short time. He finally finds an open spot not too far from the entrance – thankfully – but we just sit staring out the windows as he turns the car off.
"Are we just not going to talk the rest of the day?" he asks, filling the empty void between us. "Because if so, then I can just have someone else come follow you around while you look for something you don't even really need."
I don't know why, but suddenly my eyes become watery and a lump in my throat steadily begins growing. My lip trembles as I do everything I can to keep the tears at bay, but it doesn't stop them from falling. I don't even know why I'm crying right now. His words did not upset me that much. I've been shopping without him plenty of times and it never once bothered me. But his words have stirred the emotions deep inside me. I close my eyes and try to get myself under control before he notices what's going on with me. I hear him unbuckle his seatbelt and climb out of the car, leaving me to cry alone. His quick departure just seems to make everything worse. A small sob breaks past my lips and I hang my head.
Suddenly, my door is jerked open and before I can even process what's going on, I am being pulled out of the car and into his arms. I cling to him, trying to find some comfort so these stupid tears will stop. He holds me close to his chest while running his fingers through my hair. Several sobs later, I start to relax into his arms, but I still have a few tears sliding down my cheeks. He pulls back to look down at me, confusion filling his eyes. I look at his chest, not wanting to look into those amber eyes that I love so much. I feel ridiculous right now. There was no reason for me to just start crying like that.
"Why are you crying?" The pad of his thumb runs along my cheeks, collecting the moisture that's still there. I open my mouth to answer, but I don't even know what to say to him. I don't have a reason for crying, it just hit me so suddenly. I shrug my shoulders and lean forward so I can rest my forehead against his chest. "No, you had to have had a reason for crying like that. Was it what I said about getting someone else to come watch you while you shop?" I shrug again and shake my head against his chest. "Alaina, just talk to me. I'm sorry I got jealous earlier. It was stupid and possessive, and I will work on that. If you want to buy new clothes to look nice then I'll buy you whatever you want. Just please stop crying and talk to me, Red." I sigh and look back up at him. Those amber eyes are clouded with worry and confusion as he watches me closely.
"I don't know why I'm crying," I sigh as I close my eyes. "It just hit me out of nowhere and now I can't seem to stop," I whimper as my lip trembles again. God, this just isn't stopping! His eyebrows fur as he reaches up and cups the side of my face in his hand. I lean into his touch and allow him to wipe away my tears.
"What can I do to help?" His voice is timid. It's obvious he's at a loss with what to do. He glances around at the people, both wolves and humans, staring at us as they walk by. We must be a sight to see. "Do you want to go home, or do you still want to go shopping?"
I stand up as straight as I can without my crutches and take a deep breath. I reach up and wipe my wet face and look up at him. "I want to go get a nice pretty dress to wear to a barbeque so the whole pack can get together."
"When did we decide there would be a barbeque?" he asks, his smile returning.
"We need to get everyone together. After these attacks, we need everyone coming together because that is when we are at our strongest," I explain as I look up at him with the most serious look I can muster. The pack is shaken up right now, whether they would admit it or not. Throwing a party, allowing the members to intermingle and relax and have a good time, that's what is needed now. Mason studies me for a few moments before nodding his head in agreement.
"We'll work something out for a few days from now."
"Then let's go ship," I say after a minute. Mason looks at me strangely but nevertheless sticks out his hand so I can go first. I look down at my leg and realization fills me that I've been standing on it without my crutches since he pulled me from the car. There isn't any pain as I shift a little bit more weight onto it. The slight pain I felt this morning seems to have faded thankfully. I look back up at Mason and smile widely.
"You need to use your crutches, Alaina." I roll my eyes.
"It doesn't even hurt right now. I'm fine, I promise. I guess I'm finally starting to heal like I'm supposed to." He gives me a pointed look and I huff. "If it gets to be too much, I'll sit down so you can get my crutches, or we can leave. Please just let me try to go without them, I hate those dreadful things. They are killing my arms." I glare at the monsters in the back seat of the car and listen as Mason's chuckle fills my ears. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer to him.
"If it starts hurting, even a little bit, you better tell me," he warns. I nod my head and smile at him. "Let's go get you a new dress," he grumbles before leaning down to kiss my cheek. I intertwine my fingers with his as we head towards the entrance to the mall. I smile as we walk, my mini breakdown from earlier long forgotten. It's strange how quickly my moods have changed today. Shaking it off and choosing not to worry about it now, I focus on the time I'm getting to spend with my mate and let everything else just slip to the back of my mind.