Decker POV
"Kenn--." I shot her a glance.
"One more thing. My bad is not what you say to someone who's paying $16.00 for a piece of fucking cheesecake. So, would you like to rephrase?"
"Decker, it's OK," Wrenly said.
"No sunshine, It's not OK." I hate how she feels she's not worthy of a simple apology. Oh fuck. Who am I to talk? This caught the attention of my father. Well, she fucked up now.
"Is there an issue?" he asked.
"Yes. And I will tell you about it after Karen here gives my Sunshine a proper apology." I put my hand over her's again. Dawson loved that we were touching her again. When she pulled her hand away, he whimpered.
Now Mr. Granatello was paying attention.
Kennedy was now the color of a tomato.
"I'm sorry for the mix-up," I looked at her with pure anger. "I mean, it was my mistake. Is there something I can do to rectify the situation?" she asked.
"No, it's OK," she whispered. She pushed her plate away.
"You're excused." My father waved her off.
"What happened, Little Bird?" her father asked.
"I don't want to talk about it, Daddy. It's OK."
"Decker?" my father asked me.
I explained what had happened. Both my fathers were not happy with what had occurred. My father took a deep breath and pushed his chair away from the table. "Deck, come with me." He threw his napkin down.
I hate it when he calls me that. I hate it when anyone calls me that.
"Now, son."
Alright, here we go. Maybe she shouldn't have been a bitch to the daughter of the owner's closest business partner and friend.
"No, Mr. Donafrio, really, it's OK. Please, I'm used to things like that happening." I saw Mr. Granatello's face fall.
"Little bird, you shouldn't be disrespected."
"Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom." She stood up, and she left.
My father and I went to find Armando. He ran the day-to-day operations of this restaurant, one of my father's many ventures.
"Sunshine, huh? There is something going on between you two. She is a smart girl. Have you caught her scent?"
"Her scent is so intoxicating. I smelled her the first second she came close to me. I ruined it by spilling a drink all over her."
"What does she smell like?"
"Basil and roses."
Ah. I remember the first time I caught your mother's scent—lilac and honeysuckle. It was beautiful. She is... was beautiful, inside and out. I wish you had more time with her. Our bond was so strong. We met when we were young. I thank the Goddess for that."
"She hates me, Dad. She seems to have an exceptionally good long memory of me."
He looked at me questioningly. "Are you talking about the summers they came to the ranch?"
"Yeah, I didn't recognize her. Everyone called her Little Bird, and that's how she was introduced to me. I never knew her real name, and Kyle and Ethan didn't care to learn it."
"And you went along with whatever they did."
"I never realized how much we hurt her. But I didn't mean any of it." I was pleading for him to believe me since I couldn't get her to.
"Did you tell her that?
"No matter what I had to say, she didn't want to hear it, nor did she believe me. Why didn't she recognize me, Dad?"
"Well, you had yet to hit puberty, and we called you Dawson back then. You insisted that we call you that. Then, after you hit puberty, we learned that that was the name of your inner wolf. I wondered why she stopped coming with her family. Was it because of you and those boys?
"In a way, yes, and I feel bad about it."
Really. You've never felt bad about anything before. Let's face it, you're a high-functioning sociopath."
"Gee, Dad, thanks."
"It's not mean if it's true, son."
"Dad, I know she is my mate. Why does she not know that she is my mate?"
"Decker, you need to realize that she is half wolf, half human. She will not realize who you are until she has been marked. Then she will know that she is your mate. She may have feelings. Her subconscious may know. But until she is marked by you, she will not know that she is your mate. I am sure that her father has not told her yet of her werewolf descent."
"We talked a little, and he has not. I thought about confessing that she is my mate, but not until I can get her to forgive me for everything."
"She is changing you for the better. Decker, this is why we put you two together. We just had a feeling that you and Wrenly were meant to be together. You two will join our families. It is something that we just knew the Goddess had arranged it this way. You will take over for me soon. I don't have much time left. You will be Alpha, and Wrenly will make a fine Luna. Her father gives his blessing."
"Dad, she hates me."
"Don't be so sure about that, my boy. She may be resistant, but it is only because she is a strong-willed girl. She has been hurt, my son. You will need to earn her trust before you can make her your true mate. You let her make the first move. This is about her now, not you. Understand?"
"I hope that happens soon because being around her drives me absolutely insane. She is such a pain in my ass. But she is also so funny and beautiful and smart. It takes everything I have not to take her into my arms. Dawson howls for her dad."
"Good things come to those who wait. Just try not to pressure her or piss her off. If you drive her away, then you will have to choose a mate and that is a tricky thing to do after you have met your actual mate that the Goddess has chosen for you."
The thought of being rejected by her makes me feel ill. The thought of going back to one meaningless fuck after another makes me want to scream. If Dawson can't have her, he doesn't want anyone, but I know that I am going to have you pick a mate. The pack needs a Luna. My mother was an amazing Luna, but when she passed, my aunt, her sister, took over until I found my mate.
"Mr. Donafrio. I did not know you were here. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"I do like to do surprise inspections of sorts every now and then," he said, shaking his hand.
"I hope we have lived up to your high standards."
"Unfortunately, no. We had an issue with our server."
"Who is your server?" Armondo asked.
"Karen."
"No, Dad, Kennedy." I corrected.
He let out a sigh. "What did she do?" Armando asked.
"Well, I'll leave that to Decker to tell you."
I explained what happened. Telling him the story only enraged me more. The more I spoke, Armondo's face looked more terrified.
"I'm sorry. Did you say Mr. Granatelli's daughter? Armando turned. She was white as a sheet. I am sorry. I will make sure she is dealt with the right way. What can I do to make this better?"
"How were you going to deal with it?" my father asked.
I looked back at Sunshine. "You're not going to fire her, are you?"
"It was a thought," Armando said.
"I think that's appropriate," my father replied.
"No. Wait." You know she is too kind to want that to happen. You can't let that happen. Plus, it might score you some brownie points. I spoke, but I didn't take my eyes out for Wrenly. "I don't think that's what Wren would want."
"What do you think she would want, son? How would you know what she would want?"
"I'm connected to her Dad."
"Well, what do you suggest?" my father asked.
"Anything but firing her. I'm sure you can figure out something. It's good to see you again, Armando." I stepped away and let my father finish his conversation.
"What did he just say? He suggested I don't fire her. That was Decker, right?" Armando asked. "Who is this Wren that he speaks of? Is that his mate? Has Decker found his mate, Alpha?" he whispered.
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Wrenly POV
I watched them walk away. I threw back the rest of my drink. I was very drunk. Eight shots were two shots too many. Daddy. Please go stop them. I don't want to cause an issue, I just want to go home.
"Wrenly, that girl was disrespectful. She should be dealt with."
"Dealt with? I asked. What do you mean? Kristof owns this restaurant, Little Bird, which makes it more complicated."
"Please, Daddy. The girl was a bitch, but I don't want to get her fired or something. This is her livelihood. I would not want her to lose that."
"It's not my call, Wrenly."
I saw Decker and his dad approach a well-put-together man. My eyes didn't leave them until Decker turned and looked at me. I quickly looked away. My head was starting to spin. I just wanted to go. I could feel my anxiety building. So, how did I solve my problem? I took a bite of my cheesecake. Fuck, that's good.
I wanted to taste the Raspberry sphere, but Decker hadn't started it yet. I wasn't going to be the fatass that I knew I was. But then, when they came back to the table, I was just about to crack the chocolate sphere.
"Everything OK.," my father asked.
"All taken care of." Decker's father answered.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It's OK, she's not getting fired," Decker told me.
"Oh, good. Well, now that's over with. I'm going to jet."
"Jet?" Decker looked at me.
I stood up and almost fell over. Decker ended up catching me before I fell.
"Thanks," I said. I was able to feel his muscles through his shirt. Ohh fucking hell. Why does he have to be so good, bloody great-looking?
"Easy there, Sunshine." He placed me back on my feet.
"Decker, why don't you make sure my Little Bird gets home?"
"Sure, no problem," Mr. Granatella. "I would be happy to."
Both of our fathers raised their eyebrows.
"I am fine. I can get home on my own." I slurred a little.
"Come on, Sunshine. Just let me do this. I owe you."
"Why do you owe me? You don't owe me anything."
"I need to make up for it; what happened. You know, in the past." He shrugged his shoulders.
I try to focus on his face. "It is a little too late for you to try to make up for what happened in our past, Dawson," I said with a snark. Is it just me, or do you want his hands all over you? Petting you? Petting me! What the hell am I thinking!
Then I hiccuped. I have drunk hiccups. No. How fucking embarrassing this is.
"Please let me take you home."
"Fine, but we're going to take that dessert." And eating them off his rock-solid abs. Okay. Look. I don't know who is talking in my mind, but you need to shut up right now! Oh, like you don't want to! Of course I do! Wait? What! No, I don't!
"Whatever you want, Sunshine." The corner of his mouth turned up into a small smile.
See? Anything you want, Sunshine. Where is that voice coming from?