Filed to story: The Rise Of The Lycan Queen
“Sure.” Though it was disgusting, that was one of the jobs I preferred. I didn’t have to talk to coworkers to accomplish it. I moved over to the four large industrial dishwashers and began scraping the plates and loading them up.
* * *
“Aria,” Todd called my name, startling me from my task. “Can you help me serve their food?”
“Oh, yeah.” I wanted to say no, but I was pretty sure that wouldn’t go over well. I washed my hands and turned to help him carry the food out.
I grabbed four plates and followed behind Todd. As we began passing out food, an overly sweet smell hit my nose.
That could only mean one thing. At least one out of this group was a vampire.
Even if I hadn’t been able to narrow it down to the guy on the end, the fact that he was the only one that didn’t order any food would have put a nail in the coffin. I tried putting on a sincere smile as I turned to him. “Oh, what did you order? I’ll go check on it for you.”
The man turned his cold blue eyes on me and smirked. “I do intermittent fasting and can’t eat past four.” He looked to be in his mid-thirties and was on the thin side like most vampires were. He tugged at the knot on his tie and nodded. “But thank you for checking.” His eyes scanned me from head to toe.
“No problem.” I hated being close to vampires. The whole point of the wolves was to keep all supernaturals in line, especially the vampires. They were the one race who the wolves warred with most often since they all tended to be self-absorbed and heartless. Mom had believed that it was because their hearts didn’t beat.
I forced myself to pass him. I’d always been taught to never turn your back on one of them. They were often unpredictable and could change their moods as quickly as the wind changed directions.
Footsteps followed behind me.
If I didn’t have wolf ears, I wouldn’t have been able to hear him. Not able to stop myself, I turned in his direction. “Oh.” I tried to act surprised, but it fell short.
“Why am I not surprised you heard me?” He narrowed his eyes and tapped his pointer finger on his lips. “I just can’t figure out quite what you are.”
“I’m a waitress here.” In order to act human, it was integral to pretend that you knew nothing of the supernatural world. “And I felt a cold chill down my spine. That’s why I turned around. How did you walk that quietly?”
His face was a mask of indifference. “Your movements are too agile to be human.” He smirked and tilted his head. “There’s something odd that I can’t place. You don’t have any specific characteristics that tell me what you are. But there is a hint of something that I can’t quite capture.”
“As riveting as this is, I’ve got to go back to work.” I needed space from this jackass and fast. “If you think of anything you need, I’m only a few feet away.” I forced myself to turn around again and slowly head back to the kitchen. I couldn’t let him know how bad he bothered me.
The last thing I needed was to intrigue a vampire and have them dig into my existence any further.
* * *
When the clock hit ten, I clocked out and headed toward my car. The restaurant was open for another hour, but the kitchen help normally was able to get out a little earlier as long as the dishes were caught up.
The restaurant would’ve been dead if we didn’t have the business party here. I tended to like the nights when things moved at a slower pace. This place was too expensive for most of the college kids. My heart hammered as I hurried to my vehicle. The vampire probably had forgotten all about me, but you could never be careless.
As soon as I made it into my car and locked the doors, my heart began to steady. Thank God I’d been overreacting.
Within fifteen minutes, I pulled into my driveway. I grabbed my purse and locked the car door, marching straight into the house.
“How was your day?” Mona lay on the couch, sprawled out.
“Good. Long.” I sighed and removed my shoes at the door. “How about you two?”
Kassie was in her usual spot on the recliner. She paused the television and glanced my way. “Mine was fine. The later breakfast crowds are always fun, so I’m tired as usual.”
She’d been complaining about the college kids rushing in near lunchtime, wanting a combination of breakfast and lunch options, for the past eight years.
“The shop had some good visitors today.” Mona yawned and stretched out her arms. “I had a few witches come in, looking for some things.”
“That’s never a good sign.” Kassie shook her head. “At least we’re not all involved in that shit anymore.”
“You never know.” Mona darted her eyes in my direction. “Before long, we may be in all that again.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want the crown?” Besides, they’d raised me to take care of myself now. I could take down a wolf twice my size. That wasn’t very royal-like.
“We know.” Mona shrugged and pointed to the kitchen. “I put some steak up from dinner. Do you want me to warm it for you?”
“Nope, I’ve got it.” I made my way into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door.
It didn’t take long for me to eat, and I headed to bed.
* * *
Before I knew it, Friday had come back around. I hurried into the classroom and sat in my usual seat.
I got here a little earlier than normal, beating most of the class. I’d had trouble sleeping again last night, but that wasn’t so strange lately. I decided to get up and head on in.
“Hey, I’m glad to see you here early.” Connor dropped his bag at his normal seat but came over and sat next to me. “I’d permanently move but one of my close buddies is in here with me. He gave me shit the other day for changing seats.”
“No, it’s fine.” That was the last thing I wanted him to do. “I just wanted to get here and get some early reading done today.” I pulled my textbook out of my bag and hoped he’d get the hint.
“You got all weekend for that.” He rolled his eyes and leaned uncomfortably close to my chair. “So you got any weekend plans?”
“Yeah, it’s going to be busy.” That wasn’t close to being true, but that was my story, and I was sticking to it.
“Oh, are you going to any parties or anything?” He cleared his throat and tugged at his ear.
“That’s not really my thing.” The one time I’d let loose, I slept with him, and look where that got me. The girl that was showing me around campus made sure the party was our last stop, and I figured what the hell. Which only proved how much I wasn’t made for friends. I didn’t need any clingers. Supernatural or not.
“But that’s where we met.” He laughed like I’d told some sort of joke.
“Well, that was my first and last time.”
“But I could take you to this one.” He smirked and winked at me.
All right, blunt it would be. “You’re kind of the reason I don’t go anymore.”
“What?” His mouth dropped open, and he tilted his head.
At this point, he reminded me of a dog. “Yeah, I don’t normally do that.” I had to cut the cord.
“Hey, no. It’s fine.” His eyes lit up like a kid’s on Christmas morning. “I can take you as my date. You don’t have to worry about a one-night stand or anything.”
Dear God. He was a fucking moron. “No, you’re not getting what I’m trying to say.”
