Inevitably Yours

I approached the packhouse nervously. Since Michael left with his mom and little brother, it had fallen into worse and worse shape. The grass was tall, and there were patches of weeds everywhere. The gate surrounding the packhouse looked rusted, and parts were falling off. Even a few of the windows looked cracked.

I walked up the driveway nervously. I was ten minutes early, which I thought was best. Early to show I’m serious and punctual, but not too early.

I knocked on the door and waited patiently. After a minute, I could hear someone stumbling on the other side of the door. I stepped back right before they flung it open. A woman stood in the doorway, dressed but not covering much. An acrid smell came from her. “What?” she snapped.

“Um, I have an interview with Alpha Lawrence today?” I squeaked.

“Ugh, another one of these,” she rolled her eyes. She turned around and walked back into the packhouse, leaving the door wide open. I looked around nervously, hoping this was a joke. My mom told me to be careful and polite, but I wasn’t sure what to do now.

“Dumb b***h. This is why you aren’t Luna!” I heard an angry voice shout as it came closer. A moment later, I saw Alpha Lawrence storming toward me. “Ah, Miss Samuels. Early are we?”

“Um, yes, Alpha,” I nodded my head.

“Good, good. Follow me,” he said. He turned back around and walked right down the hall. I hurriedly scrambled after him. I tried to keep my eyes down as I followed him, feeling out of place and wrong. There was a pungent smell in the air, and I could tell it had been a long time since the packhouse was cleaned properly.

We stepped into a room that was much cleaner than everywhere else, his office. He moved around his desk, taking the chair behind it. “Please have a seat,” he said as I lingered in the doorway. There was a singular chair facing his desk; I sat on the edge, sitting up as straight as I could.

“So, Miss Samuels, you have applied to work at our nice, little pack ice cream shop,” he said, picking up a folder.

“Yes, sir,” I said.

“Hmm. And what’s a pretty young girl like you need a job for?” he asked, bringing his eyes up from the folder.

“Um,” I said, a shiver running down my spine. “I want to pay all my school fees and save up money for a car. My parents don’t have the extra money right now.”

“Straight A student, AP Classes, great scores on your aptitude exam, very well rounded with extracurriculars…” he listed off. “You seem like a very good girl.”

“I just, uh…” I trailed off, not sure what to say. This felt wrong.

Alpha Lawrence laughed. He pulled at the collar of his shirt like something was making him uncomfortable despite the assured look on his face. “Miss Samuels, I would like to approve you to work, but I do have another question.”

“Sure,” I responded.

“You seem like an exemplary young lady. Why would you dye your hair such a color? It seems uncharacteristic,” he said in a lilting tone. He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands into his lap.

“I don’t, Alpha,” I answered quietly. “It grows this color.”

“That seems a little far-fetched, doesn’t it?” he pressed, his tone darker. “I certainly don’t think a she-wolf with your resume would lie to her Alpha.”

“No, Alpha. I promise I am not lying!” I said quickly. “It’s blue; it always has been.”

Alpha Lawrence laughed again; his laugh sounded cruel, not happy. “No need to panic, Miss Samuels. I just wonder if there are a few of my pack members that have not been completely honest. Maybe your mother wasn’t entirely faithful to her mate.”

I stopped breathing for a second. This had all started weird and just sunk further and further. Now he was accusing my mother of cheating on her mate to make me? What was I supposed to say that wouldn’t get me kicked out of the pack?

Alpha Lawrence watched me as I panickedly tried to figure out what to say. After a moment, he stood and slowly came around his desk, stopping when he was in front of me and leaning back against his desk. He crossed his arms over his chest.

“What are you, Miss Samuels?” he asked blatantly.

“Excuse me?” I blurted out, confused.

“You heard me. What are you?” he asked more angrily.

“I’m a wolf,” I answered, trying not to stutter or cower. His eyes narrowed.

“And how many times have you f****d the wolf from Wild Paws?”

My mouth dropped open. “W-what?” I gasped.

He scoffed. “You should remember, I am the Alpha of this pack. If I don’t want something to happen, it will be stopped. I can also make any of my pack members obey my commands. You’re dismissed.”

Fear had me racing for the door. I tried to move quickly but normally until I was entirely out of the packhouse. As soon as I exited the gate, I took off at a sprint and ran all the way back home.

–

Somehow, I managed to get approved to have a job after that disgusting interview with the Alpha. I hoped I never had to do it again. I wanted to tell Michael about it, but I decided not to. I didn’t want him to worry about things he couldn’t help anyway.

When I started training, the manager asked me how much I wanted to work, and I told her I would take any shift she could give me until school started, no matter how many hours. She looked so relieved and told me the other new people she hired weren’t working out well.

I started working a lot, which was fine by me. When I wasn’t working, I was trying to keep myself busy with other things. Carl and I practiced the new marching band music; I learned his part and mine so I could help him. My mom was working even more, so I was also spending more time picking up the slack at home by cooking and cleaning.

Jaxx got a part-time job with a mechanic in Wild Paws, and our schedules kept clashing, so we didn’t see each other much either.

Christy showed up one day at work when we were slow, and the assistant manager let her come inside while I worked.

“I can’t believe you two,” Christy grumbled at me while eating her ice cream. She sat on top of the spare freezer while I cleaned and restocked the sundae bar. “I would die if I didn’t see Bree so much. And the s*x. Goddess, how are you not just dying to jump his bones?”

“Cause I don’t let hormones rule my life?” I answered sarcastically.

She gave me a deadpan look. “Loosen up. Seriously, you’ll thank me. The way he looks at you, all it would take is one word, and he’d be in your pants.”

“Or a picture!” the assistant manager, Rach, called jokingly from the kitchen where she was making the day’s ice creams.

“Oh! That! Do that! Pictures are great!” Christy said, bouncing up and down.

Rach poked her head out of the kitchen. “That’s how all my booty calls work. I just snap a selfie in one of my lacey bras, and they show up pretty quick,” she laughed.

“I like her,” Christy smiled.

“And we are peer pressuring me into s*x with my boyfriend why?” I asked, pointing at them.

“Cause your wound up pretty tight lately,” Christy said.

“I am not!” I argued.

“I’ve only known you for a month, and you seem pretty stressed out,” Rach added.

“Carl even said he’s worried about you,” Christy frowned.

“And now we’re conspiring! Have you even decided what you are doing with your life?” I turned on my best friend.

Her shoulders slumped at that, and she sniffed. “No…”

“I’ll get you another scoop but you gotta spill. What’s going on with Aubree?” I asked her, reaching over the counter so she could give me her bowl.

“We can’t decide which pack to stay in,” she confessed. “Alpha Lawrence denied my work application, and Aubree wants me to go to Wild Paws since things aren’t so strict. I just can’t imagine leaving.”

“Oh, Christy, I thought you two were going to move in together after graduation,” I said.

“I did, too,” she sighed. “The past couple of weeks have been kinda off.”

“You know if you went to Wild Paws, we would still see each other, right?” I asked her, stopping my cleaning to look at her.

“I just get so worried. It’s going to be weird next year not being in school and seeing you every day. Plus, you’ll be section leader, and I won’t be there. I’m so excited to start life with Bree; I just don’t know where it’s headed yet,” she confessed. I took my gloves off and came around to where she was sitting.

“You aren’t losing me if you move. Go live with your mate. Your family and I will always be around. I mean, your younger brother is coming to high school and is on the wrestling team, right? Right there, a reason to see me all the time!” I smiled.

“Q, I freaking love you. If I didn’t have a mate, I’d choose you,” she smiled, wrapping her arms around my neck. I laughed, hugging her back.

“I’d choose you back.”

–

Jaxx called after work, and I let it go to voicemail. We were supposed to go out with Christy and Aubree the following day, so I was saving my energy for that. I slipped my sweat pants off and shirked off my ice cream covered t-shirt, dropping them on the floor to wash later.

I really liked my job. Not only did our manager let us put out tip cups to make the crappy pay better, but we also got to wear t-shirts with shorts or sweatpants as our uniforms. Not everyone had such comfortable work clothes. When buying my uniforms, I made sure to get two shirts, shorts, and sweatpants. I rarely wore the shorts, usually opting for the more covered option.

I flopped on my bed in my tank top and cotton shorts that I always wore under my uniform. I had another corny joke from Michael sitting in my inbox. Instead of waiting for me to answer during work, he sent the punchline only minutes after the joke, but I still laughed.

While I was debating whether or not to call Michael, Christy texted.

C XOX

| dont forget those pics

| 😉 😉

| just flash some cleavage. he will be droolin

I rolled my eyes. I knew she didn’t understand, but I was not trying to make my boyfriend drool. Her text did give me two simultaneous thoughts. First, it made me uncomfortable. Only drop-dead gorgeous people sent those kinds of pictures, right? Second, I thought about Michael. Did he like more suggestive pictures like that? He probably had plenty on his phone.

ME

| do girls ever send you bad pictures ?

His reply didn’t come right away, but it did come.

MICHAEL“Do it!” Sapphire exclaimed. “Send him something to drool over!”

“What? Wouldn’t that be weird or like wrong? I have a boyfriend!” I replied.

“No! He’s Michael,” she said exasperatedly. “Once we buy a car, we could save up for a plane ticket to go see him!”

“You think my parents will let me fly by myself that far?” I questioned her.

“Worth a shot. Stop deflecting. Picture!”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I looked down at my cleavage. I couldn’t just show him that; there was no way. I would die of embarrassment even trying to take a picture of myself like that.

“Just perk ‘em up a bit. You called it suggestive,” Sapphire said.

Nervously, I opened my camera and held my phone up away from me like I would take a picture of myself. I squeezed my arms together a little, pushing my chest up and together. I snapped the picture, feeling the heat rise in my face. Before I could talk myself out of it, I hit send.