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I fight the urge to shiver hearing his voice. Fucking mate bond. It’s bad enough it tortures me; why does it have to affect me this way—every piece of me wanting to throw myself in his arms despite the fact he nearly ruined me. The bond wants that, not me. I am in control. I fought it this long, and I didn’t work this hard for everything to unravel right now.
“Yes. How may I help you, Alpha Valen?” I ask, turning around. My lungs compress at the sight of him—he's gorgeous, and he fucking knows he is, which just enrages me. Tall, dark, and handsome. What is it with men? They grow older, manlier, and more handsome while women just fucking age? Damn, my inner monologue is out of whack today. 'Fuck' is taking up a good chunk of my vocabulary.
“You know my name and who I am?” he asks.
“I also know what you are too, so how may I help you?” I ask him. I am impressed with how calm I sound, despite screaming internally and wanting to run.
He blows out a breath and runs a hand through his hair before scratching his neck. He looks back out to the restaurant.
“How old are you?” he asks.
“Old enough to know you are my mate, if that’s what you are wondering,” I tell him. And man, don’t I know it? Five years of agony because I know.
He seems taken aback by my tone. I hate him despite the feeling vibrating through the bond that isn’t even forged yet. I hate what he put me through, hate how he hung up when I tried to tell him I was pregnant and laughed at me, saying he would never fuck a seventeen-year-old. Well, fucker, you did! And she raised your son herself. Not that I would ever tell him that. Valarian is my world and we don’t need this man in our lives.
I step past him and back into the restaurant, managing to avoid his hand as he tries to touch me.
“Can we talk?” he asks. He looks nervous. I get an inkling that he doesn’t struggle much with women; he clearly wasn’t expecting it from his mate.
“We just did. Nice chat. Macey will escort you out,” I tell him, pointing to Macey while I check the dessert displays and grab a knife.
“Look, I know this came as a bit of shock, but I…”
“But you what? Thought I would run off into the sunset with you. Be dying for you to mark me? Uh, no thanks. The door is right behind you. If you just turn around, you shouldn’t miss it, but in case you do, there is a green sign above it saying EXIT,” I tell him.
“Wow, you are a real piece of fucking work,” he snaps, looking hurt.
“Well, unless you are here for a specific reason that isn’t about being my mate, then get out.”
“Actually, I came here for a reason,” he mutters, looking around. We've managed to draw half the restaurant’s attention, though we talked rather quietly. I know it must be from his aura. As soon as I dismissed him, he got his hackles up and spilled it out.
“I need to speak to the manager about holding the annual Alpha meeting here,” he says before pulling a brochure from his pocket.
“Don’t you have your own hotels to do that at?” I ask him.
“I have been asked to hold it on neutral territory.”
“Well, we're fully booked,” I tell him.
“I didn’t even give you the date,” he snaps.
“I know, but whatever date it is, the place is fully booked, and if it isn’t, I will make sure it is,” I tell him, placing the cutting knife and napkins on the table next to Zoe’s birthday cake.
“I want to speak to the manager,” he says, following me around.
“You’re speaking to her,” I tell him, clearing a table and walking back out to the kitchen. I scrape the plates before placing them in the sink and turning around, only to almost run into him because he's standing so close. I step back.
“Then I want to speak to the owner.”
“You’re looking at her,” I tell him.
“You own this place?” he scoffs.
“Yeah, is that an issue? Do you feel threatened by my five-star rating compared to your 4.5? Didn’t think a rogue woman could outdo you? I bet that's the real reason you’re here; you finally realized where all your guests went?”
“Well…” he doesn’t finish and instead shuts up.
“It is, isn’t it?”
