Chapter 54

Erin’s POV

“Yes, of course,” I said, plastering a smile on my face and trying to not seem uneasy.

The man that stood before me was clearly an Alpha, but I didn’t recognize him. He appeared to be strong and fierce though, certainly not as strong, and fierce as Gavin. His eyes were so dark that they were practically black.

He wasn’t bad to look at; in fact, he was kind of handsome, but he gave me an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that I tried to swallow down and ignore.

I brought this man to a table on the far side of the room. He took a seat and crossed his leg over his other one, leaning back in his seat, he peered up at me.

“What’s your special for this afternoon?” He asked; his tone was almost mocking, and I felt he was making fun of me.

But I couldn’t be too sure.

He didn’t even know me… so why would he be making fun of me?

“Our special this evening is lobster bisk,” I answered.

“I’ll take a bowl of your finest lobster bisk,” he replied with a glimmer of humor in his eyes. “And some beer.”

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a platinum card.

“And keep it coming.”

I nodded, keeping that plastered smile on my face as I turned and went toward the front counter. I gave the chefs the order for lobster bisk as I went to grab some beers from the fridge.

Kelsey was watching me curiously with a concerned friend.

“Holy shit, Erin. Do you know who that is?” She asked in a hushed whisper.

I glanced over at the table the strange man sat and I noticed that he was watching me. His eyes were scanning my body, almost hungrily and I felt my face heating.

“No, but I’m about to give him a piece of my mind,” I muttered, opening the beer.

I began to walk back to the table when Kelsey grabbed my arm, stopping me.

“Be careful, he’s not one to mess with. That’s Alpha Bane,” she hissed in a low tone.

My heart fell into my stomach at the sound of his name.

Of course, I had heard about Alpha Bane.

He was the Alpha of the Darkmoon pack. The darkest pack in the world.

I was right to feel nervous around him.

“Don’t make him angry,” she warned, releasing my arm.

She was right; I couldn’t give him a piece of my mind knowing who he was now. How could I have not recognized him?

Although, it’s not like I had many encounters with Bane. I’ve only ever seen him on TV and in news articles.

But most of the things I’ve heard about him weren’t good.

I straightened my stance and made my way over to his table, placing his beer down. Before I could walk away, he grabs my wrist, holding it firmly in his hand. I whipped around to face him, my face flushed.

“That’s a nice bracelet,” he said, darkness lacing his tone and sending a chill down my spine. I stared at the heart charm that occupied my wrist.

“Thank you,” I said, trying to sound as casual as I could. “It was a gift from my husband.”

He released my arm, and a smile decorated his lips.

“I see. He has good taste.”

I didn’t say anything in response; it didn’t require a response. I turned away and began walking back to Kelsey who was still watching me curiously.

“What did he say to you?” Kelsey asked.

“He likes my bracelet,” I said with a frown, staring down at my wrist.

Henry had gotten it for me for my birthday last year. I almost forgot I was wearing it until this moment.

“Order up!” The chef said as he placed the lobster bisk on the counter. I grabbed the bowl and grabbed a couple of crackers and a spoon before walking back to Bane’s table.

He was still watching me with such curiosity in his eyes; a faint smile played on his lips and it was making me feel even more uneasy.

“That looks delicious,” he says as I placed the bowl in front of him.

“Can I get you anything else?”

He grabbed his beer and shook it, indicating that it was empty.

I had to stifle a groan at how rude he was.

“I’ll get you another one,” I said, grabbing his empty beer and walking back to the front counter.

This entire exchange was incredibly too awkward for me. I wasn’t the only one who noticed; Kelsey was getting secondhand embarrassment as well.

“You deserve all the tips for this one,” she whispered, eyeing Bane carefully. “Even when he eats, he’s still staring directly at you. It’s like he’s worried you’re going to take off or something.”

I glanced back at Bane and saw that she was right. He ate the lobster bisk like normal, except his eyes were on me the entire time.

I felt my skin crawling.

Why did this Alpha feel the need to stare at me with such intensity? Did he know that I was once involved with Gavin? Did he know that I was staying in Gavin’s packhouse for the time being?

I brushed the thought out of my head and continued my duties while Bane continued to eat, drink, and watch me.

I had gotten him a few more beers long after he finished his lobster bisk. At one point, I almost wanted to just bring him his check. He was here for what felt like a few hours, and I wasn’t liking it.

I thought about texting Gavin and asking him to come to the restaurant, but I didn’t want or need him to fight my battles for me. I think I proved by putting out that fire that I was capable of taking care of myself.

“I can get security to remove him,” Kelsey offered.

I shook my head.

“We’ll give him a few more minutes,” I told her.

I went back to Bane’s table to clear some of his beer bottles away when he finally spoke to me after hours of just staring at me.

“So, what’s a pretty lady like you doing in a run-down restaurant like this?” He asked, a smile spread across his thin lips.

“It’s a paycheck,” I answered, trying to sound casual and unbothered. “Also, it’s not a run-down restaurant. It’s doing rather well.”

“I’ve been here for over 3 hours, and you’ve only had a couple of customers,” Bane laughed, peering around the seemingly empty restaurant.

“It’s a Tuesday evening; it’s a slow day,” I shrugged.

I went to turn away when he grabbed onto my wrist again; I swung around to face him with blaring eyes.

“Please do not touch me,” I growled; just as I spoke, his beer bottle tipped over on the table and the beer spilled all over the table and onto his lap.

He released me and quickly stood to his feet, cursing under his breath.

“You bitch,” he growled, wiping at his pants.

My face grew warm as I grabbed a few napkins.

“I’m so sorry,” I muttered; but I was anything but sorry.

He snatched the napkins from my hands and wiped himself off.

“I’ll take a check now,” he barked, causing me to flinch at his cruel tone.

I was more relieved than anything that he wanted to leave though. I tried not to smile too big as I turned away and went to grab him his bill.

Once I returned, the table was already cleaned.

I waited across the room for him to pay; Kelsey had already called security after he called me a “bitch” and they were on standby in case something happened.

Thankfully, nothing out of the normal happened.

He paid his tab and gave me one last look with a glimmer of humor in his eyes as he walked out of the restaurant.

I finally felt like I could breathe as I went to his table to collect his receipt.

I was taken aback by the generous tip he had left me, but what really made the air escape my lungs was the note he left along with it.

I know what you are, and I know what you can do.