Chapter 193

Third Person POV

Chester stood from the chair the moment Nan was out of sight. He grabbed Harper’s hand, his nails digging into her flesh. He wasn’t one to hurt women, but when said woman hurt his mate, all logic and rules went out the window. Harper screamed as the nails of his wolf dug into the soft flesh of her wrists.

Before the security team and management could reach their table and kick them out, Chester dragged Harper out of the restaurant by force, only releasing her once they were outside and even then, he swung her so hard that she nearly fell to the ground from the force. He was growling and trying desperately to keep his Alpha wolf under control, but it was hard when his wolf was so furious. Harper went from cocky and thinking she knew everything to fearful. Her eyes were large, never having seen Chester like this before.

“Chester—”

“Don’t you FUCKING speak my name,” he growled, his human mind nowhere to be found. He was pretty much all wolf in a human body. “You hurt my mate for the LAST TIME.”

“I was only trying to get you to see reason… I wanted to snap you out of whatever—” she tried to say, but Chester had her throat in his hands within seconds and slammed her against the building, making her howl in pain.

“DON’T YOU EVER SPEAK ABOUT MY MATE LIKE THAT AGAIN,” he growled, shaking the ground around them. “If you ever come near her again, I will FUCKING kill you.”

Her entire body was shaking now; tears spilled out of her eyes.

“I thought—” her voice was small as she tried to speak, all her resolve fading. Chester didn’t give her a chance to finish that sentence before his grip around her throat tightened.

“DON’T FUCKING TEST ME, HARPER. COME NEAR HER AND SEE WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENS.”

Her face was going red from the lack of oxygen, she fought against his hold, but it didn’t seem his wolf wanted to release her just yet; he wanted her to suffer. No, he wanted her dead.

The realization started to snap Chester back to reality and released her neck with force, making her cough and gag as she fell to the ground. She rubbed her aching neck, her entire body trembling.

“If you even look at her the wrong way, I won’t stop my wolf from killing you” he warned and with that, he turned and stormed back towards the restaurant doors.

When he entered, the management team and the security were there already, like they were waiting for him.

The management was about to kick him out, that much was clear, but a familiar presence stopped them.

“What was that all about, Chester?” Patrick Carter asked, his brows raised. He wore a suit like he typically did, and his hair was neatly combed out of his face. “Causing a scene at my new restaurant?”

“Sorry, Patrick,” Chester said, running his fingers through his hair. “That wasn’t meant to happen. I promise she won’t be an issue anymore… nor will I. But I need to see my mate. I have to make sure she’s okay.”

The security team looked as if they were about to grab him and force him outside, but Delta Carter raised his hand to stop them and then he nodded at Chester.

“Just make sure no more scenes in my businesses,” he murmured. He then turned to his men. “Make sure that girl doesn’t come back.”

They all nodded.

“Yes, Delta,” they said before retreating from the building.

Patrick nodded at the management team.

“It’s been handled. Return to work,” he ordered.

“Yes, Delta,” the said as well, giving Chester wary looks before leaving.

Patrick sighed and looked at Chester, his expression softening.

“I’m only going to say this because you are my friend but get your head out of your ass. Should have seen the look on that poor girl’s face. She’s devastated. She’s my best employee at the resort and I don’t need her at work tomorrow night broken. I think she’s in the bathroom with Judy Montague. Fix this.”

Chester nodded and went straight towards the bathroom, aware that every eye in the place was on him. He grabbed the handle for the girls’ room but noticed it was locked, so he knocked.

“Come back later,” he heard Judy saying on the other end.

“It’s me,” he said, his tone low as he pressed his forehead to the door. His wolf had finally simmered down now that Harper was out of the picture and now Chester felt nothing but remorse and worry that he fucked everything up with his mate. “Please, let me in… Judy…” There was desperation in his tone as he spoke, and he hated how weak and defeated he felt at that moment.

There was a long pause and then he heard the door unlatching. It opened slightly revealing Judy’s pissed off face. She stared around his face for a moment and then her eyes softened after she saw the look in his eyes.

“Welcome back,” she murmured. “You have a lot to talk about. Go easy on her…”

Judy disappeared in the bathroom for a moment longer, probably telling Nan she was leaving. Chester was too far into despair and fear to hear what was being said. But then a moment later Judy stepped out of the broom, her arms folded across her chest.

“I’ll be out here in case anything happens,” she said definitely. “Don’t break her again.”

Chester nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat as he stepped into the bathroom.

Nan was seated on the couch in the far side of the room and Chester’s eyes widened.

“Ladies have a couch in their bathroom?” Chester asked, amazed. He shut the door behind him and locked it so they wouldn’t be disturbed.

Nan didn’t bother retorting; she stared at her hands thankful that the tears finally stopped flowing so Chester didn’t see how broken she was over this whole thing. Little did she know, he could feel it.

He stepped closer to her, wanting to give her space and yet wanting to close the distance between them with a desperation he didn’t understand.

“Nan…” he finally said, his tone soft and filled with compassion. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for any of that to happen. She won’t be a problem for you anymore, you have my word.”

Nan glanced up at him and his heart broke when he saw that her eyes were red with unshed tears.

“She knew so much about you, Chester. You love her—”

“NO,” he said quickly as he stepped closer to her. “I’ve known her for a long time, that’s why she knows so much. But I don’t, nor have I ever, loved her. She was saying what she believed to be true, but it wasn’t how I felt.”

“She’s never going to leave you alone…” Nan whispered, tears starting to spill down her cheeks.

He sat down on the couch beside her and took her face in his hands, wiping away the tears with his thumbs.

“You have my word, Nan. She won’t be a problem anymore. I’m so sorry our first date was ruined. I’m sorry this happened. But I promise you, it won’t happen again. Please, don’t hate me…”

There was desperation in his voice, and she found herself drawn to his sincerity. She closed her eyes, letting more tears fall and he wiped them each with his thumbs.

“Why does this have to be so hard?” She whispered. “I thought it’d be easy once I found my mate…”

He let out a soft chuckle.

“Yeah, I don’t think there’s anything easy about mating,” he murmured. “But I want to give this a chance… a real chance. Please, don’t close the door on us just yet.”

She sniffled and nodded her head once.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I won’t close the door.”

Relief flooded him as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. She was surprised by the gesture, but the moment her head touched his chest, she melted into him, feeling at ease for once in her life. He felt himself melting as well, loving the feel of her in his arms.

“Can we go somewhere else?” He asked. “Maybe a walk. I’m done with this place.”

She nodded, though she wanted to remain in his arms like this for a while. He wanted to keep holding her. So, they remained like that for a bit longer. Holding one another as if their lives depended on it.

Soon, he was releasing her, though he immediately grabbed her hand.

When he opened the bathroom door, Judy was on the other side of it with her arms folded across her chest.

She glanced up at Chester and then at Nan, her eyes narrowed as if asking Nan if she was okay to leave with him.

Nan nodded, answering the unspoken question and Judy’s expression softened as she stepped aside.

Chester took Nan out of the restaurant, ignoring the onlooking eyes of literally everyone in the place.

They walked around the city, holding hands and talking; really talking. Chester opened up about his family and how his mother passed away a few years ago. He talked about his Alpha father and how Chester didn’t want to take over the pack and pretty much allowed his brother to train for the position instead so Chester could pursue his dreams as a chef, which his father never approved of. He spoke about how Gavin opened up his pack to Chester and allowed him to pursue his dreams and how he got to know the Landry family. He even talked about how he got to know Harper and why she’s so obsessed with him.

He knew that the conversation was hard for Nan to hear about his relationship with Harper, but the air needed to be cleared. He needed Nan to trust him and to open herself up to him.

After Chester was done telling her his life story, they were seated at the local park, his arms draped around her shoulders and her body pulled close to his. They had fallen in a comfortable silence when Nan finally spoke.

“I go to school with Judy when I’m not working,” she said softly. “I’m in the culinary program.”

His eyes grew large as he stared down at her.

“That’s how you knew so much about food and their seasonings…” he breathed; it was an observation, not a question.

She nodded.

“I aspire to be a chef one day…”

His heart melted at the sound of her soft whisper and the words she spoke. He smiled down at his mate.

His mate wanted to be a chef… like him.

She looked almost embarrassed by it as she nibbled her lip. He cupped her face in his hands and brought her gaze to meet his.

“I can help you make your dreams a reality Nan… but I need you to start trusting me. Do you think you can do that?”