Chapter 5: Iced Mocha and a Cinnamon Bun.

Tristan

I couldn’t get Emily out of my head. I went home after stopping by the electronics store for the new printer and our whole exchange still ran through my mind.

I never knew a human female that drove my inner wolf mad the way that she had. She was beautiful-long dark hair, beautiful brown eyes and a pale complexion just like the Moon Goddess. When I held her in my arms, I could feel my hand near the swell of her right breast and the softness of her thigh with my other hand. I could feel her anxiety and discomfort as I held her in my arms.

She wasn’t the type of person who let others touch her without consent and I didn’t want to frighten her. What could I have done? It was either save her or save the moped, and the latter was not an option.

But her scent; the smell of the lavender shampoo in her air, the scent of coffee and pastries on her clothes and the slight smell of sweat had only made things worse for my inner wolf. That was the chaos of the Pull.

Though she hadn’t noticed, I was a little nervous myself. And when that happens, I act like a complete tool. Easy, peasy, quick and breezy?! What the f*ck was that? But she giggled, and I thought her laugh was infectious.

I always loved making women laugh. A woman’s smile and her laugh were always my two favorite qualities in women, as were their eyes. Emily had beautiful ones that I’d been more than willing to get lost in.

Another thing that I could sense in her was that she had been hurt before by guys. She was a little guarded around me. And yet, I could feel the tension in her and her efforts to keep that guard up. But I’d catch her staring at me from my peripherals as I drove her home.

And I wasn’t at all trying to breach her guard. I tried so hard to deny the Pull that was connecting me to her. Her discomfort said that her own Pull was drawing her to me. Humans had a Pull, though it wasn’t as strong and chaotic as it was in shifters.

I would try to overcome the Pull. But my mother, the former Luna of my pack, had told me long ago, “You can fight the Pull,” she said. “You can try to ignore it and even deny it. But no matter if your Fated is a wolf or, on that rare occasion, a human. In the end, the Pull always wins.”

And she had been right. Her own experience with my father was a true testament to how powerful the Pull was. She tried to deny her own Pull to my father. She didn’t like him at first. They were both from rival packs and my grandfather—Hamish “The Mighty” Gray, and my other grandfather—Boramund Duncan of Clan Duncan, my mother’s familial pack, had grown tired of the meaningless fighting. And so, my father and mother were Mated.

But neither of my grandfathers knew about the Pull between my mother and father. My mother didn’t want to be Fated to my father, but eventually my old man wore her down. He had a certain rugged charm to him. I think I got my own rugged charm from him. Good ol’ Dad!

And I couldn’t deny it with Emily. But she was human, and I didn’t want her to become another Marissa. Even though I would try to deny the feelings inside my inner wolf that were growing for Emily, the Pull would win in the end.

And I felt that pull keenly as I pulled into the parking lot of Stone’s Coffee and Pastries. I knew she worked at the coffee shop. Her last name was Stone, and she had a thick smell of coffee beans on her last night.

I didn’t want to be creepy and make her think I was stalking her. But I had to check on her. And I was letting the Pull win, but just for this moment.

I walked into the shop and my nose was hit with the aroma of coffee and cinnamon buns. And there she was, wiping off the counter near the register. She looked up, saw me and her eyes darted back down to her task.

“Hello,” she smiled but didn’t look at me. “Welcome. Be right with you.” She threw the towel on the sink behind her and then turned her gaze back at me. I could smell a slight fear in her eyes. It wasn’t as bad as it was then. Something must have shaken her.

“What can I get you?” she asked, standing at the POS system.

I smiled and looked at the menu above. They didn’t have a lot of selections, but I loved iced coffee and cinnamon buns. And they had both. Good enough for me.

“Hi,” I said. “I’d like a large iced mocha and a big cinnamon bun to go, please.”

She tapped a few keys on the screen, smiling and trying to hide her nervousness. She was like a scared little rabbit cornered by a wolf. I wasn’t trying to frighten her, but she was clearly trying not to look at me.

“Alright,” she said. She continued to bite her lip every other second and avert her eyes whenever she caught me staring at her.

“That’ll be $7.89, please,” she said.

I slid my debit card into the card reader and punched in my pin. Once it was approved, I pulled it out and put it back in my wallet. I was feeling a little nervous around her, trying to stifle a bit of the shakes I was feeling. It was a small side effect of the Pull.

“Would you like your receipt?” she asked.

“No, thank you,” I smiled.

“Would you like the cinnamon bun warmed up?” she asked.

“Yes, please,” I said. A warm and gooey cinnamon bun was one of my greatest weaknesses. Who could resist?

“Alright, I’ll have that out for you in a few.” She turned and went about her business. She took a large cinnamon bun out of the display case and placed it in a warmer, pressed the timer and then went about making the iced mocha.

“Are you doing okay?” I asked. I didn’t want to make small talk because I hated small talk, but her body language and her skittishness told me that small talk was all I was going to get.

“I’m fine,” she said. Her back was turned to me, and I couldn’t help but look at the black leggings she wore. Most of her front was covered in an apron but I couldn’t help taking a quick glance at the rest of her body. My inner wolf was stirring again, and I felt my hackles growing hot. Down, boy! She’s off-limits.

“Good. I was a little worried,” I said. Though I probably shouldn’t have said that. Was I trying to sound like a desperate stalker?

“Don’t worry about me,” she replied. “I’m okay. My grandpa and I are going down to the police station today to file a report.”

She set the iced mocha on the counter and went to retrieve the cinnamon bun.

“That’s good,” I said.

I saw an older man in the back who must have been her grandfather. He was tall and built like a linebacker, but he was also human. I caught him gazing over a couple of times and I could feel his reserved distrust. He must have been very protective of his granddaughter. I couldn’t blame him. If he knew what I was, I wouldn’t trust me either.

She placed the warm cinnamon bun in a to-go box and handed it to me.

“Here you go,” she said. “Hope you enjoy them both.”

“Thank you,” I said, smiling.

“No problem,” she replied. “Have a great day.”

I smiled. “You too.”

I left feeling more awkward than when I first went in. What the hell did I think was going to happen? I sighed. I decided then that I would try to let her go, move on. Maybe what I was feeling was just a sexual attraction to her. Perhaps another girl came along who’d become my Fated mate-a wolf just like me. But it was never that easy for me. Emily would be all that I would think about, and it would only bring trouble for us both.