Chapter 2. G'morning, Firecat

Sianna's POV

Even now, three days later, I can still feel the turbulence in my life. My phone alarm goes off at precisely six in the morning, jarring me out of my euphoric sleep and forcing me to open my eyes.

For Tara, today was a noteworthy day. She has been contracted to provide catering at the Gear Pavilion, which will start at nine this morning. My suspicions that a specific someone engineered this scheme to put me in his orbit began to rise the minute that she told me about it. But I wasn’t going to bail on her.

Blindly, I stretched to the night table to take up the noisy phone to turn off the alarm when my hands brushed against something, and it fell to the floor.  

Abruptly, I jolted out of bed to check what could have fallen. Perturbed, I scrutinized the objects. I found a card and a stuffed pony of Princess Celestia from “My Little Pony.” I used to watch the animation as a kid, and this character was my favorite. I even used to beg my Dad to get me a pony since I was his little princess. He was very happy when I outgrew that phase. Although I had many other phases after that.

Quickly, I opened the card to see who might have left it in my room, and it narrates: 

“Good morning, Firecat, 

These days I often daydream about us being together. You are so special to me, and I can never imagine losing you. I use this moment to tell you how beautiful your smile is, and the way you flip your hair in the mornings or bite your lips when you are nervous. My life has suddenly gotten brighter since you became my mate. Even watching you sleep is magical. Wishing you a blissful day. You have my heart. See you soon!” 

“Impossible!” I yelled in horror. There was no way that he came into my room last night. Adrenalin rushed through my veins. How could I not feel his presence or hear his movements? Even my wolf did not alert me.

Additionally, only my parents or Hailey knew me this vastly. How did he find out about one of my favorite cartoon characters? 

So, now he wants to stalk me! Is he crazy? How am I supposed to face him today? I’m angry at this man. Just because I was his mate did not mean that he had the right to enter my room or life without my permission. He was dead wrong if he thought that these little gestures would soften me.

Cursing with rage, I shredded the card with my hands and threw it in the waste bin in the bathroom. I glanced at the pony, and my conflicting thoughts froze me.

I ought to burn it.

But it was so cute!

Damn, I adored the blasted pony so I decided to keep it. For the record, it had nothing to do with my mate. Simply put, I genuinely loved it. It fit nicely with my other stuffed animals on the white shelf above my computer desk.

But what kind of nickname was “Firecat?” I am all woman, not a bloody kitten. 

I removed my pajamas shorts suit. He had to be investigating me. It could have been Mom or Dad that he probed. If it had been Hailey that leaked the information, she was sure to tell me. 

I quickly showered and clothed myself in a black faux wrap party dress with a v-neck and ruffled sleeves. It was nothing elaborate, but I had to look good as a representative of TeeBee’s café. Picking up my handheld shoulder bag on my bed, I proceeded to the door to leave, and got into the waiting cab.

No one is going to spoil my day today. I leaned my head back as the cab drove to the central area. Closing my eyes, I fixed my composure. The dread laid in my mind of what my ex-mate might be planning. I know that my ex-mate arranged this event solely to put me in his crosshairs but abandoning Tara was a no-no, so I complied. Besides, it was also my job.

The request was to cater to the warriors today as they held a conference meeting about security details for the pack with the Rogue Integration System that was current. We were to provide breakfast and Tara said to meet her there because Brody, her mate, would have helped her to load the truck from the café.

Spotting Tara and Brody on arrival, I strode over to where they were setting up the tables and immediately helped. Five omegas were assigned to assist us with delivering the meals to the warriors’ tables while we would handle the ration and serving. 

“Are you OK?” Tara asked me while looking at my angry face. 

I took a deep breath to calm my troubling nerves before answering her “Yeah,” I said with a little piece of voice. See this asinine effect that he has on me whenever he was around. Technically, he was not here yet, but just thinking about him gets me like this. And I despise him for it.

I’m on edge as I consistently feel a pair of eyes watching me and I just hate it when he thinks he has power over me. These days I spend more time hating my mate than thinking about my boyfriend. Aren’t I a sad and pathetic case?

“Earth to Sianna” Brody's voice snapped me out of my angry thoughts. 

“Huh,” I said while looking at him. 

“Are you OK? I have been calling your name for the past five minutes,” he asked with furrowed brows and handed me a pack of napkins. 

“Yeah, I'm totally fine,” I said with a tiny smile while trying to act normal and banish my murderous thoughts about that man. Shaking those stupid feelings out of my mind, I decided to enjoy the day. I uttered a silly excuse, “I’m tired from having tons of schoolwork and projects. That’s all.” 

The fact was that the kitchen staff from the pack house was very much capable of catering for this event.  The chef and cooks were omegas who had qualifying backgrounds from culinary schools. Therefore, the special behest for TeeBee’s to be here for the day was just a ploy to lure me here.

He was casually wielding his authority around.

I scoffed.

The warriors arrived in large numbers and took seats in groups around the tables. In another five minutes, the conference should commence. And then I felt it, the aura of the three most powerful men in the werewolf kingdom as they walked under the open tent.

As they purposefully moved by us, my body tensed. His intoxicating scent toggles at my nose. The palatable effect on my wolf was noticeable as she tried to make me purr. So, I cover my mouth and nose with my palm, faking a cough.

They all looked at me but the Gamma’s eyes lingered and caught mine as he mischievously smirked, and greeted, “Good morning, lovely ladies.” And to me, he says, “It’s great that you could join us today.” He does not acknowledge Brody and walks off.

With brisk strides, he caught up with the High Alpha and his Beta. Ahead of the group, they took their chairs with the Gamma kicking things off. 

Tea and juice were being made by Tara and me, and we gave the omegas trays to carry them to the warriors. The sandwiches were then brought out. Thank goodness Tara agreed to handle serving the high authorities.  The hours went by quickly and I was eager for the day to be finished. I am glad that I was wearing flats because standing all day was hard on my legs. These warriors had prominent appetites.

As the High Alpha spoke, my phone rang loudly, playing “The Heart Wants What it Wants” by Selena Gomez. Panic welled in my throat as the Alpha paused his speech to give me a dangerous gaze.

Quickly, I answered the caller, “Hi Dad,” and stepped away from the tent so that our voices could not be heard.

“Pumpkin, I need a favor.” He spoke urgently.

“Sure, Dad. Just name it.” I agree in anticipation.

“I left the Martinez Brothers’ folder in Alpha's office. Could you grab it and take it home?” He requested “And leave it in the study.”

“Of course,” I pinched the bridge of my nose in dismay. Goddess knows that was the last place that I wanted to go. Avoiding my mate meant that the pack house was off-limits for me. To such a degree, Dad's appeal took away the silver lining.

“Love you, Pumpkin.” The call ended.

Looking back towards the tent, everyone was still there and engaged. None of the warriors could leave without the permission of the Gamma. Subsequently, I decided to take advantage of retrieving the folder from the office while they were preoccupied. It was the best opportunity to elude the bad-boy trio. Crossing my fingers, I hoped the office would be accessible.