The White Wolf's Mate

A Taste of Excitement

Raven could feel the cold, wet breath of something breathing inches from her neck. A twinge of fear knotted in her belly. She wanted to scream but willed herself to do as her father asked and remain still and quiet. " As the moon glows, the fire will rise below. The world will never know, the faces that we show," Raven silently remembered the words of her mother's lullaby, as she closed her eyes. Suddenly she heard a scream and the sound of beasts tearing at something. She jerked awake, covered in a pool of sweat. " Ugggggggh, " Raven groaned aloud. "Not another nightmare," she tried to shake off the lingering fear that clung to her after waking. The busy sounds of the morning let her know that everyone's day had already started. She quickly flipped out of bed, her hair a messy mass of curls around her head. The cold floor made her quickly regret ditching her socks in the middle of the night. " Who sleeps with socks on anyways," she grumbled to herself. Raven's footsteps echoed in the quiet hallway as she hurried to the shared bathroom, her thoughts a whirlwind of haste and determination to catch up with the day's demands.

The echoes of the scream and the sounds of beasts tearing at something haunted Raven's thoughts, leaving her wide awake and drenched in sweat, her heart pounding in her chest. Loud beeps from her phone startled her as she started to daydream while brushing her teeth. Pretty sure that was not her first alarm, she hurried to find her uniform before she missed the last bus to work. "Marvin is going to be pissed, " she said, finally glancing at the tie before finally rushing out the door to catch the next bus.

"Hey! Watch it! , " a customer yelled as Raven rushed through the doors of Betty's Diner, already busy with the late morning rush. She quickly apologized and rushed to the kitchen to grab her apron and clock in. As she tied the last string of her apron, she felt a familiar feeling of dread.

"Well, well, well, look who's finally here. Ms. Alistar, yet another tardy?" asked the pretty unamused voice of her boss, Marvin. To be expected, he was not happy. He began impatiently tapping a pen on the counter. The annoying sound caused Raven to roll her eyes before plastering on a fake smile and turning to face him.

"Oh, I was meaning to tell you that I was planning on closing tonight to make up for my tardies. I worked it out with Wilma. I'm going to give her a much-deserved break tonight." she said smoothly, hoping her confidence would mask her lie.

The pen tapping stopped, which was a great sign. She knew he was buying it from the look on his face. Unfortunately, for her, she was going to have to live up to her words. Marvin raised his eyebrows and smiled, " Well that's very nice of you. I understand that you live quite a distance from the diner so this could make up for your tardies. However, " His expression changed back to his normal, tight-lipped look, " don't make it a habit." Without another word, Marvin went into his office and loudly closed the door. Despite the extra work she just made for herself, Raven was filled with relief. " I'm just glad to still have my job," she grumbled to herself, she plastered on her fake smile and headed to the busy floor to start work and fill Wilma in on her shift switch.

Unfortunately, she arrived in the middle of the rush. Before she could even think she was going table to table filling orders and taking requests. Before long she lost herself in the rhythm of work, careful not to make mistakes because she was sure the only reason she hadn't been fired was because she was such a hard worker. "Thanks for coming, " she smiled to herself as she collected a few tips from her tables and cleared and cleaned them as quickly as she could.

"Hello! Welcome to Betty's! " she greeted without looking as the jingling sounds of the door rang as customers entered. Loud laughter and loud voices began to take over the other sounds in the diner.

"Rayyyyyyyyyy!" a familiar shrill voice yelled. Filled with excitement, Raven turned sharply almost dropping the dishes she was carrying. It was her roommate Janice and a couple of her friends. She was holding several bags and boxes.