Sold to the Alpha

A Friendly Face

I stared out the window at the moon, a soft frown on my face. It looked so different than it had on the full moon a week prior. Then again, everything in my life looked so different now than it did the previous week. I had been celebrating my eighteenth birthday and my first shift. I was gearing up to go on a huge road trip with my dad to celebrate my coming of age. I had been excited at the idea of getting out of town and out into the real world, even for a moment.

And then everything had changed in the blink of an eye.

The clattering of dishes being dumped into the sink startled me out of my thoughts. I was back at work in the crappiest diner in town, working doubles every day for a meager wage that was barely going to pay the bills now that Dad... okay, nope, not going down that road. The point was, I'd need a second job soon. I sighed and grabbed the last customer check from the register.

Until then, this job would have to work.

"How's your coffee?" I asked politely as I approached the table of one of my regulars. He was an alpha, and even though he had been dining in my section every Friday night for the last two years, we had only begun making small talk during the last few weeks. I had always thought that he was handsome, but now I knew he was charming, and funny, and he always asked how I was. I had a bit of a crush on him even though I would never admit it to anyone.

The man looked up at me, one eyebrow raised. I flushed softly at the eye contact, feeling my breath threaten to catch in my throat. I still wasn't used to his striking features or his stormy eyes that always stared directly into mine and stayed there like he was searching for something unknown to me. He was likely only a few years older than I was, but sometimes he acted like he had centuries on me.

"It's delicious," he responded, voice gruff but kind. "Have you been crying?"

My cheeks heated further and I nervously ran a hand through my dark wavy hair, pushing my bangs off my forehead. "I... yeah," I admitted, not wanting to lie to him but unsure why. It wasn't like he really cared about the answer. He was just being polite. "I've been... going through some things, I guess."

His expression turned sympathetic, and he gestured to the booth across the table from him. I hesitated but he repeated the motion. I glanced around for my manager, seeing that he had gone home and left me to lock up. I slid into the booth with a small, sad smile. He nudged his plate of fries towards me.

"What have you been going through?" He asked.

I took a fry, twirling it in my fingers but not bringing it near my mouth. "My... dad. He died, um, last week," I answered, testing the words out. I had yet to say them out loud. "It's been... hard."

"I'm sorry," he rumbled, putting his chin in his hand as he gazed at me. "You were close?"

"We were all each other had," I admitted, picking the fry apart into tiny pieces. "My mom died when I was eleven. I buried him two days ago. Nobody even came. It was just me and the funeral director." He frowned, but stayed silent as I let out a humorless laugh. "And some debt collector. Can you believe that?"

His eyebrows lifted. "A debt collector came to his funeral?"

I nodded, leaning closer to him subconsciously. "He was trying to catch me off guard, I think? He kept trying to intimidate me or something about some big debt Dad had. I kind of think he was full of shit. Dad didn't have any debt except a couple hundred on an old credit card."

The man hummed softly. "Have you seen him anywhere else?"

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows. "The collector? What do you mean? Where would I have seen him?"

The handsome alpha shrugged before smiling at me. "I don't know. I hope he leaves you alone. It's your father's debt, not yours."

I sighed. "Me, too. God knows I can't afford to pay anything back on this salary."

"I'll start leaving extra tips," he promised with a playful twinkle in his eye.

Giggling, I nodded. "Thanks, um... wait, what's your name?"

The corner of his mouth ticked up as I laughed. "Jared. It's Jared."

"I'm Melanie," I offered.

"I know."

I blushed again, moving to stand as he pulled out his wallet. "Well... it was good talking to you. I should go work on the dishes and close up."

He nodded, handing me a twenty dollar bill. "Keep the change. Sorry it's not more, it's all I had on me. Next time, though."

"Thank you," I said, genuinely meaning it even though it was only a few dollars. "Have a good night, okay?"

After he said goodbye, he headed towards the door. I watched him go, feeling strangely giddy for the first time since before Dad had died. My giddiness slipped away as I remembered the reality of my situation. I sighed and got to work clearing Jared's table so I could go home.

Dad, I miss you...

It was almost two hours later when that I was face planting into my bed, exhausted and feeling dead on my feet. My last thought before falling asleep was that my hair was still wet, but that was a problem for tomorrow Melanie.

Considering I woke up blindfolded and tied up in the back of a van as unfamiliar men spoke in hushed voices all around me, tomorrow Melanie would have  bigger problems than frizzy hair.