Ruby’s POV
I stared down at my phone, waiting for goddess knows what. Last night's events had me yearning for Karson. He was my mate after all. He made me feel something I had wanted all my life; love, trust and acceptance. Olivia’s actions last night also left a sour taste in my mouth. What was her deal anyway? Karson said they were childhood friends, but to me, Olivia looked like she had more feelings than just that of a friend.
What’s on your mind, Ruby? Flora asked hesitantly.
Nothing. I’m just not sure how I feel about having a mate.Karson will not hurt us, he wants us.
Maybe Flora was right, all I needed to do was trust the mate bond and give him a chance. Karson said he was willing to take it slow and even accepted taking me on a date, but when that would be was up to him. The day dragged on. I looked at the clock in the kitchen realizing it was nearly 5pm shit I needed to make dinner for my kids.
“ALEC, ANNA.” I yelled from the kitchen. Within a few seconds, I could hear little feet running from their room to where I was in the kitchen.
“Yes, mama?” Alec and Anna said at once.
“What would you two like for dinner?” I asked my pups.
“Hotdogs!” Alec giggled.
“Mac-cheese,” Anna said.
“Hmmmm.. How about I do both?”
”YEAH!” Both kids screamed at the same time.
I grabbed out the hotdogs and a box of mac-n-cheese and began cooking. I bent down to pull out two pots and began to fill one halfway with water and the other with more than half. I turned on the burners and placed the pots on the stove. As I was cutting the package of hotdogs open, Rini had come in through the front door and sat down at the table.
“Everything OK?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. Sorry dear, it’s been one of those days at the pack hospital,” Rini replied tiredly. Since coming here, Rini had accepted a job at the pack hospital.
“Well, I’m making hotdogs and mac-n-cheese for dinner. Are you hungry?”
“You don’t even have to ask!” She replied with a laugh.
I finished cooking the noodles, grabbed the strainer and drained the water to add the cheese and milk. I served up two little plates for my pups and a plate for Rini. Once Alec and Anna heard dinner was ready, they ran to the table and started shoveling the food into their mouths.
“Rini, are we really safe here?” I asked, afraid of having to move spots again.
“Believe it or not, we are fine here. Why are you afraid to let your mate in?”
“I’m afraid to open myself up… after… letting…” I had to spell the rest so my kids didn't hear.
“C.. O..L..L..I..N.. in. You didn’t feel the emotional pain I had to endure after being banned.” I said with tears filling my eyes.
“My dear, you need to let the past go. Your future is closer than you think,” Rini said before she got up and placed her dishes in the sink.
Even now, after 3 years, that pain was something I didn't want to relive. It was a blessing I wasn't mated to him, because the pain of being rejected was worse on one’s body. Rini was right. I needed to let the past go, my mate was literally here and he wanted me. I picked up my phone and looked for Karson’s contact info, clicked on it and listened for the ring.
“Hello, this is Karson,” Karson said on the other end.
“Hey… it’s Ruby.” I said with a shaky voice.
“Are you OK? What’s wrong?” Karson sounded scared. I had to reassure him.
“I’m fine. I was wondering if you would like to go on that date?” I asked.
“You know I was just thinking about calling you and asking myself. What did you have in mind?”
I thought about it for a moment- What would we do? I didn’t really know anything about him. That’s when it clicked.
“I want dinner, mini golf and conversation.” I blurted out. I could hear Karson chuckle on the other end, which made me smile.
“That sounds perfect, I’ll pick you up in say, 15 minutes?” Karson said before hanging up the line.
I looked at Rini who simply had a smile on her face, assuring me that she would watch the kids so I could get to know my mate. I ran to my room to get myself ready. I didn't have time for a shower. I threw my hair in a high ponytail, replaced my sweatpants with a pair of blue skinny jeans and a fitted black blouse. I found my favorite brown-heeled boots and rushed out to the kitchen.
“You look beautiful Ruby.” Rini said as she twirled her finger for me to do a spin.
A knock at the door had my stomach doing flips. I walked up to the door and before I opened it I looked back at Rini, who nodded and mouthed ‘you’re ready’. I didn’t know what to expect when I opened the door. Part of me couldn’t wait to see him, the other part was screaming to cancel, but there in the threshold of my door stood Karson wearing blue jeans, a tight fitted gray v-neck shirt and a black leather jacket.
Just take him to the room now, this is torture. My wolf wasn’t lying.
He looked so good, that it took everything in me not to pounce on this man. I looked back at Rini, smiled and said “don’t wait up.”
“Oh… I wasn’t planning to. Have a good night my dear, and remember to have fun.”Rini said as she winked at me. I simply rolled my eyes at her as Karson led me to his car. He was driving a silver Mercedes Benz tonight, not his usual vehicle of choice but still fitting for an Alpha. The car was filled with his scent and immediately I felt aroused.
Oh no, not like this. I thought to myself.
Oh yes, like this, get used to it, only our mate could make us feel like this. Flora said happily.
Karson got in the driver's seat and smiled at me, he looked so handsome, I had to admit it. He never told me where we were going. I felt shocked when we drove into town surrounded by humans. He pulled into a parking lot of a restaurant, got out and opened my door, and led me inside. The host smiled and greeted us.
“Mr. Richmond welcome, we have your table set up as requested. Right this way.” She was a short girl no older than 20 with short blond hair to her shoulders, and brown eyes. She led us to a dimly lit table in the back. I took my seat as she handed me a menu.
“Wow. This is a nice restaurant.” I said, sounding shocked. Karson smiled at me.
“I actually own this restaurant, members of the pack work here, as well as some regular humans.” He replied.
I was completely shocked. I wondered what else I didn't know about him. It was like Karson was reading my mind, as I was ready to ask more questions he started to tell me more.
“We actually own more than half of the city. Including some offices, apartments as well as some restaurants, including this one,” he said with a smile.
“So not all wolves from your pack work here, humans as well?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said with a smile.
I was about to ask another question off topic when the waiter came up to us and introduced himself.
“Hello, and welcome to Chef Montelli's. I’m Derek, I’ll be your waiter tonight. May I suggest a bottle of the finest white wine we have in stock tonight?”
“Yes, I think that would be fitting for tonight. What do you say, Ruby?” Karson asked, looking directly into my eyes. My heart fluttered as my stomach flipped. “Ah.. Yes, that sounds great.” I replied, hesitantly.
The waiter, Derek, filled two glasses of the wine and set the bottle down in a silver bin filled with ice. I’d never dined like this before, not even with Collin. The most he did was order take out and get in my pants. The thought of him upset me. I brushed the feeling off and looked at the menu. My eyes lit up when I saw that they served a dish my mother used to make me on my birthday.
“I’ll take the salmon filet with lemon sauce, cilantro rice and a baked sweet potato, please.” I said with a smile.
“Excellent choice, ma’am. And for you sir?” Derek asked, looking at Karson.
“I’ll take the sirloin, cooked rare with the garlic mashed potatoes and the steamed vegetables.” Karson said politely, handing the menu back.
“Very good choice sir, if you give me a moment I’ll tell the chef and be right back with some bread sticks.” Derek said as he bowed slightly before leaving.
The man likes a good steak that I can get used to. Flora butted in.
Flora, this is my date. I said
Well, hurry up and ask him for a run tonight. I want to meet my mate’s wolf. She huffed.
“I know that look, so what’s your wolf like?” Karson asked. I looked at him, forgetting he could see my eyes haze over as I was talking to Flora.
“Flora is her name, she’s beautiful and she was asking to meet your wolf tonight.” I said a bit hesitantly. I could feel Flora push through watching him as we talked, she purred when he looked at us.
“Flora, what a beautiful name. Leo is my wolf and I’ve been holding him back from marking you since we found out that you were our mate.” Karson replied. I watched as his eyes flashed from his blueish green to those of amber-colored I knew Leo wanted to meet as much as Flora did.
Wow, beautiful. I thought to myself. I could feel flora whining, she had yearned for her mate. I wasn’t trying to keep that from her, but I didn't want to get hurt again. Derek had returned after 15 minutes with our food. It looked amazing, I couldn't wait to dig in.
We ate our meal and asked our questions. The more I found out about him, the closer I felt to him, so far I knew:
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite food: Steak, always rare
Favorite hobby: working out
Favorite holiday: Christmas
His dislikes were pretty easy, he didn't like any one who lied, cheated or stole from him, understandable considering who he is. When he asked me the same questions, I responded with:
My Favorites:
Color- Purple
Food- Salmon
Hobby- Teaching
Holiday- St. Patrick’s day
I enjoyed reading a good book, as well as Lilies. I hated betrayal more than anything. I could see in Karson's eyes that he was sincerely listening to me, something no one had done before. Once we finished our meal, Karson paid the bill and I watched him leave a 50 dollar tip. I was thinking that; that was gonna make the waiters night.
After leaving the restaurant, Karson led me down a sidewalk instead of the car. I gave him a suspicious look and all he did was laugh. We walked for about 5 minutes when we reached a mini golf plaza. I looked at him with excitement. We chose the 9 holes and our clubs and began to play. I had never had this much fun before. I was enjoying myself. We were half way done with our game when Karson suggested we make a bet.
“I’m game, what are you waging?” I asked with a giggle, knowing he wasn't going to beat me, I was the mini-golf queen. Karson looked at me and smiled.
“If I win, you go with me to the Alpha fundraiser.” Karson paused before finishing with, “As my Luna.” At that moment, I felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs. Was he serious? I mean, I was considering being his Luna but I wasn’t sure if I was ready.
“Karson, to be honest, I’m not sure I’m ready to be your luna, or if I ever will be.” My words trailed off, I could see the hurt in his eyes. It wasn’t my intention to hurt him, yet he was asking something of me I wasn’t ready for.
“Ruby, I promise you I will never hurt you the way you have been in the past.” Karson lightly grabbed my shoulders and embraced me in a hug. Karson was right. I wasn't giving him a chance, and only I could fix it.
“OK, if you win, I… I will go with you as your Luna, but if I win I want to meet your wolf.” Karson looked shocked that I even asked, and I felt a bit embarrassed about it.
“DEAL!” Leo growled as he pushed through Karson.
“Well, I guess Leo decided the answer on that.” He laughed.
The game was going great. So far we were on the second to last hole and tied somehow. My palms were starting to get a bit sweaty as I went up to hit my ball, I wound up with just enough force and… I missed it, I missed the hole. Karson won the game and the bet.
“Well, I guess that means you will accompany me as my Luna, and because you were being a good sport about losing, how about I let you meet my wolf? I promise I’ll be by your side for the entire fundraiser,” Karson said.
“That… That sounds great, let’s head back to the pack house.”