Chapter 9: NINE

After I allowed my mother to rest, I served her food, gave her drugs, and rushed to clean up before going to work. I was always on time but today, I ended up coming to work pretty late. I rushed in sweating profusely trying not to run into the owner; I changed my outfit into the waiter’s dress hanging there and I rushed out of the dressing room to start working.

I went to a table that had a young fragile guy eating his nails nervously who reminded me of myself and an older woman who had an arrogant appearance. She told me what they wanted to order without even glancing at the guy to ask him what he wanted. The guy just nodded at me with a smile that didn’t even reach his eyes.

‘I will get that for you now Ma’ I said noting down their order silently pitying the young guy sitting beside her.

‘Please do hurry, we have been waiting here for ages and the other waiters keep telling me to hold on’ she said while making aggressive gestures with her hands to demonstrate her point.

‘I sincerely apologize for that Ma, I will hurry and get it for you now’ I said and left to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, I ran directly into the same man I was trying to avoid.

My boss.

‘Oh fuck” I said to myself thinking of what to say to him.

‘You are late and I don’t want to hear your excuses. We will talk about it later for now, just hurry up and serve our hungry customers’ he said as he left.

I breathed heavily, relieved about how things went. I kept serving food to customers smiling at them even to those who utterly hated me, I wasn’t anybody’s favorite in the pack just Jasmine's and my mum's. I wasn’t bothered though but I was kind of bothered cause some of the names they called me weren’t nice at all.

I was serving one elderly woman her meal, she didn’t look at me in a bad and terrible way others do and for that, I was glad until I overheard two elderly women and a younger lady beside me giggling and laughing about the Mate Selection Ceremony.

‘Mummy, you really need to see the Alpha; he’s breathtaking, insanely handsome, and incredibly sexy. All the girls in that hall were practically drooling as soon he entered the hall!!’ the younger girl exclaimed with a shriek.

The 1st woman started fanning herself dramatically ‘Oohh I never knew he was that handsome. I can’t really recall his face since he left the pack a long time ago’

The second woman responded ‘Yeah but even before he left the pack, he was badass. He could stand up to anybody not minding their class or whatever and speak the truth. Then his parents died and a few years later, he lost his wife too that was when he disappeared'

‘He abandoned his pack but, he came back exuding a great amount of gorgeousness. I’m sure the pack has forgiven him’ the first woman replied.

‘Why won’t they Mum? If anyone has the Alpha’s face and sexy muscular frame, they can do anything and get away with it. His face looks like one that was specially hand-molded by the gods. He is gorgeous’ the younger girl said.

The second woman laughed ‘Okay baby girl, you seem to be drooling too. How was the mate selection ceremony though?’

The young girl squealed ‘Oh it’s so exciting. The chance to be the Alpha’s mate is something I can only pray for. I hope he picks me!!!’

The first woman who was the mother said ‘Of course he has to pick you, you are one of the most eligible girls in this pack who comes from a respectable family with a great reputation. He will be lucky to have you’

The girl smiled at her mother’s compliments.

The second woman scoffed ‘Oh please Lily you are a gorgeous woman and no one is disputing that but, you are not the only eligible girl there who comes from a family of great reputation. There is a long line of girls who fit that description like my gorgeous daughter Rachel, she is also a perfect candidate.’

She just dropped a bombshell, I knew that they were friends cause they always visit the restaurant together to eat, gossip, and have fun. To think that these two women might soon turn to enemies because they all believe that their daughters are all the right candidates for the Alpha. It was hilarious to watch, I kept on wiping the table while I still tried to eavesdrop on their conversation. I couldn’t believe they were all drooling over the Alpha, what does he have exactly that is making ladies to be all over him? Yes, he was a bit handsome and so what? Also, he had a very rich deep tone but it wasn’t enough to make me be all over him.

‘What the hell does that mean?’ the first woman asked the second woman already flaring up.

The second woman answered calmly ‘What I mean is that my gorgeous daughter is also a good candidate too just like your daughter is and we can never really know who the Alpha is going to pick.’

The first woman gasped; she wasn’t expecting that response from her own dear friend ‘You don’t seem to remember how competitive I can be. I will make sure that the Alpha picks my daughter, do you want to bet on that?' she asked challenging the other woman.

The second woman laughed ‘The competition is not between us, it’s between our daughters. I will also do anything to put my daughter in the spotlight where the Alpha can see her and be smitten by her beauty. I don’t need to bet on it cause it’s ridiculous.’

‘You are just afraid to lose anyway, I’ll get my daughter ready for the next round of training coming for the Mate Selection Ceremony so that she can outshine every other girl there’ the first woman said with a smile tugging her daughter's cheeks like she was a small baby while the girl giggled.

‘Wait there is another round of selection training coming up?’ the second woman asked innocently.

That question drew my attention more and I waited to hear the response of the other woman even though I was already done wiping the table.

The woman and her daughter laughed at the other woman’s question ‘Are you kidding me? It’s so funny you haven’t heard this and yet you want your daughter to be an active contestant. All the girls that came to that Mate Selection Ceremony are going to stay in the Alpha’s residence for about 4 weeks where they will be thoroughly trained as the Alpha watches them until he chooses his mate among them’

I left the scene immediately my thoughts spiraling. I went to the kitchen, my heart pounding at what I just heard. I needed to speak to Jasmine as soon as possible.