Is that…?

~Gabriel~

“What about this orange?” Delilah asks, lifting a handless heart shaped tube dinner dress.

Snorting at her image on the phone, Gabriel pushes his earpiece into his ears properly. After surviving his mother's anger yesterday, he spent the better part of the night driving back to New York. The first thing he did when he arrived was to contact his intel to tell him about his mate's favourite drink so he can get it for her as a peace offering for the intrusion he's about to cause. Imagine his surprise at getting a call from the stubborn female Alpha this late afternoon.

Glancing at the floor of the walk in closet, Gabriel snickers. Her room is in complete disarray as she queries him for what to wear. "You're really terrible at picking colours."

She scoffs. "And you're terrible at being a mate. We all have our weaknesses. Now pick a colour, asshole."

Blatantly ignoring her, he nods at a dress on a hanger behind her. "Silver. Match it with a rose gold purse and earrings."

Delilah frowns, picking up the shiny flowy dress. "Huh. So you're not completely useless."

Gabriel shrugs, pushing the door to the shop he was walking to. "You're staring at someone who has been choosing clothes for his mother from age four. And I am not a terrible mate! I'm lining up at a tea shop to get chamomile tea for my mate so I can talk to her about going to see my parents this weekend," he grumbles, going to stand at the back of the third person on the line.

Delilah hums, kneeling in front of what Gabriel is sure is another shelf of either shoes or bags. "Have you told her you're coming over to her apartment?" She asks, giving him a look.

Raising his head to stare at the person behind the counter and avoid the female Alpha's gaze, he pulls out one of the airpods. "Two cups of chamomile and one iced Americano."

The attendant nods, writing his order down. "Okay sir, please take a seat and wait for your order."

Gabriel nods, placing his airpods back into his ear. Turning to find a seat close to the large open window of the tea shop, he replies Delilah. "I may or may not have omitted that aspect when I sent her a text yesterday," he says without looking at his phone screen. He knows the scolding and exasperated look he's going to get like the back of his hand. The imagery is clear as he hears her yell into his ear drums.

"Gabriel!"

"I was under duress!" He retorts in his defense. "I told you. My mother shot a gun at me yesterday!" He whisper-yelled, aware that such an occurrence is not in anyway normal and shouldn't drift into strangers' ears.

Hearing that, Delilah deflates. "Yeah, I still can't believe she did that. I mean, I know I have crazy parents but that takes the cake."

Rolling his eyes, he scoffs. "Spare me the rerun of my worse luck in the parents department. How's your guy holding up?"

"Oh, he's only thrown up like ten times since this morning so I'd say he's holding up better than I had hoped," she nods, the sarcasm in her voice too prominent to miss.

There's a brief moment of silence where Gabriel tries to process what to say. He knows omegas are weak but...how can someone be that mentally weak? "Why do you even like him?" He asks, a confused frown resting on his face.

"Why does your mate even like you?" She asks in return, her tone sharp and defensive.

"Wait, you think she likes me?" He feigns excitement, purposefully focusing on that to avoid argument.

Huffing, she crosses her arms. "She's been tolerating your bullshit repeatedly. What do you think?" She's already looking annoyed but at least she's calmer than she was when she called him.

Feeling proud of his accomplishment, he nods. "I think you need to worry more about your dinner in an hour than my mate's tolerance levels." He chuckles when the female Alpha groans.

"Don't remind me."

Glancing at the window for a split second, he does a double take when he sights familiar platinum blonde hair flying in the wind. "Is that...?" He trails off, frowning at what is definitely his mate in a leather palazzo pants, white crop top and a leather jacket. Just where in the world could she be going looking like that?

"What?" Delilah's voice penetrates his ears drums, reminding him that he's still on call with her.

He doesn't answer her. His eyes are glued to his mate pulling out her phone to answer a call while waiting for the traffic light to turn green at the crosswalk. A snarl escapes his lips when he sights her smiling bashfully and tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. "What the hell?"

"What is it, Gabriel?" The female Alpha presses.

Seeing his mate about to cross the road, he instantly shoots up from his chair. "Nothing. I'll talk to you later. Goodluck on your dinner." Swiftly ending the call, he runs out of the shop, ignoring the attendant's admonitions to take his order.

Without a moment to lose, he rushes across the road before the traffic light turns red. Sifting through the crowd and following his nose, he finds his mate's blonde hair going around a curb. Pushing past people without apologizing, he trails her from a distance. He has never been thankful for how crowded this city is until now. With all the varieties of scents from people and shops, even a werewolf can't tell they're being followed unless they're paying attention or naturally paranoid. Seeing as his mate is distracted by whoever she's speaking to on the phone, it's very easy to stalk her until she stops at a cafe.

Gabriel stylishly walks by the cafe slowly, trying to look as normal as possible while peeping in through the glass at his mate. He nearly presses his face to the glass when he sees her wearing that smile again as goes to meet some guy with shoulder length hair in a beige turtle neck, black jeans and trench coat. He watches the guy's navy blue eyes light up when he sights Daisy.

Who the fuck is that?

Clenching his fists, Gabriel decides to do what is arguably the most childish thing he's ever done in his life. Straightening his back, he pushes open the cafe door.

×××

~Daisy~

"Hey," Daisy smiles, sitting down across from Micheal as the bell over the cafe door dings. The first thing she does is take a deep breath. Hmm. Something smells good in here. It's a cafe, yes but she isn't referring to the pastries. It's something else but it's so subtle that she can't tell what it is.

"Hi," the handsome male lets out breathlessly as he sits down too. "You look..." He trails off, staring at her in a way that almost makes her feel shy.

"Ridiculous. Overdressed. Yeah I know," she nods, taking off her jacket to place on the chair by her right. It was tug of war to fight against having to wear the sexy gown Lisa had picked for her. She still hadn't forgiven the girl for touching her phone without her permission but this was ironically the push she needed. This man is still a mystery; one that she hasn't been able to crack.

"I was going to say beautiful," Micheal says smoothly, running his hands through his long hair.

Daisy inhales sharply. Damn, he looks good with his hair down. Clearing her throat, she shakes her head subtly to rid herself of those thoughts. "Don't flatter me. I was literally kicked out of my own house to come see you."

"Ooo, that sounds like an interesting story," he muses, leaning on the table. Releasing his signature gossip grin, he waits patiently for her to talk.

And by reflex, she does. "My friend, Lisa. She's really extra. She's the one who responded to your text."

"So you didn't want to see me?" He asks, lifting his palm to wedge his chin and tilting his head curiously.

Her eyes follow his movements. Has he always been this attractive? "We were supposed to have a movie night today so I would have probably set a meeting with you tomorrow. Plus, man number 2 claimed he had something urgent to tell me too. Not to mention I have work and-" she pauses her rambling, mentally facepalming herself for over sharing yet again when she said she would make him talk more about himself this time.

Sensing her dilemma, Micheal's eyebrows furrow. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She shakes her head. "Micheal, what's your last name?" She asks, giving him a serious stare.

He chuckles. "All of a sudden?"

She shrugs. "I just realised that I don't know anything other than surface knowledge about you."

He nods, a knowing smile taking over his face. "Yet I know a lot about you and it's starting to freak you out."

She doesn't bother denying it. "You're preceptive. Good."

Sitting up straight, his eyes lose its playfulness. His features seem darker and his eyes even bluer as he opens his mouth to speak. "My name is Micheal Delvini. Alpha of Jewell pack."