Chapter 206

Dale grudgingly changed out of his casual clothes, his mom had chased him out of his office and away from his paperwork to have a date with some Omega that he doesn't even remember although his mom insists that they're acquaintances.

He yanks on slacks and glares at his reflection in the mirror, a white shirt on his body with the buttons undone and the pink-white flowers on his chest catch his attention.

Getting the tattoo was a split-second decision but he didn't regret it, he would humor his mom because he couldn't tell her no outright but they both knew that it was nothing but empty actions.

Maybe she was hoping that he would fall in love with one of the girls, Dale wasn't even sure he was against that seeing as he couldn't get the two people he actually felt something for.

His mom wanted him to look formal but the shirt, slacks, and loafers had to do or he was taking a run in the woods, suits were a no-go.

He slicked his hair a bit just to satisfy his mom which was a good idea because it made her ignore his lack of a suit or tie.

He power-walked down the stairs, using a hand to undo the top buttons, his neck needed to breathe.

Bluetooth earphones in his ears which blasted rap music in his ears to block the world out, the hushed whispers and audible gasps grated on his nerves, it was easy to not see them and block out the sounds with music but the scents were something he couldn't escape.

He didn't know which pissed him off more, being objectified or the fact that it didn't seem wrong to the people doing it.

He takes his first deep breath since leaving the top floor like there wasn't enough oxygen everywhere else, his car smelled familiar like sandalwood and the barest hint of mint.

He quickly put the car in gear and sped out when he sighted someone walking towards his car with determination, probably some teenager that had been dated by her friends to hold a conversation with him.

He was to meet his date at some restaurant he had never heard of in Paper District which was the smartest thing his mom did or he would have just driven the girl back home if he were the one to pick her up after a short drive around town.

Paper District had its advantages and disadvantages, there were humans and there were Werewolves.

The most humans did was stare at him a little bit the Werewolves went from impressed to mindblown.

It was no secret that the only Alphas around his age were to be the future Alpha of each of the Packs so finding out that he's a rare Alpha born and finding out that he's also going to be the future leader of a pack made for very exasperating treatment.

He spied blonde hair first as a waiter directed him to his table and he was thrown back to where he had seen blonde hair, on Jasmine, the soft-looking gold locks falling in blue-gray eyes.

"H-Hello, Alpha." The Omega he was to meet says shyly, her head ducked.

He frowns slightly when he finds out she's an artificial blonde, wondering if he ever let it slip that he preferred blondes.

"Hey." He greets stiffly. "Please drop the formalities, I'm Dale." He introduces politely. "And you're?"

She only ducks her head lower, brown eyes momentarily meeting his. "S-selah." She murmurs softly, coloring up.

Dale curses under his breath, wincing slightly at the intense scent of hazelnut that slams into him, it was going to be a fucking long afternoon.

•~•

Hayden could only gape in surprise. "I'm sorry, what?"

"It's fine if you aren't, I'm new to Pine Creek and I've always wanted to work at a bookstore but the only ones I could find are at Paper District, and I didn't like them."

"Oh." Hayden breathes, he's never actually thought about hiring but if the store would be this full regularly then he would very much need help plus it wasn't like he had to worry about her salary even if the bookstore didn't do very well.

"So…" She trails off expectantly.

Hayden gives her an appraising look, she seems like a really nice person. "Maybe, why don't we have a little talk." He suggests, coming around. "Can you handle the counter for a while, Dream?" 

"Sure!" Dream agrees with excitement. "I've always wanted to sell books."

Hayden just shakes his head fondly. "That was the same thing you said when you helped me garden."

Dream just shrugs, moving to Hayden's seat. "What can I say? I want to be a lot of things."

Hayden would blame his sixth sense on this question but he's actually getting better at telling Werewolves.

"Do you stay at either Pack House?" He asks curiously.

"No." Jennie shakes her head when they settle at one of the tables closest to the shelves for privacy. "I live in one of the little houses beside the park but I belong to the Dark Moon Pack." She says easily, if she's wondering how a human knows about all that she keeps her mouth shut.

Hayden just goes through the usual questions and finds out that she wanted to be independent and live on her own so she got the college degree for her parents, just a couple years, and always wanted to live in a small town.

He doesn't push when she refuses to talk much about her family and finds out that she's twenty and a Beta Werewolf, favorite color is lavender and she's lactose intolerant.

Jennie is actually fun to be around and Hayden's mind is already made up before the very informal interview is halfway through.

"I actually had no plans on hiring anyone but you've got the job." He announces, smiling at the way her eyes light up behind her glasses and she claps a little.

"Oh wow, really! Thank you so much." 

"My pleasure, there isn't much to do except offer suggestions on books and sell them, sometimes people come in with their own books but they usually borrow as well." He starts to explain.