Sitting opposite each other, their milkshakes on the table between them, Hudson gazed into his mate’s eyes, losing himself in the green swirls as she smiled at him shyly.
‘Why are you staring at me?’ she asked self consciously.
‘Because you are beautiful’ he replied promptly, ‘and I wonder what the heck I did to have the Moon Goddess pair me with you.’
Quinn blushed as she glanced away from his intense stare, stirring her drink with the straw. ‘You are hard to work out’ she admitted softly.
‘How so?’ the Alpha asked, taking a sip of his own drink.
The she wolf raised her gaze back to his, ‘you reject me on sight because I’m an Omega, then you take it back and say that my status doesn’t matter. Two hours ago I wasn’t good enough for you and now you think you are not good enough for me . . it’s just . . . odd’ she finished lamely.
Hudson gave her a crooked smile, ‘let’s just say that those few minutes after I laid eyes on you, I completely lost control of my mind but I very quickly realised that I was being an ass and that you were perfect for me.’
Quinn snorted with laughter, slamming her hand over her mouth as her eyes widened in horror, ‘umm, yeah, I should maybe tell you that I’m not very lady like’ she mumbled sheepishly.
The Alpha grinned, rubbing a thumb over the back of her hand, ‘I think you are adorable’ he murmured softly.
The she wolf rolled her eyes, ‘yeah, even I know that snorting isn’t adorable Hudson’ she retorted.
Changing the subject, the Alpha decided to try and probe into his mate’s background, still confused that she had rejected him as an Alpha but was now adamantly calling herself an Omega. He knew she had power in her, and her resistance to his commands told him that she was of his rank.
‘So’ he started, taking another sip of his milkshake, ‘tell me about your parents, are they Omega’s too?’
Quinn stiffened slightly, shifting uncomfortably in her seat until she forced her gaze back to his. ‘It’s only me and my Mum’ she said quietly, ‘Her name is Glynnis and she’s the most amazing person I have ever met.’ The she wolf’s face brightened as she described the woman, ‘she’s pretty formidable even for an Omega, she took over as head chef after the previous Omega stepped down. He was in his seventies and cooking for an entire pack was becoming too much for him so the Alpha finally allowed him to retire and my mother was promoted in his place.’
Pride, radiated from the young teen as she smiled, ‘she’s such a great cook and the other Omegas all love her. The Luna always comes to her to discuss menus when she’s hosting a banquet or throwing a party.’
Hudson grinned, ‘is that where you get your feistiness from?’ he teased making her raise an eyebrow.
‘I am not feisty’ she protested.
‘OK, stubbornness’ Hudson offered, with a wink, earning himself a slap on the back of his hand. ‘Ouch! That hurt!’ he pouted, rubbing his hand giving her a sad look.
Quinn shook her head, a smile creeping across her face, ‘please, I barely tapped you’ she replied airily, ‘surely a lowly Omega couldn’t even hope to tickle a mighty Alpha like yourself.’
Hudson smirked as he stretched his arms above his head, showing off his muscular arms, ‘well I hate to brag . .’ he started.
‘Please, you love to brag, admit it’ Quinn shot back, giving an obvious yawn and averting her gaze from his display of muscles.
‘You are supposed to massage my ego’ he huffed back, crossing his arms over his chest. ‘As my mate, you should think I’m perfect and not be able to find a single fault with me.’
‘I don’t think that ego needs any more massaging’ the she wolf replied, ‘and as for faults . . weeeeeeeell . . . ‘
Hudson balled up his napkin and threw it at her, Quinn catching it easily and tossing it back with lightening speed that took the Alpha by surprise and hitting him square in the face.
‘Do you two need anything else?’ came the waitress’ voice from beside them, making them both jump, turning to find her beaming down at them.
‘Oh um, do you want something to eat?’ Hudson asked as he grabbed the menus, placing one in front of his mate, and quickly scanned it.
‘I’ll have a chicken ranch melt on brown with a side of fries and a slice of that caramel drizzle cake that I’ve been eyeing since we came in here’ Quinn said promptly without even glancing at the menu in front of her.
The waitress nodded as she wrote it down before turning to Hudson who was gaping at the she wolf. Quinn shrugged, ‘what?’ she asked, ‘I’m hungry and you’re paying.’
The Alpha swallowed as he placed his own menu on the table, ‘I’ll have the same as her’ he murmured, the waitress nodding and bustling away to sort their food.
‘So I’m paying am I?’ he asked with an amused grin.
Quinn shrugged, ‘you asked me out to lunch, so yeah, you are paying’ she replied.
Soon they were digging into their sandwiches, Quinn groaning out loud as she ripped a huge bite off with her teeth, a blob of ketchup clinging to her bottom lip as she chewed.
Trying not to laugh, Hudson pointed at her face, ‘uh, you have a little . .’ he said.
Poking her tongue out, Quinn ran it over her bottom lip searchingly, ‘did I get it?’ she asked, unaware of Hudson tightening his grip on his own sandwich as his gaze followed the muscle’s journey across her mouth.
Shaking his head dazedly, the Alpha tapped his own lip where the ketchup was, his eyes glued to the she wolf’s tongue as she licked a each corner of her mouth, barely catching the edge of the sauce mark.
‘Let me uh . . ‘ Hudson gulped, grabbing a napkin and reaching over to wipe her mouth for her.
‘Gone?’ Quinn asked, reaching up with her finger to touch her lips.
‘Yeah, you’re good’ Hudson wheezed out, closing his eyes tightly as she too another big bite, a second obscene moan leaving her lips.
‘This is the best sandwich I have ever eaten’ she groaned, ‘it’s like a party in my mouth and I want to stay here and dance till the bouncers throw me out.’
Doing a little jig in her chair, she reached out for a handful of fries, shoving them into her mouth and chasing it down with a sip of her milkshake.
‘It’s nice to see a girl who eats’ the Alpha commented under his breath but his words caught Quinn’s ears.
‘I’m a wolf, of course I eat’ she replied, slightly defensively.
The werewolf backtracked quickly at her annoyed tone, ‘yeah and I’m saying it’s a good thing’ he replied quickly. ‘DO you know how many she wolves at school order a salad for lunch? A damn salad! We’re werewolves, we burn like a bazillion calories just walking around, we need our food.’
Quinn’s face broke into a smile as she nodded, ‘I will never pick a salad over a decent slab of meat’ she agreed. ‘With the metabolism our kind has, it should be crime to not take advantage of it.’ Leaning closer, she gave a conspiratorial look around before dropping her voice and confessing, ‘there’s a very good chance I’ll be having a second lunch when I go home to get me through to dinner.’
The Alpha laughed at her words, ‘I approve of your plan and am wondering what your plan is to sneak that second lunch.’
The she wolf beamed, ‘ahh perks of having a mother who is head chef’ she confided, ‘she is always feeding me, I’m pretty sure I get more food in the day than even the Alpha family does.’
Nodding, Hudson swallowed the rest of his sandwich, ‘tell me about your dad’ he asked, ‘I mean if you want too, is it a painful subject?’ he asked hastily.
Quinn shook her head though pain flickered in her irises. ‘I don’t really remember him’ she replied, ‘he died when I was young, he was killed in a war, he uh, he died protecting his family.’
The teenage Alpha frowned slightly, ‘they made the Omega males fight?’ he asked in shock. All Omegas both male and female were placed in the safe room along with children and the elderly. Putting an Omega into battle was like tying them to a tree and painting a target on them, they would be annihilated.
Quinn averted her gaze, ‘he wanted to protect me, he was a very brave man.’
Hudson nodded, reaching over and catching her fingers with his own, ‘he sounds like he was’ he replied sincerely, ‘and he obviously loved you very much to put himself in danger like that.’
Quinn gave a short nod, finishing off her fries quickly, giving the Alpha the impression that she was trying to avoid talking about her father any longer.
Changing the conversation, he pulled his cake toward him, picking up a fork and carving off the corner and bringing it to his lips. ‘Oh my Goddess’ he groaned, cutting a second bit quickly and shoving it between his lips. ‘You need to try this’ he encouraged through his mouthful, ‘it’s amazing.’
Laughing at his enthusiasm, she pulled her own dessert toward her and mimicked him, her eyes widening as she slid I between her lips.
‘What is this?’ she moaned, ‘did they make this with witchcraft, there is no way that it’s this good and made by a human!’
Hudson nodded feverishly, devouring the rest of his slice in record time before leaning back in his chair, rubbing his stomach.
‘Everything OK?’ the waitress asked, appearing at their side just as the last few crumbs passed Quinn’s lips.
‘That cake was to die for’ the she wolf replied shaking her head in disbelief, ‘I shall definitely be back for another slice.’
Grinning, the older woman placed the check on the table, The Alpha snatching it up and fishing out his wallet, placing enough to cover the cost and a decent tip for the friendly woman.
Standing up, he thanked her before moving around the table to help Quinn to her feet. Guiding her outside, they walked back to his vehicle, Hudson hesitating as the stopped by the front of the truck.
‘Do you need a ride?’ he asked, suddenly nervous, ‘I can give you a lift to your pack.’
Quinn shook her head, ‘no it’s fine, I can walk’ she replied before glancing around slightly nervously, ‘I’d prefer not to have to explain another Alpha on our pack lands just yet’ she added as she bit her lip.
Reaching out, he pulled her lip from her teeth with a small smile, ‘I understand’ he murmured, ‘no Alpha likes a trespasser, especially one who could challenge him.’
The she wolf nodded, relief flooding her features as she peeked up at him, her cheeks colouring slightly.
Placing his hands on her face, Hudson tilted her chin upwards before brushing his lips gently against the teenage girl’s kissing her gently before releasing her.
‘Thank you for going out with me’ he murmured, staring at her slightly dazed expression.
‘Thank you for asking’ she replied before taking a reluctant step back and giving him a small wave as she disappeared into the market.
Sliding into his seat, Hudson smiled to himself, still able to feel the pressure of her lips on his.
His mind shifted to Esme, and he growled in determination, he was going to save that little girl from her mother. Then the memory of Quinn’s torn apart body hit him and his breath hitched, he needed to make sure that whoever did that too her, didn’t get near her again, he never wanted to feel her death again.