The Unlikely Mate

Chapter 17

Jennifer was nervous about the end of her shift. She wondered if her mate would be out there still, watching for her. She wondered if he was going to try to follow her home, and she was trying to decide what to do about it, if he did. She glanced nervously at the front door every time someone came in, always hoping it wasn't him. She didn't know what she would do if he decided to come in looking for her. A meeting with him in front of others was something she hoped to avoid. Jennifer decided felt that she needed to avoid it, at least for the time being, while she figured out what to do about William. Then she would figure out some way of introducing herself, out of the vicinity of any humans.

"Hey, wanna go out for a drink after work?" Jennifer asked Katie, as they were finishing their shift for the evening.

"Yes! Let's do it!" Katie readily agreed.

"Have you ever been to the 'Butcher's Den'?" Katie asked her.

"Nope, don't even think I've heard of it" Jennifer responded.

"You'll get a kick out of it. It is super old-school, full of regulars and laid back. Nothing modern or trendy, and not full of guys who are just looking for a one night stand. If you want that, there's a few places I could suggest, but I think you'll like Butcher's Den" Katie prattled on. "I'll drive. If need a cab later, it won't be a big deal, I trust their security to leave my car in their parking lot overnight. I'm so excited, girls' night! Haven't been out with a friend for a drink in forever!"

After their shifts had ended, the two ladies drove over to the Butcher's Den and enjoyed a few drinks, as Jennifer listened while Katie talked, and talked, and talked. Jennifer didn't mind though, because it left her mostly free to think about other things and keep a watchful awareness of her mate, who had followed them as she suspected he would. He didn't come into the bar, but at one point she not only felt him, but saw him outside at a distance.

Jennifer liked the Butcher's Den, and could smell several other werewolves inside. For the most part, they all blended in seamlessly with the other humans around them, and it seemed almost normal. She watched intently, while trying not to stare, to see if she could tell if any of the humans seemed to have any idea that they were socializing with werewolves, and a few times actually overheard snippits of conversation that convinced her that there were some humans in here that knew about her kind, and seemed to by unfazed by it. They interacted normally and casually with everyone, and even those werewolves that were obviously aware of what she was, didn't seem to care. They acted as if it was perfectly natural for her to be there, a wolf among the humans.

Jennifer used the time at the bar to formulate the outlines of her plans for getting out of the situation she found herself in the midst of. She would text William and tell she wanted to tell him about the conversation she had overheard in the woods. Then they could use that as the pretense for getting together, at which point she would be able to tell him she found her mate, and hopefully cut off any romantic entanglements he may have been considering with her. Then, once free from that, she could focus on meeting her mate, introducing him to the werewolf world (a process of which she had no idea how to approach), and then living happily ever after with her human mate. It wasn't a great plan, but she figured it was her best course of action.

She was just about to dismiss herself for the evening, and had just come out of the restroom when she bumped into someone coming around the corner.

"Oh, excuse me" Jennifer quickly responded after bumping into the woman she had grazed past.

"You're not from around here" the woman said to her curtly, suddenly stopped in her tracks and looking intently at Jennifer.

"No, I'm new in town" Jennifer said hesitantly, quickly becoming aware that not only was this woman a werewolf, but she was the same one that she had overheard in the words earlier that morning. The woman the wolf who seemed to be an Alpha had referred to as Ellen.

"Hmmm" the woman said, giving Jennifer a long appraising look, essentially sizing her up and looking her up and down. "Watch your back" she then said with a smirk, and turned to walk away.

Jennifer was a bit rattled by that interaction, and decided it was definitely time to go home for the evening, and she found her way back to where Katie was sitting.

"Well, I think I'm going to head home" Jennifer said as she approached. "I have some stuff I need to get done tomorrow, since I'm not on the schedule at work, and I need to get some rest."

"Ok, do you want to share a cab? I didn't mean to drink so much, but I'm past my limit and don't want to drive home" Katie responded.

"Actually, I think I'm going to walk" Jennifer replied. "It's been a long couple of days and I need to clear my head."

"Are you sure?" Katie questioned. "It's kind of a long walk to your place from here."

"Yeah, I'm sure. If I get tired I'll get a cab the rest of the way, but I need the fresh air."

"Ok" Katie said reluctantly, "but please let me know when you get back to your place. I'll probably already be asleep, but I'd feel better knowing you got home. It's a pretty safe town, but every now then people go missing and it freaks me out to think about it. Just be safe, ok?"

"Of course" Jennifer agreed. "I'll watch my back and I'll message you when I'm home."

Jennifer waited out front with Katie until her cab arrived, and then went back inside. She was sure that her mate was going to try to follow her home, because she knew he was trying to find out more about her, but she wasn't ready for him to know where she lived just yet. So, she went through the bar and out a back door, where she was able to quickly disappear into the shadows, taking an extended and circuitous route home, to be sure she wasn't being followed at all.

When she was in her apartment, she dutifully texted Katie to let her know she was home and safe, and then went to bed, but she wasn't asleep for long before she woke up startled, suddenly aware that she wasn't alone. Someone had come into her apartment while she was sleeping.