Bound to the Alpha

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Jhune's POV

"Go take a break, I'll take over the cashier. You and Cain should grab something to eat," Manager Ysa said as she stepped behind the counter.

I glanced at the wall clock in the corner. She was right—it was nearly lunchtime. I hadn’t even realized the time because I was so busy taking orders and running errands around the café.

I nodded and excused myself. As I made my way to the back room, I saw Cain in the pantry, lifting boxes.

It didn’t seem like he noticed me, so I called his name. He turned to look at me immediately.

“It’s almost lunchtime. The boss told me to grab something to eat,” I explained with a slight smile. “Are you coming?” I asked.

He didn’t reply verbally but gave a nod in response. I returned the gesture before heading into the back room, where I removed my apron and waited for him.

It didn’t take long for Cain to join me, we headed out together. We decided to eat at a small diner just a few blocks away.

As usual, Cain was quiet. After nearly two months of working at Bittersweet Café, I’d gotten used to his reserved nature.

Oh, I forgot to mention—I’m now a regular employee at the café. This makes me even more motivated to work hard every day.

I’ve grown to enjoy working at the cafe, even though I still struggle with brewing coffee and can only do some work in the counter, I can genuinely say I enjoy my job, unlike my previous ones.

When we arrived at the diner, it was slowly filling up with customers, but luckily, we found a vacant table. We ate and exchanged a few words during lunch. Afterward, we headed back to the café.

I opened my locker to grab my apron and was about to put it on when my phone suddenly rang.

I frowned and glanced at Cain, who was waiting for me. I gestured for him to go ahead first which he agreed.

I focused on my phone, which had just stopped ringing. When I unlocked it, I was surprised to see multiple missed calls from Zack. He had been calling for a while, but I hadn’t noticed because I was out.

My initial shock quickly turned into confusion. Why is he calling me?

I nearly dropped my phone when it vibrated again, and a text from him popped up.

[Zack: Not going to answer my calls, huh?]

My eyes shifted to another message that had just come in.

[Zack: What are you doing?]

I stared at it for a while, not until it rang again, almost making me jump. I cursed under my breath, panicking.

I didn’t know if I should answer, and if I did, what would I even say?!

Screw it!

I didn’t think twice and just answered the call,  slowly bringing the phone to my ear. I swallowed hard.

[Why aren’t you answering my calls?] his deep voice came through the line.

I cleared my throat, trying to sound casual.

"Why are you even calling?" I shot back, ignoring his question.

[Why are you ignoring my calls?]