An Alpha without a Pack

Chapter 3

The candy store was quiet, save for the swishing of the broom I was using. There was only a couple of minutes left until closing and I was the only one here. Mr. Smith doesn't always leave without closing the store but there was a small family matter at home. I think he said a party was being held for his son's promotion. I liked being in the candy store by myself. The closer it got to closing, the less people came in. That meant I could clean and restock much quicker.

After sweeping, I went to the kitchen to grab the caramel bites Mr. Smith had made this morning. As I walked into the storage room between the kitchen and the front of the store, I stepped on small wrapped candies making a popping noise. Looking around the small room, I noticed a box of fruit flavored candies had been knocked to the floor. Thinking that Mr. Smith knocked it over when he was in a hurry, I picked up the box with most of the candy still inside and put them back on the shelf. The candies that were on the floor were thrown in the trash. On the wall by the kitchen door was a clipboard that we used to write about accidents and what we need. As I was writing about the fruit candy accident, I heard a loud crash come from the kitchen that made me jump out of my skin with fear.

I took several deep breaths through my nose trying to get a scent of a stranger or an animal that could've wondered in through the back door. It was no use with all the different sugary sweet smells in this small room. I tried again, blocking out the distracting sugars and spices. There was another smell and there was no mistaking it.

The rustic smell of old blood.

I turned and ran out the storage space to the front of the store only to run into a large body. We tumbled to the floor with a hard thud.

"Well," a voice said close to my ear as hands grabbed my shoulders and shoved me off. "If you don't want any customers, you don't have to attack them. You can just change the open sign to closed."

After being shoved off the person and hitting the floor with another thud, I realized it was Jake. I narrowed my eyes at him and snapped, "I wasn't attacking you. I was trying to get away from th-" I stopped myself mid-sentence when I realized I couldn't smell the old blood anymore. I turned to look behind me at the swinging door coming to a squeaking shut. "Never mind. What can I get for you?"

Jake gave me a confused look as he pushed himself up. He helped me to my feet and said, "I was wondering if you have any more of that strawberry rope candy. I had some at Mrs. Plum's store and accidentally ate all of it." I watched him closely as he walked around the store looking at the shelves. "I paid for it, of course. There was no way I was going to let Mrs. Plum just give it to me – she's such a nice lady. If it wasn't for her I would be out in the forest being the stereotypical lone wolf." As Jake spoke I had inched my way behind the counter, never taking my eyes off him. He stopped in front of the candy rope section and continued. "I could be out there right now, chasing a poor rabbit, loving the sound of its pattering heart."

He was struggling not to shift. It is a little hard to tell but it was like his wolf form was scratching to be released. I see people struggle to keep their wolf form under control on almost a daily basis. It happens when an emotion gets to strong and the wolf wants to get whatever it is that is causing it. I almost lost control once when I wanted to go back home, to where the silver pack's territory used to be. I just kept thinking about my father's lifeless body, how my siblings gave up their lives for me to escape, and what happened to the survivors, if there were any. I was in mid shift when Mr. Smith found me in the alley behind the store. He was able to talk some sense into me and convinced me to go inside. Mr. Smith had Sarah bring me some food and sat with me in the kitchen. I knew he wanted me to talk about what had made me almost lose control, but I never did, and he never pushed me. Instead he told me sometimes our urges can lead us into danger and that we must remember not to give into them blindly.

"Anyways," Jake sighed bringing me back to the present. Doing a quick look over, I saw that he was able to get control over the urge to go hunting. "The candy was so good that I had to run here and get more before you closed. I was almost disappointed when I came in and didn't see anyone."

Jake flashed me a charming smile that made me freeze. It hadn't struck me till now, but he was handsome. My mouth went dry and it got a little hard to breath.

"Well, I -um- I," words were suddenly hard to form. Jake's smile only widened as he watched me make a fool of myself. Blushing, I looked down at the counter and put my hands in the pockets of my trousers. "The candy you are looking for is in the pink basket far left on the middle shelf."

There was some rustling and then the sound of footsteps coming towards the counter. A basket filled to the brim with strawberry rope was dropped on the surface with a loud smack! I jumped back when Jake slammed his hands down on the counter and leaned in. He laughed quietly at my jumpiness.

"I'd like to buy these please," he said with a childish grin.

"I should assure you that that basket of candy will not be cheap," I replied a little too quietly.

Jake reached into his back pocket, pulled out a wallet, and set it on the counter. The thing was barely holding the money in, it was so full. "And I can assure you that I am very capable of paying for it."

As soon as the basket of candy was paid for, Jake grabbed a piece and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. His moan of pure happiness made me crack a small smile. It was cute seeing a boyish look on his face.

Jake saw me watching him and smiled. "Sorry. This rope candy is the best." He finished the candy and picked up the basket again. "Thank you so much, strawberry." He turned and started walking towards the door.

"Strawberry?"

"Yes, because the soap you use smells like it. Plus, I think it's a cute nickname for a cute girl."

I went to dispute the outrageous nickname but the ding of the bell on the front door cut me off. Jake left and when the door closed, the bell rang again. I stood there behind the counter for a moment longer, lost in thought when something occurred to me.

I never heard the bell ring when Jake had entered the store.