2 A Spark to My Mundane Day

"Please give me a moment, Mr. Helblaze." Samantha bowed her head, maintaining her professional demeanor, and rushed to prepare the alpha's order.

I also respectfully bowed my head to the alpha when our eyes met briefly.

He gave a subtle nod to acknowledge me and began drumming his fingers on the counter, his eyes on the coffee that was being prepared for him.

From what I have seen lately, I can tell that Alpha Helblaze is a man of few words. He barely speaks any more sentences than he needs to. But he seems polite, unlike how the newspapers portray most alphas–cold, unapproachable, and authoritarian.

"Here you go, Mr. Helblaze." Samantha delightedly placed the cup of coffee on the counter and gave a bright smile to him.

The alpha returned her smile and thanked her. After paying for the coffee, he grabbed the cup and left.

The moment Samantha was sure that the alpha was far enough from the diner, she squealed and melted on the floor.

She clutched her chest and then squeaked in a love-struck manner, "Oh, my goddess! I can't believe he smiled back at me! He looks so sexy when he smiles. Ah! I can now die peacefully. I have no complaints whatsoever."

"I knew you would behave like this the moment he was out of earshot." I smiled while looking down at her. She looked like a hot mess.

The doorbell chimed once again, pulling my attention away from Samantha's drama and towards the door.

A group of men who appeared to be werewolf warriors and scouts entered our diner.

I quickly pulled Samantha up on her feet and welcomed them. We both took their orders and after they settled down, we busied ourselves by preparing breakfast items for them.

Every now and then, I overheard their conversation and found out that Alpha Helblaze was hosting a huge party at the pack house tonight.

Now I know why the warriors and scouts were making their rounds as far as the neutral territory. They were making sure that no suspicious people were lurking around here, waiting for their chance to sneak into the Helblaze pack's territory.

The enmity between the packs in this modern time isn't as severe as in the past. However, some degree of coldness still exists to this date, especially between the Helblaze pack and the Ainsworth pack. So, Alpha Helblaze is right to be cautious. You never know what the other pack is thinking and plotting.

Our first group of customers took about three minutes to wolf down their breakfast. They went away as quickly as they came in.

We served a couple more customers who were waiting in line to grab their coffee. And when the diner was somewhat quiet for a moment, Samantha spilled out what she had been holding in for a while now. "Did you hear what those men from earlier said? There's a party in Moonlit Valley tonight."

"Yeah, looks like it."

"I wish I was also in the Helblaze pack. I want to attend their extravagant parties too." Samantha made a face as though she was going to cry. That expression of hers, however, vanished quickly and was replaced by a look of indifference. "Just kidding. I'm too busy to care about any parties or whatever."

I could tell that she was trying to be considerate towards me. She probably thought that her words would open my wounds again. After all, she had seen me at my worst, when I used to look like a walking corpse.

I'm still grateful to Samantha for always covering for me at work during that period.

"It's okay." No, I'm definitely not okay, but I don't want Samantha to pity me forever. "I've somewhat accepted my fate by now. So, you don't have to walk on eggshells for my sake."

"Are you sure?" She raised her brows at me, probably not believing my words.

I smiled, trying to make it look as natural as I could. "Mhm…"

She hummed, still disbelievingly, but humored me, "So, have you thought about any alternatives then?"

I understood what she meant without her having to elaborate any further. During the course of countless sleepless nights, sure, I had thought about it. However, I was still not ready to accept or act on it.

"Yes. I think I will move to the human territory after I save enough money."

"What?!" Samantha made me jerk back a little when she suddenly slammed her palms on the counter. "Are you nuts? You want to leave your whole life behind just like that?"

If I wasn't mistaken, for a split second, I saw a hint of anger flicker in Samantha's eyes. Has she become so attached to me within a year that the idea of not having me around made her feel so frustrated?

I nervously let out a laugh and scratched my head. "What else can I do? I won't fit in here anyway. I wanted to become a pack nurse, but without getting accepted by a pack I can't become one. I would still love to become a nurse though. Humans are more fragile than werewolves, so I figured I could–"

"What about us?" Samantha abruptly interrupted me. "What about the people of Roseville? Most of us are either abandoned kids, lone wolves, or humans who are too deeply entangled with the werewolf world. We are also fragile. We could use a nurse if you are going to become one."

I kept staring at Samantha, unable to give her a fitting reply. She is right. It's not that I wouldn't fit in here in Roseville, most people here have similar tragic stories like mine. However, I don't think I can keep living here without being reminded daily that I can never get what I truly want.

Unlike here, in the human world, I can at least call myself normal by pretending to be one of them. Maybe eventually, I will even be able to live a happy and fulfilled life as a human.

When my shift was about to end, I heard the familiar sound of a car's engine pulling over. I gazed out of the large glass window to my left, and automatically a broad smile formed on my lips.

A beautiful lady in a knee-length yellow and white floral dress and a pair of red high heels was happily waving her hand at me.

"Julia!" I mouthed and waved back at her.

"Aww! Your sister is here after so long," Samantha commented from the side when Julia stepped inside the diner and tiptoed towards me with her arms wide open.

I rushed around the counter that was in our way so that I could give a proper hug to my best friend, my soul sister, my pillar. I tightly wrapped my arms around her chest and we both burst into joyful giggles.

"I missed you so much, Jul." I sounded more emotional than I intended to.

"I missed you too, Val," she whispered back while using my head as her chinrest, and comfortingly patting my back. "How have you been?"

"I've been well." I looked up at her face. The glossy orange shade on her lips complimented her messy red bun really well and also highlighted her gorgeous green eyes. Her future mate is going to be one lucky wolf. He better treasure her or we're going to have a serious problem.

"You don't look so well to me." Julia narrowed her eyes as if she was scrutinizing each cell on my face. "Are you sure you are getting enough sleep?"

Damn it! I can never hide anything from her.

"Um… yeah, I couldn't get a proper sleep yesterday," I mumbled while avoiding her piercing glare.

She let out an audible sigh and said in a reprimanding yet worried tone, "Val, this won't do. You need to take better care of yourself."

"I'm trying." I gave her a defensive smile and quickly tried to steer the conversation in another direction. "You must be hungry. Shall I prepare your favorite?"

"I'm famished! Yes, please."

I don't know if I successfully steered the conversation away from where it was going or if Julia gave up for now, but I was glad Julia wasn't scolding me inside the diner.

Samantha helped me prepare Julia's favorite, so I was able to serve Julia sooner. I placed the tray of food and drink on her table and teased her. "Ma'am, here's your hamburger with extra pickles, a side of fries, and a virgin mojito. Enjoy!"

Julia scoffed and playfully threw a fry at me. She looked at the digital clock of the diner which displayed 11:01 on it and asked me, "Isn't your shift over already? I'm going to kidnap you for the whole day, so you should eat too."

"Aren't we going back to the orphanage? Ms. Pride will get worried if I don't go back for lunch." More than Ms. Pride, I'm worried for myself because she won't believe me if I tell her I ate at the diner and will make me eat again. My stomach can't handle two consecutive lunches.

"Don't worry. I will talk with Ms. Pride." Julia extended her palm demanding my phone.

I pulled it out from my jeans pocket and handed it over to her. "Okay then." I turned on my heels and went to the kitchen area to prepare something for myself.

I returned to Julia's table with a bowl of salad and a small cup of boiled sweet corn. I only had a glass of lukewarm water with honey and lemon, and a piece of bread for breakfast a few hours ago. I was quite hungry, so I gobbled up my food before Julia finished hers.

"Wow! Your appetite has improved, huh." Julia smiled at me with a proud look on her face.

I felt like a child receiving praise for finishing their food without making a mess or causing a fuss.

After I finished cleaning up and changing back into my jogging shoes, Julia quickly grabbed my hand and started dragging me along.

"Samantha, I will see you tomorrow," I shouted and waved my hand before Julia pushed me into the passenger seat of her car. She even went as far as putting the seatbelt on for me.

She quickly got in the driver's seat and looked at me with a mischievous grin on her face. I didn't know why but I got this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I wouldn't like what she would say next.

And my gut feeling was right!

"Alright, Valerie. Let's get you dolled up for the party."