Alaric

“Lily! Where do you want the coffee beans?”

Lily giggled at her long-time friend, seeing how she had always come to help her with the store inventory early in the mornings before everyone arrived for work.

“Tessa, just make sure they are set up out front by the register for Chole and Thea,” Lily softly told her friend since high school.

Lily left her friend to return to the kitchen in the back of the café to work on the next fresh batch of yummy baking confections for the café.

“Good morning, Lily!” both girls happily called out, hugging their owner and manager before they went off to help open up the café for the day.

Lily wrapped one of her bandanas around her head to help keep the sweat off her face while baking.

She checked the clock on the wall and noticed that it was nearing closing time, and she usually took over the front for closing.

She quickly finished her last baking for the evening and cleaned up everything, ensuring she was set for the early morning rush tomorrow.

After shutting everything off with the ovens, she went to the front to see about relieving the two college girls from their shifts.

“Alright, ladies, I will see you both here when you guys are off from school tomorrow.” Lily sweetly smiled, watching the two girls leave.

Not even a few hours later, two men walked in wearing expensive suits, and she noticed they were both on duty, with badges on display.

She blushed when one of the detectives noticed her stare, and she could not help but feel her heart racing for some unknown reason.

His deep, molten grey eyes stared at her intensely, with some unknown emotion shining in their depths.

“Hmm, are you still open, miss?”

Lily shook her head and tore her eyes off the ruggedly handsome feral man leaning against the counter, looking over her menu behind her.

“Yes, I am. Is there anything I can get the two of you?” Lily softly asked, feeling another blush, knowing the eyes that were burning into her.

“Oh, can you get us both large to-go cups of black coffee?”

Lily shyly smiles while starting on their orders after they have paid for them all, trying to ignore the feeling of the other detective’s heated gaze.

She tried to use a bit of her magic to see if he was human or, like herself, part of the supernatural world coexisting with the humans.

While she was making coffee, her eyes widened slightly from feeling his inner magical aura, and what she was not expecting to feel from the burly man was that of a very powerful Alpha werewolf.

“So, why are you watching the little café worker, Alaric?”

Alaric grunted silently, ignoring his human partner and watching the little witch he scented when he walked in, hiding her true self from the world.

Mate, she is our mate. Alaric inwardly smirked when his wolf happily barked out that the little witch was his mate, and he was damned to get to know the little lady that worked here.