The Unlikely Mate

Chapter 12

Lennox Carver, the man at the bar, had come into the restaurant wanting a drink. Last night he had finally accomplished part of the task he had been working toward for the last two years, but it hadn't brought the closure he hoped it would. Instead it had left him tired, irritable and disappointed. He had been looking for his fiancee's killers since she had been taken from him that fateful day, and last night he had finally caught up with the 2nd of three responsible for her death.

Lennox stepped into the restaurant, looking for his liquid relief from the night's ordeal, but it wasn't long before he was overcome with feelings and emotions he had never felt before. As he approached the bar and ordered his drink, he could have sworn he smelled the calming scent of lavender and vanilla that was completely incongruous with his surroundings. After he sat down, he realized a woman had come around the corner and stood there staring at him. He couldn't help but stare at her, their eyes locked and neither one seemed able to move.

It wasn't until another waitress had walked up and talked to the woman he was staring at that he realized he was staring and his heart rate had increased significantly. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, hanging in graceful waves. A few strands of hair loosely framed her face and her crystal blue eyes stared back at him with an intensity he couldn't understand. She had a scar on her face, partially going over one of her eyes, which intrigued him. To him, the scar gave her a regal appearance, like that of someone who had to fight her way through life, and was still standing. It appeared to be something that she wasn't ashamed or self-conscious of.

She was tall and athletic, with beautiful curves that he could tell existed, even though she was wearing an unflattering server's uniform and apron. A part of him was ready to go right up to her and taken her into his arms. He wanted to hold her and kiss her, to tell her that she was his. The thoughts running through his mind both frightened and intrigued him.

After his fiancée Amy was killed, Lennox hadn't thought he would ever be attracted to anyone else, let alone love again, but as he looked again at this mysterious woman who had so completely captivated his every sense, he couldn't deny that every loving and protective instinct within him was being triggered by her mere presence. Lennox couldn't help but question who this woman was, and how had she managed to draw him in. She fascinated him, and he couldn't help but wonder about her as he stared.

"Would you like to see a menu?" the bartender asked him, bringing him back from the thoughts that had possessed him for the last few moments. Lennox looked at the bartender for a moment and shook his head, and returned his gaze to the beautiful woman who was now slowly coming toward him.

Jennifer couldn't stop herself from continuing to move closer to the man at the bar. His eyes compelled her to move closer, her wolf leaping inside and wanting to be near him. At the same, the pit in her stomach from the previous night felt like a gnawing hole inside of her. Jennifer was now realizing that she had betrayed her mate. He was here in front of her, he existed, and she had slept with someone else, just a few hours ago.

At her wolf's insistence, she moved forward toward the man and when Jennifer had finally approached him and was standing within a few feet of her human mate, her phone began to vibrate with an incoming text message. She instinctually glanced at it and realized it was a text from William, and everything hit her at once. Shock, horror, disgust and regret filled Jennifer's mind as she recalled her experience with William last night and he was messaging her now. Her body acted on its own and she couldn't hold back the vomit that forced itself out of her stomach, and she threw up all over the floor and the man in front of her.

Lennox jumped to his feet, and stood beside Jennifer, reaching toward her as she continued to throw up, until there was nothing left to expel. Any other woman in any other situation and Lennox would have been rightfully disgusted at being thrown up on, but right now his only concern was the well-being of the woman in front of him.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry" Jennifer said to Lennox, covering her mouth and trying to back away.

"It's alright, are you ok?" he asked her, as he held onto her shoulders to help her balance.

As he touched her, Jennifer could feel sparks where his fingers rested. She looked up startled by the reaction of the touch, and she could tell by the surprise in his eyes that he felt something too.

The bartender quickly sprang into action when Jennifer had started to throw up and he had brought cleaning items over to them to assist with the mess.

"Katie, get over here and bring me some towels" the bartender shouted over his shoulder, as he knelt down and began to clean.

Jennifer and Lennox just stood there looking at each other, Lennox glancing at his hands on Jennifer's arms, his fingertips tingling and he wondered what the feelings meant and why the simple touch was eliciting such foreign and unexpected emotions within him.

"Jennifer, are you ok?" Katie asked, as she came around the corner, towels in hand.

"I'm, yeah... I think I'm ok, I may need to go home" she said finally, trying to wrap her mind around everything that had just happened. Meeting her mate, realizing she had a second-chance mate, he was human and then throwing up all over him was not something she could have ever imagined to happen when she came into work this morning. Added to that, the knowledge that she had betrayed him, and given herself over to someone who might not be willing to let her go, and her mind began to swim and she felt dizzy.

"I can take you wherever you need to go" Lennox said, before he had a chance to think about what he was saying.

Katie and the bartender looked at each other in surprise, then back at Jennifer and the stranger who had just offered to give Jennifer a ride after she had thrown up on him.

"That's nice of you to offer, but Katie can take her" the bartender spoke up, feeling somewhat protective of Jennifer and not wanting to send her off with a stranger, especially when she wasn't feeling well.

Lennox seemed to take offense at the bartender's involvement, and looked like he was about to say something and thought better of it. He felt compelled to take care of this woman, and somehow the bartender's concern for her wellbeing upset him, but he was able to quickly rationalize to himself how silly it was for him to think he should be the one to take her home. He didn't even know her name and she had just thrown up on him. He couldn't even explain to himself why he had offered to take her anywhere.

"Come on, let's go" Katie said, leading a reluctant Jennifer toward the back of the restaurant.

Jennifer was still reeling from the situation and allowed Katie to lead her away, but she continued to look over her shoulder and watched as Lennox stared after her.