Chapter Two
Lea had the worst hangover. She almost couldn’t believe it herself.
Anyone who knew her would say that her having a hangover on a Tuesday morning was ridiculous. Lea didn't drink. Lea didn't party. Lea didn't do anything crazy like that. From a young age, Lea had been a steady kind of person. She liked to have fun of course – but not if it involved anything dangerous or anything that would make her do anything stupid. Kind of like alcohol did.
And yet, as Lea got out of her car and started walking into the cafe she went to every morning for some coffee, she felt like hell. Her sunglasses were in place, though that didn’t stop the sun from hurting her brain. She felt like she had someone in her head that was beating a drum, over and over and over again. This wasn’t Lea’s first hangover, as she had two when she was in college – but that didn’t mean that she was used to them.
Lea and her best friend, Hazel, also a shifter in the Moonlight Pack, just like her, had decided to drink some red wine as they watched their favorite reality show, Real Love, together. A few bottles of red wine later, Lea had crashed at her friend’s place and slept on the couch without even realizing it.
She had to get up, though. Not only did she have to attend Britta’s defense class this morning, but she had to go to work right after. Working at the local human hospital as a nurse was Lea’s dream job. But even she couldn’t imagine it being fun when she was this hungover. She knew coffee would help. Or rather, she hoped coffee would help.
As Lea breezed through the front door of the coffee shop, titled Chez Alfie and named after the owner, she realized that she forgot to call ahead and tell the girls that work here every morning that she would need only one cup, instead of her usual two (one for her, one for Hazel). When Lea had woken up this morning at her friend’s, Hazel had declared that there was no way she was going to get out of bed. It was her day off, she was upset that her favorite on Real Love was sent home last night, and her hangover was a bit too much. She couldn’t even move.
Lea had sighed, too hungover herself to laugh at her friend’s disposition. She left in a rush to get home and change into her workout clothes, as well as pack her work clothes so she could just leave from the gym to work. It’d save time, and she really didn’t feel like rushing around doing anything this morning. In her rush to get home and ready for the day, she had forgotten to call the shop. They always made her coffees at 7:00 a.m. sharp, so when Lea would walk in two minutes past seven every morning, they would be ready to go.
Now, as she walked through the coffee shop to the smiling workers behind the counter, she realized that she was just gonna have to pay for the two coffees. She didn’t want them to have to waste it, and in her hungover state, she knew that she could drink the two medium-sized cups. She would probably need it.
As Lea put on a bright and smiling face and said hello to the girls that worked there, she realized just how much she needed coffee. How in the world was she going to get through Britta’s class this morning? She was never drinking that much red wine in one sitting ever again.
“Hey there,” she heard a voice say behind her. Lea felt confusion as she turned around to face the stranger that had begun to talk to her – but not before seeing the almost lovey-dovey expression that came across the two girls faces that had just handed her the cups of coffee she paid for.
When she turned around and saw who was standing before her, she understood why they looked like they had just come face to face with a Greek god.
It was Finn. And out of all the people in Maine that could be considered god-worthy, he topped the list. Maybe it was his golden blonde hair that fell a little below his ears, always with an unkempt “I just woke up” vibe. Maybe it was his constant flannel dress code that just made him look like a manly man that would go chop wood and then seduce a virgin in his cabin. Why those scenarios? Lea had just read a romance book that followed an alpha male that did that.
And looking at Finn, she could definitely see him doing something like that to her.
She mentally shook her head of all thoughts regarding his gorgeousness, as that was the last thing she wanted to blurt out. Time to be professional, Lea. Time to be friendly and not throw her body at him at 7 o’clock in the morning in the middle of a café.
Finn was the shifter from the other pack that came to town to train with her pack, that much she knew. Britta’s first classes consisted of only four people in the very beginning: Lea, Finn, Hazel, and Ethan, a new alpha from another pack. While she had never really talked one-on-one with Finn, the group as a whole were pretty friendly together. Chez Alfie was the last thing she thought she’d ever see Finn. After all, it was a human run café deep in town, and shifters tended to… well, not communicate as openly with humans. There were the exceptions, of course, and Lea found that the Moonlight Pack was a little more open to humans than other packs that she had heard of.
Finn was involved with one of those other packs, which was why seeing him in the café was so interesting to her. Also, she found him interesting just as he existed – and she couldn’t help but find him unbearably sexy.
“You’re the last person I expected to see here,” Lea blurted out when she realized that she should probably talk to him and not just stand there looking at him like an idiot. “I mean… that’s not an insult or anything.”
Lea cursed at herself. Could she sound any dumber? Well, probably… so she better just try and act somewhat intelligent.
“I come for the delicious food.” He smiled at her, and Lea tried not to get lost in his baby blue eyes. She was finding it very difficult not to. “I’ve never seen you here, though.”
“Oh, I come every morning for the coffee,” she said, holding up the two cups of coffee that were in her hands.
“I usually come after our practice, but I had some time to spare this morning,” he explained, hinting at the reason they probably never saw each other. “Do you normally drink two cups of coffee in the morning? Why not just get a large and save a cup?”
Lea giggled, then stopped. She didn’t want to sound like the immature schoolgirl she was currently imitating.
“I always get one for Hazel, and then we meet up for a few minutes before class,” she explained to him. “Hazel’s not going to class this morning, though, and I forgot to call the girls this morning to tell them I would only need one cup. You see, I come here so often that they’ve memorized our orders. And now I’m stuck with two coffees and… yeah.”
Lea quickly, but obviously not too quickly, realized that she was rambling at break-neck speed. Finn just politely smiled at her, though, and she felt a bit more comfortable in his presence.
“I really didn’t mean to go rambling like that,” she laughed, feeling even more relaxed when Finn laughed with her. “Did you want this cup? It’s just a regular latte, and I’m not gonna drink it.”
Might as well give it away, even though her hungover state was thinking that maybe she should have those two cups of coffee. Sharing is caring, right?
“Oh, thanks,” Finn smiled, grabbing the coffee that she handed to him. Lea didn’t know if she would ever get used to being around him – he was that attractive. “Are you heading to practice at the gym now?”
“Yeah,” Lea replied, both of them beginning to walk out of the human run café and to the parking lot where Lea’s car was. Lea breathed in the spring air. She was so happy it wasn’t as cold, though she knew that once summer came around, she would long for the snow.
“Did you drive here?” Finn asked as they stepped out in the morning sun. Lea looked over at him to see the sun shining through his blonde hair. Gosh, he was gorgeous.
“Yeah, you?”
Lea didn’t know how to do small talk with a handsome man like Finn. She hoped she sounded somewhat interesting, though their conversation was actually pretty boring.
"No, I normally shift and run from my house to the gym," he told her as they slowly strolled through the cars. "I live about a block from here, so I walk in the morning. I don't want to scare the humans."
"Oh, they've seen their fair share of wolves, don't you worry." She laughed with him. "I can give you a ride if you want."
Lea motioned to the cup of coffee he now had in his hand. If he shifted into his wolf form, he wasn’t going to be able to exactly take his cup of coffee with him.
“That would actually be great.” Finn smiled at her, following her to where she parked her car at the end of the small parking lot. Lea’s heart quickened in pace with every step she took.
Lea smiled as she glanced to the side of her, taking in Finn’s stature as he fell in place with her.
Yep, he was gorgeous. She knew she was going to make a fool of herself in front of him. She just had to give herself time.