Alpha’s Virgin Stripper

LAKE:

“Well, look who finally remembered to see his old granny.” My grandma fussed, she loved to do so whenever I failed to visit her for a long time. I smiled at her, welcoming how foreign it felt on my face. This was the first time I was giving anyone a smile for a week. I pulled her in for a hug as soon as she got close to me. Her elderly arms wrapped around me, and her fresh scent of primrose engulfed my nose. I allowed myself to bask in her warm embrace.

Her hug was the stress relief I needed after a long week, coupled with hours of running through the woods in my wolf.

“Good morning, Maa. I came in last night but you were asleep.” I spoke gently, while she pulled away the hug. She heaved a heavy sigh while her old dark eyes twinkled with a smile. I swore that I would fight to the death to always keep her happy, she was all I had.

“Yeah, you know I can’t stay up late anymore. I’m not too far from death now.” She teased in her usual manner. Granny liked to speak as though she would drop dead the next second. It… scared me, sometimes.

“Stop saying that.” I made a frown to scold her, walking past her to sit on the free couch in the living room. The windows were never opened since the air conditioning units always served the supposed purpose of the windows.

“Why? I won’t lie to myself. I’m ready to die, anyways. Anytime death comes, I’ll… Oh…” Her sentence trailed off as sadness lit up in her eyes, like fireflies in a night field.

She sniffed and sat down beside me on the leather couch, taking my right palm in hers. With love and care, she squeezed it gently.

“Why? Why do you not want me to carry my grandchild, Lake? Why do you not seek to complete my joy before I pass?” Her question tugged at my conscience, but there was no easier way to explain myself.

No matter how many times she played this game, my heart always fell for it. It annoyed me that she had this much power over my… feelings.

“You see granny; I can’t complete your joy because I need you here. If I made you happy, if I gave you what you want, you would leave me.” I rose up from the chair as I spoke, a broad smile etched on my face.

I had overstayed my welcome; this conversation was proof.

She stood up with me, shaking her head in disagreement.

“I won’t. Give me a grandchild and I’ll be here for as long as I can for you, Lake. I’m no magician but I’m sure that if you give me a child, I would fight to be here against any illness.” She was so adorable when she joked.

I smiled lopsidedly, even when I knew I was not going to fulfill the promise of giving her a child. I was done with the phase of believing it could work when it had been declared impossible. I needed her to understand that but I did not think she was ready to. I had accepted my fate. I wished she and my father would do the same.

“Maa, I cannot promise you anything. So I won’t. I’m 30 already. I have accepted my fate.” I placed a soft kiss on her forehead and lowered it to her right cheek.

“You and papa should too.”

As I walked out of the room, the image of the red-haired stripper flashed through my mind. I debunked it immediately. She was far from an option. She was not one at all.

As soon as I stepped into the four walls of my chambers, my phone’s custom ringtone beeped, indicating a text message. I picked it up and checked it.

It was Kenji.

He was asking about the fate of our planned outing today. Now, I was torn between two choices.

To rest for the whole of my free day or to bond over food with my closest friend in a ‘special restaurant’ as he had called it. I chose the latter and soon found what to wear.

Kenji arrived in the palace barely ten minutes after I had sent the message confirming our outing. He seemed too eager to be at the restaurant. I could only wonder what could be so special about a restaurant that kept him on his toes. Perhaps he had found his mate and wanted me to see them together. It had better be, he needed to end his Casanova ways before an STD ended him.

“Would have suggested a double date but I know you have no date, so my girl couldn’t come.” He spoke in a casual tone.

I arched a brow at him, stroking my bearded chin gently.

“Your girl? The stripper?” I asked him and he responded,

“Her. Thought I should keep her around for a few more. She’s kinda fun…” He stopped midway, as though he had caught himself slacking.

I did not say a word, only sent him a knowing glare. To which he nodded in response.

Some minutes later, we arrived at the restaurant. My eyes swept around the room to drink in full sight. It was as elegant as any other casual three-star restaurant I had been in, with stuck-up people stabbing forks at salad leaves and waiters…

Something in this room clicked in my mind, a table by the distal end of the room, facing the window.

I had been here before.

When we settled into our seats, my mind wandered back to the first time I had been there. This was where the red-haired stripper worked. And the table I spotted earlier was the one Jessika Rells had embarrassed me on.

Which took me back to my main question. What was I doing here?

“I’ve been here before, Kenji. What do you think is so special about this place?” I asked him. We were served by a lady, but he kept waving his hand, a gesture that told me I needed to be patient and wait for his big reveal. I leaned against my chair to focus on my Italian pasta. All the flavors and the aroma caused my taste buds to burst with excitement. I noticed the waitress linger at our table for too long. When I looked up, Kenji was speaking to her.

My eyes dropped to the name tag on her uniformed shirt.

“Mel.”

She bowed slightly when she caught me looking before she hurried away from us.

“What do you think?” Kenji asked, shuffling himself in his seat. He was moving in suspicious ways and I could only wonder what he was up to.

“The food is better than usual, but is this what you needed to bring me here for?” I asked, giving him a pointed look. He could have just said he needed us to have our good old man time, instead of making an excuse to be with me.

“I met a really nice woman here. She reminds me of you… I wanted you to meet her.” Kenji spoke, almost as though he was choosing his words carefully.

So, I had left my palace, ignored taking a nap, just to come out in order to see a woman that reminded him of me?

Honestly?!

I held my annoyance, hoping more for his sake than mine, that this woman was worth it. I tried to force my food into my mouth, but I had lost my appetite. Kenji went quiet. He kept on looking over my shoulders and his from time to time. When I heard him sigh in relief, I lifted my head.

“There she is.”

I rolled my eyes and tilted my head to see the woman.

Sunny blonde hair and bright bluish, yet grey eyes. It was quite a conflicting mix of colors.

She broke into a smile on seeing Kenji.

I corked my head to the side as I examined her.

Why did that smile seem so… familiar?