Chapter 7

ARIELLA. After Emma called I had my lunch in a restaurant across from the hotel where I was staying. The food was surprisingly delicious for a small and simple place, making my mood lighter. And then I saw one of the staff post something on their bulletin board near my table. It was a hiring notice. "Assistant chef," I whispered, reading the notice with interest because I was also looking for a job. My savings wouldn't last long, so I had to work as soon as possible and here was a prospect in front of me. Maybe I'd try— "Oh, are you an applicant?" said a man's voice from behind, so I turned and saw a tall guy standing in front of me. He was wearing a chef's uniform and a charming smile. "Miss?" he said, because for some reason I wasn't able to respond to him. I thought it was because he was incredibly handsome and charming. He had this pretty face that melts everyone's heart, the kind of handsome that could win any mother-in-law. He was tall, lean, and has a prince-like aura in him that made me blush like a teenage girl. "Are you applying for the job?" "Oh. Yeah. I am. But I don't have my resume with me right now. Can I come back?" He smiled at me brightly. "No need for that. My boss will just interview you and he'll see if you fit the role." "Really? When will he interview me?" "Right now if you're free." "I am free," I told him happily. "That's good because we really need a new assistant chef right now. Our former assistant chef got into a bike accident and needs to recover for quite some time. Come on, I'll introduce you to my boss." "Thank you." I was so excited that I almost forgot that I left my things on my table. I picked them up first and followed the guy back into their office. "What's your name?" the guy asked as we walked to the counter where a huge door was at the far left end. "Ariella. Ariella Hill." "Nice to meet you, Ariella. I'm David, the sous chef here," he replied, extending a hand. We shook hands, and in that very moment when we touched each other, something weird happened. Well, I don't know if I could call it weird, but I got goosebumps all over my body as soon as our skin touched. I also felt giddy and my heart started beating faster than normal. I was shocked that I was experiencing this because even as a teenager I have never been this way. It was like I'd just discovered having a crush for the first time, only a lot more intense this time. It almost felt like some kind of magic spell was put on me, but I immediately shook the feeling because I knew for a fact that this town was a human-only town. David's boss was a short, plump, kind-looking middle-aged man. He interviewed me in his office for just about two minutes. Upon hearing from me that I used to work part-time in a restaurant before, he quickly finished the interview and asked me if he could watch me actually work in the kitchen. That was not a problem for me though, because I had enough experience at the restaurant where I used to work since I was sixteen. That place was owned by Kayden's aunt, and to be honest, I only worked there because I wanted to be with my ex-boyfriend back then. I smiled bitterly as I reminisced about those days. Who would have thought that those experiences would help me so much right now? "You're good," said David's boss, Mr. Johnson. He was watching me prepare the ingredients for a pasta dish that he told me. "I like how you work. That's it. You're hired." I could not hide my glee. I thanked Mr. Johnson repeatedly, and David came to congratulate me too. "Welcome to the Honeycomb, Ariella. I'll be the one to guide you and teach you the basics here. If you have any questions, don't be shy and just ask me anytime. You will officially start tomorrow." "Okay. Thank you, David. I'm excited to work with you." I said that in a platonic tone, but David must have interpreted it otherwise because he responded with a wink. "I'm excited too. Finally, working here will no longer be that boring." I laughed at his joke if it was even a joke. I didn't know why, but I could sense something different with him. Was it just really because I had a crush on him? Or was it something else? I couldn't understand myself sometimes. *** Working full-time at the Honeycomb wasn't that bad, especially with David helping me with almost everything. As an assistant chef, I had a lot of responsibilities aside from the actual cooking, but I didn't find the job that much taxing. Of course, this was all thanks to me being a werewolf, but sometimes I also had to act like I was tired already just so my co-workers wouldn't get suspicious of why I seemed to have endless energy. However, on my third day, I began feeling intense pain in my chest. At first, it was just for a brief second. It was already over before I could even realize what happened. But the second and third times were long enough for me to feel it that I clutched my chest hard, as I suddenly had a hard time breathing too. I wanted to think that this was just my body finally succumbing to the fatigue of working too much but I knew better. I knew that this was the effect of my being away from my mate. My wolf growled inside me and I had to run to the restroom just so I wouldn't make any noise that might scare David and the others in the kitchen. I had cold sweat all over my face as I tried my best to control my wolf, who for some reason was acting up. It growled angrily, and then it was howling like crazy. It was so loud inside my head that I thought my head was about to split open. "Not now, please... I'm working," I muttered to myself as I washed my face with water in front of the mirror. And then suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Ariella? Are you still there? Is something wrong?" It was David. "I saw you come here clutching your chest.” "S-Sorry! It’s nothing. Coming now!" As I opened the door, I saw David standing by the doorway, looking at me worriedly as if he knew something was wrong with me right now. "You look pale, Ariella. Are you not feeling well?" he asked, then placed his hand over my forehead to check if I had a fever or not. "This is nothing. I think I just need some fresh air." But just as I said that the pain in my chest caught me off guard, causing me to flinch dramatically. "You clearly don't feel alright," David said, taking my hand and leading me out of the restroom. "You look like you are in pain. I’m taking you to the hospital." "No... I can manage this, David. Trust me. We have to go back to the kitchen." "They'll be fine there for a while. Alright,” he said after sighing. “Just take a break if you don't want to go to the hospital," said David who looked very concerned. I must have looked like a mess right then. "Come, you can rest outside near the pond. There's a gazebo there where you can rest." I agreed while David led me to the back door. But before even reaching the door I felt another jolt of excruciating pain that made me drop to the floor. My legs felt like they were made of jelly, and my heart was beating so fast as my wolf began to whine excitedly. I gasped as I realized what must be the cause of this as I heard this from other werewolves happening to them before. My mate must be near me right now!