The Wolf’s Fake Mate by Layla Silver
Chapter 5 – Silas
The ferocity of my reaction to the young wolf shifter laying his hands on Hailey had surprised me. At that moment, I had wanted to tear the boy apart. When I’d realized he’d injured her, I’d wanted to run after him and pay him back tenfold. The only thing that had held me back was the adoration with which Hailey had looked at me. In her eyes, I had seen gratitude and… something more. However, she had quickly put a lid on that warm feeling, and her impenetrable armor had returned.
Still, the need to know more about her grew with each day. I couldn’t wait until Monday when she would start being near me all the time at the restaurant. Come to think of it, I had some work to do that could use the opinion of another skilled chef—planning the menu for Sun and Moon.
It didn’t take me long to decide to ask Hailey to come to the restaurant and help me with my task. She was surprised to get a call from me but agreed to come by. I only hoped she hadn’t had anything important planned and hadn’t changed her plans for me. Her polite, professional answer—like usual—betrayed none of her true feelings.
An hour later, promptly at the agreed upon time, there was a knock on my door. My inner panther stood at attention when the door opened, and the beautiful woman came in. Every time I saw her, she took my breath away. Hailey’s smooth black hair was tied into a tight ponytail, and I longed to see it fall gently down her back and run my hands through it.
“Good morning,” Hailey greeted me. “I’m here. How can I help you?” She was so polite and straight to the point.
“Let’s go to the main hall. We need a bigger table,” I said, picking up the documents I had printed out for the occasion and handing them to Hailey. I grabbed a stack of cookbooks I had brought over from Fuzion with one hand.
Hailey had already opened the door, which made me a bit upset, but I didn’t let it show. Having been brought up in the panther pride, I had been raised to serve females. Humans and wolf shifters alike often praised me for my beautiful manners; however, for me, it was only natural to open doors, pull out chairs, and let women walk in front of me.
In the main hall, I picked a table for six and laid out the cookbooks. Hailey put the papers down. I gestured for her to take a seat, then sat down next to her, bringing my chair closer. She blushed slightly, but didn’t comment on our proximity, which made me smile. It was good she didn’t feel uncomfortable around me.
I laid a blank piece of paper and two pens in front of us.
“Miss Morran… may I call you Hailey? It will be easier that way,” I asked her. I already did refer to her by her name in my thoughts, so doing so out loud would make things easier for me. Besides, I couldn’t help but find her name beautiful. It rang wonderfully on my tongue.
Hailey blushed a deeper shade of red in response. “Sure,” she said. “Mr. Petterson.”
“Silas,” I said, smiling and crossing my fingers inwardly that she would agree to call me by my name.
“But—” she started, then saw my expression and changed her decision. “Fine… Silas.”
I beamed, ecstatic at hearing my name fall from her lips. The pleasure of the gentle way she said it went right to my cock. I imagined her moaning my name while I licked her cunt, and screaming it when I thrust deep inside her. Wait, Silas, where did your thoughts go? Fuck, this was wholly inappropriate.
Hailey looked at me innocently, and her not knowing what she was putting me through aroused me even more. I shifted in my place, hoping she wouldn’t look down and see the bulge in my pants. She didn’t.
“So, what are we doing today?” Hailey looked at me expectantly.
I forced myself to focus on the task, looking away from her to the pile of books and documents. I opened a cookbook and flipped through the pages. Looking at good food calmed down and helped me get into the work mindset.
“We need to prepare the menu for Sun and Moon. I have Fuzion’s menu here as a reference.” I put the relevant paper in front of Hailey. “There are some things I want to carry over and other dishes that I want to be unique to the new restaurant. I already commissioned Teagan, a graphic designer, to prepare the layout of the menu for us. You can see how it’s going to look here.” I showed her another document. “All she needs is to put in the right names and prices.”
“It’s beautiful,” the wolf shifter commented in wonder, looking at the dark green and cream table on the menu. Teagan had really gone above and beyond, making the menu look elegant. A logo of an interconnected sun and moon adorned the top of the part of the page. “If I may ask—why did you choose to call the restaurant Sun and Moon?”
“Ah, the sun represents the panthers, and the moon is the wolves,” I said, a bit embarrassed. “The restaurant symbolizes the joining of our two animal natures within one pack.” Renly had laughed at me when I had explained my reasoning to him, but I still went with the concept. It made sense to me.
Hailey looked at me, and the admiration was back in her eyes. “That’s delightful!” she exclaimed excitedly then smiled softly. “I didn’t take you for such a romantic.”
My heart throbbed in my chest at the sight of the beautiful expression. Hailey found the name a good choice, and somehow that made me proud of myself. Since when did I need confirmation from someone else? Did I really take Renly’s laughter to heart that much, or was it because the praise came from Hailey?
“Well, I value the pack greatly. As any good shifter should.”
“I’m glad you feel welcome among wolves,” Hailey said gently. “When I heard you joined this pack, I was surprised. Mixed packs don’t always work out, so I’m happy this one means so much to you.”
“It actually means more to me than the pride ever did,” I replied honestly. “There were certain… rules under Allegra’s reign that I wasn’t happy to abide by. This pack gives me freedom and protection at the same time.”
“And shifters thrive when they have the support of their pack,” Hailey added.
“Yes, part of our nature is to be pack animals after all,” I agreed. “I hope with time you will feel the same about this community.”
“I hope so too.” She looked down, but not before I saw sadness in her eyes. Whatever had happened in her past hadn’t been good, and she couldn’t leave it entirely behind. I felt angry on her behalf. However, we weren’t close enough for me to pry. Still, I wanted to protect her from all the pain and create a safe space for her to thrive.
“Let’s get to work.” I entered my work mode. “Let’s start with the signature dish? There are plenty of recipes I can confidently say I excel at, so we need to narrow this down.”
We spent the next few hours working together. Hailey thought very similarly to me, and even though she lacked experience in gourmet food, there were plenty of dishes I was surprised she recognized. I also realized we had an excellent and productive dynamic, so we completed the menu much more quickly than I would have on my own.
With the menu decided, all I needed to do was finalize it with Teagan, and order the additional ingredients some dishes required. Monday would be the day I would spend teaching my assistants how to prepare some of the lesser-known recipes. Then everything would be ready for the opening on Tuesday, which aligned with the resort’s opening date. I already knew from Ainsley that the hotel was half-booked—not a bad result for a brand-new place at the beginning of the season. I was sure, with time, the hotel would be fully booked. The place had turned out to be an amazing creation, and I hoped it would thrive like it deserved to.
