RAY HOOK
Year 2014
(Summer, The U.R.T., Crescent Bar)
That evening, Ray got an earful from his uncle.
"Who's gonna pay for those drinks!" Demanded the business-wolf.
Ray settled the crate of cleaned glasses he was carrying on top of the others and said, his indifference clear in his voice, "Me." He turned from the bar counter—and his uncle—and headed for another crate as his uncle gave a sarcastic laugh.
"Really? So if she brought along a village of friends, you're gonna pay for that too?" Ray was about to snap a 'yes' when the more experienced mutt added innocently, "How much do you make here, Ray-ster? Did you save up enough? Cause your girl's gonna spend it like water."
Ray spun around, his face red with embarrassment, his aqua eyes fuming at the older man watching him with an amused smile and battering lashes.
"She's not gonna come anyway," he mumbled sadly before lifting another crate off the pile.
And his uncle was right by his side, demanding an explanation. "After all that exhausting shit you made me go through, and she's not coming? Jesus, Ray-ster, are you looking for that monastery to find her or to become a monk? Cause if you are, I'm telling Rose!"
At the sound of his mother's name, Ray went flustered, and the crate landed in a loud crash. "You can't do that!" he cried out to a face of shock.
"What the fuck, Ray!" The club owner hurriedly checked the tower of crates, lifting one after the other. "You could've broken them!"
"Are you really gonna tell them?" Ray asked in quiet nerves.
His uncle was squatting to check on the lower layers when he sighed. "Ray-ster. Your mother's like a sister to me. If you do something stupid to yourself, you're gonna hurt her, and I don't want that." Satisfied with his rare and extremely thorough QC, the club owner stood and gave a serious fatherly look at the young Alpha. "Why do you think I let you do whatever you want?"
"But I'm not going to become a monk." Ray frowned, his irritation in his brows.
"Then give me something, Ray-ster."
Ray knew what that 'something' was—but. "I really can't talk to her," he whispered in his tiniest voice, his low self-esteem loud and clear in the cool air between them. "Everytime she sees me, she calls me Snowy! It's just a matter of time before she—." He darted around to make sure they were alone and hissed almost inaudibly, "Before she knows that I'm a werewolf!"
And the older man rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I can't believe this…. What are you, six? You're fourteen now! And this isn't the Five anymore! You're like some K-Pop star here! (Korean music idol, look it up.) Every girl here is dying to hook up with you, and you're the one rejecting them! Can't you see what's happening here?"
His uncle slapped an encouraging grip on his upper arm and squeezed it gently. "You can have a new life here, Ray-ster. The choice is up to you. So what if she calls you Snowy or likes your secret identity more? Superman didn't give a shit (DC superhero, look it up) and married Lois Lane (a sexy reporter, look it up) so why should you? What matters is you're with her, isn't it? Enjoy what you have right now before it all becomes a scribble on the dotted line and then she's gone."
Ray opened his mouth to utter another 'but', his uncle had already pulled out his phone to work his magic. Tonight, he said aside to him, tonight he would meet the girl he'd been wanting to see.
Tonight and thereafter, he would be back in Kate's life. Not as Snowy, but as Ray Hook—the part-timer at Crescent Bar with the most electrifying blue eyes.
*****
Kate came.
It wasn't the work of his uncle. He tried to pull some strings and get in touch with Kate, but anyone who's anyone told him that 'Kate Ares' is already dead.
"Are you sure that's her name?" asked his uncle, his eyes narrowed with suspicions and judgement of Ray's sanity.
"You think I'd make up a name like that?" And Ray told him all that he knew about Kate—except his first meeting with Kate was when she saved him from the tree, not at Kate's burning home.
He didn't mean to lie; he just didn't think his uncle would believe him. Travelling back in time to witness the confession of a cold-blooded murderer—who in living blood wouldn't think that Ray is insane? That's concrete evidence. What if Ray was sent to the hospital just like Kate? That would be worse than being ostracised by a whole village, wouldn't it?
"In that case," murmured the club owner, pinching his chin in ponderment, "I think she may have changed her name."
"Kathy." Ray blurted out. "That guy called her 'Kathy'."
"It's too late for that now." His uncle brushed him off. " We're opening soon. And Andrea's gonna be here any second."
Ray was adjusting the name tag on his uniform when turned around his waist and snapped at the old playboy, "I'm not interested in your plans with her tonight. And I don't want to hear another story about the magic of her golden fingers." His uncle chuckled with a knowing gaze, and the young Alpha swivelled back to his own reflection to hide his irritation and embarrassment.
"Let's see if she shows up then." His uncle flashed his smug grin. "If she doesn't, I'll make the call again."
She did show up. And the second Ray saw her coming through the security, he dropped the empty glasses at the sink and dashed off to his uncle's private office before anyone saw him.
His uncle found him ten minutes later pacing up and down the cool, quiet room. Closing the door to shut out reality, he leaned against it and folded his arms. "So how big is this place, you reckon?"
Ray started biting his nails. "I can't. I can't talk to her." He glanced to his left at the unimpressed face and shook his head. "I need more time."
"How much?"
Ray halted in his tracks and looked at his uncle. What do you mean, his squinted eyes asked.
"How much time do you need?" The older man asked, his face deadpan. "Another year? Or two. I know! Let's do three, huh? Three more years." He pushed off the door and shot an angry finger at the prince. "Are you listening to yourself? All these years you've been pouring all over the Internet for her. You searched every crook and cranny of every forest there is in the U.R.T. for her." That same finger swung to the exit. "She's right outside now, Ray-ster—she's just out there—waiting for you to go to her, and you're hiding in here like a fucking wimp!"
Ray swallowed the lump in his throat. It refused to go anywhere. The crazy butterflies in his stomach were now everywhere, fluttering stronger with each passing second.
"But I can't breathe," he whispered, her fear in his voice.
His uncle folded his arms like an army commander. "That's pretty normal."
"What do I say to her?"
"Your name."
Ray was pacing again. "My mind's blank. What do I say to her after that? All I can think of is telling her that I'm Snowy!"
"Jesus Christ. You're worse than Rose when it comes to such things." His uncle grabbed his shoulders and rattled him hard to shake off the nerves. "Better?"
Ray looked more afraid. "I think I'm going to throw up."
And something lit up in his uncle's brown eyes. "I think I know what you need." Ray asked 'what' and his uncle explained, "Exposure Therapy." At Ray's confused look, he added, "I once dated a gal who's afraid of dogs. And she went through this thing called desensitization." Holding Ray's gaze, the uncle lowered his voice to a serious tone and said, "You need to get used to her." Then, he grabbed Ray's face to stop it from shaking and pressed their foreheads together.
"Listen to me. You can do it." And Ray finally mustered the strength to stay put and listen to his uncle for his final advice. "I'm not rushing you, alright?" Ray nodded obediently. "Just go out there, act normal, and do your job. You're a part-timer, right?" He beamed and Ray followed suit, nodding like a puppy with a large bone in his mouth.
"Use it—you have my blessings as your boss and your uncle. Do whatever you need to stay out of her sight but keep her in sight."
Ray muttered through his squashed cheeks. "What if the tables aren't cleared fast enough? You'll lose business."
"That's my problem, cub." His uncle's fierce desperation shone from his gaze and pushed his palms together to inject confidence into the young prince, and those quivering fine lips puckered with the confidence of a soldier. "Who's the boss here?"
"You're the boss here," Ray said, a salute in his voice.
"Yes, me. And I'm ordering you to go out there and get that razor tongue to say your name in full! Make sure she remembers it! GO!"
The door slammed behind him, and the Alpha found himself right back in the fireworks of music, chatter and laughter.
******
Kate was at the bar counter sipping a cocktail.
Tucking the rest of his face safely behind the tray, he watched nervously and cautiously as the bartender for the night leaned across the counter with a huge interested smile—instantly, Ray took a huge step forward and then halted—the two broke apart again.
Kate flashed a cordial smile and gave a friendly nod at the guy before returning to her drink. Then, she laid the half-empty glass on the bartop and glanced around, her line of sight sweeping 180 degrees around the club from where she sat—and Ray watched and memorised everything: the way her body moves within the constraints of her seat to maintain her poise.
A second before that searching gaze would meet his, Ray dived behind a crowd and pretended to clear their empty glasses on the standing table.
Each time he picked up a glass, his chin tipped over the sea of moving shoulders and heads to make sure where Kate was as his mind worked furiously on a plan for his eventual introduction.
Hey, you made it!
No. No, that sounds frivolous. He's not Ambrose Gold. Kate will probably be disgusted by him.
So do you still think that I'm a stalker?
He shook the thought out of his head. Are you mad? She's here to apologise and the best you can do is act like some of the jerks around here? He watched his hand fetch an empty glass and place it on his tray, and then someone tapped on his shoulder.
A girl with hair with a super tight ponytail asked for his number. Flashing a disinterested smile back, Ray gave a slight nod of civility and returned to Kate, only to find a guy talking to her. Black leather-wrapped body relaxed against the counter, a drink in his hand, a lopsided grin and focused gaze, Ray was too familiar with the scene.
Panic swarmed to his throat, and he searched around for his uncle to get help, but that sleazy old mutt was nowhere to be found!
A hand landed on his shoulder and then a new female voice spoke. "Ray, is it? Come dance with us, huh? I'm sure Ambrose wouldn't mind you taking a few minutes off—."
He slapped his phone to his ear and wiped the hand off. "Sorry, I'm busy—hello? Uncle?"
"What the—hang on, babe." His uncle cleared his throat and hissed, "what the fuck now?"
"Kate—someone's talking to her. You need to come and stop him." God, his nerves are making him sound like an idiot.
And his uncle didn't miss it. "There's your chance right there—ah, shit." A sigh of pleasure slipped out and Ambrose Gold had already forgotten to snap at the mood spoiler. "Go be a hero—fuck babe, yeah, take it all—."
His panic level skyrocketed. "Hello? Uncle? Please, I need your help!"
A dial tone answered him.
Ray checked on Kate again, his feet already charging him towards his angel, his mouth ready to tell that guy to fuck off and leave his girl alone—but a loud slap stepped on his brakes.
The Alpha watched his angel shove her knee in between the guy's legs. Feeling the excruciating pain written all over that face, he winced along in sympathy as the guy crumbled to the floor holding himself, then sank in relief as Kate spun around and stalked off.
He felt a stab in his chest. Then, his throat closed.
Ray clutched the front of his shirt and was about to collapse on the ground when air rushed in again. He swallowed deep breaths, let out a few coughs, and an image of Kate crying swarmed in.
Without a second thought, he rushed towards the club's exit and ran after Kate.
True enough, just a few steps from the bustling queues outside the club, Ray found Kate sniffing and scolding the pavement. He found that strangely adorable and didn't know that he was smiling until he caught his reflection on a window of the shop next door.
Something else caught up with him: his pathetic lack of courage.
It was clear from the tension in her body that Kate didn't like where she was, yet she came alone to talk to him. Couldn't he, for once, do the same? For once, could he not think so much and just give it a try?
Ray turned to the slender figure in a white blouse and fitting jeans, her heels clicking the rhythm of her sniffles and ranting as she continued down her path away from him.
This is your last chance. Just go and talk to her. Tell her that you want to be her friend. Start from there, huh? Just do it, you stupid mutt. She's going to walk away forever if you don't! Are you sure you want to let her go?
"Kate!" He called out to the stretch of fading light. "Kate Montgomery!" The name finally returned from that cold winter of warm sheets and covers.
He wasn't sure why the guy called her 'Kathy', but he was sure she told him that she was Kate Ares—Kate Montgomery.
She turned around, her glorious red hair did a crescent swirl, and then those shimmering eyes looked around for him, until they found him—his blue sapphires. Instantly, she recognised him.
For a second, Ray thought she was looking at Snowy. Then, he blinked and realised that she was looking at him. Just him. And he nearly stopped breathing.
Her bright smile was back. And it was for him. Not Snowy. Just him.
She was mouthing something to him—he could make out the words, but he couldn't hear her voice.
There you are! I've been looking all over for you—where were you?
The Alpha spread his lips into a smile. There's so much he wanted to say to her—the first of them all was: sorry, I left without saying goodbye.
She seemed to have heard him; her eyes grew round with surprise. The kind of surprise that comes with sudden epiphany, and Ray froze in his smile.
Worry crashed in; all the courage mustered vanished. As though he never had them. She knows. She knows that I'm Snowy. She knows that I'm not human. It's over.
His mind told him to turn around and go back to the club. To erase her existence from his life and move on. But he didn't move. He couldn't move.
She's not running away. She's just standing there. Like… she's waiting for him.
Go to her, his heart screamed, what the fuck are you waiting for! His left foot reached out for the first step as a million explanations for her expression ran through his mind. Then, a million more excuses bumped them off to give him the final push forward.
Ray took two strides forward and Kate took her eyes off him for a second to check on her right heel. It was then the young Alpha realised what truly happened with his angel.
And it was then he saw it slot in right at the curb.
A mysterious black van.
Then, right at his watchful smile, the door threw out hands like tree trunks, and the dark depths swallowed Kate whole.