THE ALPHA'S INVISIBLE MATE

Ralph sat in the exclusive bar of the Dietrich club. He sipped whiskey and stared at the small, wet rings that decorated the wooden top of the table beside which he was sitting.

There was a bleak unhappy expression in his eyes and his thin body was shivering.

" I am finished," he told himself. " Best way out of this mess is to shoot myself."

He took another sip while he stared gloomily at his feet. He had been telling himself to buy a gun and end his life but he hadn't the courage nor the nerve to pull it through.

He had left his apartment and for the past five days, he had wandered the streets, sleeping at a different hotel each night. He only had ten thousand dollars in his wallet and when that had gone there was nothing.

He owed a lot of money. The Dietrich Enterprise was crashing. If things went any bad, the company would go bankrupt. The disgrace of bankruptcy hung over him like a soaked cloak.

He would have to give up his position as CEO of the Enterprise. It was fair as it seems there was nothing he was doing right at the moment.

But when his father, made Solomon, his younger brother CEO instead, Ralph went nuts.

Why Solomon?

Ralph was a man of pride. He never liked Solomon for Solomon was the direct opposite of him. Solomon was responsible, brilliant, calm and very promising. A master's degree holder in business administration and Economics, Solomon bested him at everything he failed to do.

Solomon had worked directly under Ralph at the company. Ralph was bossy and incharge of everything while Solomon watched calmly from the sidelines.

Richard Dietrich, founder and owner of the Dietrich Enterprise saw potentials in his son, Solomon than in Ralph.

Ralph's extravagant gambling and drinking escapades had almost driven the company to bankruptcy. Richard had to do something and so he ordered Ralph to step down while Solomon take total control of the establishment.

This drove Ralph into depression and trouble. His gambling and drinking tripled. He grew worse day by day.

He had lost the feeling of pride that he had whenever he entered the dignified exclusive Dietrich club. Everyone kept avoiding him. They were glad he was replaced by his star brother, Solomon.

Now Ralph was piled up in debt and accumulated bills. Richard got so disgusted with him he cut off any flow of money from the Dietrich account reaching Ralph.

Now, he had lost everything and his pale hatred centered on Solomon.

He flicked away a speck of dust on his black overcoat. Although he was getting broke, Ralph still managed to maintain his elegance and rich living. His misfortunes had not undermined his millionaire habit.

He finished his whiskey and walked a little unsteadily across the bar to order another.

A girl in a red dress and dark high heels shoes caught his eye and smiled. She was tall, big-hipped and robust, and for a moment Ralph's mind wavered and he felt a flicker of desire run through him.

But then the desire faded away when the image of Irene flashed through his mind.

He returned to his table and sat down again, and drank half the whiskey, setting the glass carefully on one of the wet rings.

He took a cigarette from his case.

The girl kept holding his gaze and she showed him a knee that might've interested him if it weren't for Irene's memory flash.

Seeing that pretty knee gave him a flicker of desire again. It felt like pain running through him as he thought of Irene again.

He was alone now; he didn't have to keep faith with anyone except himself. He looked again at the girl, horrified with himself for even contemplating going to bed with her.

He thought of the ten thousand dollars in his wallet. He needed every penny now. He couldn't afford a night with a woman. She looked quite expensive.

At least, that was the only excuse he could come up to convince himself not to go to her. But it was because of Irene.

Whenever he stepped in the club with Irene, the club seemed an exciting and friendly place. But now, without her, he immediately became an oddity: a fish out of water without his smartly dressed woman at his side.

Already, people were glancing curiously at him as he sat self-consciously on his table. He was aware of the curious glances that were shot at him. He knew he was getting a little drunk, but he didn't care.

He had completely forgotten about the girl.

Then Suddenly, he saw his father, Richard and Solomon come I'm. The club sprung to life and everyone clamoured around the both of them, talking in high tones and laughing.

Ralph felt hot blood rush to his head. The lights of the club's bar seemed to grow dim and a suffocating band encircled his throat. He was on his feet now, a chocking, spiteful rage consuming him.

He became vaguely aware that someone was holding him by the arm and a soothing voice was asking if he were unwell. He threw off the restraining hand with an ugly oath and walked stiff-legged, his face white and twitching, his eyes burning, towards his father.

A sudden hush fell on the bar. People turned in their chair to look at him. They watched him pause before Richard and pointed a quivering finger at Solomon.

" You son of a bitch. You ripped me off," Ralph said in a cracked, hysterical voice. " How dare you step into my life and ruined everything."

He shot his hand out and made a grab at Solomon's shirt but Richard struck his hand away and yelled at him.

" Ralph, stop this nonesense at once!" When Ralph didn't stop, he became angry. " You drunken swine. Guards, take him away this instant."

Two guards had come up swiftly. They caught hold of Ralph's arms and began to drag him to the door.

" I don't ever want to set eyes on him. From now on, I've revoked his membership," Richard shouted. " Throw him out."

All these while, Solomon was quiet and calm, watching the glass doors swung behind his elder brother.

* * * *

Ralph groaned in pains as he struggled to rise to his feet. His head ached and his eyes grew swollen from the beatings he received earlier.

It seemed like he had met with a concussion. Something heavy and hard had landed on his head.

Crouching on his hands and knees, he nursed his head, feeling an uneven sore bump protruding out of his head.

" What happened?" He questioned himself, struggling to his feet. His legs felt wobbly that they gave way and he fell down again.

Ralph took his time to recover. Something was wrong. He knew something was wrong. As his vision adjusted, he discovered he was in the middle of a deserted road.

No cars were coming this way and there was barely a street light in sight.

Just then, he recalled what happened. He had visited his father's club, gotten drunk and then he started yelling and cursing at the guests and members.

" What happened next after that?" Ralph asked himself as he attempted to try getting to his feet again.

His mind did a flashback. He recalled his father boiling in rage. He was kicked out of the club and revoked of his membership.

" What happened next?" Ralph said, steady on his feet now.

He remembered driving recklessly for home when he ran into some street thugs. They had beaten him up and robbed him of his money and car.

" Wait a minute," Ralph stiffened, snapping his eyes opened. " My brand new Mercedes Benz? Please don't tell me they didn't!"

He searched feverishly for his car keys as well as his wallet but he couldn't find anything. Ralph thought he might lose his mind.

" What a way to end such a gloomy day," he raised his voice, still feeling tipsy from his heavy drinking. " First, Father embarrassed me, then Solomon ripped me off my position in the company, then I got banned from the club and now I'm robbed? Why I'm I so damn unlucky?"

As he sulked, he decided to head for his hotel. The hotel he was lodging in was an hour and half drive from where he was robbed. He had no money for transport either.

He'd have to use the subway train to get downtown where the hotel was in sight.

Nursing his jaws, he staggered along the roadside, bumping into different people until he arrived at the subway station.

He had made it in time for the nine o'clock train. He rushed in and flopped on one of the empty seats, feeling deadbeat and tired.

His eyes wandered around listlessly. There were no other person in the train except for her.

The lady. He sniffed the air. She had an unpleasant scent that made him uneasy of her.

She sat alone in the seat opposite him, scrolling through her iPad with a touch screen stylus pen on her right hand and a headphone blasting music over her head.

Ralph grunted and looked away, apparently not interested in the girl. He just needed rest and a long sleep to forget all his misfortunes for the night. As the train began to move, he felt sleepy and before he knew it, his eyes fell and he drowsed into a peaceful sleep.

The girl took a quick glanced at Ralph as he fell asleep. She had noticed him walked in but pretended not to. Taking her time, she faced him and began to draw his profile on her iPad.

She was using a digital drawing app on her phone which she uses too often to make real life drawings of people.

Under ten minutes, she had drew and painted a beautiful face portrait of Ralph's while he was asleep.

At first she was puzzled over the bruises and wounds on his body. She hoped when he wakes up, he'd love the painting and smile.

Just then, Ralph stirred from his sleep. He sat up and turned only to find the girl opposite him facing his direction with her iPad on her knees.

" What're you doing?" He asked, sharply.

At first the girl was startled. Her mouth fell opened. "Y-you can see me?"

"Sure I can!" He grinded his teeth, grabbing her arm. " What were you doing to me?"

Her eyes wide, she showed him the ipad. " I took a painting of you while you were asleep. Do you like it?"

Ralph collected the iPad from her and stared goggle-eyed at the painting. It was so life-like and amazingly beautiful. He doubted if she painted it.

"You did this?" He asked, pointing at the iPad. " While I was asleep?"

She nodded. " I'm a digital artist."

"I doubt it," Ralph said, eyeing her. " You could've taken a photo of me and edited it with an app."

The girl seemed to have composed herself and she smiled charmingly at him. "You can check me out on Instagram and see my Live videos where I draw for my fans. Then you'd know if I'm lying or not."

Ralph took his time to study her. Her complexion pale. Her pencil-thin eyebrows eased down gently to her black, beetle's-leg eyelashes. A sculptor could not have fashioned her seraph's ears and pixie's nose any better.

When she broke into a smile, her beguiling, white teeth seemed to sparkle. Spools of her jet black hair plunged around her oval face and hid a swan's neck, elegant and smooth. Ralph instantly loved her emerald -green eyes which glittered at him.

Ralph's red eyes returned back to the iPad. " I don't believe it. It's so beautiful. It looks pretty real and..." He paused to stare at her. " What's your name?"

" Pepper," her glossy lips curved into a heavenly smile. " My name's Pepper."

A warm sensation was growing in his heart as she smiled at him.

Ralph smelt her again, this time focusing her scent clearly on his mind.

He didn't like this. The drinks had dulled his senses but he was gaining on. He shut his eyes and tried to register what her scent meant.

Then he flared his eyes and growled at her. " Y-youre a Vampire?!"