by Jen L. Grey
“Got it.” The lady typed in the order on the cash register. “Name?”
“Hope.” She grinned at me as she glanced at me from the corner of her eyes.
She sure was something. I had to admit I might’ve deserved that.
“All right.” The girl smiled. “It’ll be ready in a minute.”
“Come on, grumpy.” Ella waved me over to the pick-up side. “Let’s hope this turns some of the grumpiness into at least mildly cordial.”
It was damn refreshing to be around someone who said what they thought. But I didn’t need to get close for two reasons. One; caring made you vulnerable; and two; she was a shifter. The witch had warned that being around others like me would cause my wolf side to give me more problems.
“You’re going to love this drink.” She grinned and rubbed her hands together. “It’s my weakness.”
“I’m not even sure I know what to expect.” I shook my head and sighed. “When did drinks become blonde?”
“They’re a lighter brew with a caramel taste.” She bumped her shoulder into mine. “Damn, you’re freaking stout.”
“That could be considered an insult.” The last thing I needed her to do was make a big deal about how strong I was. Any shifter should’ve been able to at least nudge a human. “I work out a lot.” That wasn’t a lie either, so technically, I didn’t have to feel bad.
“Obviously.” She scanned my arms and legs. “I bet you could take my brother.”
“Ha.” Now I regretted coming. I should’ve known better.
“No, seriously.” Her eyes lit as our drinks were placed on the counter. “He’s kind of the rebel. You know Mason?”
“No, I don’t know Mason.” I had way too little time to deal with rebels or anyone for that matter. “But good for you.”
“Seriously?” She took a step closer to me, and a smirk crossed her face. “He’s the guy on campus that everyone wants.”
“Uh… congrats.” I had no clue what to say in awkward situations like these. Wait… I’d never been in a situation like this.
She laughed so loud it hurt my ears. “Why are you congratulating me?”
“You seem awfully proud that everyone wants your brother and that he’s a rebel.” I grabbed my latte and took a sip. It was fucking delicious.
Ella smiled so wide that I could probably see every one of her teeth. “You like it.” She took a large sip and closed her eyes. “That proves we’re going to be besties.”
“What?” I choked on the sip I just took.
“Boy, do you have commitment issues.” She rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t asking for your hand in marriage.”
“I don’t do friends.” I made a mistake coming here.
“Good thing I’m not asking you to do me.” She reached out and patted my shoulder.
“That’s not what I meant.” I struggled not to let the smile grow across my face. It’d been a very long time since this had been an issue.
“Doesn’t matter.” She looped her arm through mine and tugged me toward the tables. “You’re stuck with me.”
“Hey, Ella,” a guy called as we passed by. He ran his fingers through his chestnut-brown hair and pulled out a seat at the table. “Why don’t you two join me here?”
“We were going to have girl talk.” She tugged me on, but he stepped in front of us and pouted.
“Are you coming to the bar tonight?” His green eyes stayed locked on her. “The whole… group is going.” His tight shirt emphasized his muscular build, and he had to be close to six feet tall.”
“You know I hate going. They refuse to serve me alcohol.” She sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Bring your friend here.” His gaze landed on me. “She looks to be a freshman. There. Problem solved.”
“Hell, yeah.” She turned to face me and grinned. “I mean you do owe me one after the coffee.”
“No… I’d better not.” I had a date with Netflix tonight, so they were shit out of luck.
“Aw, come on.” He reached over and touched my arm. “It’s a group of our friends, and we behave for the most part.”
I jerked back. I didn’t like being touched. “Doesn’t really sound like my scene.”
“What?” He laughed as his forehead furrowed. “It’s every college student’s scene.”
“Maybe when they’re drinking age.” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Mason makes sure they know I’m underage. The one thing I wish he’d be chill over, and he’s not.”
“Having a brother who cares must suck.” Her strange comments amused me. “Though it sounds fun, I have homework I need to get done.”
“Please.” She pouted and gave me her puppy dog eyes. “I’ll pick you up and everything. Hell, I’ll buy your dinner.”
“I’m sorry but no.” I couldn’t abandon my whole life’s motto of keeping my distance from everyone, especially supernaturals, now. “I’m sure you can find someone else to go with you.”
“Ugh, but they are so boring and only after my brother.” She whined and pouted.
“Sorry, good luck with all that.” This was my cue to leave. “Hey, I forgot I had to run an errand before my class later. I’ll see you around.” I spun on my heel, taking off before she could convince me to stay.
“Elena,” she yelled after me, but all I did was stick my hand up to wave goodbye.
When I stepped outside of the student center, my breathing finally returned to normal. I hadn’t realized how claustrophobic I felt until I took a deep breath of clean air.
There was a group of people standing in front of the student center, laughing as I walked by. They smelled human with no supernatural in the mix.
It sucked because I’d give anything to be just like them. Human, normal, no knowledge of the supernatural, and only caught up in who’s doing what. They didn’t realize how lucky they were to be born that way.
I headed toward my history class. It started in thirty minutes, but I figured maybe there wasn’t anyone around and I could go ahead and get my seat.
As I moved in that direction, I felt a buzzing in my pocket. I pulled my phone out and saw a text from the bar I worked at.
Can you come and fill in for Suzy tonight?
That was the third time Brad had asked me to cover for her in the last two weeks. It paid the bills though and gave me something else to do. So I replied yes and shoved it back into my pocket.
It didn’t take long for me to reach the building, and as I stepped into the hallway, a guy with short dark hair and piercing green eyes walked past me.
My world seemed to stand still for that moment, but he didn’t glance my way. He rushed out of the building on some kind of mission or something.
I took a few steps, following him, when I realized what the hell I was doing. I’d lost my damn mind. I stopped and watched him run off toward the student center.
It probably was a good thing that I hadn’t stayed there. If Ella had seen my reaction, I was sure she would’ve wound up doing something to embarrass me.
Making myself turn around, I began my slow stroll through the hallway, looking for the class. After a few minutes, I found it on the fourth floor of the building.
It was empty, so I headed straight to the back, taking the center-aisle to the desk right in the corner. It was the easiest spot to hide. The only problem was when teachers would go overtime and I left. There was something about punctuality that had been ingrained in me. You arrive on time and leave on time. At least that’s how I’d been raised.
I pulled out my phone as it vibrated again. It was Brad again.
Good, there is a huge business party coming in, so be ready to haul ass.
Great. That meant tonight was going to suck. Usually, large parties included some kind of supernatural. It made it rough to pretend to be human because there was a scent all supernaturals had. Granted, I never shifted, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but you never know who you might run into.
Chapter Four
I put on my standard
black shirt and blue jeans that were dress code for the bar. In all fairness, it was a trendy bar that businesses and more upper-class individuals liked to frequent.
It was a large open space with a huge bar in the center. The bar faced the open area, and there was a glass wall right behind it.
There were tables set up outside with a cover, and inside were more tables spread throughout. In the middle of the seating, there was a winding staircase that connected to the top floor. Up on the top floor was where all the pool tables, dartboards, and lounge seating were held.
“We better get some good tip money tonight,” Todd grumbled as he put on the apron over his dark shirt. He was only a few years older than me, but he complained about everything, and that was saying something, coming from me.
“As long as you put a smile on your face and keep the negativity to yourself, you should be good.” To say he hated when I called him out would be an understatement.
“It wouldn’t kill you to be nice every now and then.” He arched an eyebrow and tied the strings in the back.
“It might.” Being nice to people encourages them to hang around you more. That’s what I was trying to avoid.
“In all fairness, if you started being nice, it would freak me the fuck out.” Todd rolled his dark chocolate eyes at me. “I’ve grown oddly attached to your pessimistic vibe.”
“Not pessimistic.” I grabbed a clean towel and began wiping down the beer glasses. “Realist.”
“That’s what all pessimistic people say.” He grabbed his notebook and pen. “Shouldn’t you be the one serving all those bureaucratic men?” He nodded toward the door where a group of at least twenty-five men dressed in suits stood.
“I don't do people well.” Now, that wasn’t an exaggeration. I purposely went out of my way to not talk to people. That’s the reason I chose to work in the kitchen instead of a club. I made a little less, but I didn’t have sloppy, drunk-ass men hitting on me.
“You better be glad Brad cares that you’re underage, or he’d have your hot ass serving drinks.” He took a deep breath as if he was gearing up for the jackasses.
All men in suits were jackasses. I learned that at the tender age of six. And in all fairness, he couldn’t allow me to waitress. He’d tried, but I refused to get certified to serve drinks. “Don’t let them be complete dicks.”
He winked at me and nodded toward the large table that the hostess was pushing together. “Wish me luck.”
Considering the way that group looked, he was going to need more than luck. I left the bar area and moved back toward the kitchen. The last thing I wanted to do was get stuck serving them drinks. “Why don’t you go back there and start washing dishes?” Brad walked out from his back office and looked at me. “They never got caught up after the lunch rush, and I’m thinking we’re going to have another round to do after the dinner rush.”
“Sure.” Though it was disgusting, that was one of the jobs I preferred. I didn’t have to talk to coworkers to accomplish it. I moved over to the four large industrial dishwashers and began scraping the plates and loading them up.
“Elena,” Todd called my name, startling me from my task. “Can you help me serve their food?”
“Oh, yeah.” I wanted to say no, but I was pretty sure that wouldn’t go over well. I washed my hands and turned to help him carry the food out.
I grabbed four plates and followed behind Todd. As we began passing out food, an overly sweet smell hit my nose.
That could only mean one thing. At least one out of this group was a vampire.
Even if I hadn’t been able to narrow it down to the guy on the end, the fact that he was the only one that didn’t order any food would have put a nail in the coffin. I tried putting on a sincere smile as I turned to him. “Oh, what did you order? I’ll go check on it for you.”
The man turned his cold blue eyes on me and smirked. “I do intermittent fasting and can’t eat past four.” He looked to be in his mid-thirties and was on the thin side like most vampires were. He tugged at the knot on his tie and nodded. “But thank you for checking.” His eyes scanned me from head to toe.
“No problem.” I hated being close to vampires. The whole point of the wolves was to keep all supernaturals in line, especially the vampires. They were the one race who the wolves warred with most often since they all tended to be self-absorbed and heartless. Mom had believed that it was because their hearts didn’t beat.
I forced myself to pass him. I’d always been taught to never turn your back on one of them. They were often unpredictable and could change their moods as quickly as the wind changed directions.
Footsteps followed behind me.
If I didn’t have wolf ears, I wouldn’t have been able to hear him. Not able to stop myself, I turned in his direction. “Oh.” I tried to act surprised, but it fell short.
“Why am I not surprised you heard me?” He narrowed his eyes and tapped his pointer finger on his lips. “I just can’t figure out quite what you are.”
“I’m a waitress here.” In order to act human, it was integral to pretend that you knew nothing of the supernatural world. “And I felt a cold chill down my spine. That’s why I turned around. How did you walk that quietly?”
His face was a mask of indifference. “Your movements are too agile to be human.” He smirked and tilted his head. “There’s something odd that I can’t place. You don’t have any specific characteristics that tell me what you are. But there is a hint of something that I can’t quite capture.”
“As riveting as this is, I’ve got to go back to work.” I needed space from this jackass and fast. “If you think of anything you need, I’m only a few feet away.” I forced myself to turn around again and slowly head back to the kitchen. I couldn’t let him know how bad he bothered me.
The last thing I needed was to intrigue a vampire and have them dig into my existence any further.
When the clock hit ten, I clocked out and headed toward my car. The restaurant was open for another hour, but the kitchen help normally was able to get out a little earlier as long as the dishes were caught up.
The restaurant would’ve been dead if we didn’t have the business party here. I tended to like the nights when things moved at a slower pace. This place was too expensive for most of the college kids. My heart hammered as I hurried to my vehicle. The vampire probably had forgotten all about me, but you could never be careless.
As soon as I made it into my car and locked the doors, my heart began to steady. Thank God I’d been overreacting.
Within fifteen minutes, I pulled into my driveway. I grabbed my purse and locked the car door, marching straight into the house.
“How was your day?” Mona lay on the couch, sprawled out.
“Good. Long.” I sighed and removed my shoes at the door. “How about you two?”
Kassie was in her usual spot on the recliner. She paused the television and glanced my way. “Mine was fine. The later breakfast crowds are always fun, so I’m tired as usual.”
She’d been complaining about the college kids rushing in near lunchtime, wanting a combination of breakfast and lunch options, for the past eight years.
“The shop had some good visitors today.” Mona yawned and stretched out her arms. “I had a few witches come in, looking for some things.”
“That’s never a good sign.” Kassie shook her head. “At least we’re not all involved in that shit anymore.”
“You never know.” Mona darted her eyes in my direction. “Before long, we may be in all that again.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want the crown?” Besides, they’d raised me to take care of myself now. I could take down a wolf twice my size. That wasn’t very royal-like.
“We know.” Mona shrugged and pointed to the kitchen. “I put some steak up from dinner. Do you want me to warm it for you?”
“Nope, I’ve got it.” I made my way into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door.
It didn�
��t take long for me to eat, and I headed to bed.
Before I knew it, Friday had come back around. I hurried into the classroom and sat in my usual seat.
I got here a little earlier than normal, beating most of the class. I’d had trouble sleeping again last night, but that wasn’t so strange lately. I decided to get up and head on in.
“Hey, I’m glad to see you here early.” Connor dropped his bag at his normal seat but came over and sat next to me. “I’d permanently move but one of my close buddies is in here with me. He gave me shit the other day for changing seats.”
“No, it’s fine.” That was the last thing I wanted him to do. “I just wanted to get here and get some early reading done today.” I pulled my textbook out of my bag and hoped he’d get the hint.
“You got all weekend for that.” He rolled his eyes and leaned uncomfortably close to my chair. “So you got any weekend plans?”
“Yeah, it’s going to be busy.” That wasn’t close to being true, but that was my story, and I was sticking to it.
“Oh, are you going to any parties or anything?” He cleared his throat and tugged at his ear.
“That’s not really my thing.” The one time I’d let loose, I slept with him, and look where that got me. The girl that was showing me around campus made sure the party was our last stop, and I figured what the hell. Which only proved how much I wasn’t made for friends. I didn’t need any clingers. Supernatural or not.
“But that’s where we met.” He laughed like I’d told some sort of joke.
“Well, that was my first and last time.”
“But I could take you to this one.” He smirked and winked at me.
All right, blunt it would be. “You’re kind of the reason I don’t go anymore.”
“What?” His mouth dropped open, and he tilted his head.
At this point, he reminded me of a dog. “Yeah, I don’t normally do that.” I had to cut the cord.
“Hey, no. It’s fine.” His eyes lit up like a kid’s on Christmas morning. “I can take you as my date. You don’t have to worry about a one-night stand or anything.”