by Karen Lynch
I kept walking. Half a block from the school was a diner called Gail’s with a sign that boasted the best seafood in town. It was a nice-looking place, and my growling stomach reminded me I still hadn’t eaten yet today, so I crossed the street to check it out.
Inside, the diner was clean and bright with a mix of tables and booths and a long counter. Several of the booths were occupied, as were half the stools at the counter. A blonde waitress who looked to be in her forties was behind the counter, and a younger brunette was serving one of the tables.
I wasn’t sure whether to wait to be seated or not, so I stood there until the blonde lady noticed me. She smiled and came over to me.
“Table for one?”
“Yes, please,” I said and followed her to a booth.
“Haven’t seen you around before. You visiting for the summer?” she asked as she handed me a large laminated menu. Normally, I’d think of the question as nosy, but from her, it sounded friendly.
“I just moved here.”
“Well, welcome to our little slice of heaven.” She smiled and pointed at her name tag. “I’m Brenda. I came here twenty years ago, and I never left. And you’re in luck because you found the best restaurant in town.”
“Amen,” said a man in a checkered shirt as he left his booth and headed for the door.
“And the most understaffed,” grumbled the brunette passing us. She sighed loudly and went to greet the four men coming through the door.
“Don’t mind Tina,” Brenda said in a lower voice. “Two of our waitresses quit last week to go to college. That’s what happens when you mostly have high school students working here. Don’t suppose you’re looking for a job? We have a full- and a part-time position available.”
My stomach fluttered with excitement. I hadn’t planned to get a job right away, but I couldn’t sit around the apartment all day painting. I’d go crazy in no time.
“I’ve never worked in a restaurant before,” I said.
Brenda waved a hand. “Nothing to it, and we’re used to training new girls.”
I bit my lip. I wanted to get out of the apartment, but was I ready for this?
“You think about it,” she said. “Now what can I get you?”
I ordered the fish and chips and a Coke, and sat back to study the place while I waited for my meal. It was a nice restaurant, and Brenda was friendly. Tina probably was too when she wasn’t overworked. And it was within walking distance of the apartment.
Brenda returned with my meal and a sheet of paper, which she laid on the table. “In case you change your mind,” she said before she walked away.
I picked up the paper and saw it was a job application. Guess you didn’t need a résumé for this place, which was good because I didn’t have one of those.
I exhaled slowly, suddenly overwhelmed by all the things I needed to learn or catch up on. I was lucky, at least, that I knew how to use a computer. Vampires liked to keep up with technology as much as anyone else.
Laying the paper down, I started on my meal. It was as good as Brenda had boasted, and I was so famished I almost cleaned the plate. I liked food, but my appetite hadn’t been good since I was healed. Looked like it was pretty healthy now. I smiled at my plate and then almost laughed at being happy over something as silly as eating.
Brenda came over to take my plate, and ask if I wanted some of their fresh apple pie. I passed on the dessert, but I asked her for a pen. I didn’t know what made me decide to fill out the application, but I was only going to move forward if I kept pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Besides, if it didn’t work out, I could always quit.
She smiled knowingly, handed me a pen, and then left me to fill out the form. I took my time, and I felt an odd sense of change sweep over me when I signed my name at the bottom. This is a good thing, I told myself as I slid out of the booth and carried the form to the cash register at the counter.
Tina was closest, and she came to take the form and my money for the meal. Her eyes glanced over the form, and she even managed a small smile as she rang up my bill.
Behind the counter, there was an open window into the kitchen, and I could see a man cooking while a dark-haired boy prepared two plates. The boy carried the plates to the window and called out the order. When he saw me, he gave me a friendly smile, and I realized he was my age or older. I gave him a tentative smile in return and took my change from Tina, leaving a nice tip on the counter.
“Gail will look at your application when she gets in on Monday,” Tina said.
“Thanks.”
I left the diner and headed back toward home. When I reached the bakery, I remembered what Sara had said about Bill’s chocolate croissants, and I ran in to buy one. Next stop was the bookstore. I browsed for a while, and when I came across the cookbook section, I thought about my disastrous attempt to cook eggs. I found a beginner’s cookbook and purchased it, along with a local tourist guidebook that had a map of the town in it. I hadn’t gone far today, but my first glimpse of New Hastings made me want to see more.
My day hadn’t started out well, but it had definitely taken a turn for the better. My steps were light as I walked the short distance to home.
Chapter 3
Roland
“I knew you missed me,” joked Paul when I pulled up to his garage on Monday. “Couldn’t stay away, could you?”
I laughed and got out of the car. He wasn’t wrong. The garage was on my route home from the lumberyard, and I was so used to coming here after work every day.
Paul wiped his hands on a rag and walked over to me. “How’s she running?”
“Perfect. All the guys at the yard were drooling over her.”
“They’re not the only ones,” he said. “I showed those before and after pictures I took to a guy I know in Portland, and he went nuts over them.”
I laid a hand on the Mustang’s roof. “Tell him my girl is not for sale.”
Paul leaned against the building. “He doesn’t want to buy her. He just got his hands on a nineteen seventy Chevelle. Frame’s solid but the car needs a ton of work. He normally works on his own cars, but he’s getting married and his fiancée doesn’t like him spending all his free time in the garage. He asked me if I could restore her for him.”
“You have time for that?”
Paul only had himself and another guy working here full-time, and they were pretty busy. He’d been talking for a while about expanding and hiring another mechanic, but he didn’t have enough saved yet to do it.
“Actually, I was thinking you might want to take on the Chevelle.”
I stared at him. “You serious? I’m not a mechanic.”
“Yeah. Evan knows that, but he loves the work you did on the Mustang. I told him that was all you, and that I just helped out.” Paul waved me over. “I’ll supply the space and tools and help wherever you need it, and you do most of the work. We’ll split the profits. I haven’t worked out the numbers with him yet, because I wanted to talk to you first. But it’ll be good money.”
It was a tempting offer; more than tempting. I made good pay at the lumberyard, but it was just a job and not nearly as satisfying as working on the Mustang. While I’d enjoyed my hours here at the garage, I’d never thought it could be more than a hobby. The idea that I could make money doing something I actually liked sparked excitement inside me.
Working on the Mustang had gotten me thinking about taking some auto classes, and now I wondered if that might not be a bad idea. I hadn’t applied for college because I wasn’t sure at first if I would even graduate from high school this year. Maybe it wasn’t too late to sign up for a few classes at the community college in Portland. If I could go to school part-time and keep a part-time job, I might be able to make it work.
“Can I have a few days to think about it? I’ll have to cut back on my hours at the yard in order to work here, too.”
Paul grinned. “I can already see it on your face that you’re going to do it. I’ll talk to Evan and figu
re out the details.”
A red Jeep pulled in behind my car, and two blonde girls got out. Faith Perry had been in my senior class, and I’d never liked her, mainly because she’d always been a bitch to Sara. Sara had never let Faith bully her, but that didn’t soften my feelings for the other girl.
Faith’s cousin Angela was a different story. Tall and curvy with legs a mile long, Angela was a year older than us and a freshman at USM. We’d never hung out, but I’d seen her at plenty of parties in town before she started college. She’d had a boyfriend the last few years, which put her off-limits. Didn’t mean a guy couldn’t look, though.
Paul straightened away from the building. “Great timing, Angela. I just finished your oil change.”
“Wonderful.” She beamed at him and looked in my direction. “Roland Greene, I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“I recognized you right away.”
She walked over to me, boldly eyeing me from head to toe. “You’ve been working out a lot since the last time I saw you. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up.”
Faith made a small huffing sound, which her cousin and I ignored. Male werewolves usually filled out when we hit maturity, and I had been working out hard since I got home in January. Between Maxwell’s training and working at the lumberyard, I knew I’d built up some extra muscle. But my male ego still liked being stroked by a beautiful girl.
I smiled to let her know I liked what I saw, too. “Looking pretty good, yourself. I bet Aaron spends all his time chasing away the other guys on campus.”
She made a face. “Aaron and I broke up in March.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“I’m not.” She toyed with her hair, which was pulled back in a ponytail.
“So, you home for the summer?” I asked her.
“Yes.” She gave me a meaningful smile. “I thought it was going to be dull, but now I think I might have been wrong.”
I leaned against the door of the Mustang. “Lots of fun to be had in New Hastings if you know where to look.”
Her lashes lowered. “Is that an offer to show me where the fun is?”
“Yeah.” Hell, yeah. As if I’d turn down a chance to go out with her. Half the guys in town, myself included, had lusted after Angela until she graduated. She was hot and she knew it, but she’d never been uppity like Faith and some of the other girls.
She smiled suggestively. “How about tonight?”
Damn, she didn’t waste any time. There was nothing I’d like better than to go out with her tonight, but Brendan had ordered me to his place this evening. Probably Beta business. And tomorrow night I was on patrol.
“Can’t tonight. How about Wednesday?”
“Wednesday is perfect.” She pulled out her phone. “What’s your number? I’ll send you mine so you can call me.”
I gave her my number, and she texted me to give me hers. Then she went to pay Paul and get her yellow Volkswagen Beetle.
“See you Wednesday,” she called as she drove away, followed by Faith in the Jeep.
“I guess your dry spell is over,” Paul joked when he came out of the garage. “I think she’s gotten even hotter since she went to college.”
I grinned at him, feeling pretty happy with myself. “You noticed that too, huh?”
“Hard not to. Too bad she’s human. Wouldn’t mind imprinting on her.”
Paul was twenty-five and still single. Lucky bastard. Most males imprinted before that age because their wolves were driven to mate. Paul wanted a mate, but he hadn’t found the right one yet. Unlike me, he was looking forward to the gathering.
“Her being human is exactly what makes her so attractive,” I said, earning a knowing laugh from my cousin. My feelings on the subject of mating weren’t exactly a secret.
I knew it would happen eventually, but the last thing I wanted now was a mate. I’d just finished high school, and I wanted to have some freedom for a few years. It was the reason I only dated human girls and I avoided unmated female wolves like the plague. Thank God wolves didn’t imprint on humans or I’d be a bloody monk.
I got into the Mustang. “I’ll let you know about the Chevelle job. I want to do it, but you know how Maxwell has been riding my ass about responsibility since I came home. I’ll need to talk to him about cutting back my hours at the yard.”
As much as I wanted to work on the car, I needed a job, too. The Chevelle job would give me a nice little profit, but it couldn’t replace a full-time income. I needed the lumberyard job until I could get a job that paid enough to live off. My mother had been saving for years for my college fund, so at least I didn’t need to worry about tuition and books if I did go to college. And I’d be staying here instead of Portland, so that would save on rent. I’d have to ask for one of the new houses since Sara’s apartment was out of the question with Emma there.
I thought about Sara’s cousin, who had occupied my mind more than once this weekend. Why had Sara never told me she had a cousin or that Emma was coming to stay at the apartment? Why had Emma not wanted anyone to know she was there? And what kind of nightmares made her scream like that?
Emma had been terrified of us, and even after she knew who we were, she’d clearly been afraid. No one had ever been afraid of me before, at least no human, and it bothered me. It was instinct for me to want to protect a human, especially Sara’s family, and I’d been reluctant to leave Emma alone at the apartment Friday night. Hopefully, she was okay now that she’d had a few days to get used to the place.
I had to be at Brendan’s by six-thirty, so I went there directly. The driveway close to the house was full of cars when I got there, and I recognized Pete’s white Escort. I parked and got out, walking to the backyard where a bunch of men stood around talking. Pete, Francis, Kyle, and Shawn were there, along with Cody Mays, Tim Church, and Richard and Mark Bender. Except for Pete and me, everyone was in their twenties.
Francis scoffed when I walked up to them. His attitude annoyed me as usual, but I didn’t totally disagree with him in this case. I didn’t know why Maxwell wanted Pete and me in the Beta selection when there were only so many slots and a lot more experienced members who wanted them. The only reason I could think of was it was another one of his lessons in responsibility. Not that I hadn’t had enough of those to last me a lifetime. I hoped this one wasn’t as humiliating as some of them had been. One thing about Maxwell, when he made a point, you never forgot it.
The back door of the farmhouse opened, and Brendan emerged. He was two years younger than Maxwell, but they had the same reddish-brown hair and similar facial features. They were the same height, but Brendan was stockier. Brendan was also the least severe of the two.
He stopped in front of us, and everyone turned to face him. His gaze swept over us, meeting each of ours, before he spoke.
“Max and I will be observing you and the other candidates who’ll be here for the gathering. And don’t be surprised if one of us pulls you aside to talk. Stay on your toes because you won’t know when we’ll be watching.”
Francis smiled as if to say, “Bring it on.” I had no doubt he was already planning the changes he would make when he became a Beta. The Alpha had final say in all major decisions that affected the pack, but the Betas would make suggestions to him. I was sure my cousin had lots of ideas for how things should be done.
“Shift,” Brendan barked.
No one questioned him, and we all began to strip off our clothes where we stood. Nudity was nothing to us. Werewolves had to disrobe around each other all the time unless we wanted to shift and destroy our clothes.
I let my wolf out the moment my last piece of clothing hit the ground. A surge of joy filled my chest as my body grew and reformed. When I was younger, the change was painful because my wolf was slower to emerge. Now, he came out so fast I barely felt a twinge.
Shawn’s brown wolf circled me. Damn, Roland, what the hell have you been eating? When did you get so bloody big?
I looked down at my chest, but it
didn’t seem bigger to me. I’d always been larger than my friends; my mother said I got it from the males on both sides of my family.
Pete’s eyes met mine, and he gave me a wolfish grin. Guess all those drills paid off.
A growl drew our attention to Brendan who had also shifted. He and Maxwell were the biggest wolves in the pack, and their size and power had always made me feel small in comparison. Even as an adult, I was in awe of them.
According to my mother, both of her brothers were strong enough to be Alpha, but when the time came, Brendan had said Maxwell was the true leader. I’d asked her how he knew that, and she said Maxwell’s Alpha blood was too strong to follow another wolf, even his brother, and he had all the traits that gave an Alpha power to lead a pack. I felt that power when I was around Maxwell, and it made me respect him and submit to him as my leader, even when I didn’t agree with him. It was a power that could be abused in the wrong hands, another reason we were lucky to have Maxwell as our Alpha.
Betas also had power, although nowhere as strong as the Alpha’s. I didn’t know if a Beta got his power once he was made a Beta, or if it was the power that made him a Beta. That stuff was never explained to us. I wondered if I would find out at the end of all of this.
Brendan didn’t speak. He walked up to Cody and locked his gaze with the other wolf’s. Cody shifted uncomfortably, and I felt a knot of unease in my stomach. Staring another wolf down was an act of dominance, and not something adult wolves did lightly. Younger wolves did it all the time for fun, and it didn’t mean anything. But it took on a whole new meaning when you reached maturity, especially when it was the Alpha or Beta staring you down.
After ten seconds, Cody lowered his head and tilted it to the side, baring his throat. Without a word, Brendan moved to Mark and began to stare him down. At first, I’d thought Brendan might have some beef with Cody. Now I realized he was going to do this with all of us, and the knot in my stomach grew. What was Brendan trying to prove? We all knew he was the dominant male here.
Mark lasted a few seconds longer, probably not wanting to be the fastest one to give in. I didn’t blame him, even though I had a suspicion Pete or I would have that distinction, being the youngest.