“How did you get so lucky tonight?” Kelly picked her words carefully. She knew shifter hearing was really good. She hoped Perrow and his cronies weren’t listening, or they would give Molly an even harder time than they already were.
“Just a whole lot of bad luck, I guess. It could be worse.” Molly rolled her eyes. She was one hundred percent human but she had lived in Starr all her life, and knew about shifters. “I’m so ready for a break.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “But if I hear anymore garbage about humans and the only thing they’re good for, I’m going to scream or hit someone with my serving tray. It’ll probably be the person spewing the crap. Do you think Pops would pay me hazard pay? I deserve it for putting up with that bunch.”
Kelly shrugged as she arranged the pitcher of beer and the whiskey shots on Molly’s tray. “I honestly don’t know, but I’ll put in a good word for you.”
Molly smiled. “Thanks. Maybe I’ll get lucky and the new alpha will sit on my side. Have you met him? Mason and Cooper are hot, but the alpha puts them and every other man to shame.”
“No, I haven’t met him yet.” And as far as she was concerned, she didn’t want to meet him. “I know it’s difficult, but try ignoring Perrow and his buddies.” Kelly glanced at their table only to find Perrow glaring at her. She rolled her eyes as he said something that caused his buddies to laugh.
“I won’t start World War III tonight, though there may be a skirmish or two. I make no promises.” Molly picked up the heavy tray and weaved through the crowd.
Kelly grabbed a towel and wiped the bar.
The door opened, but she didn’t pay much attention to it, at least not until she felt the powerful shift in the room’s energy. She looked up and saw Mason talking to a man who stood several inches taller than him, and she knew Mason was a good three inches over six feet.
The man had short, black hair and a dark five o’clock shadow on his jaw. The need to touch him…to explore every inch of his body swept through her, leaving an achy desire in its wake. She wanted to grab him and stake her claim. Damn! Where had that thought come from? She closed her eyes and shook her head.
Opening her eyes, she took another look at Mason and the new man. He had on a black leather jacket, so she couldn’t tell if he had tattoos or not. But dang! She was envious of the way the jacket hugged his shoulders. She wondered if he would mind if she draped herself over his shoulders and ran her hands through his hair.
And then she saw Molly walk up to him.
It took all her effort not to climb over the bar and drag the woman away from the man.
“Shit! Not good,” she muttered as Mason led the man to the bar. She quickly turned and checked on the few customers sitting away from the rest of the bar crowd.
The man was huge, but something about him felt even bigger. He had to be the alpha. The big, bad alpha wolf was in the bar. She glanced at her red tank top. Not exactly the night to wear red. She hoped Mason would take him to the other side of the bar so Cooper would be the one serving them.
She felt a set of eyes on her and looked up.
No such luck.
He was sitting at her side of the bar. A nervous fluttering filled her. She felt anxious and excited at the same time. Something was definitely wrong with her.
Hearing Mason ask the man if he was okay, she walked over to where they were sitting. She shook her head. From the shocked look on his face, something was definitely wrong with him.
“What can I get you?” She honestly didn’t know how she managed not to stutter. She stared at the man who was staring at her. She felt the power roll off him but ignored it.
“Get us a couple of beers.” Mason actually rolled his eyes at her.
The man paled as if he was sick or on something. “How about I get you a beer and him a coffee. Black and strong?” And maybe a little of me on the side. She cringed, hoping she hadn’t said that aloud.
“Just the beer.” Mason growled.
Kelly hate it when he growled at her, and Mason knew it. She grabbed the towel off her shoulder, and gave it a quick twist. With the flick of her wrist, she snapped Mason with the towel, causing him to yelp in pain. She snorted. “Aww, I’m sorry. Not.”
“What did I do?”
Kelly rolled her eyes. He actually had the nerve to ask her that. Mason knew exactly what he had done. “You growled at me. I’ve told you. Never growl at me.”
Laughter floated from the other side of the bar causing her to grin.
“Shut up Cooper. I don’t need you encouraging her.” Mason leaned forward and yelled at his younger brother.
As Kelly went to the cooler on the back wall, Cooper met her half way and high-fived her. She swore she heard the man sitting next to Mason growl. Then she heard Mason ask him what was wrong.
Kelly frowned as she turned around.
“You’re acting really strange,” said Mason. He turned and stared at her before turning his attention back to the man sitting beside him.
Kelly had a gut feeling something big was up. She wasn’t sure she was going to like it.
She set the bottles on the bar. Pulling a bottle opener out of her back pocket, she quickly popped off the tops and pushed the beers toward the two men. “Here you go. You might want to do something about that growling problem,” she said, looking directly at Draven. There was something about the man that made her girl parts sit up and take notice in ways she never expected them. She really wanted to climb over the bar and wrap herself around him.
“Draven, this is my sister, Kelly Hayes. Kelly, this is Draven Grayson, your alpha.” Mason looked from Draven to Kelly. He raised an eyebrow and started grinning.
Kelly felt like someone had slapped the back of her head for being so stupid. She was basically drooling over a man who would never be hers. From the rumors she heard, all the eligible pack she-wolves were fighting over him.
She looked at her brother. “Your alpha. Not mine.” She turned and walked to the other end of the bar, ignoring Mason as he called her name. She threw the bar towel at Cooper.
“What’s wrong?” He caught the towel and tossed it onto the bar.
“Nothing. I need a break.” She stomped past him.
“Something’s wrong.”
“I’m taking a break.” She kept going until she reached the back door in the storage room. She stopped in front of it and rested her forehead against the wood. Her body screamed at her to go back to Draven. No way was she listening to it.
She opened the door and went outside. She took a deep breath. The cold air caused her to cough. Her eyes watered. She was glad Draven couldn’t see how pathetic she looked.
Kelly groaned and slapped her forehead. Why did she care what he thought?
Her body had different ideas and sent a different set of signals to her brain. The idea of going back inside and staking her claim to Draven sounded really good. So good, she started to turn around.
No. No. No.
This isn’t a good idea.
All her girlie parts were not listening. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I had a wolf in me telling my body what to do. She questioned her sanity.
Kelly took another deep breath and slowly let it out. The sun was almost gone from the darkening sky. The temperature was already dropping, making her wish she had grabbed her jacket before she came outside.
“Damn, lost some brain cells too,” she muttered under her breath. She wondered what the hell she was going to do as she wrapped her arms around herself.
“If you want to live, you need to stay away from Draven Grayson and leave this town.”
The voice started her. She spun around to face the owner.
Kelly gasped before she could stop herself.
The guy from the bar stood there.
“Excuse me, but I didn’t ask you for any advice about anything.” Kelly hoped she sounded braver than she felt. She hadn’t realized just how far she had wondered away from the bar. She knew she was in serious trouble. If she
screamed as loud as she could, it was doubtful anyone inside would hear her. Even with their shifter hearing, the music and crowd noise would drown out her voice.
“I wasn’t giving you advice.” He stepped closer. “You had better leave.”
She unfolded her arms, which probably wasn’t a good thing because his eyes went straight to her over-abundant chest. She rolled her eyes. Typical male.
“Sorry, but I don’t know who you are. I don’t want to get to know you. I don’t want your advice, and I definitely don’t appreciate being told what to do. Besides, this is a party for one. Two is one too many. I suggest you go back inside and have another drink. Find another female to talk to because I’m not interested.”
“You’re really brave or really stupid for a human female.” He grinned at her. The smile was anything but friendly. “That’s right, sweet thing. You’re talking to a big, bad shifter.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. Your eyes gave you away inside the bar. Sunglasses would probably be a good idea.” She had a bad feeling she wasn’t going to get out of this as easy as she had with Martin Oakson. “Like I said before this is a private party of one. You were not invited. So turn around and leave.”
“So you’re not afraid of me?” He chuckled. “I can remedy that really quick. Come here.”
Draven stepped out of the night. “But you should be afraid of me.” The look he gave Kelly before he turned his attention to the shifter told her she was in some serious trouble.
She fought the urge to roll her eyes.
“Look. Draven Grayson graces us with his presence.” The shifter turned so he could see both her and Draven. “If he followed you out here, you must be important to him. Just how important are you?”
Kelly looked from one man to the other. She slowly reached into her back pocket and pulled out the slim switchblade Cooper had given her that morning.
“You’re not going anywhere sweet things.” The shifter was a blur of movement. Before she could react, he pulled her against him. His hand wrapped around her neck.
A growl erupted from Draven.
“Tsk. Tsk.” The shifter waved a finger at him. “It seems you’re very important to him. What is he willing to do to save you?” He forced her to look at him. “One day, we will find out, but it won’t be today. Soon. But not today.”
Kelly suddenly found herself free and standing alone.
The shifter was gone.
She started shaking. Her teeth chattered. She tried making it stop, but couldn’t. Was she really that cold? Or was it a delayed reaction to the danger. She closed her eyes.
“Kelly.”
She heard her name and the voice sounded familiar but she couldn’t focus enough to respond. Warmth, the smell of leather, and the perfect musky male scent wrapped around her.
“Put your arms into the sleeves.”
When she didn’t respond, she felt someone putting one of her arms into a sleeve.
“Now the other. What the hell?”
Someone gently opened her fist and took the switchblade out of her hand. “Take it. Why does she even have it?”
“I gave it to her,” said Cooper.
“Just take it. I don’t want her accidentally hurting herself with it.”
Cooper muttered something, but was cut off by a deep growl.
Kelly cringed.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t growling at you. I was growling at your idiot brother for giving you a knife.” Fingers gently grasped her chin and forced her to lift her head.
She opened her eyes and blinked several times. She found herself staring into a pair of stormy gray eyes with sky blue ring.
“Cooper’s going to take you inside where you will be warm and safe. You’re to stay there. As soon as I’m done here, I will find you. We need to talk.”
Kelly licked her dry lips. “But—”
Draven’s lips touched hers in a soft but firm kiss.
Liquid heat coursed through her body making her forget to breathe. The kiss ended. She gasped for air.
A warm hand touched her cheek. Instinctively she leaned into it.
“Good girl. Now go with Cooper and stay out of trouble.”
She heard Cooper snort. “Come on sis. We’ve been dismissed.” He turned her away from Draven and nudged her toward the building.
Every instinct told her to turn around and stay with Draven. She didn’t want to be away from him. At least she was surrounded by his scent. It helped the crazy feeling of having loss something important.
Inside the storage room, she suddenly found herself in her mother’s arms.
“Are you okay? That shifter didn’t hurt you did he?” asked her mom.
“I’m not hurt.” She couldn’t say she was okay because she wasn’t sure if she was. Not with all the strange emotions and feelings bouncing around her body. Kelly pulled out of her mom’s embrace. “Can I talk to you? Alone?”
“Go to the office,” said Pops. “Cooper go with them and stand guard at the door. I’ll wait here for Draven and Mason.”
Kelly almost said she would stay and wait too, but she really needed to talk to her mom who was the only one who could possibly answer her question.
She followed her mom to the office.
“What’s wrong?” her mom asked as soon as soon as Cooper closed the door leaving them alone in the room.
“How did you know Pops was your mate? And I’m not talking about when he actually told you.” Kelly watcher her mom’s eyes light up with understanding.
“You’re going to feel it in your heart and your entire body is going to react to the shifter who is your mate. Your brain will try to tell you that you’re acting ridiculous and what your feeling is impossible, but that’s because humans don’t have the enhanced senses that shifters have.”
“And there’s no fighting it?” Kelly knew the answer but she needed to hear it.
“When it comes to the mating pull, individuals sometimes try to fight it, especially if one is human, but when mates meet, nature won’t let them stay apart. Is it Draven?”
Kelly nodded.
Her mom smiled. “I thought so. He went after you too fast for it to be anything else. You’re going to have a tough time.”
“Because I’m human?”
Her mom nodded. “The she-wolves have been after him from the beginning. He has turned all of them away, but they’re refusing to give up.”
“Great.” Kelly walked to the door.
“Where are you going?”
Kelly stopped. “Back to the bar. Standing around with nothing to do is going to drive me crazy.” She laughed as she walked out of the office. She thought about her first conversation with Draven. She had been right about one thing. He wasn’t her alpha. He was her mate.
Cooper stepped in front of her. “Maybe you should stay in there until Draven returns.”
Kelly looked up at her brother. “The bar isn’t going to run itself. Now, kindly move. I have work to do. I’m not waiting around for anyone. Draven can come find me.”
Cooper grinned. “Good.” He held out her switchblade. “You might need this against some of the she-wolves.”
Kelly took the knife and slipped it into her back pocket. She pushed past Cooper and stomped back to the bar.
A huge look of relief crossed Molly’s face when she saw Kelly and Cooper. “I’m so glad you’re back. I don’t mind waiting tables, but this sucks.” She gestured to the whole bar. “I have no clue what I’m doing.”
“Sorry about that, but we’re both back.” Kelly jerked her head toward Cooper who was behind her.
“Good. Some of the natives are restless without the mixed drinks among other things.” Shielding her hand with her body, Molly pointed toward the woman glaring at Kelly from the corner of the bar.
“Go take a break. You deserve it.” Kelly smiled.
Molly nodded. “I’m going to see if Liam will make me a burger.” She quickly retreated to the kitchen.
“Why are you
wearing the alpha’s jacket?”
Kelly looked over at Marla Perrow. “Not even a hello?” She rolled her eyes. And the problems with the she-wolves began. “Or are we just going to pick up where we left off eight years ago?” From the time she and her mom came to live in Starr, until she left eight years ago, Marla had everything she could to make Kelly’s life miserable just because she was a human.
Marla’s eyes turned black with green halos. “Why are you wearing the alpha’s jacket?”
“So you want to play this game.” Kelly sighed. Between Marla’s eyes and the snarl in her voice, there was no mistaking that she was pissed. “How can I explain this so that you’ll understand. He gave it to me so I could stay warm while I was outside.”
Marla held out her hand. “Give it to me so I can give it back to him.”
Kelly shook her head. “Since Draven gave it to me, I’m the one who will be giving it back to him. I really want to thank him personally for caring for me.” She smiled.
“How dare you speak his name. Draven belongs to me, and that means you are to stay away from him. Your nothing but a human. No alpha wants a lowly human for a mate. Do you think it will elevate your status?” Marla laughed. “The only status you will ever have in this pack is that of a toy for the males in this pack to use in any way they want.” Marla’s voice echoed through the suddenly quiet bar.
The muscles in Kelly’s jaws tightened. She turned and walked away from Marla.
“Typical human. All you can do is run away,” sneered Marla.
Kelly slid the jacket off and handed it to Cooper. “Hold this. I don’t want to get any blood on it.” Without another word she walked around the bar.
“The shit is fixing to hit the fan,” muttered Cooper.
Shifters and humans all cleared a path for Kelly.
She stopped about five feet from Marla. “Why would I run from you? The last time you got into my face, I knocked you onto your ass. Or have you forgotten?”
Marla’s face turned red. “You were only able to do that because your step-brothers were there.”
Alpha Wolf Page 3