by AJ Merlin
I muted the tv, not needing to see any more of it.
“I hate alphas like them,” I muttered, staring at the men being loaded into the SUVs.
“Most of us hate alphas like them,” Noah agreed. “Hey-isn’t that place pretty close to Uptown Grounds?”
I didn’t respond immediately. He knew a lot of what I’d gone through, but at the same time, he didn’t know everything.
He had no way of knowing that the men being arrested did things like this all the time.
“Yeah, I think,” I responded absently, glancing at the television again before picking up my blanket and heading towards my room.
“You okay?” Noah called, and got to his feet as well. “Are you angry? Listen-I didn’t mean-“
“I’m not angry,” I said, turning to smile at him over my shoulder as my heart thumped uncomfortably in my chest. “It’s like two am, Noah. I’m going to bed.”
Not that I had to work tomorrow, like he did. No, I had no plans for the day, past maybe getting some ice cream and sleeping in.
But a thought had occurred to me, and now the idea wouldn’t leave my mind.
What had happened at Uptown Grounds after I’d left? Had Larry the Shitty Manager hired someone new?
Hopefully, he hadn’t found another omega, desperate and stupid like I had been, to put behind the counter as alpha-bait for anyone walking down the street.
Surely there weren’t enough girls like me for another to stumble in there this soon, right?
Curling up in bed with my phone and my maned wolf stuffed animal, I sighed and stared at the darkened ceiling.
Maybe I’d walk by tomorrow, just to see.
But no way in hell would I step foot in that place again.
As soon as my feet touched the sidewalk of the bus stop just outside my old place of employment, I knew for a fact I’d be going in.
Two of the alphas from last night’s news were in the shop, one of them leaning so far across the counter that he could’ve climbed on over without much effort.
Why in the world were they here? Shouldn’t they have some kind of restraining order or something?
Then again, they were alphas. The laws always favored them, no matter how shitty of people they were.
A girl stood on the other side, blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail and a flustered expression on her face as her eyes went between them.
Not again, Alek, my better sense chastised. Didn’t you just get out of jail?
To be fair, I hadn’t really been under arrest, I rationalized with myself.
My clammy hands made gripping the door uncomfortable, and I scrubbed them against my leggings once I was inside the air conditioned coffee shop.
Why did I come here, when I knew it was just asking for trouble?
One look at the girl’s face reminded me of the reason, and I let out a long-suffering sigh.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered, and strode straight up to the counter to stand behind the two thirty-something year old men.
“Could you please just tell me your drink?” The blonde asked, her hand gripping the edge of the counter tightly. Her brown eyes were bright, though I figured it was from fear rather than anger.
“What do you recommend?” The leaner asked, stretching onto his tiptoes and forcing her to back up a step.
“Fucking water,” I said dryly, my voice loud enough to carry easily over the counter. “You two seem really thirsty for so early in the morning. Is it a condition? Did they not hydrate you properly in jail?”
The two men turned, their eyes flashing with recognition when they saw me.
The girl gave me a look of appreciation and mouthed, ‘thank you,’ across the counter, her shoulders finally relaxing.
“Oh hey,” the red head slapped his friend’s arm. “Look at that. Alek’s finally back.”
“Only because I crave the taste of burned coffee and cream almost past its expiration date,” I replied with a sweet smile. “But your faces have probably made even that go bad.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I watched their hackles rise, their muscles tensing as the two men looked at each other again.
“You see Jack around lately?” One of the men asked unexpectedly, eyeing me up and down.
“Not since I quit. A real shame,” I snapped. “So are you two done here, or what? I’d like to order sometime this year.”
The redhead approached me, but I stood my ground.
He wasn’t as intimidating as his buddy, but the alpha-growl that reverberated low in his chest set off my natural instincts enough that I had to grit my teeth and force myself not to let out a placating whine of my own.
Fuck being an omega and being biologically inclined to please an alpha.
Especially alphas as shitty as these two.
“You done?” I asked again, voice still mild. I wasn’t going to throw him across a table in here. Probably. But I also wasn’t going to back down.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” The alpha murmured. “It’s one against two, Alek. Odds aren’t in your favor here.”
“Actually, the odds are very much not in your favor, lads,” a voice behind me called as the door of the coffee shop opened.
I didn’t need to turn to know that Wilder was striding across the small shop, and an unexpected smile rose to my face.
An arm draped over one shoulder, and Wilder leaned his chin on the other as he stared at the two men with his unnervingly yellow eyes.
The closest alpha drew back slightly.
“While I am very sure that Alek could kill the both of you where you stand with very very little effort and have enough energy left to run a marathon, I’m going to ask you to move,” the dire wolf shifter announced.
“Oh yeah?” The redhead’s eyes bled bright green and he snarled at Wilder. “Why’s that?”
At the loud voices, Larry had wandered out of his office, and now stood behind the pastry display, wavering between saying something or shrinking back into his den of safety.
As if he’d been waiting for the question, Wilder’s grin widened. “Because I’m the dire wolf, boy. And I can assure you that when she kills you, I’ll make sure the enforcers know you deserved every injury she doles out.”
“Is that…” the other alpha looked between us, the nervous one among them. “Is that why you’re acting so important then, Alek?” he asked. “You found a big wolf shifter to jump into bed with who goes around saying he’s the dire wolf?”
“Do you want to kill them?” I asked mildly, turning to look at Wilder directly. “I won’t mind. I know it hurts your feelings when someone calls you a big ol’ wolf.”
His eyes flickered with amusement and my alpha straightened. “Oh I suppose I could make the time-“
“Wait!” Larry threw his hands up, though didn’t move out from behind the safety of the counter. Near him, the blonde girl flinched. “No one’s killing anyone. Now, I don’t know who you think you are, sir-“
“Did you not hear me correctly?” Wilder interrupted. “I believe I’ve already told you all who I am.”
Silence rang in the coffee shop. None of them wanted to believe he was the dire wolf, but neither did they want to call his bluff.
Which, of course, wasn’t a bluff at all.
“E-either way,” Larry went on. I’d never seen him look so uncomfortable in his life.
I found I liked the show very, very much.
“This is my business. They’re loyal customers of mine, and I won’t let a disgruntled ex-employee-“
“Disgruntled?” I interrupted dryly. “I’m disgruntled?”
“You worked here?” Wilder looked around Uptown Grounds with a sneer. “We must work on your standards, love.”
“I was desperate.”
“Obviously.”
“It’s my right as a manager to kick you both out!” Larry raised his voice again, the sound becoming close to a shriek. “I don’t need your business, and you’re both banned from the property
.”
“I guess we don’t meet the criteria, do we?” Wilder hummed. “Seems a strange standard to set, though. ‘Must be this pathetic of an alpha and present your criminal record at the door?’ Is that how we get into your exclusive coffee shop club?”
Larry shook with fury and I had to fight back a grin. “It’s fine,” I acquiesced, raising my hands in surrender. “But…” My eyes found the blonde girl’s across the counter. “Whatever your situation, this place isn’t worth it,” I promised her. “Nothing is worse than letting men like them treat you like this.”
I should know, shouldn’t I?
The girl glanced at Larry, then back at me wordlessly. Before I could speak again, however, Wilder tugged on my arm and leaned close to my ear.
“Let’s go, Alek,” he breathed softly. “There’s nothing else you can say.”
Begrudgingly, I let him lead me out of the coffee shop and to a small park nearby. All the while I shot furtive glances backward, wondering if the two alphas would follow us.
They didn’t.
Finally Wilder sat down on a bench, but when I continued to stand he sighed and pulled me down as well.
Right onto his lap.
I yelped in surprise, all of my attention transferring from where we’d come from to the dire wolf alpha in front of me.
“They won’t challenge us,” he promised, a low purr building in his chest.
“That’s cheating,” I told him, though already I was leaning closer so I could wrap one arm over his shoulder and rearrange my legs over his. “What are you doing here, anyway? Are you stalking me?” The idea of him following me around didn’t put me at ease, and my skin prickled.
“Maybe,” Wilder said, shrugging one shoulder.
I pulled away, gaze searching his face. “I don’t need a stalker. Or a baby-sitter,” I told him softly. “I won’t like it if you think you need to follow me around just so you can help or protect me.”
Wilder was silent for a moment, though held my gaze steadily. “I followed you a little,” he admitted. “I wasn’t that far and…well it seems I can scent you a bloody good distance away, love. I followed the scent and here you were. Ready to kill a man or two.”
My scent was really that strong to him?
Would I be able to do the same to Wilder? Or even the others?
“Is this your way of telling me I stink?” I asked finally, letting my tone lighten. I trusted that he wasn’t lying to me-he had no reason to, after all-and so long as he understood my feelings on the matter, I’d have to trust he wouldn’t be following me around town.
“No. If you did, I’d tell you much more directly than that.” His eyes glittered with amusement, and with a snort I started to run my fingers through his dark blonde hair.
“Thanks,” I said after a moment, curling closer to him. “You didn’t have to-“
“I am very aware of what I do and do not have to do, love,” Wilder informed me. “You don’t have to point it out.”
“I’m not afraid of them, you know.”
“I am very aware.”
“And I deal with shit like that a lot.”
“You wouldn’t if we marked you.”
His words seemed to echo in the air around us, and I wasn’t sure what to say.
“I’m just pointing out a fact,” Wilder chuckled, when it became obvious that I was busying myself with his hair and not going to reply. “I’m not saying you need to.”
“Do you want to? Even though you’ve only known me for a few days?” Noah’s words about moving too fast sounded in my brain faster than I could think to push them away.
Wilder was quiet. He leaned his head into my hand, and I found I was comfortable like this, with one of his arms around my waist and the other laid over my knees.
Soon enough, footsteps caught my attention, causing me to look over my shoulder towards the coffee shop again.
The girl from the counter walked through the little park, her hands shoved in the pockets of her threadbare jacket as she trudged towards us.
Finally she stopped, hovering a few feet away with her frightened gaze fixed squarely on my dire wolf.
“Are you really the dire wolf?” she asked, the words coming out in a rush.
Wilder’s smile was brief. “Yes,” he answered easily.
“Are the stories about you true?” The omega lifted her head, meeting his eyes boldly before looking away a second later in fear.
“Yes,” my alpha told her. “Very much so, in fact.”
Now the girl looked at me, and I was glad to see she had much less trouble meeting my eyes. “Aren’t you afraid of him?”
“No,” I told her. “I’d be much more afraid of those two at the counter.”
“Larry told me about you,” the girl admitted. “But he said…well he made it sound like you just didn’t get what you want, so you quit.”
“Do you believe him?” Wilder inquired before I could say something unkind about my former manager.
“I thought I did, but…” She let out a huff and stalked over to cautiously sit on the bench beside us, prompting me to move my legs to give her more room.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” the girl said, her hands balling into fists on her knees. “He said the customers were nice, but I don’t like that kind of nice. Sometimes they try to walk me out and they don’t keep their hands to themselves. I hate when they growl and tell me that I should like it, and when Larry makes me stay late to wait on them.”
Her hands shook and I bit my lip, reevaluating my choice of not murdering the two alphas in the shop.
“It’s not worth it,” I told her. “No matter what-“
“My dad is sick,” she interrupted in a whisper. “I need to help out as much as I can. Otherwise…” she shrugged. “I just need the job.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that. Hadn’t I been in the same boat? I’d needed the money. I’d been desperate for a job, and Larry had preyed on that need.
But I certainly couldn’t help her. I could tell her to quit, sure, but then what would she do?
“I could get you a job,” Wilder announced unexpectedly, prompting both of us to look at him in surprise.
“You can?” I asked, and the girl closed her mouth as if she’d been about to say the same thing.
“But it’s in the Old Heights,” Wilder pointed out. “If you’re too afraid-“
“Anything is better than this,” the girl said quickly. “I…think. Is it better than this?” She looked at me, not him, when she spoke.
“Yes,” I answered, not needing Wilder to confirm. “I’m sure it is. Wilder’s a good guy, and if he says he can get you a better job, then he can.” I looked at Wilder, gaze narrowed, as if to ask, right?
“Do you have your phone on you?” he asked the girl, who nodded. At his urging, she put his contact information in her phone, and read it back to him to make sure she had it correct. “If you call me, I’ll set you up with something,” he went on, as the girl stood up again and shoved her hands back into her pockets.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, looking away from us submissively. “Both of you. I’m Luna, by the way.”
“I’m Alek,” I replied.
“Wilder,” my alpha introduced.
“I have to get back, or Larry will get mad. But…I’ll call you?” She gave Wilder a questioning look once more, and at his nod of agreement turned and nearly bolted out of the park.
“That was really nice of you,” I marveled, curling my legs over his lap again.
“You make it sound like it’s unexpected, love.” His arm curled more tightly around my waist and the dire wolf shifter pulled me close, head tilting upward.
“Well you are the big scary fluff-wolf,” I reminded him, brushing our lips together.
He growled teasingly, the sound lost between our mouths. “And you have a very keen aptitude for picking fights.”
“I would’ve finished it.”
“And I would’ve made
sure you didn’t get arrested.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
I frowned into my mirror, as if the glass would yield some kind of answer about my outfit.
Unsure what I was supposed to wear for the first meeting of all three of my potential mates-slash-boyfriends, it was a marvel I’d gotten out of bed at all.
For most of the week, everything had been fine. None of them had a problem with this….date? So why should I?
And why in the world was I replaying possible bad outcomes in my head?
Adjusting the hem of my cropped sweater over the waistband of my black jeans, I sighed at my reflection again.
“Don’t stress so much?” I asked the mirror, a frown twisting my lips downward as I ran my fingers through my hair.
Should I put it up?
Should I keep it down?
Did it fucking matter?
No. It didn’t. Especially since I was already going to be late.
Roman had offered to pick me up, saying that my apartment was on the way to the Heights, but I’d opted to take the bus, out of some sense of misplaced dignity that I was now sorely regretting.
Briefly, I wondered if Hades would have come to get me, if I’d asked.
Or maybe, this really was too much like slumming it for him.
The thought made me sigh, but I pushed it out of my head and grabbed my jacket and keys from the table, my phone already in my pocket. I hadn’t even given him much of a chance. I’d never invited him over, and he was always very careful about not pushing me into something I didn’t want to do or wasn’t ready for.
Including, apparently, me inviting him over.
The bus was crowded, of course, and I slipped my earbuds in the moment I sat down next to an older lady who smiled kindly at me before going back to her window-staring. Well, at least that was one thing that could’ve gone badly and hadn’t.
With my music playing, the ride was uneventful. Then again, my music was turned up so loud that even if someone had gotten murdered in the seat behind me, I probably wouldn’t have heard it.