“Zeus was smart, of course, and immediately knew what he'd been served. To pay back this cruel king, Zeus cursed Lycaon and his sons to be wolves. If he could go nine years without eating a human as a wolf, he and his children could be entirely human again,” she continued. Her voice came out in a comfortable rhythm that was soothing and practiced, like she’d told this story before. “He was starving, though, and attacked someone. And so his sons began the main line,” her mother explained.
“The main line?”
“Mhm, those from that line are automatic leaders, marked by the gods as the oldest line by a star on their back,” her mother explained. “There are dozens of other lines, though. Everywhere from South America to China has their own version of these,” she explained.
“Momma, there's no way there are that many werewolves,” Sierra smiled, almost wanting to roll her eyes. She felt like she was being told a creepy camping story. She didn't want to believe it.
“You say that after what you said you saw today?” her mother asked. Her eyes were steady and serious. “They're just people, Sierra – shifters. they aren't monsters,” her mother said.
“You just said they killed Dad,” Sierra argued.
“It was his own fault. He was trying to trap wolves for their hides. I had no idea he was poaching,” her mother said. “He didn't know they were people,” she added.
“Oh, god,” Sierra replied, disturbed.
“Mhm,” her mother agreed. They both paused in the silence, watching a commercial on mute as they considered the conversation.
“How do you know all of this?” Sierra thought to ask. Her mother smiled. It was a young and bold smile, like a secret being kept behind her pursed lips.
“I dated around when I was younger, almost married one of them,” her mother admitted. “The pack here, though, isn't so keen on dating outside of shifters, so his parents told him if he kept dating me they'd disown him. I broke up with him so he didn't have to make the decision,” her mother explained.
“That's so sad.” Sierra couldn't believe prejudice like that could exist when they already sounded like they were so few. How were they supposed to be trusted by humans if they kept their lives secret?
“Not too bad. A year and a half later, I caught your father, and I got to give birth to you,” her mother added, kissing her forehead. “I don't regret it,” her mother said, turning on the lamp. They turned off the television and started toward her mother's bedroom.
“Momma, do how many shifters are out there? He's not even from town,” Sierra said thoughtfully. Every aspect of the man had screamed that he lived his life on the road.
“Millions of them,” her mother shrugged.
It sent chills down Sierra's back.
Chapter Nine
She didn't want to go into work the next day.
It felt like her life was becoming a mess of things she didn't want to do, even though she knew that she needed to. Finding work was hard enough in West Valley; she didn't need to complicate it by purposefully getting herself fired.
The Casino, even though it had never changed, felt extremely different from usual.
Something in the air was different, and she wasn't sure if it was because she now knew, or if it was strange otherwise. Her uniform felt more revealing than ever, and she tried to ignore this as she went about her work. She filled the regular's orders, ignored the advances of a couple newcomers, caught up with the other waitresses. This was normal stuff for her, and it still felt so weird and new. Like a filter she'd been watching the world through had been removed.
So many of them didn’t know, and she did. This eating and devouring knowledge that had stolen sleep from her the night before. It was a heavy burden, and she felt every ounce of it as she talked to people she was sure didn’t know.
How would they react?
Would they be selfish like her?
Over a million shifters in the world, and people didn’t know about it…it was more than just disturbing. Another thought triggered chills to erupt all over her skin.
Sierra couldn't help but wonder how many of her regulars were shifters.
Was the man she was giving his second order of fries to a wolf? Was there a chance that the woman on her third Bloody Mary might accidentally turn into a wolf in anger if she lost this hand? What about the dealers? The other waitresses? Her managers?
Her mother's voice saying 'about ten percent' kept looping in her mind.
One out of every ten people was a lot more than it sounded.
The population of West Valley was around 2,000 people. Did that mean there were 200 werewolves just hanging out among the rest of the people? How many people knew besides the shifters and didn't say anything about it? The numbers started boggling her, and she felt a deep regret for smoking again. If she didn't smoke, she wouldn't have stumbled upon this random, seedy underworld that kept getting stranger with every turn.
Sierra refilled another customer's beer, and as she headed back to the bar, she saw the stranger walk in.
The wolfman.
He noticed her the moment she noticed him.
Sierra ducked her head down and tried to keep her eyes off him. She started cleaning off plates and glasses and loading them into the tray that the proper dishwasher would take care of later. The man was sitting at the bar, and she tried to ignore him, but she knew if she did it for too long someone would notice. She wasn't going to let this stranger get her fired.
“What can I get you?” she asked, trying to keep her voice in a normal work tone.
She didn't want to let on anything – not what she knew, not what she saw, not a damn thing.
“A coke, please,” he said, leaning forward on the bar. His arms were thick, strong looking, and the thin sweater he was wearing was no match for them.
“Coming right up,” Sierra replied, not letting her gaze linger, even though she felt the pull. Why did he have to be attractive?
“How long have you lived in the area?” he asked. Sierra didn't want to answer him, but she knew she needed to. As scared as she was, she couldn't find any desire to actually hurt or be rude to the man.
“My whole life,” she finally replied as she set down his drink in front of him.
“Thank you. I'm Anthony, by the way,” he answered. He smiled slightly as he made eye contact with her. Sierra had to look away and busy herself with the dishes again. Anthony felt like a bizarrely normal name for a werewolf to have. “Do you have a break coming up? Can we talk outside where it's quieter?” he asked, looking around.
Sierra knew better than to go somewhere without anyone to help her if things went south.
She'd had enough awful customers to know how to protect herself.
If any other random man asked, she would have said hell no.
Still. There was something about this man that called to her, as much as her brain told her to run. “Yeah, I go on break in five minutes,” she answered.
She wasn't sure what she wanted from him. Information? Attention? He was good looking, interesting; those were true. He also had a terrible habit of being able to change into a wolf, and that put a damper on things. Sierra almost laughed at the thought, but instead tried her hardest to keep her expression flat.
When the time came, she followed him outside.
The evening was cool and comfortable.
They seemed to have a habit of always finding each other right when the sun was setting.
Sierra leaned against a wall near the entrance where she knew a camera was pointing. She didn't believe he'd hurt her – she wasn't sure why – but all the same, if he shifted she wanted it caught on camera. She wanted proof that her mind wasn't just melting away like her mother's.
She needed proof.
“Thank you for coming out here,” he started. He looked uncomfortable with it all, like he was dying to get away from the situation.
She took the chance to really enjoy his face.
<
br /> He was extremely good looking, despite the circumstances, and she couldn't help but think about what a shame it was that he had to be mixed up in any of this. His nose was straight, but strong. He had cheekbones that could cut diamonds, and a jawline that looked more than kissable.
Not that she wanted to kiss him, she had to remind herself.
“Look,” he finally started, sighing, “what you saw…I'm sorry that you had to see that. Please – please – don't go telling anyone, though. The town would fall apart if anyone knew that-”
“That shifters exist?” she cut him off. His eyes got big when she said ‘shifters,’ and it made her want to say it again, want to draw that reaction out of him more. “You don't have to worry. I won't tell anyone, but it isn't exactly a secret around here,” she frowned. She wasn't sure why she wanted to make him squirm about it, but she couldn't let him off so easily.
“Do many people know?” he asked, looking back at the Casino's entrance like he was rethinking the whole town.
“The important ones do,” she lied.
If she dropped it now he'd stop talking to her. She was sure of it.
She wanted him to keep talking to her.
To keep his eyes on her.
Her feelings toward him were a jumbled mess of primal fear and undeniable attraction, and she wasn't sure what to do with that, but she wanted to see what could play out between them if she let it.
She was far away from the memories of getting sick the night before.
“Why did you run, then?” he asked, relaxing.
“Because you're a stranger to me. I didn't know what to expect of you,” she explained. It was only partially a lie.
“Well, maybe we shouldn't be strangers anymore,” he answered, a coy smile slipped across his lips.
Oh, he was trouble, all right.
Chapter Ten
She was going to be a problem.
He couldn't help but feel that as he watched her go back to work. She was beautiful, smart, quick, and she seemed to know him without even talking to him. He wanted to know her better as well.
Instead of sticking around, though, he went back to his hotel room.
He had a lot to figure out.
Pulling his laptop out of his bag, he let it whir to life while he poured himself a drink from the overpriced minibar. He didn't use his computer often anymore. It used to be a major part of his daily routine, but lately, it had become more of a nuisance. A reminder of a funeral procession on every page he used to visit.
Today was no different.
Logging onto social media, he was greeted by the profile pages of friends who were alive just two months ago. His heart ached at their faces, and it pained him to think that he'd been so easygoing just a few minutes before.
Clicking away, he ended up in his email.
Most was spam, but something caught his eye.
It was an email from a non-shifter friend named Mac, titled “Where are you?” Anthony opened it immediately.
“Hey, Tony, you've been out of town for so long that people are getting worried. I hope you didn't do anything drastic. We can't handle another loss. Ivy has been asking about you. She came back to town. Let me know what's going on, dude,” it said, signed with Mac's first name.
A cold chill went through Anthony's body. He stared at the screen and looked for any kind of answer he could find. He was right when he was worried about being tailed.
Ivy was still looking for him. He was sure she'd made Mac mention her so that Anthony would know it.
She wanted him to expect her.
He knew better than to be surprised that she was seeking him out. Her whole family had always been driven like that. Always been stubborn and headstrong. The little bottle of whiskey didn't taste as great as it should have.
He needed to be careful with his connections.
If Ivy could find him he'd be dead.
Or, really, she'd try to kill him. He couldn't be sure what the outcome would be. She was a shifter woman, and they were unpredictable – clever and quick. Going against one wasn't ideal.
He could understand why she was mad.
Anthony was mad, too, after it happened. He'd been furious and felt broken as he wondered why he wasn't chosen for it and why he got off free. Ivy had been out of town, and she jumped right to blaming him. A lot of shifters seemed to think it was his fault. It made finding a pack who could accept him difficult.
Even in the current days, where Alpha were dropping off like flies, he had trouble getting anyone to think it wasn't him.
He needed to be careful about the connections he made.
If Ivy could find any weakness in him or around him, she'd exploit it to get to him. If she had an in, she'd use it.
Anthony finished the tiny bottle and closed his computer, not bothering to reply to Mac.
He shouldn't have touched his computer.
Shouldn't have bothered trying to find anyone who understood.
He wanted more to drink – anything to clear the situation out of his mind.
The mini bar had a bottle of vodka left, and he cringed at it. Clear alcohols were never his friend. Instead, he stared out the window at the Casino. He could go there, get a drink or two, and then come back to his room. It would ease the pain.
It used to ease the pain so well.
Standing up and straightening out his clothes, he headed back out to the Casino.
It wasn't until he walked in that he realized Sierra was still on shift. He ducked down, feeling like a stalker, and slipped into a table where another waitress was working. He figured if he didn't act like he was seeking her out that he wouldn't creep her out.
He needed to see her.
Something about her was so perfect and filling for his heart. Sierra was like Advil to a headache or a cast to a broken limb. The idea of her set him right, calmed him down, and prepared him for the day. He hardly knew her, but everything about her felt familiar.
When she walked out from behind the bar, talking to another patron, he felt an aching he didn't expect.
He'd never felt this way about anyone.
An appetite that wasn't just lust.
He watched her, and after a couple moments, she looked back at him.
Anthony kept his eyes on her. Didn't duck away embarrassed, didn't act like he wasn't looking. What was the point? He was just going to be there for a week or two if the pack didn’t like him, so why worry about how she felt?
Sierra approached his table, and Anthony was able to get another good look at what her body was like in that uniform. She was gorgeous, her body breathtaking, and something in him was dying to reach out and touch her.
He knew better.
She was a human.
She was a stranger.
Ivy was coming after him, and Sierra was definitely a weakness. He didn't care. He needed any bit of Sierra he could get, even if it was just as her customer at her bar.
Chapter Eleven
To be honest, seeing him in the Casino again wasn't that surprising.
Despite the fact that some part of her wanted to see him again, there wasn't much to do around there unless you made the thirty-minute drive into West Valley. Even then, there wasn't much to do besides go bowling or to a bar. The town was small and didn't offer much.
Sierra tried to convince herself to stay away from him.
He was in another waitress' area. He was just looking for a drink. When he made eye contact with her, though, she could feel something inside her ignite that she'd been fighting down since she first laid eyes on him. He was gorgeous, and his eyes looked lost when he looked at her. She wanted to scoop him into her arms.
She knew that was stupid.
He was a wolf.
A creature.
It didn't matter what fairytales her mother told her. The reality was that he was extremely different from her.
Even if he wasn't a wolf – a shifter –
she'd have to deal with the fact that he seemed to just be going through town. She wanted to get out of town as much as he did, but she wasn't going to just duck out without having plans in place for her mother. She wasn't the type to run away with a stranger.
As she was having this thought, trying to convince herself of anything else, she found herself walking toward him.
Shit.
She pulled out her notepad from her shirt pocket and grabbed the pen from her ponytail.
“Anything I can get you?” she asked. Back to acting like they were strangers. It drove her crazy, but she knew better than to get attached. She didn't need to make any mistakes. He looked her over, like he was considering his options, like he wasn't thinking about food or booze. For a second, she thought he might use a cheesy pickup line.
“Just a beer, please,” he said, looking away from her face.
“Coming right out,” she answered, walking off to the bar and pouring a tall glass from the tap. She gathered herself in her thoughts, trying to talk herself out of any thoughts she'd been having. She needed to approach this in a more intelligent way.
She needed to be safer with her heart.
“Anything else?” she asked, setting down the beer.
“Thank you for not outing me,” he said quietly, accepting the beer.
“I don't want people to think I'm insane,” she admitted, watching him chug down almost half the beer in one go.
“Still, I'm a stranger in town. It's not a great way to make a first impression on anyone,” he shrugged.
“You planning on sticking around?” she tried to keep her voice relaxed, as though she didn't care either way. She did care, though, and what she wanted surprised her as she realized this was.
“I am,” he agreed. “I've been looking for a place to settle down. Thought I'd check out West Valley,” he explained.
Searching for Home (Wolves of West Valley Book 2) Page 4