by Siobhan Muir
The afternoon passed without incident, though she kept getting looks from most of the west of left field patrons. She suspected they’d come to the bar just to see if the gossip had merit. Guilt knocked at her awareness. It had been a close call last night, but she and Jeff hadn’t overstepped their bounds and her scent hadn’t changed. Acting guilty would only encourage the small-minded humans who couldn’t scent the truth for themselves.
I did kiss him pretty thoroughly, but I fell asleep almost before my head hit his chest. She felt a smile curl her lips. Expert in loopholes. Oh yes, I am!
Gary came in to take over bartender duties from Zach and custom picked up around five-thirty. A few humans arrived, but the bar filled with west of left fielders intent on scoping out the alphas. Most of them gave her a narrow eyed once-over, sniffing surreptitiously, but she shrugged it off as small town politics. Her scent protected her.
When she saw Eloise Farkas and Tommy Scatterstone come in, she waved at them and strode over to their table.
Tommy was a dark-haired, dark-eyed young man built like a pro wrestler. He had broad shoulders, a wide barrel chest, and biceps as thick as Julianna’s thighs. Julianna buried her revulsion as his eyes wandered over her physique and his smile curled with lascivious arrogance. His scent sharpened into cloying interest.
“Good evening, Eloise, Mr. Scatterstone.”
“How are you tonight, Mistress Julianna?” Concern filled Eloise’s eyes.
“I’m okay, actually. Thanks for asking.”
“Oh, I am so glad to hear that. I was so worried for you after the party. Did you, uh, well…” Eloise stammered to a halt, before she blurted, “Did you tell Mr. Jeff about my sister?”
At first, Julianna looked at the other woman blankly then the lightbulb went on in her brain, and she smacked her forehead. “No. Crap, I completely forgot! Thanks for reminding me. I’ll talk to him tonight.”
“You were a little busy last night, eh?” Tommy remarked with a knowing leer, and Eloise gasped in dismay, her face blooming scarlet.
Julianna turned her full attention on him as she lost her smile and the leer disappeared into chagrin.
“What do you mean by that, Mr. Scatterstone?”
“Uh, well, everyone is talking about how Mr. Lightfoot spent the night at your place.” Tommy’s gaze dropped away.
“It seems they are.” Julianna turned her attention back to Eloise. “I’ll make sure Mr. Lightfoot knows about your sister tonight.”
“Thank you, Mistress Julianna.”
Julianna nodded at them and started to walk away, wanting to dump a glass of water in Tommy Scatterstone’s lap more than she’d ever wanted to do anything in her life.
“Oh, Mistress Julianna!” Eloise called, and Julianna paused. “I meant to ask if you’d heard the news.”
“News?” She hoped it wasn’t more rumors about her and Jeff.
“Yes, the candidates for Luna have been cut to three.”
“Really? Do you know which three?” Her heart beat a fearful tattoo in her chest. Had their night together disqualified her?
“Mistress Solaris, Mistress Winthrop, and you.”
Relief slithered down her spine. “Wow. Did you hear why the others were dropped?”
“I haven’t heard everything, but I think Mistress Cutter was just too young and inexperienced, and Mistress Wolensky was too withdrawn.”
“Huh. Well, I certainly wish them the best.”
“Yeah, right,” Tommy sneered, and Julianna let a little frown crease her brows.
“To gloat over someone else’s misfortune is small-minded and mean-spirited, Mr. Scatterstone. I never wished the others ill. The only way I can gain this post is through my own merits, not the failings of my fellow Candidates.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Excuse me, I need to get going. Nice to see you again, Eloise, and thank you for the news. I hadn’t heard it. Have a good night.”
She turned and moved swiftly away from their table before she did grab a glass of water and dump it over Tommy Scatterstone. She hoped he learned better manners before his wedding. Shaking her head, she slid behind the bar where Gary produced drinks like an automaton. She smiled at him and loaded the dishwasher with the used glasses from the sink.
Gary inhaled deeply through his nose, but he tried to do it unobtrusively. Julianna shook her head and said nothing. If he wanted the story, he’d have to ask. Gary gave her a quick look and his own smile, but kept his mouth shut.
He must’ve gotten his answer.
Julianna thought of the leering remarks Tommy had made in reference to Jeff’s overnight stay, and she suspected the rest of the town probably thought the same thing. Thinking of Scatterstone reminded her she needed to speak to Jeff about Eloise’s sister.
“Hey, Gary, has Jefferson come in yet?”
“Yeah, I think he’s in the office.”
“Thanks.” She finished loading the dishwasher before she headed to the back.
Julianna knocked on the door before she turned the knob and pushed it open. She came to a hard stop when she realized who stood inside. The noise in the bar had disguised the shouting and screaming going on in the room, but it stopped immediately with her appearance.
Tammy Cutter whirled around to give Julianna a look of surprise that quickly morphed into venomous anger.
“Oh, excuse me,” Julianna said into the charged silence. “I didn’t realize you had a meeting.”
“That’s all right, Ms. Morris,” Jeff said. “What did you need?”
“I’d like to speak to you about an important matter when you have a moment.”
“I’ll find you when I’m done here.”
“Thank you. Again, excuse me.” She backed out of the room and closed the door. “Oh boy, that can’t be good.”
Shaking her head, she heard the screaming take on a new volume behind the door and deduced Tammy had taken issue with being dropped as a likely candidate for Luna. Of course, her screaming only confirmed she wasn’t ready for the position. Julianna quickly retreated into the taproom, nodding to Zach and a few of the waitresses as she entered.
Julianna helped Gary behind the bar when the orders began piling up. She cleaned blenders, switched used dishes into the dishwasher, and made sure full bottles had been stocked behind the bar. Kyle improved their efficiency by hauling more from the back. Julianna kept her attention focused on helping Gary and the waitresses as business increased, subbing for bathroom breaks and breathers. She completely forgot about Ms. Cutter and Jeff and the reason she needed to speak to him.
“Hey, Ms. Morris, this order is supposed to go to one of the pool tables and I gotta pee really bad,” a waitress named Lucy announced as she bounced in place a little.
“Sure, I’ll take it. Which table?”
“Fourteen, all the way in the back,” Lucy said, sidling toward the bathroom.
“All right.”
Julianna grabbed the tray of drinks and threaded her way toward the pool tables. Heads turned, and she could almost read their thoughts. Cheat, hussy, gold-digger. She sighed and resisted the urge to grimace. The exercise in stoicism wore her out.
Is this what Jeff has to do all the time? Jeez!
As she approached Pool Table 14, a frisson of unease slid down her back and a sense of wrongness intruded on her thoughts. She carried the tray of drinks to the little table beside the pool table and unloaded them, but she kept a wary eye on the players.
“There you go, gentlemen. Enjoy.”
Julianna turned away to go back to the bar, but someone stepped into her way. Tall and broad, the man wore an old LA Raiders ball cap turned backward and dark sunglasses. A black tank top exposed his sleeve tattoos and ripped jeans encased his legs. A black leather cord hung around his neck with a pewter skull and crossbones pendant, and a single silver hoop pierced his right ear.
She wouldn’t have recognized him from his looks, but the scents of apricots and male maliciousness washed over her, and her anger kindled.
“Let me pass, sir.” Her heart rate kicked up.
“Now, don’t be so quick to leave, sugar,” he drawled in a bad Texas accent. “We’d all like a pretty lady to stay and help us play.”
“Very kind of you, sir, but I really have to get back to work.” Julianna tried to move around him, but his arm shot out and grabbed hers, halting her.
“Oh, come on, sugar, stay awhile.”
“No, I can’t. Let go of me.”
“But we haven’t finished with you.” Her eyes snapped up to his face as he pressed something cold and hard against her side. “Now, now, don’t you scream. You don’t want to cause any trouble.”
Anger thundered through her veins as she considered who’d set this up. Had Lucy been in on it? She’d asked specifically for Julianna to take this order to the table in the back where none of the bouncers could see her. Why are these guys so determined to mess with me?
Julianna focused on relaxing her body, but everything remained taut. She desperately wanted to throw Baldy Tattoo into his buddies while she pummeled the shit out of him, but she didn’t think an average human could avoid the knife, even with martial arts training. Fear trickled into her awareness as her Sister growled with the realization that she’d have to let someone rescue her. She faced her hardest test and could only hope Gary noticed she hadn’t come back before these three humans did anything really stupid.
* * * *
Jeff ran a hand over his face and tightened his ponytail with a grimace. Damn, Tammy had been a little bitch about being dropped as a candidate. Ironically, her screaming fit in his office this afternoon only underscored her unsuitability for Luna. She had a lot of growing up to do, most of which he’d prefer to miss. With a vocabulary full of “likes” and “totallys” and four letter expletives that didn’t accurately describe how she felt, she reminded him of a bad ’80s movie. The idea of mating with her made his stomach curdle. She was too much like another little sister he had to tolerate until she needed a swift kick in the ass.
He’d done just that, albeit verbally, and reminded her of her place within the pack. She’d snapped her mouth closed and bowed her head as the full power and chill voice of the Alpha fell on her. He’d called her parents to let them know they needed to discipline their immature daughter. She’d been mortified and apologized profusely, bringing the whole episode to a much welcome end.
It’d been a long day with everyone eyeing him with either lecherous approval or scandalized disdain for having spent the night with Julianna, but he’d kept his typically half-amused face on, refusing to show any guilt. He thanked Julianna for that. She’d kept them from doing anything disastrous. Her interruption of Tammy’s tirade had been a bright spot in an otherwise frustrating shift, and he intended to find out why she needed to talk to him. He surveyed the taproom, but he didn’t see her.
“Hey, Jefferson, did Ms. Morris find you?” Gary asked when he appeared.
“Yes, but I was in a meeting. Have you seen her?”
“Yeah, she took an order to Pool Table 14.”
“She’s taking orders now?”
“She does it when one of the waitresses needs a break. Lucy had to pee, apparently.”
Unease raised the hackles on Jeff’s neck. “There’s Lucy. How long ago did Ms. Morris take the order?”
Gary frowned and shook his head. “I dunno. We’ve been hammered.”
“That’s okay. I’ll go find her.”
Gary nodded, but his frown remained.
“Zach,” Jeff called on the little walkie-talkie he carried when in the bar.
“Yeah, boss?”
“Send Leo, Thomas, and Woody to the pool tables. We may have a situation brewing at Table Fourteen.”
“Done, boss.”
Jeff ignored the looks he received as he strode toward the pool tables. Everything seemed serene enough, but a small knot of tense people clustered around one of the tables, and the scents of anger and fear wafted over the crowd. Too many people blocked his view to see what was going on, but Jeff’s unease intensified as he spied Leo and Woody slipping through the shadows along the side of the pool hall. Thomas wound his way through the tables to Jeff’s right as he closed in on the crowd.
Unease shifted into full-blown fury when he stopped at the back of the small mob. A large man in an old Raiders ball cap and black tank top held Julianna pressed against him, but she didn’t look happy to be there. Jeff’s canines elongated at the sight of another male touching his Mate. He didn’t understand why she didn’t pull away until he caught a flash of silver pressed to her side and scented her frustration and fear.
He took a deep breath through his nose and more scents flooded his awareness—the big man’s malice, the excitement of the crowd around them, and a curious scent of apricots. He ignored them all as he watched two other men position themselves behind and around Julianna, hampering her escape even if she tried to bolt.
The guy in the ball cap told Julianna they had some unfinished business to discuss. Not if I have anything to say about it, asshole. Jeff’s rage swelled and he tried to shake the tension out of his shoulders. One look at Ball Cap’s swollen nose and blackened eyes sent pride shooting through him. So these bastards got a taste of Julianna last night when she kicked their asses.
Jeff caught Woody’s and Leo’s eyes and nodded toward Ballcap’s cronies while he and Thomas moved in on the human holding Julianna. The two bouncers dipped their heads in acknowledgement and melted into the shadows behind the other thugs. Jeff steadied his breathing and stepped out into the circle of light shed by the lamp over the pool table, burying his fury behind his bland expression.
“What’s going on here?” The scent of apricots assaulted his nose.
Julianna’s body relaxed, and she shot Jeff a look of relief so profound his fury crystallized to a diamond-hard ball within his chest. This close to the full moon, it would be difficult to keep himself from killing the bastard touching her.
Ballcap glanced over and snorted a little at Jeff’s shorter stature. Jeff widened his smile to show his canines.
“Nothing you need to worry about, Shorty,” Ballcap sneered, shaking Julianna a little. “This little bitch and I have some business to discuss. So you can just fuck off.”
The crowd around Ballcap drew back a little, the scent of their unease spilling into the space. Jeff only smiled pleasantly as his anger ramped up. Ballcap’s eyes darted around with the withdrawal and quickly searched for his compatriots, but they’d disappeared. Even Jeff had missed his bouncers’ silent removal of them. Ballcap lost a little of his bravado, and fear seeped into his scent.
“I’m sorry, I don’t follow orders very well.” Thomas eased up behind the human. “And since this is my bar, I don’t think I’ll be fucking off as you suggested. So here’s the deal. You let go of my employee and I’ll let you walk out of here on your own two feet.”
Ballcap twitched with that little announcement, but his expression remained hard and arrogant.
“But I got business—”
“No, your business is done.”
He’s touching your Mate! Kill, kill, kill! Jeff’s Brother snarled beneath his calm façade.
Be patient. We might have the opportunity.
“Let the girl go and get out.”
“You want her? Come and take her!” Ballcap shouted, pushing Julianna hard with his knife hand. She gasped and fell, and then all hell broke loose.
Thomas grabbed Ballcap from behind while Jeff launched himself at Julianna with a snarl. Ballcap let out a choked exclamation and dropped the red-bladed knife onto the floor. Jeff heard it fall, but lost track of it as he caught Julianna while Ballcap tried to fight the constriction around his throat. Thomas just keep squeezing until the man slumped unconscious in his arms.
“Julianna!” Jeff didn’t know how to hold her without hurting her.
“Oh, God, Jeff. It really hurts.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
She moaned a
s he lifted her, and his heart constricted in fear. He couldn’t lose her. Not when she’d finally come home to him. The scent of her blood and fear sickened him, but he clenched his teeth and prayed for control.
He pivoted on the balls of his feet and carried her through the bar to the office.
“Hold on, Julianna! It’ll be okay,” he grunted, ignoring the wide-eyed stares as he slammed his office door open. Jeff laid Julianna on the couch, rolling her so he could look at her injury.
Zach appeared in the open door. “The cops have been called, and the assholes are detained. The big guy is still out.”
“Good. I can’t get anywhere near them or I’ll kill them. Get Gary in here! He was a WWII medic. She’s been stabbed.”
“Shit!” Zach disappeared from the doorway.
Gary appeared before Zach had gone more than two steps. Jeff’s First followed him back in, closing the door behind them.
“What happened?” Gary asked in a cool, professional voice.
“She got stabbed in the side with some sort of short-bladed knife,” Jeff reported.
“Okay, let’s see what the damage is.”
Gary spoke conversationally, but every muscle in his face hardened. He peeled back Julianna’s shirt to expose the wound in her side, and Jeff tightened his hands into fists. Blood oozed out of a two-inch puncture as she breathed, staining her clothes in an increasing arc.
I’m gonna kill him! His Brother form howled with fury. He touched my Mate!
“Get me some scissors,” Gary ordered, and Zach jumped to obey, rank forgotten.
They cut away her shirt, and Gary probed the wound gently with his fingers. Julianna moaned in pain again, and Jeff clenched his jaws to keep from biting something, but Gary’s expression relaxed a little.
“It’s a shallow puncture and clean. She won’t have any trouble healing.” He sighed. “But you’ll have to get her to change. The damage will only be minor if she changes soon.”