{MIRA}
The tap had run dry.
As the liquid started to spurt and grow foamy, I put the glass down and smiled apologetically at the wolf waiting on the other side of the bar. "Sorry, it’s going to be a few more minutes for that beer. I need to change the tap."
"No worries." The woman flashed an easy smile. "It’ll give a few more minutes to look over the nus. I’m loving all these new choices. Is that your doing?"
I gave her a quick nod. "Just let know if you have any questions. I’ll be right back."
"I’ll do it, Mira," Josh volunteered as he sat down the crate of clean glasses he’d just brought up from the back. "I know you’re busy."
"Great. Thanks, Josh. I appreciate it."
"Anything for you."
Hiding behind what I hoped was a friendly smile, I turned to address the newest custor who’d walked up. "Welco to Hair of the Dog. What can I get you?"
Hair of the Dog. Not the most original na for a bar in the middle of werewolf territory, but it was well-run. Irving had installed as the newest bartender on day three of my visit.
That was five weeks ago.
Five weeks of not being able to feel anything through the mating bond. Five weeks of having no idea what was happening to the Amber Wound pack. Were they safe? Had Irving truly let them go, as he promised? Had the spell not even been real?
There was no point in asking Irving . I couldn’t trust anything that ca out of his mouth, and the past few weeks had been so surreal that I still couldn’t find my footing. Irving hadn’t tried anything. I lived in his house, but I had my own suite. He’d told that I could change anything I wanted about the suite. All I had to do was ask.
And, since he knew how much I loved The Iron Root , he wanted to give Hair of the Dog. Not yet. Not until I was ready, but the manager, Louis, was always asking my opinions and trying to train in the office.
Everyone was kind. Respectful. Hardly the experience I had at The Iron Root .
"What do you think I should have?"
Power washed over , and I tried not to react as my wolf scrambled deeper inside of .
Elonso. Irving ’s second-in-command. I’d only t him once before, when I arrived, but it was clear from the fury on his face that he did not think I belonged here.
I put him firmly in the enemy category.
"I don’t know much about you. Are you a beer drinker or more into hard spirits? Wine?
Maybe sothing a little light and fruity?" I teased.
The hard look in his eyes didn’t change. "Beer. Dark beer."
"Well, Blood Moon Pass only has one dark beer, so I guess you’ll be drinking the Howler."
One thing about Irving ’s bar is that he only allowed his own beer to be served, and their beer was just diocre.
"Fine. And a hamburger."
"We’ve got a few choices for hamburgers. Feeling like anything special?" "No. Hamburger. Plain. Double fries."
My smile never wavered. "A classic. I love it. Coming right up."
I served him his beer and tested the new tap. After letting it run, I filled up a glass and handed it back to the woman. "Did you make up your mind?"
"The steak salad looks too good to pass up. Rare, please. Extra dressing, and a side of onion rings."
After ringing up her order, I glanced at the clock. Nearly four o’clock. My shift would be over soon. Lunch shifts only. This ti of the day should be dead, but my bar was always full. I started cutting lemons and lis for the dinner shift and did my best to identify everyone in the bar. All were familiar faces. By now, I knew the wolves who apparently were supposed to make their rounds and keep busy.
The wolf in the corner spot was Lionel. One of Irving ’s guards. He had a tablet open in front of him but liked to watch the television. He was easily distracted by sports updates. He ca in every Wednesday. Three stools down from him was Marko. He was one of the staff mbers at Irving ’s house. There was at least one a day which told they were the ones who gave Irving reports about what I did at work.
On the side facing the liquor wall was Elonso. This was his first visit, so he wasn’t on Irving ’s rotation. That made sense. Two seats from him was the female wolf. Maria? Maris?
This was only her second visit, and she paid cash and hadn’t given her na. I’d only heard her use it when she answered the phone.
She wasn’t particularly dominant, and she worked mostly on her computer. From her phone calls, I gathered she was a planner of so sort.
On the other corner was Noah. He was barely old enough to drink and had the kind of face that turned beet red whenever I looked at him. He was a newly minted guard mber.
Half the tables in the bar had occupants. I couldn’t na all of them. One of them was Josh’s mother. She barely spoke to and often frowned in my direction. I got the feeling that she didn’t like her son working with .
There were a few others who didn’t just lt at my smile, but not many. Most everyone seed thrilled that I was here. It was disconcerting.
"Hi, Mira! I’m here a little early if you want to clock out," Cindy said cheerfully as she bumped hips through the waist-high swinging door of the bar.
She was the night bartender during the week and a sweetheart through-and- through. In her early thirties, she was a staple at the bar and, in her own words, loved the freshness I’d brought to the bar. Happily mated with a two-year old at ho, she was the closest thing I had to a friend here.
Not that we ever hung out or spent any ti with each other. We were just passing ships, but sotis she ca a little early just to hear the gossip or share the gossip.
"I’ve still got so prep work to do," I told her as I scooped the fruit into their cups and pulled out the jar of cherries. "Anything extra you want to do? I’ve cut so extra lis for taco night, but they’re for the margaritas. Don’t let the line steal them for tacos."
Her eyes widened. "I would never. Those bastards get nothing from ."
Chuckling, I finished filling up the garnishes and turned to load the dishes. Cindy imdiately stepped in front of . "Go ho, alpha mate. You deserve it."
Alpha mate. I’d heard it enough ti now that I didn’t recoil in horror. Is this really what Irving was telling people I was?
I’d never once corrected it but I also didn’t acknowledge it. I still hadn’t figured out Irving ’s ga.
"Sure. Thanks. Tomorrow, you can co in a little late to make up for it. Spend a little more ti with that cute kid of yours."
"I will," Cindy promised even though we both knew it was a lie. I clocked out on the computer, a wasted move since I wasn’t getting paid. Irving told I had no need for a paycheck. He would give any and all the money that I needed. Just as I slipped off my apron, the door opened and a familiar figure walked in.
Janelle.
The witch made eye contact with and then quickly looked away as she made a beeline for the dining room. At least once a week she ca in, always alone, and never looked at .
Fifteen minutes early. That was new for her. Too bad Cindy was making leave. I had an urge to sit down with the pack witch and ask her a few pointed questions.
Feeling Elonso’s eyes boring into from behind, I didn’t look too long as I finished getting my stuff. "Have a good night, everyone. Cindy will take care of you," I said cheerfully as I headed out the door.
The bright sun flooded , and I winced but not before I saw the shadow move imdiately to my side. Another joined my other side.
"Alpha mate," Deacon said in a low voice. "We will walk you ho." I plastered a big smile on my face. "You always do."
Irving could instruct his pack to treat with respect and kindness, or threaten it, for all I knew. He could give the job he thinks I might like and the false image of privacy, but none of it could cover the truth of the matter.
I was a prisoner. My escorts were guards. Two of them followed from the house, to the bar, and back to the house again. Two guards were sufficient because Hair of the Dog was smack dead in the middle of the pack, as was Irving ’s house. To escape to the boundary, I’d have to cross half the territory.
The one ti I requested to shift and run at night, I’d been followed by six wolves, all bigger, faster, and more dominant than . My run had lasted all of two minutes before I hid back in my suite.
In the house, I eyed the caras that followed my every move. I searched the suite every day and was fairly confident that there were none there, but I was careful when I showered and changed.
They opened the door to my suite, and even bowed a little. How gallant. I walked in, closed my eyes and waited.
The door shut and I heard an inevitable click. It locked from the outside.
Five weeks. Not even a stir from the mating bond. Magic couldn’t touch , so it wasn’t Irving ’s doing.
It had to be Shiloh’s. He wasn’t coming for .
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