by Cecilia Lane
Nora winced. She felt bad enough without adding Kenny’s disappointment to the pile.
Mortification had faded to dull embarrassment after her encounter with the man at the farm store, but the glancing memories still brought red to her cheeks and an uncomfortable churn to her stomach. She’d lost her sketchbook in the scuffle, too, which felt more important than the torn clothes lost in an unexpected shift. To top it all off, she’d slept all day without sheets because her wolf ran wild until well after the laundromat closed.
Her reflection hadn’t even mustered an obviously fake, encouraging smile when she’d hurried out the door to make her shift.
Thirty-one days of freedom and she failed all over the place.
“I know. I’m—” Her apology died under Kenny’s sharp glare. She nodded fiercely. “I’m going to be better. I promise.”
“Damn animal running the show, ain’t it?”
“What?”
He pointed to her head. “Twigs in your hair.”
Dang it. Nora touched hesitant fingers to her hair. She thought she’d gotten them all, but two came away when she ran fingers through the strands.
“Know anyone willing to sell me a cheap dog cage? Seems that might be the only way to keep from running wild at night,” she tried to joke.
Kenny looked at her for a long second before waving her off. “Get to it, then. Got a full house tonight with the show out on the deck.”
Oooh, he wasn’t kidding. Nora pushed through the kitchen doors a moment later, tying her apron around her waist. The tables and bar inside were packed, with the little waiting area crowded with more hungry customers.
Outside, fairy lights strung around the deck railing and in the trees lining the restaurant bathed the customers in a soft light. A gentle breeze blew over the river and made for a perfect, scenic view.
The momentary quiet ended when the band’s leader tapped the microphone and flashed a lopsided smile. Excitement rippled through the waiting crowd.
Nora swung from behind the bar and straight to her section. She mouthed a silent ‘Thank you’ to another server, Cheryl, for covering her tables and received a roll of her eyes in answer.
Cheryl did not have kind eyes. Or kind words. Or kind anything for Nora.
She didn’t let it get her down. Some people just didn’t click. And the rest of the crew were very nice. Easily the best place she’d worked. The customers were mostly friendly, too, and left good tips when she forced herself to talk and laugh with the big, growly clientele.
“Evening,” Nora greeted the newly seated table. She pasted a smile on her face and tried to ignore being the cause of someone’s upset. “Our dinner specials are on the third page. Since the band is here, we’ve extended happy hour until the close of business. Can I get you started with some drinks?”
Three pairs of eyes looked her up and down. Her wolf bristled under the attention, but Nora swallowed down the discomfort. She was safe. No one would dare hurt her inside the restaurant.
“Can you make us orgasm?” one asked to the snorts and chuckles of the others.
Nora flinched. “Excuse me?”
“It’s a drink, don’t look so offended!” The man turned his phone screen to her to show off the recipe. Vodka and flavored liqueurs were called for, and yep, the recipe named the drink a Screaming Orgasm.
‘I’ll have to check,” she stuttered.
One of the others jabbed an elbow into the jokester’s side. “Round of beers and whiskey will do us just fine, sweetheart. And keep them coming, will you?” He slapped a five-dollar bill on the edge of the table. “For your trouble.”
Nora smiled weakly and tucked the bill into her apron before turning to put in their order at the bar. First stumble of the night over, she threw herself into her work.
She ran back and forth between tables and kitchen and bar, careful to take it easy around corners and keep plates and drinks from toppling to the floor. She counted it as a win that she only broke one glass in the rush of the first hour.
Too bad it wasn’t hidden under the pounding, stomping twang of the band. The elongated ooohs of shame from her problem table flooded red on her cheeks.
Nora pushed through the kitchen doors once she finished picking up the pieces of glass. The noise halved, but the ringing in her ears didn’t fade. She pressed her back against the wall, taking short breaths. Her wolf prowled through her head, unease vibrating through her with each step.
The music and customers were too loud. The smell of booze was too strong. Rowdy drinkers, bawdy jokes, all of it felt too much like Viho’s clubhouse.
Her breath shortened. Hogshead wasn’t that awful place. The customers weren’t those awful Vagabonds.
Her wolf howled.
“Order up!” one of the cooks called. His eyebrows shot together. “You good, girl? Your eyes are glowing.”
No, no, no. Nora swallowed hard and tried to force her wolf down small. She had to keep herself under control. She still had hours left on her shift.
“Going to be just fine,” she lied through her teeth. She straightened her apron, pasted on her smile, and went back to her tables.
Stupid wolf. Lousy previous day. Annoying customers. She would hold her head high and work through it all. She was free of Viho. Her head and wolf needed to get with the program.
She dropped off another round of drinks to the trio of men. “Anything else for you tonight?” she asked.
The one who’d preemptively tipped her nodded. “Bring us something sweet, will ya, darlin’?”
“Nothing sweeter than what’s already here,” the jerk slurred.
Nora flashed a pained smile and turned to put in their additional order.
A hand landed hard on her behind.
Nora jerked straight and froze. Cold sludge pumped through her veins and turned her stomach. A noise rattled in her throat and fur pressed against her mind.
Kenny appeared at her side. “Take a minute,” he growled out of the corner of his mouth, hard glare settled on the laughing table.
Nora nodded. She blindly made her way from the dining room. Her heart pounded against her ribcage. The kitchen swam in her haste to get through the sea of questioning looks and concern wafting in overwhelming, strange scents.
And her wolf pushed at her. Flee. The beast wanted to run as far from the threat as possible.
She staggered outside and sucked down breath after breath, trying to find her calm.
He was just a man. A rude, inconsiderate, pissant of a man who took liberties where he had none, but still just a man. Not the one that terrorized her nightmares or sent her wolf running wild. Not the one that caged her.
She couldn’t get enough air. Her heart wouldn’t stop racing. She balled her hands into fists just to feel the sharp prick of her nails against her palms. Even that didn’t help, and the world around her wobbled like she’d stepped into water.
No, no, no. Not again.
Her wolf prowled through her head, bristling at unseen dangers.
She’d been attacked and caged and now had a beast under her skin. She was a normal girl with normal problems before.
Before.
There was a line drawn through her life. Before. After. She didn’t know how to deal with the after.
Nora slammed a fist into her thigh and slid to the ground.
The twinkling lights and hum of conversation between songs were so close and still so far away.
Just like a normal life.
Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She had a roof over her head, but it wasn’t home. She had a town around her, but they weren’t her people. No matter how hard she tried, she felt locked out on the outside. She wanted to believe in good days, but the wild animal in her middle kept bringing her bad.
“Are you okay?”
Nora looked up at the sound of the voice. Shock blasted through her system to see the man from the farm store poking his head around the corner. Worry creased his forehead as he stepped closer.
He crouched in front of her. Hands gripped her upper arms. Heat whipped through her at the touch. His scent, all manly and delicious and tinged with leather, filled her nose and made her wolf howl.
She expected more panic to surge to life, but he conjured the exact opposite. The fingers rubbing her arms cut through the thick knot in her chest and slowed her racing heart.
“What’s your name?” he asked gently.
“Nora. Nora Morgan.”
“I’m Jesse King, Nora Morgan. Tell me, how often do you go watch the chicks at the farm store?”
“Uh...” Nora blinked behind her hands. What in the damn hell? That was what he led with? “Just twice now. Whenever I needed to use the laundromat across the street.”
“You ever owned them before?”
“Never owned any pets.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. The slow rub of his thumbs on her skin felt so nice. “I moved too much and wasn’t allowed, anyways.”
“That’s too bad.” His fingers wrapped lightly around her wrists and pulled her hands from her face. “The good thing? Your breathing is back to normal and your animal isn’t in your eyes.”
She shook her head to deny him, but found he was right. Shock dropped her mouth open. “How did you do that?”
“Have some experience.” His lips twitched with the ghost of a sad smile. “The questions force you to focus on answers, which lets the thinking part of you take back over.”
“I’ll have to keep that in mind. Or keep you around to remind me.” She slid her eyes closed and covered her cheeks with her hands. “There I go again, saying something weird.”
“Not weird.” He chuckled, the deep sound resonating through her. “What happened?”
“You mean how did a panicked girl like me wind up in a glorious place like this?” She let off a shaky laugh and waved a hand to the alley behind the restaurant. One end turned to storage under the deck, while the other opened on the parking lot. “Just some jerks getting handsy with their server.” She pressed her lips together and canted her head. “Not the first time it’s happened.”
“It shouldn’t happen ever.” A growl rattled in his chest. The eyes he raised to her face glowed with his inner beast.
Nora shivered under that look. Fierce, strong, and protective. Her wolf howled to get closer to the man, let him shield them from everything wrong in the world. And the odd thing, she didn’t want to resist.
Her wolf rolled through her, brushing fur against her mind. Nora braced herself against the creature under her skin, but there wasn’t any attempt to steal her body. The wolf watched Jesse in awe.
Dangerous, that. Frightening. Impossible.
Nora tugged her hands out of Jesse’s grasp and dropped her gaze, breaking the spell he’d cast upon her. Her wolf whined at the sudden loss. “I should get back,” she said.
“Of course.” He stood and offered her a hand.
Warmth flared in her palm as soon as their skin touched. He pulled her to her feet. His eyes crinkled with his smile.
She needed to thank him. Acknowledge what he’d done for her when she’d been on the verge of yet another panic attack and uncontrolled shift. Her tongue dried up on the roof of her mouth.
“You’re going to be okay,” he said.
“You’re my hero,” she blurted.
Score for zero brain-mouth filter.
Cheeks red, Nora fled back inside.
Chapter 5
Jesse stared at the employee door, rubbing his thumbs over his fingers. His skin wouldn’t stop buzzing where he’d touched Nora to calm her.
His bear pulsed inside him, raging for him to run after her. Soothe her. Make the thick, cloudy embarrassment disappear with a few words.
Hell, the beast had been on edge for the exact reason since the day before when she smacked into him.
That someone put their hands on her was intolerable. Even if he hadn’t already planned on entering the restaurant, her explanation would have set him right on the path to a table just to make sure no one touched her again.
No one but him.
Jesse shook clear the thought before turning back to his truck. Skies above, he was tempted to get behind the wheel and drive off. The man waiting for him inside wasn’t one he wanted to see.
With a growl, he grabbed the book off the front seat and made his way into Hogshead Joint. A quick glance spotted the man he intended to meet, but no sign of Nora.
Dark eyes latched onto him from across the dining room. Jesse waved off the hostess coming at him with a menu poised like a sword. He dodged packed tables to make his way to the booth in the back and as far from the band as possible.
“Why did you call me?” he asked as he slid into a seat.
Elijah King cocked his head and regarded him coolly. “No hello for your father?” he asked with all the pompous arrogance Jesse remembered from his youth.
“Screw this,” Jesse spat. Father? The asshole thought he still had a right to that title? He shoved to his feet, bear riding him hard. “Only reason I came here tonight was to tell you to fuck off.”
His father grabbed his wrist in a hard hold. “Jesse,” he said. “Please. Let’s talk.”
Jesse clenched his fist and flexed against the hand wrapped around his arm. His bear snarled. Anger coursed through man and beast, hot and heavy and needing to be directed somewhere.
Like the man he’d warned to never put a hand on him again.
Just when he thought he couldn’t keep himself together, couldn’t hold back his bear from seeking vengeance, the kitchen doors pushed open and Nora stepped back into the dining room. She was a breath of fresh air, clearing out all the swirling anger and need to bleed someone.
“Fine,” he said between gritted teeth. Reluctantly, bear still roaring through his head, he sat back down. “We’ll talk. As soon as I have a drink.”
Jesse tracked Nora as she straightened her apron, trying to figure out the petite woman who’d been in the middle of a panic attack moments before and soothed his bear from across the room. She tripped over her own feet, apologized to the empty chair she hit, then wound her way to check on a couple seated nearby.
Brown hair hung in a ponytail down her back. Even though she didn’t face him, he knew the exact shade of chocolate brown of her eyes. And her scent... sweet lavender curled through his memory and made his mouth water.
She lifted her face, nostrils flaring, and landed her pretty eyes right on him. Recognition spiked color on her cheeks, but she flashed the first genuine smile he’d seen since she walked back through the doors. His bear preened under that look.
Something about her ate up the entire room and yanked his attention right to her. She had his bear in an uproar to keep her safe.
She jotted down something on a pad of paper, then drifted toward his table. More lavender filled his nose, laced with fur. Wolf, maybe, though he couldn’t be sure.
His inner beast rumbled with the need to know. Sendings flashed through his head, black fur of his body chasing after the streaming tail of her running beast.
“Uhm, hi.”
Jesse sat back, eyes settling on her waist and dragging up her body. Skies above, he doubted he’d ever laid eyes on someone more gorgeous. She was small all around, but had enough curves to hold and palm long into the night. “Evening.”
Nora shook herself and rolled into the proper greeting. “Welcome to Hogshead. Dinner specials are—”
“Thanks, dear,” his father barked over her, “but we’re good.”
Her eyes flashed with anger so fast Jesse almost missed it. Then came the shutdown. She snapped her mouth closed and dropped her eyes.
Submissive, he thought. Caregivers to their core, but sensitive to the emotions of others. All shifters existed somewhere on the spectrum and most were wise enough not to
take advantage. He hated that she felt the need to pack away her irritation. Someone hadn’t treated her right.
His bear didn’t like that. He liked it even less that his father added to the pile. The beast paced through his head, swinging his attention from side to side and looking for any threat to the sweet woman. The bawdy table near the bar? The moody server shooting daggers at her? The feet stuck out in the aisles by careless customers?
He wanted to line each and every person against the wall and tell them to shape up. Nora deserved them all on their best behavior.
“I'll take that local brew if it's still on tap,” Jesse ordered.
Nora flashed Jesse a tight smile and turned to thread back between tables.
Jesse turned a glare on his old man. “You wanted to talk. So talk.”
“Part of working the program is to make amends. I’ve put this off for too long.” Elijah’s eyes slid closed for three full breaths before he opened them again. “I’ve made mistakes. I know that. Losing our clan and your mother in one blow… It destroyed me. I’m not proud of how I reacted, but there’s no changing the past.”
“So, what? I’m supposed to just forget all the times you lashed out because I was the one breathing and Mom wasn’t? Or the nights we had to pack our shit and get out before dawn because you spent the rent money on booze?” Jesse sat back in his seat. Even the scent of his father drove his bear crazy.
Asshole. Anger boiled in his blood and tinged the world red. He’d left home as soon as he’d turned eighteen, leaving behind a broken man he’d once called his father.
Elijah had been a good man once. But that was before. Before the clan war and before his mother died. After he lost everything, his father crawled into a bottle and forgot he had a young son to mind.
“I haven’t had a drop of liquor in three years. Look.” Elijah tilted his glass. “Water.”
Three years? He’d lived terrified of the man for far longer than that. Terror faded into rage, and that, too, was a lifetime compared to his three years.
“I want another chance, Jesse. I will always be your father.”
