He was thankful when Sara agreed. “Okay, and I won't tell anyone else. You know how the pack can talk.”
“Yeah, I know,” Cade muttered, going back to his computer.
As he did, his sister stood and grabbed her purse from the back of her chair when she asked, “Out of curiosity, how strong are your instincts here?”
Cade grumbled, finally admitting, “Strong enough to let me know that I need to watch myself.”
Sara grinned on the way out. “Well your secret's safe with me. For now. But if you hold back too long and I know you shouldn't be, I'll tell her myself.”
Cade rolled his eyes. “Have fun on your date, Sara, and please leave my own up to me.”
The door shut on her chuckling, and Cade starting typing more information into the computer. Once he was done, he double checked it, then saved.
Ashley was now in their system. With a sigh, he wondered how deeply she might end up getting into his.
Chapter 15
Working was precisely what Ashley needed.
She became so focused on her chores that she didn't have the time to worry over her life as a lupine, and with business being slow, she and Nicole had fun. Customers didn't start coming in until around dinner time, and even then it wasn't too busy, which gave her more time to know her coworkers better.
Between them and the prep work, it was enough to keep Ashley blissfully occupied. Besides a few questions about how some of the meals were prepared and the pricing, she was servicing her own section without much trouble after an hour thanks to her previous experience and Nicole's guidance.
The two waitresses decided to compete to see who could get more tips that slow evening.
Ashley was a little worried about her impulses in the meantime, but with Cade, Martin, and Nicole about to help out, it didn't seem too hard to handle. Their presence made her feel a lot better about what she was now, helping her to cope with the changes.
She met a handful of other lupines that evening as well, and they all seemed to either know one another, or at least be familiar. None of them acted offended by her presence either, though some were indifferent.
It was at a busy point in the night when Ashley heard someone at the bar behind her saying, “You work fast, Ashley.”
She stopped in her tracks and looked back to see Leo sitting on a stool with a grin on his face.
“Glad to see you workin' here, sweety.”
Ashley stared at him for only a moment before settling her tray on the bar counter and hugging him tightly. Leo chuckled, patting her back.
“If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be,” she whispered.
“Well let's keep it this way.” He sat back on his stool again and added, “I'm expectin' to hear good things aboutcha, got it?”
“Yes, sir,” she grinned. “Oh, and congrats, grandpa!”
Leo thanked her with a laugh as she grabbed her tray to continue working. Ashley didn't say so, but he was her favorite.
A little later, she met Joseph Stokes, the young lupine Sara told her about earlier. This time, it was Nicole who pointed him out when he sat at the bar. Ashley decided to be cautiously wary even though she was amused by all of the warning's she was getting.
Joseph really must have been a hound dog.
But he was also a looker with a toned, slender build and short brown hair a few shades darker than her own. His most striking feature were his handsome cobalt eyes.
Ashley could say he was up her alley in the looks department at least, and just as Sara predicted, he was ready with the flirtations when they met.
“Holy shit, you’re Ashley?” he asked as she'd stepped behind the bar to fill a drink order.
“I am,” she nodded. “Nice to meet you, Joseph.”
“Oh, been checking on me?” he asked smoothly.
“Nope, just warned aboutcha,” she retorted honestly, settling two drinks onto her tray. “Joseph’s a hound dog, watch out for Joseph. That sound about right?”
“Call me Joe,” he replied, smirking playfully, “and yeah, that’s me. Couldn't deny it even if I wanted to.”
Joe looked her over then, admitting without shame, “To tell the truth, I asked about you, and you’re a lot cuter than I imagined. Makes me hope even more that whoever hurt you gets their asses handed to ‘em on a silver platter.”
He’d sounded completely sincere, and Ashley smiled, putting the last beverage on her tray before agreeing.
“So do I. Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get to do it yourself. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to help.”
With that, she went to serve her tables, and Joe watched her the whole way.
“I think I’m in love,” he remarked.
Nearby, Martin started grinning. “Down boy, or I'll break out the squirt bottle.”
Two seats down, Leo started laughing, and Joe rolled his eyes. The last thing the newborn needed was a hound dog sniffing at her heels, and everyone knew that—except Joe of course.
But Ashley ignored his advances, though she had to give him points for at least keeping his hands to himself—completely unlike a group of young men seated in her section that came in not long after she'd met him.
The ironic thing about the group was that they were all human, and Joe wasn't nearly as misbehaved.
All three were in their late teens or early twenties at the most, students from the local college judging by their t-shirts sporting the logo, and Ashley wondered if their mascot was a jackass because of the way they acted. Starting to wonder which race is more civilized.
Earlier that night, she'd decided to make three strikes and you're out her motto to help keep her temper under control at work. So when she got her new table of college brats, she couldn't help thinking it probably saved their lives.
The trio didn't take any time to get two strikes almost as soon as they sat down.
Because they were human, they had no idea Ashley would hear their lewd remarks from three tables away over the music playing. They kept commenting on her 'nice tits and ass', and even threw out a line or two about Nicole when the blonde waitress passed them.
Ashley felt even more offended over the comments made in her coworker's direction than she did the ones about herself. But instead of counting a strike against them, she let it go in one ear and out the other, bit her tongue, and went to serve them.
The first strike came when they changed their orders three times because they either thought it was funny, or just wanted to stare at her, if not both. She also recognized the scent of alcohol on them, saying they'd already gotten into a few beers before coming in and probably thought they could do anything they wanted.
Still, Ashley tried to be as nice as possible. This takes customer service to a whole new level.
When she'd finally gotten their orders and walked away to place them, the brunette to her left reached out and quickly pinched her ass.
Ashley stopped walking, clenched her teeth, and took a very deep breath. Strike two. A bad strike two. She just managed to walk away without reacting, even as they were chuckling.
When she passed the bar where Leo and Joe sat, she heard the latter asking, “Hey, what the hell's goin' on at that table over there?”
Ashley didn't give Joe a response because she knew if she recounted it, she'd snap. Instead, she muttered without stopping, “Drunken hormones and idiocy.”
By the time she'd placed her order though, Ashley felt better, realizing that her anger really was short lived. That made her even more grateful for her new motto, and she went back about her business—until their table number was called out.
With a deep breath, she prepared herself for anything, grabbed her tray, and forced a smile while walking back over.
“Anything else I can get you?” she asked, setting their plates down.
“How about your number?” the blond sitting to her right asked.
I’ll just call that a ball. Though annoyed, Ashley found the wit to joke by replying, “Sorry, that’s a hundred dollar
fee.”
With nothing else to say, she turned around and began to move on. Before she could take two steps however, she heard the words, “Too bad, guess it'll come outta your tip, cutie,” and felt a slap against her ass—delivered hard enough to make a pop sound.
Ashley stopped where she was, unable to deny her anger. Strike three, you’re out, bitch.
As they snickered, Ashley plainly remarked, “If it's coming outta my tip, then I better make it worth it,” just before she swung her empty tray around, connecting it directly with the back of the blond's head.
Several people looked up when this happened, and the guy she’d hit let a brief yell. One of his buddies stared in shock, exclaiming, “What the hell, lady?”
Ashley looked directly at him and proclaimed without apology, “My ass isn’t on the menu, and he slapped it, so I slapped him. Is that a problem?”
Martin stepped from behind the bar when he heard the commotion. Joe looked ready to intervene as well. He stood from his stool the moment Ashley yelled as if he wanted to walk over and bang some heads, but Leo grabbed his shoulder to stop him because the older lupine knew Joe would only make things worse.
Martin stopped at the table and looked the guys over, asking, “There a problem here?”
“You didn't see what she did?” the brunette asked.
“Yeah, I saw it,” Martin replied, “I also saw what you did, and if groping a girl is what you want, why don’t you head over to Siren's?”
Ashley supposed Siren's was an adult lounge of some type, but before she could say anything, Cade's voice rang out.
“What’s going on?”
The Alpha came walking into the dining room, heading toward their table. The three punks shied away, probably due to Cade's size and how unhappy he'd sounded.
Martin explained the situation to him in simple facts, and the blond sitting at the table muttered out the words, “I want my meal free.”
As soon as he did, Ashley glared, retorting loudly enough for the entire dining room to hear, “Like you apparently wanna grope a woman’s ass for free, but that ain’t gonna happen jerk, especially not to me.”
Other people were definitely watching, many with grins, others with wide eyes. Cade reached over to put a hand on Ashley’s shoulder before she could do anything more.
“Go to the back office to cool down, Ashley. I’ll handle this.”
But she continued glaring at the men, at least, until Cade stepped into her view, leaning down a bit to be more eye level.
“Ashley, go to the office.”
The words were more stern the second time around, pointed even. Finally realizing what he was saying in particular, as well as how irate she'd become, Ashley took a deep breath and nodded before turning to go.
Just when she was starting to think good going Ashley, now you probably won't be working again for a while, she was surprised.
Clapping sounded as she reached the archway leading to the hall. Ashley looked back to see that many of the patrons were grinning and commending her with applause.
One of the women settled in Nicole’s section called out, “We saw what that clown did, he deserved it! You tell 'em! Woo!”
That got even more people going. Ashley tried to fight a grin, especially when she saw just how uncomfortable the jackasses at her table looked.
She gave a quick bow just before disappearing around the corner. A bit of laughter ensued behind her, making it hard not to grin all the way to the office, no matter if Cade continued letting her work or not. Those jokers did deserve it, and she couldn't say she was sorry. Maybe surprised at herself for the way she'd reacted, but not sorry.
She only hoped Cade wouldn't blow up over the incident.
Chapter 16
Cade figured it was a good thing most of Blue Moon's customers were regulars.
Martin was grinning over their reactions to the new waitress's retaliation, and he would've cracked a smile as well, but found himself too pissed at the punks who'd hassled her to do so.
With the way he was feeling toward Ashley, he was only glad he didn't see these guys slapping her ass, otherwise he could've reacted badly. Even now, he wanted to rip them a new one just for touching her.
But Cade turned and faced them casually, and as soon as his cold gaze settled, they tensed up even more. The scent of fear was definitely present.
Professionally, he explained that if they wanted their meal free, that was fine. But if they ever came back again, he'd show them how well their scrawny asses worked as landing pads when he threw them out.
Cade left them with those words, and saw his other customers—particularly the ladies—giving harsh looks to the punks.
They didn’t stick around long after that.
When Cade got to the office, Ashley was sitting on the leather sofa with her hands folded in her lap, but she didn't look upset.
Shutting the door, he pulled up a seat while Ashley cast her gaze at his face.
“Sorry,” she started softly. “That guy slapped my ass, and I couldn't take anymore. It was the second time they'd done it, and I just snapped.”
The explanation threw Cade off. “Second time?”
“Yeah,” she grumbled. “They pinched me when I went to put in their order, but I let it slide then.”
Should've broken their goddamned necks.
Cade pushed the impulsive thought away as Ashley asked, “So, are you gonna fire me or something?”
“Hell no,” Cade replied. “While I’d rather you not just haul off and hit the customers, you stood up for yourself without going too far, and that’s good. Everyone knows they deserved it. Just,” he paused, “try not to hit anyone again, at least, not as your first reaction. Tell someone, or come get me.”
“Got it,” she gave in understanding, her look suggesting she was glad he hadn't berated her or made her quit because he thought she really couldn't handle it.
Curiously, she asked, “Did you give them the meal for free?”
“Yeah, and told them not to drag their sorry asses back here again.”
That made Ashley smile. But then her shoulders slumped dejectedly. “I’d been having such a good night up until then too. I get so angry, and it's hard to get used to.”
She gave Cade a look that said she was embarrassed despite the fact that she'd been objectified. “I’d never do something like that before. Now I just do it before I realize it.”
Cade knew what she was talking about, though he'd never struggled too much with his own impulses. “I’m not exactly good at telling people what they need to hear, but you’re doing fine. We're aggressive, that's just how it is.”
He considered something else after telling her as much, adding, “You're actually coming along like a normal newborn. You've only been a lupine for about two weeks, so I'm surprised you didn't tackle them.”
Her expression perked up as she asked, “Really?”
Cade liked the hope he saw in her big, hazel eyes too much for his peace of mind. With a soft sigh, he nodded. “Yeah, just don't let that go to your head.”
“I won't,” she promised, though she was smiling brightly now. Seeming to be in better spirits, she stood from the couch and headed to the door. “I need to go back though. I had other customers.”
“Don’t worry about ‘em, not until those guys are gone. Rachel can cover you.”
Rachel was a human waitress, and Ashley took the doorknob in hand while casting him a disagreeing look. “I’m not letting her pick up my slack. I’ll be fine. All I gotta do is ignore 'em like I’ve been ignoring Joe for most of the night. I doubt they'll be here long anyway.”
Despite the fact that Cade knew she was right about the punks leaving as soon as possible, he looked over when she mentioned Joe.
“Joe's been giving you the run around?”
“Yes, and I haven’t hit him yet, so keep that in mind.”
Cade watched the door shut as she left, but he wasn't amused—he was . . . jealous. Possessive ins
tincts were flaring over the news.
But this was Joseph, just a young pup who'd hit on anything that moved, and Cade often wondered if every pack had one just like him. Still, Cade's first instinct was to tell Joe to leave her the hell alone. But maybe that wasn't possessiveness, and only protectiveness because he'd taken Ashley under his wing.
With the thought, Cade headed out to the dining room to get other chores tended to now that he was done with his office work, and also to see things for himself.
It wasn't long before Joe proved Ashley's claims true. When she stepped behind the bar to fill a drink order, he told her he liked it better when she was there because Martin wasn’t any fun to look at.
A definite streak of possessiveness overcame Cade in response, one he couldn't deny the source of. He wanted to grab Joe and tell him she was off limits.
But instead, Cade told him to tone it down, then went back to work while trying to reason with himself over his reactions. He was protective, not possessive. She just needed someone watching her back.
His instincts were in complete opposition though. Every time he caught her scent, he wanted to pull Ashley in close and inhale it more deeply. The notion soured his mood because, if his urges intensified and bonding started, keeping quiet about it wasn't simply going to be annoying—it wouldn't be an option for very long.
Lupines were a lot of things, but subtle wasn’t one of them. Cade wondered just how long he actually could go on ignoring these instincts before he also started doing things without realizing it.
~*~*~*~
“Forty three dollars. Not bad for my first night when it’s slow.”
Ashley was sitting on a stool at the bar two seats down from Nicole, and Cade was stocking the cooler for the next day. Blue Moon was closed for the night, and both waitresses were waiting on their rides after everyone else had gone home.
“Not at all,” Nicole agreed. “But I made fifty five. So I win,” she snickered.
Ashley grinned as she put her money into her pocket, and Nicole changed the topic.
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