The waitress walked back over and plopped a chilled mug of beer down on the table. “Here’s your beer, sir. This first round is courtesy of the guy on the far left side of the bar.” She pointed.
Garrett looked up in that direction. No one was sitting near the left side of the bar. However, two women were seated on the right far side, laughing up a storm. “Which guy? All I see are women.”
The waitress turned around to confirm. “Well, he was just there.” She shrugged. “He paid for his meal and his drinks, including yours. He must have left. I’ll be back with your food in a minute. We’re short-staffed tonight and I’m also serving the lounge area tonight, so I gotta split. Can I get you anything else in the meantime?”
“No, just the food and that’s it,” he said.
Garrett’s gaze shifted from the nearly empty bar and searched around the room. He wasn’t even aware that he was being watched. He had been so busy analyzing the people around him that he hadn’t given thought to someone sizing him up from across the room.
Seven new customers, all wolves, walked into the tavern and almost everyone inside stopped what they were doing to acknowledge the group. An exorbitant level of fear rose in the room, but why were the wolves in this place wary of their presence?
Tension thickened as the men made a beeline for the lounge area of the bar. The shifter who seemed to head the group was a redheaded, big buff guy who looked like he was on steroids or spent an insane amount of time in a gym. The guy was huge. He wore a heavy gold chain around his neck and there was an oversized gold ring on his left hand. The way the rest of the shifters surrounding the pool table greeted him with a slight nod of their head and a handshake told Garrett that the guy led more than just the six men who’d followed him into the bar. Interestingly enough, the Beta of the Cross City Wolf Pack was also a redhead—a fact that had been confirmed by multiple sources. Without a doubt, Garrett knew that he was one of the leaders. Had to be with the way he walked in like he owned the place.
But something wasn’t quite right. He could sense that now, and that wasn’t because nearly half of the customers had left the restaurant after the guy had come inside.
Garrett picked up his mug, took a healthy swig, and then sat back in his chair to observe them. The waitresses that worked the area brought several bottles of beer out to the redhead and his followers without hesitation and left the area. The suspicious men held what looked like a serious conversation over the pool table. Over the rock music, and even with his heightened sense of hearing, Garrett only picked up on bits and pieces of the mumbling that made no sense.
The waitress came back with Garrett’s burger and fries on a platter and slid it on the table in front of him. “One half pound burger and fries with all the condiments on the side.”
“Thank you,” he said. Before she could leave again, Garrett caught her hand and asked, “The seven men that just came in and entered the lounge…I think I know one of them. Are they regulars?”
She took a quick look and nodded. “You’re damn right, they are. Simon, the redheaded fella, is the Beta of our Pack. He bought and owns the tavern now. Well…maybe I shouldn’t say bought, as the locals say. More like took, if you ask me.”
Garrett frowned. “Took? From who?”
“From the old owners—The North family. They owed a debt to Simon's family and he came collecting shortly after the Alpha died. Nothing changed. Everyone working here at the time got to keep their jobs, but tips sure have gone down. Folks say Simon's a jerk. I think he’s just lonely.”
“Hmm. You couldn’t really tell that he was lonely with all of those men standing around him.”
“Oh, those are just his bodyguards. They’ve been working for him ever since he became Pack Beta. Is any of this pertaining to your Pack business,” the waitress asked.
Remembering how careful he had to be about what he said, Garrett replied, “Doesn’t sound like it. He just looks like someone else I know.” He pulled the platter of food closer to him.
“Well, let me know if I can get you anything else,” she said. “One of the waitresses ditched her shift early, so it looks like I’ll be servicing her tables tonight too.”
Garrett nodded, took the top bun off his burger and dressed it up with condiments. Before he could take the first bite to subdue his hunger pangs, a disturbance broke out near the back of the lounge area. Someone was arguing with someone else. Sounded almost like a protest or maybe a fight over a game of pool. With Garrett’s view, he couldn’t tell what was going on. He only witnessed a lot of commotion as Beta’s bodyguards moved to flank him.
“Don’t you dare leave. We have business to discuss,” the Beta growled, his voice directed at someone that Garrett couldn’t see.
“Try and stop me,” a woman said.
A tall slender woman with deep mahogany brown hair stormed past the Beta with her purse held tightly to her side. The first thing Garrett noticed was the tension in her walk and, of course, that beautiful thick curly mane of hers. She wore black leggings and a fitted white blouse, just like all the other waitresses here tonight. Her name badge was still clipped to her shirt. From his distance, he couldn’t hone in on all her features or her name, but there was no mistaking her womanly physique or what he could see of her face. She was extremely attractive. As she squeezed her way between the crowds and neared the front of the lounge, several heads turned in her direction and eyes lingered on her.
The mahogany-haired beauty never made it outside of the lounge. The Beta slipped in front of her path and then forcefully backed her up into a small corner of the room. No one intervened.
Garrett dropped his burger and sat straight up in his booth. As his sympathy for the woman rose, his appetite fell. As he watched the mess unfold, his displeasure grew.
The Beta’s position in front of the woman, looking down on her, was condescending in the utmost. This wasn’t an ordinary couple having an ordinary argument. There was anything but a mutual understanding between the two. She grimaced as he grabbed her wrist and held her arm against the wall. He was talking to her, but she had her face turned away from him and her lips were pressed closed in defiance.
Garrett focused on her lips, trying to read them as she spoke.
I won’t.
Those two words were the only complete sentence that Garrett could make out from the woman.
Garrett’s wolf reared up as he sensed that something was very wrong and truly off about the interaction between the Beta and this woman.
At the flick of his fingers, two of the Beta’s bodyguards grabbed the woman. She protested as they took her arms and led her to a more concealed corner of the tavern, toward the back where she had come from initially.
From the beginning of the altercation, no one had intervened to help the couple or console the woman.
Fuck being discreet and sitting around watching this train wreck waiting to happen. Garrett rose from his seat.
Before he made it out of the booth, an unfamiliar shifter slid in the empty seat right in front of him. The man wore a blue baseball cap, which covered nearly half his face.
“I wouldn’t go there if I were you,” the unfamiliar shifter warned. He lifted his left sleeve to reveal his Pack’s insignia. He was a Cross City Wolf. “She and Simon are connected by this here restaurant. He’s claimed her, just like everything else in it. That’s out of our hands now.”
Garrett sat down. “Who are you?”
The shifter extended his hand. “A verbal “thank you” for the beer is more appropriate under the circumstances.”
Garrett exchanged handshakes and settled back down in his seat. “You bought the beer for me?”
“Yes, that was me. I’m Alejandro.”
“Thank you. I’m Garrett. But why do I feel like I’m going to owe you big time for this one mug of beer?”
Alejandro grinned. “Maybe…”
“Well, get to it…what do I owe?”
“I’m part of the Cross City Pack’s a
dvisory circle. I’m one of the Enforcers. I mainly work for Benjamin now. The Senior, not the Junior. We’re the ones who reached out to your Pack about an acquisition,” he said. “But there’s been a change in direction and we need to speak with you pronto. We saw you and your men roaming through our city the other day, but we had to make sure you were here on positive terms before approaching you.”
“We just wanted to come express our condolences on your Alpha’s passing. Dane feels bad about not having enough time to speak with him about his plans before he died.” Garrett directed his gaze to the direction where he last spotted the woman and the Beta. “I’ve been looking all over for a Pack leader and it looks like I found one here tonight.”
Alejandro shook his head and lowered his cap. “That’s the thing. Our change in direction doesn’t include him…anymore.”
Garrett leaned in, resting his forearms on the table. “Well, that’s…strange. I’m here in place of my Alpha Dane. None of this was discussed. Why the divisiveness in your Pack?”
“A lot has changed quickly since then and since Benjamin sent out that letter. Unfortunately, your Pack Alpha seems to be in high demand and isn’t the easiest to get a hold of,” he said.
Garrett nodded in agreement. “He’s dealing with issues of our own back at home. We deal with the most pressing matters first and then move on down the list. I’m sorry to have disappointed you if you were expecting my brother instead.”
“Actually, we’ve been doing some research on you since we spotted you in our city.”
Garrett frowned. “Have you?”
Alejandro cleared his throat. “As I said, we had to make sure you hadn’t sided with anyone yet.” His gaze flittered over to the lounge area—to the Beta. “We know that you and your brothers are in a specific line of business that might involve getting rid of trouble makers.”
He rubbed at his jaw. “So you did research on me and found out who I was?”
“Not entirely, but what we did find was enough to realize that you are the Alpha’s brother. You and your brothers have a reputation, but it’s odd that no one really knows that much about you. You outlaws don’t actually come up in a Google search, neither do you publicly post “available for hire” ads,” Alejandro replied.
“There’s a reason for this.”
“Of course. I respect that, but we’re glad we know who you are now. Benjamin Sr. would like to talk to you about a job.”
By the way, this was going and the way Alejandro kept tilting his cap down and slumping down in his chair to avoid detection, Garrett knew they were working independently of and against the Beta.
When Garrett didn’t entertain the offer, Alejandro said, “We haven’t got much time left. Simon's gains are advancing quickly. The news of his planned takeover of our Pack has spread far and wide.”
“Takeover?” Garrett glanced warily at Alejandro. “If he’s causing so much trouble for you, why don’t you go over there and shoot him dead on the spot?”
Alejandro’s expression dulled and he leaned back in his chair. “It’s not my life to take and I’ve been given clear orders. I didn’t know he’d show up here tonight. I was actually tracking you.”
Garrett frowned and mentally decided to make it a point to watch his back more carefully in this town. While he was busy doing some tracking of his own, others had been tracking him too.
Garrett tapped his fingers on the table, thinking his next steps through. “Truth be told, I don’t know how far Dane or I are willing to get involved, but I came here at his request and I’m willing to listen to what you and Benjamin have to say.”
“Good. I’ll let Benjamin know that I’ve reached out to you. We can shoot for a meeting around noon-ish tomorrow…”
Alejandro’s words faded as Garrett’s thoughts drifted back to the mahogany-haired beauty, who was long gone from his sight. A sickening feeling rose in his gut as he envisioned what she was going through. He’d wanted to track her down and find her, but all wolf shifters knew the rules. Claimed meant off limits. To encroach on another wolf’s territory that way was looked down on and often not even considered.
“Garrett? You listening?”
Garrett swung his gaze back to the pressing matter. “Yes. Noon, right?”
Alejandro chuckled. “You were looking for her, weren’t you? She’s a lost cause like I’ve said. She’s been promised to him since before Simon was named Beta. The only reason they’re not mated yet is because she’s human. The mating is different between a human and a shifter, you know? We can’t go around biting humans like we can our own kind. I’ll let you in on a little something. Her refusal to mate him right now is our gain and his downfall. However, I doubt she’ll be able to hold him off any longer.”
“Well, if there’s no consent, why was she being pursued and forced like that?”
“Her family owes a debt to the Montagues, so they’ve benefited from Simon's money already.”
“And let me guess? She doesn’t want to go through with it.”
“You’ve got it. Us wolves mate humans every day and, unfortunately, sometimes those reasons are business-driven. But that’s neither here nor there. Simon's choice of a mate isn’t what concerns us right now. Truthfully, I hope she fights it until we get a hold of Simon. If she doesn’t and moves ahead with the mating, she’ll be a widow. There are more than a handful of us that wants Simon dead and gone for good. So, will you help us make that happen?”
2
It was settled.
According to the agreement her father had entered into over a decade ago to save the tavern, Autumn North would be mated to Simon Montague, Beta of the Cross City Wolf Pack. She had successfully prevented having to go through with the arrangement by avoiding Simon altogether and hoping that he’d come to grips that there was nothing she could or would do for him to make him happy or better off.
Quite frankly, she wanted nothing to do with the man. After running around the country, bedding every woman in sight, and testing the waters, Simon had suddenly decided to expedite the mating. She wasn’t having any of it and would do any and everything in her power to have the agreement annulled, but Simon was more powerful than she realized—in both the human and shifter communities. His decision to rush things before she could afford a good lawyer had come right after her dad’s death. And coincidentally, full ownership of the tavern had transferred to Simon.
Autumn pushed the phony-looking documents with suspicious-looking contract terms back across the table to Simon and his cock-eyed lawyer.
“I’m not agreeing to this,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s been changed. The terms have been altered.”
“What you don’t understand, Ms. North, is that it can’t be canceled,” the lawyer replied. “We can negotiate the terms, which is what we’re doing here, but nothing involving the mating or marriage will be nullified.”
“This is bull! All these years, this…” she threw her hands up “…whatever you want to call it could have been done and over with and I could’ve made arrangements to purchase my tavern back and gotten on with my life.”
Like dating and finally committing to a man of my choosing. Of course, she didn’t add the last statement. Her love life or lack thereof was none of Simon's business.
“Simon's a very busy man, Ms. North. I’m sure you understand that and our rules. You’ve been living with a member of our Pack for years now.”
Autumn rolled her eyes.
Simon smiled widely. He reminded Autumn of a Cheshire cat.
“And let’s not mention my duty to my Pack,” he added. “Things have been chaos for us over the past few years and I had a duty to focus on that more than my own mating. Truthfully, I wasn’t certain how this mating could be beneficial, but now that I understand my grandfather’s vision—who was once Alpha of the Cross City Wolf Pack—my focus has been renewed.”
Bullshit.
“Does your other duties include frequent visits to the local strip joint and whoreho
use up the street from the tavern? Isn’t that where your focus resided not too recently?”
Simon gave her a sheepish look. “I—”
Autumn held up her hand. “I don’t even want to know because, quite frankly, I don’t care. Couldn’t you have found someone else to mate and marry while your dick was doing the talking for you for the past several years? Why insist on this now?”
“My client owns that strip joint, Ms. North,” the lawyer interjected.
Her annoyance flared. She took a deep breath, then released an exaggerated sigh. “I don’t give a shit. He owns that strip joint and he fucks there. I’m not a dummy.”
Simon's lawyer cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
Simon straightened his posture, dragged his hand up through his red and auburn hair, and bit his lip. “You and I both know that this agreement is unique and uncommon. I have to marry a human to purchase property from the County. You know how that goes already.”
Of course, she did. Her dad had married a shifter two years after her mom died in a car crash. She was well aware of the restrictions placed on their community. She had nothing against them and truly believed they were just as entitled as humans to equal rights in this Country. Other than the fact that they shifted into wolves on impulse, she didn’t believe they were inferior to humans. In fact, her family was one of the first families to welcome shifters into their businesses and homes when their existence had first been discovered. Her dad’s tavern had been one of the few places in this town where both shifters and humans could congregate without hassle. It’s how he’d met their stepmother, Melisandra, who had worked at the tavern for years.
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