by J. D. Light
My gasp must have caught his attention, because his eyes snapped in our direction, settling on a not openly phased, but definitely stiff Foster, next to me. Then my wide-eyed expression, which made the poor thing flinch a little. And then finally on Green, holding there a moment longer than he had mine and my mate's.
I hadn't noticed until that moment, that Green was growling low and quiet. A quick glance in his direction, revealed a usually easy going Green, looking the angriest I have ever seen him. It was a little intimidating, I don't mine admitting.
The little nymph spun quickly, toward the counter, obviously not comfortable with our scrutiny. I could see the indecision in his shoulders as he turned toward the exit and then back to the counter, before taking a deep breath and shaking his head.
When he started toward the door again, Bunny was suddenly there, popping up in front of him.
"Hi!" she greeted cheerily. Not necessarily in the fashion Bennett's sassy mother usually greeted people. "Can I help you with something, sweetie?"
The quiet, melodic voice that spoke sounded sad and unsure, making me wish I could hug him. "I…uh…I was hoping to…there was a sign out front. I was going to…fill out an application."
"Oh! Good!" Bunny latched on to the boy's arm, dragging him to the back. "Right this way, sweet boy."
Bunny chatted the whole way, still blabbing something that made the boy giggle as the disappeared through the swinging door.
Turning to Foster, I saw the concerned frown on his face. "Foster, did a shifter do that to him? Did somebody hurt that sweet boy?"
"I'm not sure, baby." He put his arm around my shoulders, drawing me closer to his side. "But I sure don't like how scared he looks."
"If someone did hurt him. I'm going to hunt them down and hang them with their own intestines." Green's voice was deep and more than a little scary.
I actually shivered a bit from the fury behind it.
"Green?" Foster asked, not sounding scared, but definitely concerned. "Is that boy––"
"He's my mate."
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Chapter One
Purdy. Something about this place felt safe. Like an aura of protection surrounded it. After almost six months of running, I just wanted to find a place I didn't have to pack up and leave in the middle of the night.
Not that there was a lot to pack up.
I looked around the interior of my super old, beat up car. My belongings literally amounted to the neatly sorted clothing I'd bought at thrift stores along the way, taking up two small boxes in the backseat, a couple thin blankets I thankfully wasn't in need of now that summer was in full swing, and a bag of grooming and hygiene tools.
And of course, this barely running car.
I'd worked three weeks in the same place, terrified every day that I was going to be found, while living in a homeless shelter, and barely eating enough to keep me alive, so I could buy the five hundred dollar hunk of junk.
But I was used to starving. They'd barely fed me at all. And it sure made getting up and running a lot easier when you didn't have to wait on a bus.
And now I had a place to curl up and sleep.
So far, Purdy had been very surprising. I didn't usually hide out in small towns. Too few people to remain inconspicuous. Especially for someone like me. But Purdy was different.
Maybe it was the numerous gay couples I'd seen strolling down the road, holding hands. The fact that not only did nobody seem to hassle them, but that people like my boss Bunny, seemed to take care of them all like they were family.
I unfolded myself from my car, groaning a little when I straightened. I was only eighteen and a half. My body shouldn't be hurting so much. But I guess that's what happened when you'd had multiple broken bones in a span of twelve years, and were sleeping in the driver's seat of your car every night.
Walking into the back, I stopped to clock into the digital system Bunny said took it's dear, sweet, fucking time getting here, and smiled shyly at the cute redhead who was in the middle of tying his apron and yawning.
"Hi, Rory," Ridley said, rubbing his eye. "Bunny told me to tell you to eat a fucking pastry, and if you didn't I was supposed to shove it down your throat. I'm not the violent type, so would you please just eat the fucking pastry?"
He was grinning, and I couldn't help but giggle and roll my eyes. "She doesn't have to make me breakfast every morning."
"Bennett won't let her fuss at him anymore since he's all growed up and married," Ridley said, clearly mocking his best friend, while rubbing a hand over his strangely, slightly swollen belly.
I'd noticed it before. How his belly was oddly bubbled out for such a slim guy. Almost like a pregnant woman. But it wasn't like it took away from the guy's adorableness at all.
Strangely added to it.
Smiling at the idea of Ridley all round with child, and just how amazingly precious that sight would be, I spun, grabbing the pastry Bunny had sat aside on a plate especially for me, and biting into it, making Ridley nod before turning back to his station.
Once chewed and swallowed, I grabbed my own apron and headed out to the front to start pulling chairs down from tables.
By the time I'd managed to get all the condiments and napkin dispensers back on the tables, Ridley was unlocking the front door, smiling as his boyfriend, Bennett and Ronny came in.
Bennett and Ronny came in almost every morning. Flynn always joined them on the days Ridley opened, and usually, Bennett and Ronny's boyfriends would show up about fifteen minutes behind them.
Thompsyn would be grumpy and scowling, which I learned was his natural state. Sutton would breeze in like a cloud of flower smelling energy, smiling and greeting everyone, before plopping right in the middle of Ronny's lap.
They always took the large table in the center of everything, leaving seats for the occasional additions.
I headed over, pulling out my order pad, even though after a week of working here, I knew their orders by heart.
The door opened again, and I expected it to be Thompsyn or Sutton, or even Burke and Foster. The latter two, I had learned, were actually really nice men. Even if the blonde with the glasses had originally made me feel a bit uncomfortable with how he had looked openly horrified at the scarring on my face.
Or maybe that had been because he was sitting with the most gorgeous, chocolate skinned hottie, I had ever seen in my life. And that the beautiful man had been looking at me like I was the source of all that was wrong with the world.
Burke and Foster did enter the diner…followed by the big, bald, black man I'd been having super naughty dreams about since the first time I'd seen his angry face.
They made it to the table to sit down, just as I reached Flynn and raised my pen to the pad, trying desperately to ignore how tingly my body felt and how self conscious I was, knowing that my hair was pulled back and therefore wouldn't sweep forward to hide my ugly face.
Bunny had told me the day she hired me on, that I'd have to keep my hair tied back if I was going to wait tables. That had been hard at first, since I tended to hide behind the long fall of dark brown hair, but one I'd grown used to over this last week, strangely not feeling like I needed to hide in this town.
Until now.
I tried to keep the disgusting, puckered side of my face from pointing in the direction of the big man, but when I rounded the table, working toward where he sat, it was impossible without having to spin my head around completely on my shoulders.
When I made it to him, I refused to look up and see the dis
gust on his face. I had to fight not to run and hide. "And what can I get you?" My voice was nothing more than a choked whisper, and I swallowed, hoping that would help with the tightness in my throat.
"Hello, pretty angel." His deep voice scent a warm shudder through my body, making my heart stumble.
I let my eyes slide in his direction, needing to know whom he was talking to. Deep, melt your panties brown eyes were staring up at me, clearly waiting on me to acknowledge him.
"Uh. Me?" I squeaked. He couldn't be talking to me. One, I wasn't pretty in the least. And two, just a week ago, this man had glared me down like I personally insulted his mother.
He smiled, making my breath catch at his perfectly straight, white teeth contrasting so beautifully against his lusciously dark skin. "Of course."
Of course? Was he making fun of me? I'd dealt with a lot since breaking free of my would-be parents. Hell, I'd dealt with even more while under their care. But most people who saw me, avoided the subject of my scars. They definitely didn't mock my appearance like that.
Swallowing again, I choked down the lump in my throat and blinked back the prick of tears in the corner of my eyes. "What can I get you?"
I couldn't afford to be rude. Even if the man wasn't about five times my size and capable of snapping my spine with his pinky. Even if I did suddenly grow a set of balls the size of that pastry Ridley had been forced to force on me. I was the outsider here. I couldn't draw negative attention to myself in a place where I had nobody at my back.
Not that there was ever anyone at my back.
Bennett reached over and laughingly punched the man in the shoulder. "Suddenly not as charming as you thought you were, huh? He'll take a coffee, Rory."
"And an orange juice," the guy said, bringing my attention back around to him. He was watching me, confusion and possibly irritation written there in the line between his pulled together eyebrows.
