Chapter Three
Unfortunately for Dan, both Nick and Tom had completely forgotten that they’d made plans for the evening.
"I promised Savannah we'd go to the lake," Tom said, glancing away for a moment as a touch of color hit his cheeks.
Nick let out a breath. “And I said I’d cook tonight. Sorry, Tom. I didn’t mean to let you down.”
Ignoring the swift kick of disappointment, Dan shrugged. “That’s okay. I don’t mind drinking alone. Besides, it might get me some action! You know, the lone, dark stranger?”
Tom chuckled. “After some female company, are you?”
“You’ll find someone eventually,” Nick continued, slapping Dan’s arm. “Is that what’s been bothering you?”
“Nope, just got up on the wrong side of bed this morning,” Dan replied, not wanting to get into a discussion with Tom and Nick about his love life - or lack of it. “I’ll go for a run in the woods first, then head to the bar. Give you guys some space.”
Despite their protests, Dan left almost immediately. The last thing he wanted was to hang around while they all got ready to leave. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed that Nick and Tom had needed to cancel, but he had to just get over that. Life was too short.
Jogging towards the woods, Dan let his bear come out just as he took his first step into the trees. Normally he made sure to put his clothes somewhere first before he shifted, but right now, he didn’t care. They shredded as his body changed, falling in pieces onto the forest floor. The bear was feeling angry, given the way it tore itself out of him. Angry that he’d been forgotten about, again.
Instead of trying to calm the bear side of him down, Dan let the emotions roll over him. When he was a bear, there was no hiding his emotions with laughter or jokes. He felt everything. All the emotions he’d been hiding from the others - and from himself - came out in one go, bear style. Standing on his hind legs, he let out a loud roar, not caring if Nick or Tom heard him. It felt good to get it out. His body tensing, he stretched high, before falling forward onto his front paws and raced through the woods.
Branches cracked and splintered as he ran, headlong, through the trees. He didn’t know where he was going, he just knew he needed to run. The bear was enjoying every moment, and, slowly, the anger left his body.
Eventually slowing to a halt, Dan threw himself onto the ground, rolling over and over in the dirt. Sometimes his bear instincts felt really good. Just rolling around in a heap, forgetting all about his lack of a mate. Funny how his love of humor could come out even in his bear form. Snorting, Dan eventually got to his feet, shaking his fur hard. The others would be gone by now, he guessed. He'd give the lake a wide berth on the way back - since Tom and Savannah were going there and he didn't want to stumble across anything. Mentally wincing, he meandered slowly back towards the mechanics, sniffing the air as he approached. There was a lingering scent of the other members of the pack, but nothing fresh. They were gone all right.
It didn’t take him long to shower and dress. He’d wondered if the quietness of the shop might be nice, but instead, it just haunted him - almost mocking him. He was part of the pack, that was for sure, but he was the only single guy in the place. Why did that bother him so much? Why was his bear so desperate to find a mate?
Perhaps it was just a part of being a member of a real pack. Back in the Northern Wind pack, they never had time to even think about that kind of thing. Lucas wouldn’t allow it. There was fighting, and that was all there was. No relationships of any kind, not even friendships. It was completely forbidden.
Walking to the town bar, Dan shook his head. Lucas wasn’t going to be able to run the Northern Wind pack that way forever. Soon enough, he was either going to have everyone desert him in the same way he and Savannah had, or he was going to have someone try and stand up to him. Either way, it didn’t look good for Lucas. A slight twist of conscience burned into him. Lucas couldn’t have always been that cruel, could he? There must have been something to make him that way, not that he’d ever let anyone in on that secret. Lucas was as cold and as calculating as they come. He never let anyone in, never let anyone know what he was thinking, and certainly never spoke about his feelings. To do that would just be a sign of weakness.
One thing was for sure, Lucas wasn't done with them yet. Night after night, Dan, and the others had discussed tactics, but, without knowing what Lucas was planning, it was pretty hard to do. They didn't want anyone else to get hurt, but Nick had warned them that, unfortunately, it was more than likely to happen. There was a full blown war going on between them and the Northern Wind pack now, even though Dan knew that Nick and the others didn't want to be a part of it. The hairs on the back of his neck rippled as he tensed, wondering what Lucas would do next.
Pushing away his thoughts about what Lucas might be up to, Dan walked towards the bar, hoping it wouldn’t be too quiet. Perhaps someone might challenge him to a game of pool or darts - not that he was good at either of them. Otherwise, he’d just be stuck drinking alone and that wasn’t particularly fun. He’d come here for company of some kind, even if was just going to be some old drunk guy offering to play a game of darts.
Swinging open the front door, Dan walked in - only to walk headlong into the biggest guy he’d ever seen. It was like walking into a wall. He didn’t even bounce off. “Careful,” he exclaimed, staggering back. “Haven’t you got eyes in your head?”
The very moment he said it, Dan knew he’d made a mistake. The guy was a giant, with muscles bulging in places where Dan didn’t even think he had muscles. Tattoos were on every bit of exposed skin, and the shaved head just completed the look. This wasn’t a guy you messed with.
“Got something to say?” the guy sneered, his eyes narrowing.
“Uh…no,” Dan replied, trying to edge past him. “Never mind. My mistake.”
“Yeah,” the guy responded, prodding Dan in the chest with one large finger. “It was.”
Resisting the need to roll his eyes, Dan just nodded and walked past him. Probably pumped full of those muscle enhancing steroids, he thought to himself, glancing over his shoulder to see the guy still watching him. Gym rat, that kind of guy. You don’t get muscles like that just sitting at home watching TV.
Still distracted, he continued into the bar. Turning his head away from the guy behind him, Dan managed to bump into another person - except this time, he wasn’t the one who fell over.
Stumbling forward, he tried to stop himself from walking on whoever it was he’d knocked down. Tripping over his own feet, he somehow managed to keep himself upright, finally ending up hanging onto the edge of the bar for dear life.
Struggling to his feet, Dan felt heat rush into his face as he realized that everyone in the bar had gone deadly silent, watching him. Suddenly, laughter erupted around him, making him drop his head with embarrassment.
“Aren’t you going to help me up?” said a voice from the floor beneath. “I mean, you are the reason I’m down here.”
Turning to see who it was he'd knocked over, Dan's response died on his lips as he saw the most beautiful woman smiling up at him, reaching up for his hand.
Chapter Four
“Well?” said the woman on the floor. “A little help?”
Dan nodded blankly, before lifting the stools up out of her way. Taking her hand, he helped her up, mumbling an apology.
“I’m so sorry,” he muttered, not quite able to look her full in the face. “I should have been watching where I was going.”
She lifted one eyebrow. “Yes, you should have.” Dusting herself down, she gave him a rueful smile as she tied her long, jet black hair, back into a ponytail. “But I’m sure it wasn’t done on purpose.”
"I was distracted by the guy outside," Dan tried to explain, aware that his cheeks were burning. "Some big guy. Anyway, I'm sorry. Can I buy you a drink to make up for knocking you over?" He tried his best winning smile, watching her dark blue eyes light up. Her smile took his breat
h away as her scent hit his nose full force. She smelled like cinnamon with a hint of vanilla, which just heightened his sudden attraction to her.
“Another time,” she promised. “I’d better get going.”
“Okay,” Dan replied, trying to hide his immediate disappointment with another quick smile. “I’ll see you another time, I hope.”
He watched her smile back at him, although her expression remained serious. “Maybe,” she murmured, turning away. “Not sure how long I’m here for.” She waved at him over her shoulder. “Bye.”
Dan watched her leave, muttering a ‘goodbye' a little too late. As the door swung closed behind her, he battled with a mad urge to run after her and beg for her phone number, but instead, he forced himself to go sit down at the bar. He didn't want to look desperate, not to mention she wasn’t going to be here long. It’d be best if he simply forgot about her.
“A beer,” he called, and the bartender nodded at once. Handing him a cool one, he wandered off to serve the other customers.
Dan sat in silence, drinking his beer. He was lonely, he admitted to himself, lonelier than he'd ever been. Perhaps seeing a stunning girl like that just made him realize how stupid he was. Groaning to himself, he dropped his head in his hands. The first thing he'd done, by way of introduction, was to knock her to the floor, followed by pushing down two bar stools on top of her. Not exactly a great first impression.
“Have another one,” came the bartender’s voice, pressing another beer into his hands. “On the house.”
Dan glanced up, surprised. “On the house? Why?”
The bartender - a slightly older man with a kind smile - shrugged. "You're new around these parts. Think it's about time we welcomed you. Even if you did knock down two of my bar stools."
“If anything’s broken, I’ll replace it,” Dan promised, but the bartender just shook his head.
“Don’t worry a bit about it,” he grinned. “I think you’ve been embarrassed enough!”
Appreciating the beer, as well as the gesture, Dan sat quietly in the bar for another half hour or so, just thinking things through. He was tired of being alone, but there didn't seem to be an easy way out of that for him. Given how he'd just managed to ruin his first impression with the only attractive girl he'd seen around these parts for some time, there wasn't a lot of hope for him. On top of that, he wasn't going to be going in for those quick relationships - the ones that started and ended in only a few days. He was looking for something permanent, and that wasn't going to happen with someone who wasn't sure whether she was going to even be staying in town or not. And then there was the problem of shifters. To have something long term, he needed to find a shifter for his mate. He didn’t even have a whiff of an impression that the girl with the jet black hair was a shifter.
After a couple more drinks, Dan sighed and himself away from the bar and got to his feet. “Thanks,” he muttered, paying for his drinks. “Think I’m going to head on home.”
“Good to see you,” the bartender replied. “You’re welcome here any time.”
Dan smiled, before leaving the bar. At least there was one thing going for this town, the people sure were friendly. Lucas used to want to keep the pack completely separate from humans. Something about them being weaker and not worth a shifter's time. When he'd heard that Nick had fallen in love with a human instead of a shifter, Lucas was pretty vocal about his disgust.
The Alliance pack sure were different, Dan thought to himself as he walked outside. There was a healthy respect between the pack members, and they certainly respected the humans in the town. That was one of the things Nick was worried about. When Lucas attacked, the last thing Nick wanted was to have any humans involved or hurt in any way. Dan grinned to himself as he remembered just how much Jo hated that she wasn't allowed to be involved in anything, even though she recognized that she wasn't a shifter.
His phone rang, and, as he flipped it open, he grinned at the caller I.d. “Hi, Jo. Something gone wrong with Nick’s amazing dinner?”
He heard Jo sigh, which made him laugh out loud. “What happened?”
“You don’t want to know,” Jo grumbled. “Let’s just say Nick isn’t allowed to cook again any time soon.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yup.”
Dan shook his head, struggling to be sympathetic in any way. He was already busy thinking of ways to poke fun at Nick when he saw him again.
“Listen, are you still at the bar?”
“Yeah, but I’m just about to head home.”
There was a slight pause. “Would you be able to pick us up some takeout?”
Dan chuckled. "All you guys eat is takeout! Aren't you getting bored of the same thing over and over?"
“We tried to eat a home-cooked meal tonight, didn’t we?” Jo replied, slightly defensively. “And look how that turned out!”
He had to admit she had a point. “Yeah, I guess so. Right, what can I get you?”
Listening carefully, he took Jo’s order, wandering along the street towards the Chinese takeout place. “And make sure to get something for yourself,” Jo finished. “You’re welcome to eat with us at the cabin.”
Dan screwed up his face. “So long as I’m not interrupting anything.”
“No, no,” Jo exclaimed. “Nothing like that. At least, not after the disaster that was meant to be our dinner!”
“I can almost smell the burnt food from here,” Dan joked, finally managing to get a slight chuckle from Jo. “I won’t be long.”
“Thank you, Dan,” Jo replied, sounding grateful. “I’ll see you soon.”
Chapter Five
Closing his phone, Dan walked into the Chinese restaurant and placed his order. It was pretty quiet, so it didn’t take long to order his food. He was quite surprised at how hungry he was, but it was probably because he and his bear had a run wild in the woods before he’d come into town. Paying for his order, he picked up the bags and walked out of the shop.
A sudden voice caught his ears, and, for the first time today, he used his bear senses to their full extent. Listening hard, he sniffed once. It was her, it had to be. He couldn’t think of anyone else recently who smelled like a combination of vanilla and cinnamon.
Skulking into the shadows, he listened harder. He didn’t want to eavesdrop on their conversation, but neither did he want to leave her alone if he was in trouble. From the snatches of the heated conversation he could hear, he was pretty sure she was arguing with someone.
Taking a few steps closer, he narrowed his eyes, staring into the gloom. Finally, he could see her, outlined by the slightly orange glow of the street lights above.
“Just back off, Dominic!” she exclaimed, jabbing at the man opposite her. “I’ve said no.”
With a sinking heart, Dan recognized the man she was talking to as the ‘muscles everywhere' guy he'd bumped into - literally - outside the bar. "Now's no time to be a wimp," he muttered to himself, still watching them.
“Where are you going to go?” Dominic’s voice came roaring towards Dan’s ears. “You’ve got nothing and no-one, Lucy, except me. You’re not leaving me.”
“Yes, I am,” Lucy shouted back, not backing down an inch. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Dominic. I’m not going to be a part of this.”
The moment Dan saw Dominic’s hand shoot out and grab Lucy’s arm, he moved forward. Trying to remain casual, he sauntered towards them, putting his bag of takeout on the sidewalk. “Everything okay?”
“Stay out of this,” Dominic growled, already squaring up to Dan. “This is between me and her.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Dan replied, ignoring the wave of panic that flooded him as the image of one of Dominic’s meaty fists punching him hard in the stomach floated in front of his eyes. Turning to the woman he now knew to be Lucy, he tried to smile. “Is everything okay?”
She was the picture of anxiety. Her hands were on her hips, as she shifted her weight from one foot to the next. “Fine,�
�� she replied, flashing him a brief - and false - smile.
"You sure about that?" Dan asked, trying to ignore the way that a low muttering was coming from the big guy next to him. He clearly wasn't happy with the way Dan was interfering. "I mean, this guy seemed to be harassing you."
Dan threw a cautious glance at the big guy to his left - Dominic - seeing the way his lip was curling. Obviously, this wasn't a good place for anyone to be and he should probably just get out of here but Dan wasn’t about to leave this girl alone. Dominic looked like the kind of guy to hit out first and ask questions afterward.
"Like I said," the girl repeated, breaking into his thoughts. "Everything's fine. We know each other."
"Doesn't mean he can't be an idiot," Dan muttered, quietly. He didn't see the fist coming towards him, but he certainly felt it. It was like a tire iron being hit against the side of his head. It hit him with such force that he fell backward, hitting the back of his head off the sidewalk. Stars exploded in front of his eyes, and he groaned aloud. His bear roared in pain, but Dan couldn't let it rip from his body. Rolling to one side, he groaned again and pushed himself onto all fours. Breathing hard, he struggled not to let his bear explode from his skin and rip into Dominic. That’s what he would have done if he was still part of the Northern Wind pack, but not now. Reminding himself that he was part of the Alliance, he shook his head to clear it, trying to get to his feet and hoping desperately that Dominic would not hit him again.
***
“Dominic!” Lucy screamed, shoving him hard. “What the hell are you doing?” She couldn’t believe he’d hit out at some random stranger, who was just trying to help. The guy looked strong enough, but he was no match for Dominic. It wouldn’t be a fair fight and Lucy wasn’t about to let Dominic even think about starting one.
“Leave him,” Dominic growled, grabbing her arm. “Let’s go, Lucy.”
His grip was tight, but a wave of fury raced through her as she shook him off. “For the last time, Dom,” Lucy retorted, stepping back. “I’m not coming with you. Get lost!”
The Dragon's Charm Page 122
