by Elle Lincoln
“Yes, okay. Despite what I say, I feel a pull toward you, and I’m enjoying this conversation thing,” I admit.
“Then here is the deal.” He pulls into an old-school diner, the kind that looks like a recreational vehicle. It has tin all around its curvy sides with retro lettering on top that reads, “Moonlit Diner.” Catchy, but also blatant considering I’m surrounded by wolves.
“I thought the deal was my acceptance and your help?” I look inside, noting how busy the little diner is. Must be the only place for miles. I hope their fries are crispy. It’s hard to mess up a fry, but at the same time those who fail at fry making stick with me.
He shuts the engine down and pockets my keys. Thief.
“The deal right now is that you and I go in that diner, have a meal, and talk. Get to know each other. Though I’m getting a picture of who you are now.” He smirks, swinging the door open.
“Athos?” He crouches down to look at me.
“Yeah, little cub?”
“We will talk about magic?” I can’t hide the excitement in my voice, visions of fireflies and pixies dancing in my head.
“Maybe, why don’t we start with that pesky curse of yours?” Before I can answer, he slams the door shut and walks around the truck to open my door.
“What a gentleman.” I beam at him as I slide to the ground. Why are these damn things so high in the first place? They don’t need to be that high. Really, it’s just overkill at this point. “Why do you call me ‘cub?’”
“Would you rather I call you Damsel? Or Doll?” He shuts the truck door and leads me to the front of the building.
“Touché. Cub it is.” I pause on the steps up to the front door and turn to him. He’s still taller than me, so I have to glance up at him. “But why?”
“Because you are far too curious for your own good. A child in a world of predators who doesn’t have the sense to fear those bigger than her.” He smiles at me, his eyes hooded as he takes me in. Leaning close, he whispers, “You should fear the predator, Sabina, not poke it with a stick.”
“You know, you do this thing where you talk to me with that suave voice of yours, but I can’t decide if it’s genuine or snarky with a side of smart-ass.” I cock my head and tap my chin. “You could tell me my farts smell like literal roses and I’d believe you, all while you’re being a shithead. Is that your lycan superpower? I don’t know if I like it.” I nod my head once. “I lie, I like it.”
I spin around, but Athos catches me and twirls me back to slam into his chest, his hand wrapping around my hair. Butterflies instantly take flight all over my body, and damn does it feel good. A gasp rushes from my lips as my palms land on his chest.
“Little cub, what do all children grow up to be?” Damn him and his magic thumb circles on my hip that shoot straight to my clit. Not to mention the other hand tugging my hair. Who knew I’d enjoy that so damn much?
“Cogs in a machine?”
His half smirk is fucking everything. “They grow up to become fierce wolves. I have no doubt that one day you will rule my pack.”
Well, shit. What the hell am I supposed to say to that?
“Get a seat, you’re disturbing the other patrons.” The sour voice destroys all my fantasies of exhibitionism.
“Good afternoon, Nala, forgive us.” Athos pulls away, and I sigh at the loss.
Spinning, I glance at the brown-haired disruptor with legs.
“You,” she hisses, blowing her rancid breath over me. I shudder at the scent. Anger infuses her eyes as they squint down at me. Her jaw clenches and her nostrils flare in distaste. Clearly, I left an incredible impression upon her.
“Is this going to be a mean girl moment? Because let’s face it, I’m too hungry to deal with you right now.” I go up a step, ready to brush past her, but she continues to stand in my way.
“Nala,” Athos warns, and Legs actually backs away. His voice is literal magic, and I want it to whisper dirty things to me… just after we lift this curse.
“Yes, Alpha.” She steps to the side, her head downcast, but her eyes never leave mine. Though once I pass her, her blood-red nails strike Athos’s arm. “Shadow is inside.”
Her words should annoy me, but my brain malfunctions and my muscles react like a warrior goddess. Without thinking, I karate chop her forearm, breaking her hold on Athos. “No touchy.”
“Athos,” she whines like a petulant child.
I hope I don’t sound like that when I whine. I make a mental note to reduce my whining tendencies.
“Nala, you touched what isn’t yours,” he declares, before his hand drifts to my shoulder, making that statement a little clearer.
She glances from me, to him, then back to me. “No.” She shakes her head in denial, her beautiful face flushing with anger. “Liam?”
“Not here, Nala.” He gestures for me to go inside, but I almost feel bad for the crazy woman losing her shit. I can see the cogs turning in her head before the steam flies out. Snarling her displeasure, she brushes past us into the parking lot, her heeled feet stomping the gravel as she rips off her apron.
Who the hell wears heels to a waitressing job? Gold diggers, that’s who. “So definitely an ex-girlfriend.”
“Pick a seat.” He ushers me inside, ignoring my question. “Not that way.” He steers me in the opposite direction I intended to go and back to the corner of the diner.
“You should have just led the way instead of giving me the choice,” I grumble, falling into an empty booth with a plop.
“Nala hoped she would be a mate. As a mage, she held that potential.”
I frown, grabbing the menu and planning to order everything off of it with extra fries to go. “She called you Alpha, but she’s a mage.” I thought she was a wolf. Nope, worse, she’s a mage. “What the hell is a mage?” I hiss.
“A user of magic. They hold the ability to manipulate the magic in all creation and bend it to their will.” He doesn’t even look at his menu, only taps it. Probably has the damn thing memorized.
A flash of envy tries to steal my breath, but I shove it away. Being a mage sounds like a lot of fun. I could zap shit into and out of existence. I’d be the best mage there ever was. I frown, knowing I’d more or less end up spelling myself. “Wait a second. Can they curse people?”
“Only gods hold the ability to curse other living creatures.”
“You didn’t say humans.” I draw the last word out.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Fries.”
“Fries? That’s all? You can’t just eat fries. You need to eat a meal.” He grimaces, stealing my menu.
I’m screwing with him, and the confusion on his face is almost entirely worth it. “Yep. Fries.”
“Sabina, you can’t just eat fries.” He balks, and I can tell he’s ready to order for me.
“Fries,” I whisper in a creepy voice. I may have gone too far, because his lip sneers.
The waitress walks up, and luckily it isn’t Legs. She’d probably spit in my damn food. Can’t have that, now can we? Her warm blond hair is swept up into a topknot on her head, while her delicate features smile at me. Her blue eyes boarder on violet, and her cheekbones hit the light just right, making them look like they could cut glass.
“Fairy,” I announce, while leaning out of my booth to see if she has wings. Finding no wings, just her melodic laughter, I sit back into my seat with a pout.
“Not a fairy, sweet cheeks.” I’m not so sure about that with the way she’s smiling at me and drawing me in.
“Sabina, this is Emerald.” Athos calls my attention back to him. “She’s human.”
Emerald laughs at that with a shake of her head. “I’m no more human that you are, hun.”
I frown. “Then what the hell are you?” I wave my hands around. “Is this the part of Pennsylvania that lives in a twilight zone bubble?” I eye each patron suspiciously.
“Allegheny National Forest is complicated, Sabina.” Athos leans back in his vinyl
seat, the fabric squishing under his weight. “Emerald, I’ll have the bacon burger—rare, as usual. And Sabina here will have—”
“Fries,” I chirp, suppressing an evil smile at Athos, whose frown is messing up his handsome face.
Emerald doesn’t miss a beat, instead offering me a wink and a smile.
“You cannot just eat fries.” Athos throws his hands up.
“Poutine has all the food groups,” Emerald offers, that sneaky bitch.
“Baked potato fries do as well,” I add.
“A meal, Sabina, a freaking meal.” He crosses his arms in annoyance. He’s being so patient. I’m sure he’s restraining himself from just ordering for me.
I think I’ve pushed too far… nope, not far enough. “What are your vegan options?” I blink at Emerald in complete seriousness.
Her laughter draws the attention of multiple patrons. “Oh, Alpha, good luck with this one.”
But his eyes are on me, squinting in fury. “Vegan?” he growls.
“Vegan.” I’m not, but Pepper is. I wonder if she’s a mate to any of these weirdos.
“The universe mocks me.”
Do I let this keep going? Or do I end it here? I kind of feel bad, like I’m insulting vegans. Yet I don’t feel bad about teasing him. What does that say about me?
“I’m sure I can head out back and whip up a salad for ya, hun.”
I wag my finger at the beautiful blond. “Know what? I like you.”
“Of course you do,” Athos murmurs before leaning forward, his head canting to the side. “You’re fucking with me.”
I smile, because what the hell else can I do? I spin to Emerald now that he’s made me. “I’ll have what he’s having. Cheese fries though, and extra fries to go.” I lean to the side, eyeing up the chocolate cake in the case. “Can I have a whole one of those to go too?”
“Emerald, get her the regular meal and the rest Liam will pick up later.”
“Got it, Alpha.” She leans down for a moment, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Shadow is here.”
“Thank you, Emerald, that will be all.”
Dismissed, she walks away, not at all bothered by his tone. Though if he had used that tone with me, I’d be fuming.
I grab the crackers out of the little bowl and pop them open. Little crumbs splatter across the table. “What’s Emerald?” Because dammit, curiosity.
He snarls just a hair before leaning back, his fingers pressing into the crumbs on the table. “She’s the mate of a vampire.”
“Wait...” I lean to the side again, looking at all the customers with a fresh perspective. “They’re real?” I mean, am I really surprised? Because I’m not. I’m just cruising along on this crazy train now.
He smiles but doesn’t answer, just watches me, assessing me. It’s making me fidget. “So what do you want to talk about?” I try. “Also, what did you have planned for the day?”
Because I keep forgetting I need to search my father’s room and find out what people thought of him, I make a mental note to ask Emerald when she comes back.
“Right now, I just want to talk.”
“You don’t want to tell me about this Shadow guy everyone keeps warning you about?” Again, I look out at the others, but I can’t pick up on any creepy guys.
“Not right now. I’m sure when we go to leave, he will approach us.” He leans forward with a devil-may-care smile. “Tell me about Sabina.”
“Tell me about Athos,” I tease, enjoying our banter while a flirtatious energy swirls around us. No touching, no teasing. Just two people talking.
I’m thinking this just might be a date.
Chapter 15
I’ve got that kind of face ache that only smiling brings on, and I love it. Between the food and the conversation, my heart feels just as full as my belly. I had to unbutton my jeans before it pops off and takes my eye out, and for the first time in a very long ass time, I feel good. Really good. That suspicious good that makes people wonder when the next shoe will drop. Or a house on a witch. Or a diner on a mage.
I immediately think of the diner dropping on Nala and hide my smile behind a cough.
Not even Legs, Nala, who came in moments after we got our food can dim my mood, not with her casting dirty looks at us every chance she got. I also swear she tugged my hair a few times, which is insane, until I remember she’s a mage and can-do shit like that.
Right now, my giggles spill out in full force while Athos keeps looking at me like the sun rotates around me. Or maybe just him. I love it, though not once did he dive in and question me about that pesky curse. He will, I can see the question in his gaze. The desire to know more. But he doesn’t push.
Over the past hour, several patrons came up to say hello to him, all calling him Alpha. Maybe I’m missing something, but he’s sweet and genuine, at least to me. When they reach him, his face smooths of those laugh lines I’m coming to adore, and he addresses each person by name as though he knows everything about them. He just may. But I’m not seeing this alpha asshole I read about in books. He’s more of a leader who gets his hands dirty. Not a dictator or one who delegates. But a leader who knows how to get things done, and he isn’t afraid to get down and dirty to help make that happen.
“What’s that smile for?” He clasps his hands, leaning forward just a fraction.
“I’ve been smiling this entire time. Do my smiles have different meanings? Are you interpreting them now?” How is he learning my quirks so damn fast? Though he isn’t wrong, the smile tipping my lips is due to the appreciation of the man before me. A creature of myth opening up his heart and soul to me, and I can’t help but value that.
It’s also turning me on to a point where I keep shifting in my seat. I don’t miss him sniffing the air and his eyes hooding as he looks at me like he wants to eat me up. I swallow back my desire.
Friendship, Bean. Friendship.
Dammit, I’m trying, but he just looks so damn yummy, and I want to lick him from head to toe and use his hair as a handlebar. A fresh wave of desire pulses through my clit, and I shift just right so the seam of my jeans rubs just so.
I bite my lip and shiver as a moan threatens to escape.
“Time to leave.” Athos stands abruptly, slapping more than enough cash on the table.
Damn you, succubus vagina. We were doing so well here. Conversation and friendship, then you had to ruin it for us. Cunt.
Literally.
I shake my head, dislodging my wayward thoughts because they clearly aren’t doing us any lick of good. Standing, I take Athos’s hand, allowing him to lead me away. His body tenses as we walk through the diner. He nods to each man, woman, and child until we finally step outside into the midafternoon light.
The crisp air fills my lungs and cools my desire enough to walk without feeling squishy.
“Where to next, Alpha?” I tease, but the lust fueled gaze he gives me is all seduction and sexy promises.
Why am I resisting?
Oh, right. The curse. That pesky, paltry thing we need to break so I can have my fill of delicious alpha lycan. Nom fucking nom.
Okay, who am I right now? Sex starved, that’s who.
My eyes haven’t once left him as we walk to the truck, a light breeze flowing around me. The sound of a throat clearing pulls my gaze away from Athos, and his hand clenches on mine as my eyes land on a man leaning against the hood of my truck. His lean body appears relaxed, though his black shirt is tight against his frame, giving away his tension. My breath whooshes out as I get a good, long look at him. Rugged and handsome, he gives off the vibe that he’s the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks.
Standing at what has to be at least six and a half feet tall, with dark hair swept back off his face and a salt and pepper scruff, he’s definitely got that elegant aged appearance. Chestnut colored eyes track me as Athos and I step toward the truck. Lazily, he sweeps one barefoot leg over the other as he uncrosses and recrosses his arms.
I feel like I should fa
n myself, he’s that deliciously hot, but that isn’t all. As he stands there assessing me, a flicker of something more crawls its way into his eyes—a cruel detachment to the world that surrounds him. Serial killers have that look to them. They’re handsome and polite on the outside, yet when they look at you, your body reacts with fear though there shouldn’t be any reason to be afraid.
“Shame.” A voice like gravel and sex rolls over me.
Until his words catch up to me, and Athos breaths out a sigh of relief. “Oh, for wolf’s sake.” I snatch my hand from Athos. “I said I have enough so-called mates. Did you really think I’d take on one more?” I turn to the delicious man standing there all sex-godlike. “And you” —I point to who can only be Shadow— “what is this shame you speak of and why do you all look at me like that while uttering that word?”
I pout because I am anything but shameful. I am a goddess, dammit. Affirmations!
“Shadow,” Athos addresses the delectable wolf who is not my mate. “This is Sabina Kowalski.” Shadow’s eyes flicker for a brief second before they fade back to brooding. “Sabina, this is Shadow of the Shadow pack.”
I giggle. Who the hell names their pack after themselves? How narcissistic is this guy?
“Something funny?” Shadow questions.
“Nope, not at all.” I roll back on my heels, choosing to stare at the fluttering leaves as they quiver in the wind. Behind me, voices float through the diner’s walls, sharing cheerful conversations and laughter.
“You owe me three wolves, Athos.” Shadow still keeps his chestnut gaze on me while he addresses Athos. Even as I look everywhere but at him.
“I owe you nothing, you know the rules, Shadow.” Oh, there it is, there’s the alpha male everyone worships around here. The command, the no bullshit tone. It sends a shiver up my spine. “They enter my land, they are subject to death.”
“They knew what they were getting into when they stepped foot on your side of the forest.” Shadow shrugs as though their deaths mean nothing to him. His posture remains relaxed, uncaring.
“They threatened my mate.” Athos vibrates with fury and the need to strike at Shadow as he stands rigid before him.
