Franny threw back her head and roared with laughter. The man next to her, a tall, buff, heavily tattooed man with a full beard and long blond hair, chuckled, the corner of his mouth twitching up to smile. He was leaning against the bar facing out at the crowd while Franny was turned sideways looking at Cecilia who was bent over the bar above her drink.

"Oscar, are you hearing this?" Franny turned smacking the long-haired man with the back of her hand, "Miss 'mates are for suckers' found THE ONE."

Oscar, a man of few words, inclined his head in acknowledgement. Franny turned back to Cecilia her eyes a blaze with excitement. Cecilia sighed deeply, regretting having to tell them about Hammer being her mate.

Stupid wolf instincts, Cecilia fumed, taking a large swig of her drink. Thankfully, Haven had strong enough liquor that Cecilia could at least get a buzz. Stupid wolf metabolism can't even get wasted.

Haven is a bar and neutral ground for all Fae. They came here to connect and let themselves be free in a space where they did not have to worry about conflict between species, it was also one hell of a bar.

The owner of Haven is a panther shifter who loved theme weeks. This week was cirque and the huge bar had performers spread around. Cecilia looked towards the huge stage where two men with glowing alabaster skin performed with cyr wheels.

"This isn't funny Franny." Cecilia laid her forehead on the bar, "What am I going to do?"

"CeCe...." Cecilia lifted her head and met Franny's intense gaze, "I know your struggling with the idea of a mate bond, especially since you went all wolf stalker on him last night. Exactly how long did you sit outside his house?"

Cecilia was opening her mouth to respond when a familiar scent hit her senses.

" FUCK A DUCK." she groans, turning to the scent.

Oscar and Franny both breathed in the scent.

“Hmm…” Oscar rumbles. Cecilia raised and eyebrow at him and he just raised one right back, clearly deciding to keep his thoughts to himself.

Cecilia’s eyes scanned the crowd and quickly landed on Hammer. He stood out from the crowd to her. He was wearing a long-sleeved olive sweater that brought out the color of his eyes and expensive looking jeans. He was standing next to the bar, talking intently to Camelia, the owner of Haven. His height made him easy to watch. Cecilia’s muscles tensed, she wanted to go over to him, run her fingers through his short red curls and pull him down for a kiss.

"Damn wolf instincts." She muttered through gritted teeth. Her hands clenched into fists and she fought to stay at the bar.

"Cecilia" Franny said cautiously. Cecilia turned her gaze to the blue haired woman next to her, "What's the harm in finding out more. Who knows maybe it'll get the alpha off your back?”

"Speaking of the Alpha...." Oscar added pointing across the bar toward the entrance. Cecilia and Franny both looked over. The packs Alpha, Zachariah, was scanning the crowd, his dark brown eyes intense, he was a large man, tall and buff, his muscles prominent under a tight white tank top. He had heavy brows and a strong jaw; he did not look like someone you would want to cross.

"Fuck," Cecilia groaned, "I can't deal with him today."

She looked over to Hammer and Camelia. She needed Camelia but that would mean dealing with Hammer or she could deal with the Alpha, "Shit, shit, fucking shit."

She looked between Zachariah, Hammer and Franny and Oscar frantically. Oscar's eyebrows were raised, and Franny was smirking enjoying the show. She knew she only had a moment before Zachariah spotted her. Defeated she decided.

"Fucking cock sucking bastard, just has to show up where he's not wanted." Cecilia muttered as she started moving away, "Can't have one night of peace."

Franny watched her storm off towards Hammer and Camelia, "Which one was she talking about?"

Oscar snorted, "Both probably." He nodded his chin towards Zachariah, who was moving towards them, "heads up."

Franny looked from Cecilia to focus on Zachariah, "Hold onto your butts."