I put that notion to the side however, as I was in fact the ‘dumb*ss’ in question. Turning around it takes everything in me not to become distracted once more. Walking up to the bar was a monster of man, towering a full head above me, even from a foot away. His captivating, honey eyes try to pull me in, reaching out to drown me in their golden rays. The neon lights of the bar danced on his caramel skin, glinting off his many piercings. I follow him with my eyes as he straddles the stool in front of me. My wolf is bouncing off the walls, more joyful than he has ever been.
He crosses his arms on the bar, leaning forward. “Hey doll, why don’t you prove to me that not everyone in this town is incompetent and pour me a bourbon on the rocks?” He winked at me; a playboy grin graces his face. Shining white teeth peak out from the beard perfectly tailored to his jaw line. As breath taking as his smile was it did not stop me from seeing the condescending manor behind that smile and his words.
My wolf instantly ceased his enthusiastic behavior as this condescension reached his ears as well. Oh, my poor mate, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.
‘Looks like we’ll have to train him, won’t we Alin?’ My wolf chuckles darkly, a new emotion taking him.
‘We seem to be on the same page, red. Make sure our scent doesn’t get out. I want to play around a bit before he flips his ‘mate switch’.’ If there is one thing me and my wolf can agree on it the fact that my mate and I will be equals. In all honesty the man probably didn’t mean to offend us but, he still did. I want to correct such behavior before his wolf overpowers it. The bond between mates is an extremely powerful thing, turning even the most brutal of men into a soft teddy-bear, completely at their mate’s disposal, doing anything and everything to make them happy. It’s something I’ve always loved about the bond however, that is the exact opposite of what I need from him right now. I want to make sure his actions are not influenced by the mate bond, that they are truly his.
“First off, doll,” I make sure to stress the pet name, “you’re gonna try that again because no one, and I mean no one, bursts into my bar, disrupts my customers, and demands anything from me.” I mimic his position, with my arms crossed leaning on the bar. “So, is there anything I can get you, sir?” I ask, plastering on my customer service smile. A light chuckle escapes him.
“Fair enough,” the condescension leaves him and his eyes gentle to meet mine, “I’ll have a glass of bourbon with ice if you please.”
I send him a wink of my own, “Coming right up.” After I quickly make the drink, he pays for it with a small thank you before moving to a table toward the back corner. Under closer inspection I can see it is the same table the foreign wolves chose just thirty minutes before. I turn back to fill another order as I listen to them laugh at him for getting ‘set straight by the human bartender’. A few moments later the door opens once more.
“Hey Alin, you parked like sh*t again.” Amoret nags walking in with her vibrant ginger curls in their signature high ponytail. Her light makeup, while making her emerald eyes pop, does nothing to hide the many freckles she supposedly hates.
“And you’re taking advantage of our lack of uniform again.” I joke back at her, seeing the many tattoos showing through her ripped jeans and open t-shirt. We share a friendly laugh as she joins me behind the bar. I hired Amoret as a manager a year ago to basically run things while I’m dealing with my responsibilities in the pack. She’s a midranking beta in Red Moon so she understands and takes advantage of the excuse to leave the caves.
“So what happened to the door?” She asks nodding toward the front door she just walked through.
“What do you mean?” I raise an eyebrow at her. She looks at me, a mix between amusement and astonishment fill her features as though my question were absurd.
Pointing to the door she keeps her eyes trained on me. “It’s busted and nearly falling off it’s hinges.” Quickly I turn and march over to the door. Upon closer inspection I see that she is right. The door, while still fully operational, is busted and broken in several places. My brain can’t help but look back on my mate’s earlier entrance. While it registered that he had tried to break the door down, in my haze of emotions, I had not realized he had succeeded.
I look around the bar, eyes zoning in on one table in particular. Suddenly I get an idea that will not only fix my door but allow me to get closer to my mate. I go back to the bar, Amoret gives me a questioning look as I pour another bourbon on the rocks before heading to the back corner. As I approach the table filled to the brim with foreign pack members most of their conversations die out; to my luck all except one, his. I walk to his end of the table setting down the drink I had just made for him, much louder than I needed to, in order to bring his attention to me. Resting my hand on the table next to his drink I turn my head to look him in the eyes now that they are focused on me.
“What did you say your name was again there, honey?” I ask in the most hospitable voice I can muster.
The smirk that had already been plastered to his lips grew impossibly wider, “And why pray tell would you want to know that, dear barkeep?” His voice holds flirtation so thick one could barely breathe, impressive for such a harmless question. I am not the only one who hears it as the others at the table battle to contain their laughter. I raise my eyebrow to him and he decides to make the right choice and not push me any further. “Jacque. My name is Jacque.”
My skin is set aflame with the utterance of his name. I struggle to regain my composer as I form my response. “Well, it’s nice to meet you Jack,” His jaw tenses every so slightly with my misuse of his name. “I have a feeling me and you are going to get very well acquainted.” The table hollers at the promiscuous undertones of my word choice. Jacque’s eyes widen as his more playful smirk returns, but before he can respond I continue, “When you come in here every day until my door is fixed.” I state with a firm tone pointing over to the damage he caused. His smirk turns from confusion to regret as he catches on to what I’m referring to.
“I look forward to it.” He states with a small smile, features flooded with guilt. There is hope for him yet.
It’s my turn to smirk as I pat him on the shoulder, “But hey, I’ll give you this drink free of charge for your cooperation.” He laughs slightly as I walk away, the table teasing him once more when they believe me to be out of earshot. The rest of the night moves by as normal.
Jacque makes sure to exchange information with me before he leaves at last call. Me and Amoret clear the bar out and begin to clean up for the night. We are joking around as I clean the glasses and she mops the floors when we are suddenly interrupted by a pack wide mind link. ‘The Blackwater pack has arrived sooner than expected. Therefore, the welcome meeting will be held tomorrow at 9:30am. Attendance is required.” Our Alpha’s voice rings through the head of every pack member.
“Leave it to the Alpha to get straight to the point.” Amoret jokes as she clocks out.
“Well, that is his job.” We laugh briefly
“Guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning then.” She says walking toward to door.
“See you tomorrow.” We wave before I lock the door behind her. I can’t wait to get to bed. I yawn walking up the stairs to get to my room. ‘And just think we can dream all night about our gorgeous mate!’ Red giggles. I run my hand down my face as I turn out the lights.
It’s going to be a long night.
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