Dire Wolf Mates - Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Lucy snuck a peek at Derrick from across the room. He’d been watching her all night. A fact she found as disconcerting as it was sexy. His quietly persuasive, alarmingly powerful aura was unlike any other Shifter’s she’d ever met. She knew all too well that males, especially Alpha males, could be a possessive bunch of assholes—to the point of suffocating the happiness right out of a relationship.
Cat Shifters were loners by nature, even if for her, it was more a circumstance kind of thing. Still, she found herself wanting more from life now that she’d met Derrick Rand. Even his name was sexy. Bonus points to him for not letting her down on that front. Could this work?
She’d been mulling it over for two days now, and in Shifter years that was like a month at least, right? The man was an Alpha seemingly loyal and fierce, and even better, he wanted her.
He. Wanted. Her.
No one had ever wanted her as their own before. Not as a friend. Not as family. And certainly not as a mate. She’d been skirting the actual claiming, but even without his bite, she felt the weight of his promise to make her his. His golden eyes followed her, and Lucy’s heart sped up so much she thought he must be able to see it pounding through her skimpy little tank top. The bastard grinned, nostrils flaring as if he could smell her need from all the way over there.
Cocky much?
Hell yes, he was and surprise, surprise, Lucy liked it. In fact, she liked just about everything she’d learned about the huge, tattooed male. It was difficult for her, trusting strangers, especially men. Allowing herself to feel safe long enough to create bonds was something she did not think would happen easily for Lucy. And yet, it was happening now. She felt her chest tighten and squeeze when she thought of this Pack and this place.
Typically, she’d be planning her escape right about now. But Lucy did not want to go. Maybe she was warming up to the idea that Derrick was her mate, even if he was still basically a stranger.
We could remedy that tonight.
Her inner beast pushed the thought into her head, and dammit all, she was actually considering it. She could seduce him. It would be easy. He would let her. Yes, he’d already made sure she knew he meant business. But what did she really know about him besides the fact that he was a Dire Wolf Shifter and a biker.
Was he really willing to settle down or would he take off and leave her first chance he got? Her animal was tickled with the idea of having a mate and cubs—furry little traitor purred with delight every time she saw him or felt him near. But her human side was still uncertain.
What did fear ever get you?
Lucy bit her lip. It was too fast, but she knew that’s how it happened sometimes. For the lucky ones, anyway. But when had she ever been lucky? No. Screw that. Lucy stomped down those negative thoughts and focused on pouring beer and whiskey. Reading the label on the bottle in her hand, she smirked.
Of course, a Shifter bar would have Bite on hand. The handcrafted artisanal whiskey was distilled by Mason Lane, a Wolf Shifter over in Maccon City. Lucy had heard all about him from some Wolves over in the seaside town a few summers back. She’d been passing through, as usual.
Always looking in from the outside.
Morbid thoughts were not welcome tonight, so she pushed it aside and made the next drink. Lucy approved of the label. Bite was some damn fine whiskey. It came in several flavors and had fun little names to go with. Now she poured a second shot of Winter Bite into a glass for her customer. The guy was with a friend, a relative probably, and they were both sinfully good looking, but Lucy found she only had eyes for one Wolf.
One very large, pretty pissed off Wolf, who was heading her way, looking like he was about to break something or someone in two. She turned her head to the two good-looking strangers and winced. Someone was about to have a new asshole torn in his backside.
“Thank you so much, babe. I think maybe you should gimme your number so we can talk, hang out, what do you say?” the guy asked.
Lucy sniffed. Oh fuck, this was not good. The man was Wolf, and he was leaning over the bar. Too close now, but he was a smart fucker, cocking his head as he read her tank top aloud.
“Serious Moonlight? Catchy name.”
“Yeah, it is. Um, stay on that side of the bar, please,” she responded noncommittally.
“Oh yeah? That an insurance thing?” he asked, winking at his buddy while he tapped the bar for her to pour another round.
“Uh, yes? I mean, probably,” she muttered, following Derrick’s angry stride.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“You’re new to town, right? Come on, babe, gimme your number,” he said, giving her a wide grin that must have melted hearts wherever he went. The dog.
“Yeah, I came into town a little while ago, but no on the number. Sorry, pal.”
“Can’t date your customers, huh? You know, this is a nice place and all, but I know another bar you can work where that sort of thing is allowed. Want me to make a call, I will, babe.”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
“You sure, cause I think you’re missing out⁠—”
“Everything alright here, Lucy?” a deep, familiar voice asked.
“Fine, Derrick, thank you,” she replied, eyebrows raised.
She could see his control wavering and had to applaud his attempts to follow her request to allow her to handle things herself. The stranger took one look at Derrick’s bright gold gaze and dropped his shot on the table like it was hot. She could not blame him. Dominance rolled off him in waves, even the humans who did not know Shifters existed seemed to want to move away from him. Fight or flight instinct was a real thing, and anyone with half a brain felt the urge to run from Derrick Rand.
“Enjoying yourself?” he growled the question at the Wolf.
The stranger narrowed his eyes at Lucy, then tried to meet Derrick’s stare, but dropped his gaze after three seconds.
“Uh, yeah. You are?”
“Derrick Rand. I run things here.”
“Oh. Nice. We heard you all were settling down,” the Wolf said, looking uncomfortable as he tracked Derrick’s golden gaze to Lucy, then back again. His buddy idled up to him, a blank expression on his face.
“Hi, I’m Jordan. This is Zeke.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Derrick. This is Lucy.”
The silky, deep, possessive notes in Derrick’s reply had hit a cord straight in her heart. The my before her name was implied, and she couldn’t help the quick twerk of her lips upwards at the thought. The way his golden eyes washed over her had her heart beating double time before he turned and settled his stare on the now grinning stranger.
“Looks great in here,” the Wolf named Jordan said. “I work at The Thirst Dog over in Maccon City. My boss wanted to wish you all good luck, but he’s home with the wife and kids tonight. Family game night.”
“Tell him thanks. Have a beer on me?”
“Sure, bro,” Jordan grinned.
Derrick asked Lucy for three beers, and she grabbed some cold long necks of a good, old fashioned American lager, no crafty IPA shit.
“Cheers,” Zeke mumbled, lifting his beer to his lips.
He gave Lucy one sad look, like she was this missed opportunity, but she just shrugged. Her heart belonged to someone else, and it was about damn time she faced it. The three Wolves remained at her station while she served other customers, and she couldn’t help the thrill of knowing Derrick remained close to her because he wanted her. It was quite a feeling, being wanted. Lucy liked it.
A pretty and sophisticated looking woman sauntered up to the trio, placing a possessive hand on Jordan’s shoulder. With a knowing smile, she turned that pretty face to Derrick, and fuck, Lucy was not prepared for the size of the green-eyed monster that roared to life.
“You must be Derrick Rand,” the woman said, offering him her hand.
She was a very pretty woman. But Lucy’s jealousy was totally unnecessary. Her name was Isa, and she smelled like magic. She was also Jordan’s very claimed and very happy mate.
Nice.
“I have to tell you, this place is freaking awesome,” Isa said.
“The Thirsty Dog is pretty exceptional too, but it has a different vibe. As does Bar None in Barvale. Between the three of us, I think we’ll be giving folks like us some diversity when it comes to hanging out and letting loose. Besides, a little healthy competition is good, don’t you agree?” Jordan grinned at the question.
“I can see that, but how would we track how we’re doing?” Derrick asked.
“Well, Wade Kettle, he’s the owner of Bar None, and Mike run a monthly poker game. Sometimes trusted staff joins in, like me, and we talk shit and talk cross promoting each other’s places. It’s a lot of testosterone and horse foolery, but it clears the air and settles the animal, if you know what I mean,” he murmured.
“I do, thank you. I would be happy to join.”
“Awesome, I will tell Mike.”
“Thank you for a wonderful time,” Isa said, waving to Lucy who nodded at the stunning female.
“Yeah, man, good luck with the new place and, uh, other things,” Zeke muttered, looking miserable.
The Wolf was not smiling as much as he was earlier, but he still dropped a fifty on the bar, and gave Lucy a wave that he cut short once Derrick growled softly in his throat.
Beast of a Wolf. But so totally hot.
The three Macconwood Wolves stood to leave, and Lucy lost track of Derrick for a moment. The bar was busy, flooded with new customers, and she had work to do. She moved about, flipping bottles and catching them before pouring out drinks for the thirsty crowd. Shifter reflexes were awesome for this kind of thing. That and she wasn’t tired standing on her feet for nearly nine hours straight. Her antics with the bottles earned her a few more twenties in the tip jar. But she frowned at the growing pile.
Weird. She should be thrilled. Lucy needed the money to fix her car, but the idea was to leave once she paid for the repairs. Suddenly, that didn’t strike her as a good thing.
Stay. Stay. Stay, her she-Cat begged.
“Cocktail fan?” Derrick asked.
Somehow, the giant man had managed to sneak up behind her after she’d finished pouring a couple of shots of Cinnamon Bite for a group of young Shifter females. Lucy half-smiled and handed the shots over to the trio, who did not bother to leave a tip.
Bitches.
“Hey there, handsome. Wanna do a round?” one of them asked Derrick.
Lucy was going to rip this female’s head off if she didn’t back the fuck up off her man. Derrick replied noncommittally, but that was not enough to sate her angry she-Cat. The young she-Wolves were all thin and good looking, eyeing Derrick like he was a chocolate buffet, for fuck’s sake.
A snarl escaped her lips, and she felt her claws extend before she could stop them. Derrick placed both big hands on her hips and pulled her back into him. The feel of his hard, muscular body at her back calmed her inner beastie. She leaned back into him, loving the way his scent enveloped her. Her inner animal purred happily.
Good mate, offering us comfort and reassurance.
Lucy did not disagree.
“Um, yeah,” she replied to his earlier question. “I watched three Tom Cruise movies on a constant rotation when I was a cub. All we had was this TV/VCR combo and only the VCR part worked. Mom got us the movies at a flea market,” she replied, offering him some insight into her life.