The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 186: Chapter 186

She looked down at herself and across at the mirror hanging above the rack where she placed her keys and bag every day after work. Megan wasn’t a dainty pocketbook girl, either. She carried a crossbody bag with her to most places. But not tonight. She slipped a tiny wallet in her pocket with just her ID, some cash, and her credit card.
She didn’t need a jacket, even though it was January and cold as fuck for most normals. But Megan wasn’t human. She carried her own winter coat inside her along with her eight hundred pound she-Tiger.
But for all her muscle and fur, Megan was never much of a girly girl. Oh, she liked paint and polish. In fact, as an artist, she was sort of an expert on the subject. She simply preferred it on whatever project she was working on rather than herself.
Mostly, she did custom paint work and designs on cars and trucks, motorcycles, too. There was something about it that just called to her, even if it was mostly snakes and dragons, flames, that sort of thing. But Megan did not mind. In fact, she loved it.
That she could pay her rent doing custom jobs was something of a thrill. There weren’t many people who could earn a living from something they loved doing. Of course, she was likely going to be turning a profit soon without Mathew to support. She loved her brother, but enough was enough. Megan had to have a life of her own. She was entitled to one, wasn’t she?
“I can see you are overthinking again, my dear,” Uncle Uzzi gently admonished.
“Was it that obvious?”
“Elissa told me something of your plight.”
“The Nari is kind and sweet, but she doesn’t understand. She wasn’t born a Shifter. In the Pride, females were raised to cater to the males⁠—”
“I know, child, but that was before Hunter took over as Neta. He has changed things, no?” Uncle Uzzi interrupted.
Megan took a moment to think about that. The older Witch was not wrong. Things in Maverick Point had changed with their new Neta taking over, and especially after they got rid of his old Beta. But changes moved slowly through the Pride. Especially inside some families. Her mother and father were good people, but even they turned a blind eye to Matthew’s shenanigans. From the time he was born, it seemed Megan had taken on the role of her brother’s keeper.
But not anymore.
“Yes, of course. But change is slow for some, Uncle Uzzi. And for others, there is no changing them. They just nod and smile, but inside they’re the same,” she murmured.
“Yes, I understand family obligations and how powerful those ties can be,” Uzzi remarked. “But, my dear, you have more than done your share for your brother. Now, no more talk about that. Let’s get you to your date!”
Megan walked into the bar after accepting a ride from Uncle Uzzi. The older Witch traveled across the globe to meet with clients so often, he apparently used hired drivers to take him places.
“Whenever I am in the states, I use Falcon Limousine Service for my driving needs. My dear, this is my new driver, Carter, he is from the Blue Valley Pride in town.”
Uncle Uzzi had explained, though it was hardly necessary. She said hello to Carter, her inner animal sniffing to see if he was hers. As usual, the beast was disappointed. Then again, Megan did not really expect it would be that easy to find a mate. After all, she’d been casually checking for prospects for years. Tonight was exciting because it was the first male the older Witch had actually found for her to meet.
Easy girl. Don’t get your hopes up, she told her Tiger, who was already growling softly.
As renowned as Uzzi Stregovich was, she doubted he was that good. In fact, Megan was almost positive tonight would be a bust. She had looked at the neon pink sign outside the rowdy bar and frowned, turning to the matchmaker to voice her doubts. But Uncle Uzzi simply shook his head, touched her nose, and practically dared her to go inside. Megan had no choice. What girl could refuse a dare?
So, there she was, pushing her way through the throng of beer drinkers and revelers, mingling, and making eyes, moving to the pulsating beat of the live band. Hmm. Actually, the band was on fire. Megan tapped her hand on her thigh as she sidled over to an empty bar stool.
A pair of shorter, thinner, bleach blondes snorted as they looked her up and down, but Megan shook it off. She was used to that. At five foot ten and a half inches tall, carrying about forty pounds more than she should, Megan was bigger than most women. Especially, normals.
Still, she was far to set in her ways to work on changing that aspect of her life. Megan was a she-Tiger. She ate. A lot. It was necessary in order to control the dominant animal inside of her. It was also one of the reasons she found it difficult to date. Even Shifter males were wary of her size and strength.
“What can I get you, love?” A pretty, bubbly female who was all about half a foot shorter than Megan with stunning purple eyes and a toothy grin, smiled at her from across the bar top.
“Oh, um, sparkling water?” Megan replied, but it came out more question than statement.
“Sparkling water?”
“Oh, sorry. I am not much a drinker,” she explained, but the bartender was shaking her head.
“I didn’t mean it like that, sweetie. See, we have regular seltzer on tap, or imported mineral water. Which do you want?”
“Well, I suppose I am out. Might as well live a little,” Megan replied, eyes twinkling with amusement. “I’ll have your best imported water.”
“You got it. Now, you wanna get real fancy, I can add a slice of lime to that,” the bartender replied mischievously, wagging her eyebrows up and down.
“Sounds wonderful!”
“It’s excellent, trust me. I just gave birth a few months ago, and I lived on this stuff during my pregnancy. My name is Lucy, Lucy Rand.”
“Nice to meet you, Lucy. I’m Megan. Megan Sudak,” she replied, shaking the female’s hand.
Usually, Megan could tell when someone was a dominant Shifter, but Lucy took her by surprise. The second she touched the bartender’s hand, Megan felt her power sizzle across her skin. She was tiny, but the woman was no one to trifle with.
“Sorry about that. Mated to the Alpha. It makes touching me a little potent sometimes,” Lucy told her and shrugged apologetically.
“No worries. I get it. Normally, I crush the hand of whoever tries to shake mine without even trying.”
“That is awesome!”
“Hardly,” Megan countered, slipping a twenty-dollar bill to Lucy, who shook her head.
“This one is on me, Megan.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she said, offering the bill a second time. When Lucy did not take it, Megan smiled and stuffed it in the tip jar with a wink.
“Naughty! Ha! Thanks, I’ll make sure everyone knows our big tipper before the end of the night,” Lucy said.
“No worries.”
“I mean it, you know. I would love to be strong. I’d been pushed around a whole bunch by folks who thought they had the right just because they were bigger than me.”
“Who did that to you?” Megan asked, her Tiger growling softly.
The animal in her did not like to see people pushed around. Especially someone as sweet as Lucy had been to her.
“Oh, it’s alright. That was before I made my way here, to my mate and my new Pack. Still, I wouldn’t have minded being a badass back when I was alone.”
“Seriously, it’s not all you think it is. Being the tall, fat girl got old really fast in high school,” Megan said, slapping a hand over her mouth. “Shit, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. That’s not exactly cool, fun behavior, right?”
“First off, you can say anything you want to me. I am quiet as a clam,” Lucy said. “Second, have you looked in a mirror lately? There’s like five guys in my line of vision right now who can’t stop staring at you.”
“Hell, they probably want to know what I bench,” Megan murmured, grinning, and sipping her drink.
Lucy snorted a laugh, and Megan smiled in response. That was new. She felt at ease with her, which was weird considering the petite bartender was a stranger. But she had an innate charisma. Lucy was good. She could tell. Even Megan’s she-Tiger chuffed happily inside her.
“Seriously though, I don’t have a problem with my appearance at all, but it was hard with my perfect All-American quarterback brother and his pals always giving me crap,” she confessed.
“Yeah, brothers can be jerks, or so I hear. I grew up pretty much on my own, but I have a Pack now so it’s like I suddenly got a whole bunch of rowdy brothers,” Lucy said, smiling easily as she talked and worked.
She admired the woman’s confidence, and for a brief moment Megan wondered what that must be like. To be so sure of your place in the world, and the people in it. Oh, Megan was loved by her parents, and she liked to believe that deep down, beneath the mess, Matthew cared for her too. She could still remember when he was a sweet toddler who used to follow her around and beg for kisses and cuddle time. Matthew was good then. He didn’t hurt her or ask for too much.
It was a shame how messed up things got between them. She shook her head, not wanting to dwell on her brother or the past. She’d left her hometown and Pride for a chance at something new, and it wouldn’t be fair to herself if Megan didn’t give it her all. She couldn’t do that if she was always looking back.
“What’s got you thinking so hard on a Friday night?” Lucy asked.
She had the oddest color eyes, purple, Megan thought, and they glittered up at her while she waited for an answer to her rather forward question. Megan shrugged, not knowing what to say. Lucy was right, it was Friday night, and she shouldn’t be thinking so hard at all.
“I was thinking, to new beginnings,” Megan said, lifting her sparkling water.
“Now that is a great toast. To new beginnings!” Lucy exclaimed, lifting her own glass of water in salute.
New beginnings sure sounded sweet. Megan paused with her glass poised at her lips. Her senses on high alert, there was a magic in the air she’d never felt before. Her Tiger stilled, the enormous she-Cat watching from inside her.
Oooh, yes, something big is gonna happen tonight.