7, What was wrong with beer or hard liquor?
Tite
The three of us walked into the dining hall and headed for the main table. Our father looked up and watched us approach.
“She will go with the Howlers,” was all Ulf said. He helped Amber to sit down at the table and went to get them both food. My father looked at me with a scowl.
“This was fun. I’ll be going back to work now. When are we leaving?” I asked.
“You have a long ride back, stay the night and use our guest rooms. You can leave in the morning,” my father said.
“Sounds good, thank you,” the older human said.
“Fine by me,” I agreed and didn’t wait for any further reply. I walked over to the bar. It was about time for the pups and teenagers to head back home. It would turn the dining hall into a full out biker bar.
“Had your little break?” Gus asked.
“You bet your ass I did, had a little snooze and all,” I told him. He laughed and we went back to working side by side in silence.
Two hours later and the noise level had gone up remarkably and the scene was more that of a traditional biker bar. The two humans were still sitting at the main table, I did my best to ignore them, well mostly my mate, but I could feel his eyes on me from time to time. I wasn’t surprised to see some of the sweet butts trying to make a move on him. He was fucking sexy and he was fresh meat. What did surprise me was him rejecting them. Judging by how he had come on to me, he wasn’t one to turn down some action. I shook my head and tried to focus on other things, like the fact that I was about to overfill the beer I was holding. I let go of the tap in time and handed it to one of the pack members. In the middle of everything, Mara and Kendra came walking. They both stood out like flamingos in a murder of crows. Their pink outfits against the leather and black attire popped. Pack members got out of their way as they walked up to the main table. Mara was their Luna, and despite whether they liked it or not, they showed her respect. Mara took her seat at the end opposite my father and Kendra walked up behind Oscar, Johan’s son. He was sitting next to my mate, but when he felt Kendra stare at him, he made room for her so she could sit down between them. I rolled my eyes. Of course she was going after him.
“I need a drink!” Mara called out. She would usually just mindlink, but we had humans amongst us.
‘The bitch bellowed,’ I mindlinked Gus. He snorted but started preparing a cosmopolitan. He was about to walk over to her with it when he froze.
‘She wants you to bring it,’ he told me. Of fucking course she did. I told myself this was just the latest of her attempts to try and provoke me. If I fell for it, she would win. I plastered on a smile and took the drink. As I walked towards the main table, I saw several pack members flinching and realised my smile might look more like a snarl. I relaxed my face.
“Your drink, Luna,” I said as I placed it down on the table in front of her. She said nothing. Until she took a sip and looked at my father sitting across from her. He was looking at her.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Tite, while you are on the go, could you bring me a margarita?” Kendra asked. What was it with these women and drinks? What was wrong with beer or hard liquor?
“Sorry Kendra, Gus is being overrun. I will make the drink, but you need to come up and get it,” I said.
“Alpha,” Kendra objected in a whiny voice. How anyone could find it cute, I didn’t know. It made my wolf want to tear her ears off.
“Just get her the fucking drink,” my father sighed. Kendra gave me a brilliant smile, letting me know she had won. I mindlinked Gus the order as I walked back to the bar. It was almost ready when I got there. I took the drink, walked back to the table and put it in front of Kendra and walked back to the bar without looking or talking to anyone. As I got back, I saw Amber stand up, say something to the table and walk over to the bar.
“Two beers, please,” she said as she leaned on the counter.
“Coming right up,” Gus told her in the most cheerful voice he could muster, which was still grumpy.
“Thank you,” I said to her. “I would have got it for you,” I added. I knew she had done it to show support for me. As the next Luna, her actions had importance.
“I know, but we need to stick together,” she told me, grabbing the beers Gus handed her. She walked over and placed one of them down in front of Ulf and the other at her seat. Ulf pulled her down in his lap and she laughed.
The night continued the same way. Kendra and Mara refused to get their own drinks. I could see the looks the pack was giving them, mostly Kendra, but one or two were brave, or drunk, enough to glare at the Luna as well.
“Hit the hay, Shorty. I will finish here,” Gus told me.
“Are you sure? It will go twice as fast with me here,” I asked.
“Yeah, but I will have to endure that mouth of yours. Besides, you have an early morning. You stay safe, kiddo. If anyone or anything gives you trouble, you let us know. You are a part of this pack and this pack adores you. We have your back,” he told me.
“Fuck, old man. You can’t just go around saying things like that,” I said. I gave him a quick hug that neither of us was comfortable with, and walked away. I was having a hard time holding back my tears. It had been a lousy day and then Gus had to pull on my heartstrings. I scented the summer rain and leather before I could see him. My mate stood leaning against the wall outside the dining hall. There was no one around.
“Hey,” he said.
“Yes?” I asked. I prayed he wasn’t here to get me into bed. My patience was wearing thin. He was about to say something, but stopped and just looked at me. “Yes?” I said again.
“Are you okay?” he asked. He pushed off from the wall and walked up to me. I took a step back as he reached for me.
“Fine.”
“Yeah? You don’t look it,” he pointed out.
“Look, if this is some kind of new way of trying to get me into bed, it won’t work and I’m too tired to deal with it,” I honestly told him.
“I’m not hitting on you, kitten. I’m trying to figure out why you look like you haven’t slept in months when you looked fine a couple of hours ago,” he told me.
“Kitten? Really?” I asked, ignoring the rest. He smirked for a moment, but then got serious again.
“Is it because of your step-mom?” he asked. I was relieved he didn’t think Mara was my real mother. Still, it wasn’t a subject I wanted to talk about.
“Don’t put your nose in my business. I will handle my family issues. See you tomorrow, slugger,” I told him, walked around him and headed for my room.