Filed to story: The Rise Of The Lycan Queen
The coffee shop appeared in front of us. We’d be there in a matter of minutes.
“Is your brother okay?” I hadn’t meant to ask the question, but he kept appearing in my mind.
“Oh, yeah.” She waved it off, but her feet slowed a little. “He made a decision that I’m not super thrilled with, and he wanted to let me know before I heard it from someone else.”
“What is he doing?” If she wasn’t thrilled, it couldn’t be something good.
“He’s doing something illegal.” She opened the door to the coffee shop, and we both entered.
“It’s not like,” I said and then lowered my voice, “drugs or anything, right?”
She burst out laughing. “No. God no.” She held her side and laughed some more. “Not like that. It’s a little insane. He’s doing some fighting in a gym. After-hours if you know what I mean.”
“Okay.” That wasn’t too horrible as long as he didn’t get caught. The plus side was him being a shifter, so he shouldn’t get hurt too badly.
“Don’t get all judgmental on him.” She pulled out her credit card as she approached the cash register. “Mom’s not doing so well, and we need the money.”
“I’m sorry.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. I wanted to ask if they notified the regional representatives, but then that would open up another can of worms. “Do you want me to like him or not?”
“What?” Her forehead furrowed.
“Your brother.” She gave me hell all the time. “You threaten him to not talk to me and then get pissy when you think I’m criticizing him. Pick a side.”
She stopped in her tracks and tapped her hands on her dress. “I’m not being pissy. It’s complicated. Okay? I don’t want something to happen and lose this.”
“Fine.” I still wasn’t sure how to act with a friend without feeling weird. I sidled up to the register and ordered two vanilla lattes.
“Hey, I always get these.” She swung her hip into mine, trying to get me to move away.
“Exactly. It’s my treat.” I had just gotten paid, and the tips were good from that huge party the other night, I wanted to at least buy this round. “Don’t worry. I got paid.”
“You work?” She tilted her head and examined me. “I don’t know why, but I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Don’t worry. I’m the kitchen help most of the time, so I get to be by myself, washing dishes, and don’t have to interact with a lot of people.” That was the top job requirement when I started looking. Mona had wanted me to work in the antique store with her, but I didn’t want to be around all those supernaturals. They tended to be her biggest customer base. Humans greatly underestimated the value of old relics.
“Good.” She moved aside so I could hand the cashier my credit card. “You’d make a killing as a waitress if you could smile and be nice to people.”
“Hey, I’m buying your drink right now.”
“But I’m different.” She pointed to her face and smiled. “My natural charm removes your natural defenses.”
She was one hundred percent right, but I wouldn’t admit it. “Eh… sure. Let’s go with that.”
“You bitch.” She laughed though she tried to school her features into a mask of indifference.
“Please stop.” I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “You look constipated.”
“Here you go.” The cashier handed me back my card with a slight scowl on her face. “Next.”
“I don’t think she appreciated our swagger.” Ella rolled her eyes with a huge grin on her face.
“Most don’t.” It felt so weird and nice to be like this with someone. In all reality, she was my first real friend.
Her phone buzzed, and she huffed. “Hey, I’m going to have to go and meet one of my brother’s friends. There’s something going on.”
Our lattes got placed on the counter, and I walked over and grabbed both of them.
“Then go.” I handed her coffee to her. I’ll see you next week.”
“Are you working this weekend?” She took the drink from my hand and smiled. “And thank you for this.”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t quite sure what she was aiming for.
“Dammit.” She pouted and sighed. “I’ll be tied up with my brother and his friends this weekend. All right, have a great weekend, and Monday we’re back on schedule. Okay?”
“Got it.” I watched her run out of the coffee shop and hoped that everything was okay.
As I hurried to my car, something cold ran down my spine. It felt as if I was being watched. As I walked past a section of trees right before my parking lot, a comforting earthy smell hit me, and all of a sudden Ella’s brother stepped out.
His shirt wasn’t tight, but the fit emphasized the muscles in his chest, and his gorgeous eyes landed on me. “What’s the hurry? Are you being chased?” He grinned.
He probably thought he was being clever. Yeah, he was a wolf and thought I was unaware, but frankly, I was the one who had the upper hand. At least, for now… “Nope, just needing to get away from you.” I turned on my heel, and as I walked past him, he reached out, snagging my arm.
“Most girls are flattered to receive my attention.” He arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
“Well, being stalked isn’t flattering in my book.” I yanked my arm away from him and tried not to shiver. His touch was way too pleasant, and it couldn’t happen again. “So why don’t you go spend your time on them and not me.” I pushed my legs to walk fast, gaining distance between us, but he was watching me, so moving at a speed I wanted to wasn’t a good idea.
“Hey,” he yelled at me, but I ignored him as I hurried into the parking lot. Maybe he’d get the hint.
* * *
I arrived at work only a few hours after my last class. I hurried into an already buzzing, packed building.
The one good thing about busy nights was there were a lot of dishes I had to scrape off and clean, so I should get out of having to do anything that involved peopling.
Not wasting any time, I clocked in and headed toward the kitchen.
“Thank God you’re here.” Brad pointed at the dishwashers. “All three of them just now stopped running. Fill them up and do the remainder by hand. We’re in for a busier than normal night.”
“Oh, what’s going on?” We were always busy, but I normally didn’t have a ton of dishes to wash by hand.
“We have the same business party and a rehearsal dinner.” He walked into the back and put on an apron. “It’s all hands on deck.”
That was fine with me. I dug in and began working. It didn’t take long for my arms to be elbow deep in soapy dishwater.
Thankfully, the night ended fast.
“Good job, everyone.” Brad took off the apron and threw it in the dirty clothes hamper. “We somehow survived.”
