Chapter 7
By Saturday night, The Howl was packed.
Dare and his pack had decided the band that had auditioned that afternoon had a good vibe for the summer and put them on the schedule. They now had bands for every weekend through the end of July. Their plan was to choose a band among the groups to become the house band with regular weekend gigs.
But he wasn’t really thinking about that.
He was mainly thinking about Audrey.
She was at a table in the main room with Cassidy and Juliette eating burgers and talking, and he was behind the bar because it was a damn busy night. Audrey was wearing one of his Howl t-shirts that was too big on her but he loved how she looked in it.
Like she was his.
Without thought, he filled drink orders, his gaze mostly on Audrey as she laughed at something Cassidy said. He could tell her laugh was forced, though. Because her smile didn’t reach her eyes and the laugh rang hollow.
He hated that because he knew her feelings were still roughed up from the confrontation with Nadia.
He hated that Nadia had gotten close enough to his precious mate to dim the light in Audrey’s eyes.
And he was damn furious at himself for not telling Audrey what happened before Nadia got a chance to fuck things up.
Audrey glanced up, as if she could feel Dare’s gaze. He stared at her, wishing he could mentally communicate with her: You’re mine.
She smiled, as if she could maybe read his mind a little bit, and his wolf grumbled.
Trick leaned against the bar. “You guys okay?”
“We will be. I just haven’t had a chance to really talk to Audrey about everything.” The day had been a blur after the confrontation, with the band audition and prepping for the dinner rush. Once they closed for the night, he’d ensure Audrey knew she was the only female for him.
He finished filling the drink orders, then wiped down the counter even though it didn’t need it. He needed something to do with his hands, because otherwise he was going to toss Audrey over his shoulder and run back to the house to make her his.
As he collected payment and filled a drink order, he cleared several empty glasses and realized the tub under the counter was full. Their barback was off for the night, so he said, “I’m going to run the dishes to the back.”
“You want me to do it?” Trick asked.
“Nah, I need to move around a little, my wolf is going nuts not being close to Audrey.”
“You are close to her, she’s right there.”
“Close like close.”
“Ah.” Trick chuckled. “Go on then, I’ll handle things out there.”
Dare picked up the tub and lifted the pass, then walked back to the kitchen. After emptying the tub, he checked in with Sigh, then headed out of the kitchen and into the hall, the empty tub dangling from his hand.
He made it two steps before the scent hit him, and he froze and turned toward the end of the hall and the back exit.
Nadia stood in the middle of the hallway.
“You were told not to come back,” Dare said, setting the tub on the floor out of the way.
“Aw,” she said, tilting her head slightly. “Yet here I am.”
“You’re trespassing.”
“I came to talk.”
“I already said what I needed to before. Now you’ve snuck into the tavern through the back door? Have you lost your mind?”
“I wanted to get you alone, without that human mucking things up.”
“Don’t talk about my mate. Leave.”
She took a step forward, her eyes flashing.
“Hey! You humiliated me! I’ve come for what I’m owed, and that’s being an alpha’s mate.
” She glanced past him to the archway leading into the main room and smiled coldly, striding closer to him.
“You need a wolf female for a mate. Someone who understands the pack. Not some soft little human.”
Before Dare could answer, Audrey was suddenly in front of him. She put her hands on Nadia’s chest and shoved her.
“Stay away from my mate,” Audrey said, her voice low and filled with fury as Nadia stumbled backward. “Take the hint and leave. He’s mine.”
“This is between wolves, human,” Nadia said with a sneer.
“No, this is between you and me. My mate is too much of a gentleman to put you on your ass, but I’m not. And I’ve never thrown a punch before, but I will get in my car and run you over if you don’t get the hell out of here.”
Dare moved beside Audrey and let out a low growl from his wolf.
Sigh walked out of the kitchen, and Dare was aware that Trick was at his back. His pack was there in support. Nadia’s eyes narrowed. He could see the anger and hurt, but he just simply didn’t care.
“Fate chose Dare as my mate,” Audrey said. “You think you can bully your way into the alpha’s bed. Well, newsflash, honey, but his bed is mine.”
“You’re human.”
“And you’re pathetic.”
Dare had never been prouder in his life. Audrey was a badass.
Now it was Dare’s turn. “You’re not pack. You’re not a guest. You have no claim on anything in King Lake. If you come back, I’ll let the dragons deal with you. Audrey is my alpha female and no one else will ever replace her.”
For a long second, Nadia stood frozen in the hall.
Then she turned and stalked out the back door.
“I’ll make sure she leaves,” Trick said.
He strode down the hall and out the back door.
“You guys okay?” Sigh asked.
Dare looked at Audrey and she smiled tightly up at him. “Yeah. Thanks for coming out,” Dare said.
“Man, the best thing we ever did was walk away from the old pack. Good job, alphas.”
He realized Audrey was trembling and her eyes were bright with emotion. He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. “Sweetheart.”
“Oh my gosh, I don’t know what I was doing! It was like I left my body!” She let out a little laugh. “I felt you. Like I could feel in my heart that something was wrong. Then I saw her getting close to you and the part of me that doesn’t like confrontation went out the window.”
She leaned against him and he put his arms around her, drawing her close. “You were perfect, Audrey.”
“Did I actually threaten to run her over with my car?”
He laughed. “Yeah. It was glorious.” He tilted her face and kissed her. “Just like an alpha female should do. I am so fucking impressed. You’re the perfect alpha female for the King Lake Pack. You’re perfect for me.”
“You’re perfect for me, too.”
He grabbed the tub off the floor and walked her back to the table with Cassidy and Juliette, then returned to the bar and set the tub under the counter. Trick walked in through the front door and gave a thumbs up.
Dare nodded.
He doubted that Nadia would come back. She might have thought that Audrey would walk away from him if she was pushed, but Audrey had proven she was more than ready to be alpha female.