Chapter 2 - Sebastian
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Ethan cried, sloshing some of his beer over the rim of his glass while his eyes remained glued to the old television above the bar.
Levi and Jacob laughed hysterically at Ethan's dismay as Beau hung his head, and Ezra scrubbed a hand down his face in mutual defeat.
"Face it, your team choice was abysmal," Levi scolded, taking a victorious sip from his drink.
Ethan grumbled as he sat back down in his seat, glowering after witnessing another loss of his favorite football team. "They were having a good streak, too—I was sure this would be the one."
Ezra sighed as he leaned back in the booth, shaking his head. "This is the last time I let you convince me to bet on any team."
Despite the mix of dismay and triumphant glee from our section of the bar, the energy was otherwise high. Our nights out were usually that way, but game night made it exponentially so.
However, I struggled to find my stride as I sat in my usual spot, watching the worn-out screen without paying attention. The beer was cold in my hands, but I didn't care much to drink it.
Despite being surrounded by my good friends, I couldn't ignore the lingering loneliness that pricked at my skin and threatened to submerge me in quiet contemplation.
As life seemed to be unraveling well for my friends, especially Levi and Jacob, I couldn't help but find myself wondering when it would be my turn.
I've been an alpha for some time, and even if I had the company of my pack and my sister to distract me most days, the thought of having a mate was becoming increasingly more appealing.
My wolf longed for its Luna, but as of late, I had no luck finding one, and I was beginning to lose faith in that change.
"Another round," the waitress said as she made her way over, carefully lowering the tray of drinks to our table as she looked at me. Her eyes gleamed as she smiled, moving with deliberate slowness. "This one's on the house."
"It's appreciated. Thanks," I replied, keeping it brief as I felt the others raising their brows.
The waitress lingered for a moment before she pressed another smile and wandered off, straightening out her uniform.
A low whistle came from Ethan as he swooped in and grabbed one of the glasses. "is it cold in here, or was it just that icy response?"
The others chuckled, all grabbing the free drinks.
I scoffed and shook my head, trying to shake off the inevitable teasing.
"Come on, that one was practically dangling in front of you," Ethan added, grin pulled with mischief.
"A missed opportunity," Ezra chirped.
Levi snickered, only adding to the layers of endless backchat I always got from them. "I'm sure she'd be more than happy if you changed your mind."
"You're relentless," I muttered, dismissing them. "Ever stop to think I don't want just anyone?"
The others chuckled to themselves, half paying attention to the game instead, while Levi kept his focus on me with a knowing look.
"Come on, we're only having a little fun," he said, lifting a curious brow, "Not in the mood for hijinks tonight, Rivera?"
I forced out a breath and leaned back in my seat, aware that I wasn't being myself. "Not in particular...my mind is elsewhere at the moment."
Their pestering wasn't out of the ordinary, of course, but the topic of relationships felt touchy to me.
The waitress' flirting was already long forgotten—I was used to people fawning over me just because of how I looked, but it still never sat right with me, even if others would kill for that attention.
Any time a woman made her intentions far too clear, I'd lose immediate interest. If they cared more about my face than what I had to say, there was no question about it.
There was only one girl I knew who didn't make me feel like a walking slab of meat. Who would take the time to ask me about my day or how I was feeling? There was never any forwardness or expectations from her, and even if I hadn't seen her in years, she was still stuck in my memory.
Lydia Finch was my younger sister's best friend, and we had practically grown up together, even if I had never really paid her much mind before.
While she didn't fawn over me like the others, I knew she had a crush on me in that kid-like way. I'd catch her staring occasionally, only to quickly avert her eyes and pretend like I didn't notice. Something was charming in her shy awkwardness when we were young, especially whenever her pulse would speed up whenever I entered the room.
Zoe and Lydia had been so close, but for whatever reason, her parents experienced some strange mutual psychosis together and pulled their family out of the pack. They fell out with my parents, which meant Zoe and Lydia couldn't see each other either. It was so sudden, but apparently, they favored their cult leader of an alpha instead.
It was a shame, given how heartbroken Zoe was about it. I couldn't help but wonder what happened to Lydia; part of me wanted to know what she was up to.
"Maybe we could get your mind off whatever's going on in there?" Ethan suggested, managing to pull his gaze away from the screen long enough to look at me.
"Nah, that's all right. You guys have your fun, but I think I'm going to head out," I murmured, taking a final swig of my beer before standing. "I don't need to bring your night down too."
I received an immediate wave of protest, but I wasn't in the mood to be persuaded into staying.
"It's so early, the night's young!" Jacob said, putting his arms out in exclamation.
Ezra sucked air in through his teeth and shrugged. "You're losing your edge, Rivera."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I mumbled, waving them off. "You'll survive without me for a little while, anyway. Let me know what happens."
Levi gave me a nod. "Sure thing. In seriousness, take care, Sebastian."
I returned the simple gesture, giving them a subtle wave as I received their partings on my way out.
As the front door closed behind me, I let go of a breath and soaked in the cool night air, appreciating the immediate peace.
On my way to the car, I paused the moment my heightened senses picked up what sounded like a scuffle behind the building, along with muffled voices and sneering. My brows furrowed, curious about what was going on.
I was prepared to ignore it until I caught a scent that struck a cord within me. It was familiar, but I couldn't place it yet.
Even so, something in me couldn't let it go. Feeling called to investigate, I did exactly that, rounding the side of the building to find a small group of guys standing around something in the grass.
Lust and interest emanated from them with ease, which made my stomach turn as I approached, cutting the space to find bare skin lying there.
What light pooled out of the bar lit up the space enough for me to make out the shape of someone curled up, clutching their legs in the fetal position and hiding themselves away.
"Now, what is a fine young woman like yourself doing all the way out here alone?" one of the men asked, bending down to run a finger across her bare thigh.
The others chuckled, and another added, "Got someone back home waiting for you, sweetheart?"
My lip curled in disgust as resolve filled my system, and I knew I couldn't just leave them there. I couldn't walk away, not while those shifters only had one thing in mind, and it wasn't the woman's best interest.
"What the hell's going on here?" I demanded, glancing between them and the curled-up woman, who was shivering faintly in the grass.
At my voice, they all turned to face me. Some widened their eyes in surprise from being caught, while two only glowered at me with dark smiles, eyes telling me everything I needed to know.
One stepped forward, assessing me at once as he gritted his teeth. "Nothing you need to be concerned about, pretty boy—"
My fist clipped his jaw before he could finish, sending him staggering back. He put a hand against his cheek in surprise, only to spit blood into the grass.
Fangs and claws elongated, I looked at them all with disgust as another approached in a half-assed attempt to scare me off.
Steadfast in my decision to help the poor shifter still curled up on the ground, I stepped forward, swinging my head forward to crash against the shifter's nose, hearing as it crunched sickeningly beneath the pressure.
He howled out in pain, staggering away as he clutched his face with blood pouring from his nose.
"Back off," I forced through grit teeth as I growled, standing my ground with power surging through my veins.
The untouched shifters were the first to break away, running through the field, while the two injured ones could only look at me with a mix of disbelief and anger as they eventually stalked off.
There was no doubting how pissed they were at me for interrupting their fun, but I didn't care. There was a special place in hell for assholes like them.
Awash with a sense of duty to help the seemingly exhausted shifter, I took a careful step forward and shook my jacket off before draping it over her bare skin.
"I'm going to get you out of here," I murmured, not sure of how coherent she was.
But as I looked down at her, the force of that realization hit me stronger than anything else. That sense of familiarity set in as I breathed in her scent and caught a glimpse of the side of her face.
It was her. After all this time.