Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
My eyes flicked toward Killian. I was at a loss as to what to say. The fact that I was already relying on him so much was unnerving. I hadn't even known him for twenty-four hours. I hoped my trust wasn't misguided by a desperate attempt to find someone to have my back so I wasn't alone.
Killian sighed exasperatedly. "Man, can we get it to you tomorrow? It's my fault that she doesn't have it at the moment."
"Of course it is, but I don't want any details. There's no telling what you two did to cause that." Carter rolled his eyes. "I'm desperate, so I'm willing to make an exception. But I need it first thing in the morning or no deal."
Thank God. I hadn't expected him to roll over. "So I can start tomorrow?"
"Fuck no." Carter pointed to the wall behind the counter where several black aprons were hanging on a hook mounted in the center. "Get one of those on and get your ass over here. We'll work the line together."
I moved quickly and snatched an apron before he changed his mind.
"All right then." Killian saluted me. "I'll let you get to work. I'll come by after my classes to get you." He kissed my cheek. "See you soon."
My cheeks warmed. I'd never received that kind of attention before, and a few girls in line gawked at his display of affection, making the entire situation even more uncomfortable.
"I like it when you blush." He brushed his pointer finger against my cheek. "But I'll get out of your way."
"Please do." Carter scowled. "I'm pretty sure PDA goes against sanitation rules, not to mention the cat fight that could break out."
"See you." I glared sternly. I didn't want my boss to get pissed at me during my first minute on the clock. Well, I was pretty sure he was my boss since he hired me.
Killian walked out the entrance, and the girl who'd been demanding her latte tilted her head. Her straight, long, mahogany hair fell over her shoulder, contrasting with her fair, unblemished skin. "Did you actually snag Killian?" She leaned over the cash register, and her rose scent hit my nose as her gorgeous dark purple stardust-colored irises focused on me.
She somehow smelled even more pleasant than the flower. She was breathtaking, but I had no clue what kind of supernatural she was. "Snag?"
She flipped her hair over her shoulder and tugged at the edges of her coral sweater, pulling it over her dressy white shirt. "Wow. You’re a mindless bimbo like the other girls he’s messed around with. And here I was intrigued by you. Obviously, you're not any different and aren't worth talking to." She wrinkled her nose.
What a jerk. I couldn't stand being talked down to. "Wow, that hurt," I said, emphasizing my sarcasm. "I mean a girl yelling at a poor guy who's trying to wait on her is always super classy. I really give a flying fuck what she thinks of me."
"Dove!" Carter gasped and his shoulders sagged. "I'm so sorry, Rosemary. She's new—"
"Yeah, I was standing here when that whole exchange went down. I know she's new." She licked her bottom lip and placed a hand on her hip. "But I'm glad you finally hired someone who has the balls to not take any crap." She grinned at me as approval radiated from her. "Do you think you can ring me up better than he can?"
"Of course." Girls like her respected others only when they demanded it. Granted, I wasn't sure how she'd take it here in front of everyone, but I went with my gut. Maybe I wasn't so out of sorts after all.
I sucked in a breath and stared the cash register down. I'd figure out how to work it. Another thing kicking my ass wasn't an option.
The next two hours passed in a blur. After initially struggling with the cash register, I finally conquered the beast, and Carter stopped grumbling about my bad attitude. He was happily helping make the drinks, leaving me alone in front.
We'd been nonstop, but the line was finally dwindling. Every kind of supernatural went to school here; it was a little unnerving. I’d seen almost every kind of shifter, plus vampires and witches. Even several I couldn't identify, which meant that I had never been around that race before. My guess was that most of the unknown races had been living in Shadow City and were only now integrating back into the world.
I needed to learn more about this city if I was going to survive and stay off the grid.
Something inside me tugged , and I looked away from the cash register toward the entrance. The most gorgeous guy I'd ever seen stepped into my view.
His honey-brown hair was slightly longer on top and gelled to sweep to one side. The fluorescent lights of the shop reflected off blond highlights. His golden scruff made his sculpted face perfect. He towered over everyone, standing probably more than half a foot taller than me, and his hunter green polo shirt hugged his body, revealing chiseled abs.
And my heart fell when I noted his arm was wrapped around a girl.
Why in the world was I upset over someone I’d just seen for the first time in my life?
I must have been gawking because his light hazel gaze landed on me. His shirt brought out flecks of green in his irises. He dropped his hand to his side, and the girl pouted her overly done red lips.
Her long, golden blonde hair waved over her tight russet brown crop top. She slid one finger underneath her gold mini skirt, pulling it down a little to reveal more of her stomach. She pretended to stumble in her silver stilettos. "Oh, Griffin." She placed her hands on his chest, using him to steady herself.
They both smelled of musk, alerting me that they were wolf shifters, which further proved that her accident was forced.
He gently pushed her off him and marched past the line directly to me. A lopsided grin spread across his face. "Hey, you."
"Uh. Hi?" What was he doing up here?
Rubbing his thumb against his bottom lip, he nodded. "I'll take a coffee."
Was this a joke? It had to be. I kept waiting for the punchline, but he looked expectantly at me.
That wasn't how this worked. "The line starts back there." I pointed to where his girlfriend stood, her mouth hanging open.
"It's fine." He glanced at the guy in front of the line next to him, who happened to be another wolf. "Tell her."
"Uh... yeah." The guy averted his eyes, submitting to the asshole.
"The line is back there," I said sternly.
"Dove." Carter rushed over and scowled. "Please forgive her. She's new on the job and in town. I'll grab your coffee. Do you want cream?"
The alpha douche leaned toward me and winked. "I only like my cream in one place."
"Ew." Did that actually work for him? "Please stop. God."
"Some confuse me with him, but I assure you, I'm not." He took a step closer to me. "Granted, you'll be calling me that name again before the night—"
I turned away from him and focused on the guy in the front of the line. "What were you saying you wanted again?"
"Hey, I'm talking to you," the gorgeous asshole said as he reached for my arm.
My heart sputtered at the thought of him touching me. I had to rein this in. This guy was clearly a player, and his girlfriend was not happy about the scene going down. But I couldn’t stop anticipating his touch.
"Dove!" Killian's comforting voice called from the entrance.
My tormentor stilled as Killian walked toward me.
Killian's eyes widened when he looked at the guy. "Hey, you two have already met?"
Wait. This had to be his best friend, Griffin. I almost threw up in my mouth. But Killian had said he slept around, and clearly this guy did too, so maybe it did make sense.
"Us two?" Griffin pointed at me and then back at him. "I was ordering a cup of coffee."
"So you cut the line again?" Killian smirked and nudged over to me, kissing me on my cheek. "This makes the whole first meeting thing easier. This is the girl I was telling you about yesterday."
Griffin frowned as his hands clenched. “Of course, it is.” He took a step in my direction, and my traitorous heart picked up its pace.
Did he feel the tug too? The thought both thrilled and petrified me.
"You mean the one that you stood Jessica up for?" Griffin's girlfriend said as she sashayed over to us and looped her arm through Griffin's, stopping him from getting closer to me.
"Here's your coffee." Carter hurried back and handed Griffin a cup. "And Dove, maybe you should head out. The line is shorter, and you're making a scene."
"When should I have her here again?" Killian took my hand and pulled me toward him.
A low growl emanated from Griffin as his nostrils flared, but no one but me seemed to notice.
"Tomorrow. She got off to a rough start with Rosemary, of all people, but redeemed herself and did great until Griffin showed up." Carter held his hand out. "Give me the apron, and be here by nine. That's when things get crazy.”
I looked at Killian. I couldn't commit to the time because I'd be relying on him to bring me here.
"She'll be here." Killian unlaced my apron and pulled it over my head. "Thanks, man."
“Please—” Carter placed his palms together, fingertips pointed upward like in prayer “—behave a little better tomorrow.”
“Hey, I behaved today.” I refused to be pushed around by some pompous student who thought his farts didn’t stink, no matter how much I was drawn to him physically.
“That’s what I was afraid of.” He sighed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Killian chuckled as he beamed at me. “That’s my girl.”
The blonde girl arched a perfectly styled eyebrow and held out her hand to me. "I'm Luna. Griffin's girlfriend."
"Friend." Griffin jerked his head in her direction and huffed. "Just friend. How many times do I have to tell you that?"
"Yeah, you made that clear when you hit on Killian's girl, didn't you?" Luna shifted her weight to one leg.
"You hit on her?" Killian grinned and interlaced our fingers.
"God, I hope not." I couldn't tear my gaze away from the sexy douchebag, so I bit out the next words for added measure. "Because if that's his game, it's subpar."
"I wasn't putting forth my best effort." His eyes glowed faintly, making the hazel stand out more as his wolf surged forward. "If I wanted you, you wouldn't be able to deny me."
The problem was I already didn’t want to deny him, which meant I had to set clear boundaries more for me than him. "No means no." I placed an arm in front of my body. "Even if you try to force your alpha will on someone."
"I never have or would force anyone." Griffin lifted his chin. "They all come willingly, and some even beg."
Luna cleared her throat and frowned.
"Wow, okay." Killian rolled his shoulders. "We got it. Griffin wasn't hitting on you, and you didn't like the way he came across. I say we start over."
If I didn't feel so indebted to him, I wouldn't have been willing to drop it. But, for him, I would behave. At least for now. "Of course. Anything for you." I managed to pry my attention away from Griffin and turn my focus to him.
"Do you all want to go grab a bite to eat?" Killian gestured to the cafeteria. "I'm starving, and we can beat the lunch crowd."
"Really?" Luna sighed. "Here?"
"Why don't we go off campus to Dick’s bar?" Griffin asked as he continued to stare at me. "I could use a beer."
"That sounds a lot better." Luna ran one hand along the top of her breasts. "Daddy has some wolfsbane we can use to lace the drinks too. I’m down for getting tipsy if everyone else is."
"I'm good with that." Killian faced me. "Are you?"
No, but I couldn't be an ass. "Why don't you go? I don't want to interfere with your friends’ time."
"I insist," Griffin interjected. "After all, you're my best friend's girl. Clearly, we should get to know each other." He smirked, but there was something sparking dangerously behind his eyes.
He knew he was making me feel uncomfortable.
The asshole.
But the wolf inside me refused to cower. Alpha will and all. That had to be it. It couldn’t be that I just wanted to be around him more. "I think I got to know you plenty well the first minute you spoke to me."
"Hey, I thought we were starting fresh." Killian glanced from me to Griffin with his brows furrowed. "That lasted all of ten seconds."
"I have to agree." Luna took my arm and pulled me toward the front of the coffee shop. "We're making a scene here, and it'll be so much more fun with you there."
The way she said those words made me cringe. Her tone was almost malicious, like she’d enjoyed watching Griffin and me fight. But why would she? I needed to understand what she gained by that.
She led us to the front door, keeping a firm grip on me.
"Dude, what's your problem?" Killian said quietly.
If I didn't have better hearing than most wolves, his voice would have been too low to hear, but with the moon waxing, I could make it out... barely. In a few days, I could've heard them with no problem.
"She was rude to me," Griffin grumbled. "She refused to serve me."
Killian snorted. "That's what all this animosity between you two is about?"
"Don't worry." Griffin sighed. "She's your girl. I'll make nice. After all, it’s part of the politician degree that’s being forced on me."
"Thank you," Killian said, sounding sincere. "It means a lot. She's important to me. And it’s a political science degree."
“They’re the same thing.” Griffin sighed. “All I’m learning is to be fake and kiss ass.”
I could agree with that. I hated politics. Be direct with a caring heart, and the world would be a much better place.
“Is she your fated mate?" Griffin asked with an edge. "You didn't say a word about her ’til last night, and all of a sudden, you seem kinda shoved up her ass."
"Because I bailed on you last night and then picked her up from the coffee shop?" Killian sounded amused. "That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think? And no, she's not my fated mate. But hey, I may never find mine, and she's gorgeous."
Fated mates were what every supernatural coveted. It was the purest kind of bond, and in my pack, the fated pairs who’d found each other clearly loved their mates unconditionally. That kind of love was breathtaking, and once upon a time, I had wanted that. But now, the pain I felt at losing my pack made me hesitant. If it hurt this much to lose my pack, I couldn’t fathom what it’d feel like to lose my fated mate.
"So, where are you from?" Luna gestured to the door, indicating for me to open it for her.
Wow. Entitled much?
But I'd already rocked the boat with Griffin. I should probably shove the pride down and do it. Hating myself, I opened the door for her and gritted my teeth. "North of here."
She smiled brightly as she marched past me, knocking her shoulder into me.
She was declaring war between the two of us. She linked her arm through mine again and yanked me forward, putting more distance between us and the guys.
"I want to be clear with you." She cut her eyes at me. "Griffin is mine. Him hitting on you earlier doesn't make you special. He hits on all the girls who are relatively good-looking."
That was a backhanded compliment. Not only that, but she was also trying to mess with me because it was clear that Griffin wasn’t that into her, and she was trying to force it. "I didn't think much of it, but since you brought it up again, maybe I should give him a chance."
She laughed without humor. "Look, you're dating Killian, which is tragic, but whatever. Don't get any funny ideas."
"If he hits on every girl that walks, why do you want him?" One thing silver wolves were good at was reading intent, and hers was all negative. The inkiness of her soul floated off her in waves. She wasn't a good person, and she enjoyed power.
"That's none of your business." She looked forward, her ass swinging with each step, no doubt in case Griffin was watching.
Fair enough. "Look, he's an egotistical asshole. Have at him." Whatever the tug was between us, I’d learn to ignore it.
"Oh, you think I was asking for your permission?" She giggled. "I wasn't. I was trying to help you out since Killian seems smitten with you. If we're going to be civil to one another, it's always nice to know the ground rules. I'd hate for you to make a mistake and something tragic to happen."
The air sawed into my lungs at the veiled threat. Maybe this place wasn't safer after all.