5. Rigg
5
RIGG
“What was that about?” Dax tapped the table in front of me to regain my attention. That was reasonable because I was too busy watching the dishwasher walk away.
“I’m not really sure.” I turned back to face the man I’d come here to meet—and the truth was, I wasn’t sure what was going on either.
I’d been doing this shifting thing for a long time, and I’d met the same person in different forms on multiple occasions without incident. Never once did I suspect I was recognized. But I was pretty sure this guy recognized me.
And that was terrifying.
Terrifying because it meant my shift wasn’t as firm as it should’ve been.
There was something about him that made him stand out to me. Something beyond his sexy looks, his magical mouth, and that smile. The one that could melt the polar ice caps. It was his scent. He smelled so good. But a lot of people smelled great, right? That wasn’t new. Was it?
Maybe my lack of male company was playing a trick on me. The way his mouth wrapped around me—I’d never felt anything like that in my life.
And what did I do in response to the best orgasm of my life? I panicked and bolted.
I could justify my reaction and pretend I had no choice. In reality, I did have an important appointment with Dax. I needed to focus on figuring out what Dax knew—or didn’t know—or maybe might know and didn’t realize he knew.
I wasn’t sure about anything to do with this meeting other than it was important.
But as important as it was, I couldn’t let it stop me from learning more about the wolf dishwasher. While I talked to Dax, I scribbled my number on a napkin and left it on the side of the table. It was probably a dumb decision, but I had enough burner phones that it wouldn’t put me at risk. Not too much anyway.
The meeting with Dax had turned out to be a stroke of luck. Once we sat down together and I started talking to him, I realized it was probably the most important meeting of my life.
This man knew who I was and what I could do. He didn’t say as much, but he dropped hints as he spoke. They were little hints, but hints nonetheless. He was letting me know that he was fully aware of who I was when he arranged to meet me and that he wasn’t a danger.
The relief I felt at having an ally was immeasurable.
I wasn’t scared of Dax, even though I should’ve been. I’d spent my life hiding, and even one person knowing who I was always felt like a death sentence. But for some odd reason, I trusted this guy with my secret.
That alone was weird given that there was only one person I trusted, and he was back home with the kids.
Distrusting the world had been so ingrained in me that I never let anyone in. I embraced my solitude and tried not to give too much away as we talked. We were in a public space, so openly speaking about shifters would have been dangerous for anyone, even a normal shifter.
Not to mention the fact that I didn’t trust myself to make any rational decisions—not after being so careless only an hour earlier.
Dax took a sip and then leaned back in his seat. “You have that look of someone who scented their mate.”
Was that what was happening? He did smell delicious, and the reaction I had to him was nothing I’d ever experienced before. I’d never had that kind of reaction to anyone. Not even close.
Sometimes it sucked being a shifter with no animal. If I did have someone inside me, they’d have made it clear to me if the guy in the back room was my mate. But now that Dax had mentioned it, it made sense.
Also, that would be why he recognized me, right?
“Oh, nah. He’s just got a hot ass. A really hot ass. And everything else, for that matter.” I sounded like one of the drunken alphaholes who got drunk and talked shit about the servers.
“Whatever you say.” A clearly amused Dax reached for our tab. “But listen—” He opened his wallet and took out his card and a piece of paper. Before I could argue, he slid the paper in my direction. “This is the number for the Alpha of the River’s Edge pack. He’s been doing good work. Good work that I feel like you’re wanting to do too.”
This cryptic conversation was a pain in the ass—especially since I really had no ability to focus now that I suspected I’d met my mate and then ran off on him. “Okay…”
“They’re good people. Well…some are people.” He winked. “There are also many different beasts. It’s not a traditional pack, as it were.” He was speaking so low that only another shifter could’ve heard him.
“I see.” I did not see, but that was the closest thing to a coherent response I could come up with.
“I’m gonna pay this up at the bar. You know how to get a hold of me, but I feel like nothing else we talk about tonight is gonna matter because you, my friend, have someone to find.”
I nodded and felt happy to have permission to get up. “Yeah…okay.” There was no use in trying to deny it anymore. I didn’t want to. Wouldn’t do any good anyway. He knew. I knew. We both knew.
I might not have had the name for it before, but I always knew.
“Thanks for meeting up with me.” I stood up and started walking toward the front. “You have no idea how helpful you’ve been.”
He looked over his shoulder at me, surprised that I was following him out. “You leaving without…?”
I cleared my throat. “I need to go…um, change first.”
“Oh. That makes sense.” He smiled and continued on his way.
Somewhere along the line, I’d lost the piece of paper with the pack Alpha’s information on it so I retraced my steps and saw it was still on the table. What wasn’t on the table was the napkin I’d scribbled my number on.
“Trying to get away again?”
“I’ve got to get back to work.” The unmistakable sound of my mate’s voice made me twirl around, and I almost passed out when I saw him with another man, one who had him pushed against the wall and was attempting to kiss him.
I wouldn’t have minded so much if he looked like he was enjoying it or that he wanted this man’s kiss.
Okay, that was a fucking lie. I would not have been okay with it at all, but I would’ve forced myself to let it go. At least until I could change and come back. It wasn’t my place to control his actions.
But he didn’t want it. My mate was in distress.
And fuck that.
I walked over, tapped the guy on the shoulder, and then decked him the second he faced me.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
But in the midst of that, my mate also fell—hitting his head on the side of the bar.
My mate reached for me, and I grabbed him just as he was about to hit the floor. “It’s okay. I got you.”
He blinked up at me, his head swaying oddly. “I’m… I’m…” His blinking slowed.
Fuck, he hit it harder than I realized.
I scooped him up and carried him out through the kitchen.
“Hold up— Niles, you all right?” The man at the fry station set the basket down and turned to us.
I had a feeling he was readying himself to stop me if my mate wasn’t okay. Good. I liked that the people surrounding my mate were so attentive and protective of him.
“Yeah, I’m good.” He was definitely not all right, but I altered my voice and matched his the best I could. “I’ll be back. I’m taking my break and it might be a bit longer than normal, if you know what I mean.”
That must’ve worked because no one asked another question. As I walked out the back door, I heard him tell someone else that Niles was a lucky guy. The excuse worked.
The cool air helped wake him up… sort of. Niles reached up and patted my face. “You changed your face. How? How did you change your face?”
Before I could answer, he passed out again. He was breathing steady and his heartbeat was strong, but I still hated that he wasn’t conscious.
I don’t even know what to do about that, but sticking around here wasn’t it. If I went back inside, I would kill that asshole, and jail was the last place I needed to be, especially with two little ones at home counting on me.