Chapter 10 Briar? I Hardly Know Her
Briar? I Hardly Know Her
Ipulled up to the dive bar out in the middle of nowhere close to midnight, with forty-eight hours left in my contract. The building was old, with weathered, wooden siding and flickering neon signs.
A faded, crooked sign hung above the door—Selene’s Howl.
There were only a few cars in the dirt parking lot, and I found hers immediately. If the scent alone hadn’t given it away, the remnants of cat hair would have.
She was here.
I could hardly contain my excitement as I bent down to tie my shoe by her tire, slipping a small charm on the wheel well liner. Then I stood up, ran my fingers through my hair, and entered through the swinging doors.
A few scraggly-looking alphas who’d seen better days glanced up, giving me wary looks as I made my way to the bar.
My heart was beating so loudly I was sure everyone in the place could hear it.
Sage’s scent, now fresh and straight from the source, invaded my senses, rendering all the rut potion I’d taken completely null and void.
This close, I could detect more of the individual notes of her natural perfume—orange and a hint of rose.
A woman pushed through the doors to the kitchen from behind, carrying a sixth pan full of sliced limes.
A thick, powerful glamour covered her body, but I saw through it immediately.
Sage.
My bounty.
The woman I’d been looking for.
My…
My voice caught in my throat, and suddenly I didn’t even know what to say.
Despite the wavy aura of the glamour, I could pick up on every aspect of her natural beauty that shined through.
Her curly, chestnut brown hair and emerald eyes.
Her skin, paler than in her pictures, was dotted with fading freckles.
She looked thinner too, but her hourglass figure was still visible under all her clothes.
She was covered head to toe, wearing a cardigan over a sleeveless turtleneck paired with jeans.
It looked hot, not only for the weather but for the kind of job she was doing.
I’d worked in a few bars for a while after striking it out on my own, and even for a demon from Ignareth, I’d been a sweaty, hot mess most nights.
Her eyes widened as she saw me, breathing in deeply as her pupils dilated. She opened her mouth to speak, but then another customer called her over.
“Briar! Can I get another one?” He shook his empty glass, and she turned to look at him, a smile growing on her face.
How had I never noticed the adorable dimple in her cheek in all her photos before?
“I’ll be right there, Ephraim!”
Her voice…
It was like a feather running across my skin, causing goosebumps to erupt all over my body. Soft, lovely, calm… the kind of voice who’d whimper my name lovingly while I…
“What can I get you?”
The fantasy of me bending Sage over this bar and taking her from behind popped like a bubble, and I focused on the real, flesh-and-blood woman now looking at me.
“… Appletini.”
Her eyes sparkled in amusement. “Really? I haven’t made one of those before.”
Some of the other guys in the bar snickered, but I didn’t care.
It was fucking delicious. “It’s really easy,” I said.
Something about getting to teach Sage my favorite drink made the alpha in me purr from excitement.
“Three parts vodka, one part apple liqueur, and a little lemon juice.
Apple slice for the rim if you got ‘em.”
Her smile grew even wider, and I swore time must have stopped. At least, I wanted it to. Because as seconds passed, so would my deal, and once it was completed, I’d never get to see her again.
“Okay, I think I can manage that,” she replied with a playful tone. I watched, completely enraptured, as she clumsily poured the amounts into a cocktail shaker, making twice as much as she needed to. She was clearly a novice, but I didn’t care. Every move she made was magic in and of itself.
Then she poured the mixed cocktails into two glasses, adding the garnish and handing one to me and taking the other for herself. “Figured I’d try it for myself, too, since I’ve never had one. Cheers!”
“Cheers…”
I couldn’t even take a sip, I just watched her as she tried my favorite cocktail for the first time. She swallowed, her eyes lighting up in surprise. “Oh, wow. That’s better than I thought it would be!”
I couldn’t contain it any longer, and my chest purred in response. Her head tilted at the sound, but she didn’t mention it. “Did I do it right?”
As far as I was concerned, she could do anything right, but I took a sip anyway.
I barely tasted it. “It’s perfect, thank you.”
A charming, toothy grin took over her whole face, and she bowed her head slightly before moving down the bar, cleaning and talking to the other customers. They gave me smug looks, happy to have her focus back on them.
Fuck those guys. I’d rip them apart if they dared keep her attention away from me.
She was mine.
“Briar?” I called. She looked up, and my dick felt like it might rip a hole straight through the crotch of my pants. “Is that your name?”
She nodded.
“I’m Ronan.”
She watched me expectantly, waiting for me to continue.
Wait… I hadn’t gotten this far yet in my mind. What should I even say?
Her glamour painted her as a werewolf, so I decided to go with that. “I’m thinking of moving to Fenmoor. Got any advice?”
She paused, clearly unsure of how to answer. Shit, I was trying to make small talk, not catch her in a lie. “I’ve only ever lived in Ignareth,” I added hastily. “Is it hard being a non-cit there?”
Her shoulders relaxed, and I instantly felt better. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said. She blew a piece of hair out of her eyes and looked up in thought.
My fingers itched with need to touch her. To make her feel so good she’d exhale like that again.
“It really depends on if you can find a good group of people. Having the support of friends makes all the difference.”
Her eyes then darkened, the smile on her face faltering.
Oh, fuck. I hadn’t meant to make her sad, either. To remind her of what the vampire Premier had taken from her. What was wrong with me?
And what was wrong with me that I cared so much?
“Good friends like us, right, Briar?” an old seraph alpha chuckled, tipping his drink towards her.
She blinked, her smile returning, but this one didn’t reach her eyes. “Exactly. Hey, do you mind keeping an eye on things, Ephraim? I need to check on something in the back.”
His wings fluttered with pride. “Of course, sweetheart.”
I could barely suppress the growl that threatened to rumble through my chest. How dare he call her “sweetheart?” Why didn’t these assholes realize yet that she was mine?
She disappeared through the back to the kitchen, and I took another sip of my drink, finally coming down from my high of meeting her to register the taste.
It was… not good. Probably owing more to the quality of the vodka than her skill. But since she’d made it, I decided it was the best thing I’d ever tasted.
I spied another alpha demon sitting in the corner, drinking a glass of wine and reading a book I’d finished myself last month.
He felt my staring and looked up, giving me a nod of acknowledgment before delving back into his story.
Typical neutral land Magiks. Out of all the designations, alphas were the ones who usually enjoyed living on their own, away from the constraints of society and able to take care of themselves. There were no laws out here, so a pretty omega like Sage was vulnerable without some protection.
I got up and took my drink to the other demon, sitting across from him. “The story really starts to pick up in the second half,” I started.
He sighed heavily, rolling his eyes and putting down his book. “This isn’t a book club” he said. “What do you want?”
I pointed towards the doors Sage had gone through with my thumb. “What’s the deal with that Briar chick?”
His eyes narrowed, and then he picked up his book again. “Leave her be.”
I arched an eyebrow. Well, I guess she already had all these alphas serving as her protection. I was impressed, but also ticked off.
I wanted to be her protection. And yet, I was the one she needed to be protected from.
My mind was going crazy.
“She got a boyfriend or something?” I asked, still prying for details.
The demon didn’t even bother putting his book down. He turned the page, still reading. “She’s Selene’s sister, and Selene says she’s off limits.”
“Who’s Selene?”
He gave me a look like I was truly an idiot. “Do you even know where you are?”
Oh… Selene’s Howl, right.
My resurging rut was making it difficult to think about anything other than sinking my aching cock in Sage’s…
“She’s the alpha wolf who runs the joint, and it’s the only place for close to fifty miles where you can get a drink.
You might be just passing through, but I live around here.
And the last thing I want to do is get myself banned for helping some young buck in a rut who can’t even seal the deal on his own.
” He shook his head in disgust. “Pathetic,” he muttered.
Harsh, but true.
I leaned back, letting out a vibrating sigh through my lips. “So… that’s a ‘no’ on the boyfriend, then?”
When he didn’t reply, I downed the rest of my drink so I could ask Sage to make me another one. I needed to keep talking to her, make her smile again. Find a way to touch her.
I blinked, my eyelids feeling heavy, and then stood up. The blood rushed from my head and I wobbled a bit on my feet, my vision doubling.
“What… the…”
The last thing I remembered was the old demon snorting in amusement as my head slammed against the table on my way to the floor.