Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Alfie had eaten an entire basket of fries as soon as they hit the table, enjoying the chatter with his friends about how different the park was over the holidays and with the opening hours going to weekends-only during the winter.
He felt his neck prickle, and his wolf sat up in his mind with a curious hum.
Looking around, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Just humans in a bar, who had no idea there was a wolf, bear, lion, and gorilla hanging out at one of the tables.
Humans only ever found out about shifters if their soulmate was one.
Only after the couple was in love, when the shifter was certain they had the heart and loyalty of the human, could the secret be revealed.
It was so vitally important to their kind that no one outside of their community knew the truth, that the secret had to be protected at all costs.
They essentially had no idea how many shifters there were in the world or all the different kinds, because they didn’t keep in touch. There was no central council of shifters or any kind of secure online platform that would allow them to know what other groups were up to.
Instead, the park shifters were an island unto themselves, and only when another shifter group crossed paths with them—like jaguar Sera’s group—did they discover a new ally or enemy, depending on the situation.
But only soulmates lived at the park; no other groups were welcome to take up space among them.
Not that any had ever asked.
The park was unusual as far as they knew, with so many groups living and working together. The only thing similar that he was aware of was the circus that several elephants had been part of—a traveling group of elephants that included wolves and bears.
His wolf hummed again, and Alfie rubbed the space over his heart.
He didn’t know what was going on, but he was suddenly alert.
But for what?
His gaze landed on the door and his heart started to pound.
It opened and a female stood in the doorway.
Long, dark hair, face like an angel, curves evident despite the thick winter coat.
His wolf let out an ecstatic howl in his head that would have deafened him if he’d let it out.
Without a doubt, he was staring at his soulmate.
Then he saw a shadow behind her and he let out a low, nearly silent growl.
A hand grabbed her, and she let out a gasp as the male stepped into the light and called her a bitch.
Alfie was out of his chair in a heartbeat and across the bar.
He put one hand on the male’s shoulder and the other on his hand, squeezing on his wrist hard enough to cause him to let go. Then he pushed him solidly away from the female and stepped outside, crowding the male away from her.
“Who the fuck are you?” the male asked, rage coloring his cheeks.
“Not someone who calls women bitches, that’s for damn sure.
” Alfie looked over his shoulder and saw his soulmate, wide-eyed and awe-struck, just outside the closed door.
His friends had ventured out, nearby but not imposing.
Alfie appreciated them. “You want this guy to grab you like that again?” he asked her.
“No.” She shook her head firmly.
“Take the hint and leave, while you can do so with two working legs,” Alfie said, squaring up to the male and letting out his wolf enough to connect to the ancient, embedded instinct in the human that he was in mortal danger, without revealing the truth of his shifter nature.
His wolf would like to come out and claw the male from stem to stern, but that wasn’t something Alfie could allow. No matter how satisfying it might actually be.
The human looked past Alfie and tried to take a step around him to get to her.
Alfie put his hand on his arm again, and this time he put more pressure into the hold, making the male wince.
He kicked out and nailed him in the knee, and the male let out a shout and hit the ground as Alfie held his wrist and twisted it sharply.
“I said leave. She doesn’t want you around, and I’m not the kind of guy who lets assholes treat beautiful women badly.
Do I need to break something of yours you like to get that through your thick head? ”
“Let me go!”
Alfie waited a heartbeat, picking up the scent of the male’s fear, and then released him.
He took a few steps back and folded his arms, watching as the male rose to his feet, took a few unnecessary moments to brush off his knees, and then stalked off.
He cast a furious look at the woman that made Alfie’s wolf seethe.
How dare he!
Waiting until the male was out of sight, Alfie turned and walked toward the female.
“Are you okay?” he asked, nodding at his friends, who nodded back, all with smiles. Amadeus gave him a thumbs-up.
She rubbed her arms and shivered. “I am, thanks to you. You’ve got great timing.”
“Happy to help.” He opened the door for her. “I’m Alfie.”
“Myla. Nice to meet you.”
He breathed in silently as she walked by, picking up the sweet scent of her. His wolf practically swooned in his head.
What were the odds that his soulmate had simply walked into the bar that night?
Well, according to Amadeus, it had been a 100% chance.
“I’m meeting my brother and his fiancée here. I had a bad date with that asshole and skipped out, and they asked me to meet them here,” she said.
“Can I wait with you at the bar? So you’re not alone?”
She smiled in relief, revealing a dimple in her cheek. “That would be wonderful, thank you. I’ve never walked into a bar by myself, and I nearly got hauled outside of one right off the bat.”
Since he and his friends had come in, the counter had cleared a little and there were several empty stools. He sat next to her and she ordered a soda, while Nathan brought over his half-empty beer.
“I’m sorry your date went sideways,” Alfie said. “Did you know him well?”
“No, he’s the friend of a friend and it was a blind date.
He was giving off red flags while we were talking at the restaurant down the road, and then he gave off major creepy vibes right now.
I was texting with my future sister-in-law in the parking lot, and he must have seen me and followed my car.
” She shivered and looked over her shoulder.
“If he comes back, which I doubt he will, I’ll handle him for you.”
She smiled. “I appreciate that, thank you. And you don’t need to apologize for me having a crappy date. It turns out the evening is kind of looking up.” She took a drink of her soda and giggled a little, and it was freaking adorable.
Just like she was.
They talked quietly, sharing the sorts of mundane details that strangers—who could become more—shared.
Their jobs, their opinions on the cold weather, and bad dates.
Of which Alfie hadn’t been on that many—he knew on sight if a female was his soulmate or not, but he’d gone out on dates before.
He’d never been out with a female who gave off as many red flags as Myla’s bad date did, though.
What an ass.
There was a time to talk about the future and expectations, but it wasn’t before the main course arrived on the first date.
“Hey, there you are!” a female said.
“Oh, hi, Alice,” Myla said. She swiveled on the stool and hugged a female and then flipped off the male with her.
“What did I do?” he asked.
“I owed you from when you told mom this weekend that I used to go throw rocks in the lake when I was supposed to be studying after school.”
“I had to tell her something,” he said. “She was dangerously close to finding out that I got suspended in school for fighting that one time. She could definitely still ground me, and I don’t need that.”
“You’re too old to be grounded,” Alice pointed out. “You’re twenty-six. And you don’t even live at their house anymore.”
“You know Mom,” Myla said. “Milo’s not wrong. Anyway, this is Alfie. He saved the day when that creep Eddie found me here and tried to pull me outside. This is my brother, Milo, and his much better half, Alice.”
Milo shook Alfie’s hand. “Nice to meet you, man. Thanks for watching out for my sister.”
“Happy to,” Alfie said.
“Oh gosh, you’re cute,” Alice said.
Milo grunted with a grimace at Alice, and Myla gasped. “Alice!”
“Sorry, it’s true. Not as cute as my sweet baboo, of course!” She pinched Milo’s cheek. “You know, Alfie, you look like a guy who could use someone to kiss at midnight on New Year’s. Like my future sis-in-law, Myla. And oh! You could bring him to our wedding. You desperately need a plus-one.”
“I’m not desperate,” Myla said, looking at Alfie. “But I’m also open to possibilities. Tonight feels like anything can happen, and since the worst of the night has suddenly gotten a lot better, I think that’s true.”
Alfie grinned.
“I’m open to possibilities too, Myla. Would you guys like to join us at the table with my friends? We can push two tables together,” Alfie said.
“Sounds good to me,” Alice said. “Lou, a round of drinks for our new friends, and can you make me a batch of fries, extra crispy?”
“You got it, hon,” the male behind the bar said.
Alfie stood at the same time Myla did, their bodies bumping and setting his senses on fire. “Shall we?” Alfie asked, his voice dropping low.
“Lead the way,” she said, her eyes darkening slightly as the sweet scent of her surrounded him. Vanilla and sunshine, sweet and warm.
His wolf was in heaven, and he was too.
A random visit to the bar had brought him and his soulmate together.
“I’m definitely psychic,” Amadeus whispered to Alfie when they moved chairs aside. “Too bad it wasn’t about me!”
“Next time, I’m sure,” Alfie said.
“Hey!” Nathan said as he lifted the drinks so the tables could be moved.
“I agree, hey!” Hyde said, shaking his head and shoving the tables together.
“Sorry, sorry,” Alfie said with a laugh.
He’d met her.
He’d finally met the one female on the planet just for him.
What a fucking night.