Mini Bonus Chapter Three
A Bear Walks Into The Howl
Back at the beginning of June…
Luke had always liked building things. Even when he was a kid, he’d enjoyed making useful things. Now as an adult, he liked taking a pile of lumber and tools and turning it into something that people could enjoy.
Just like the new deck at The Amber Howl.
He’d spent most of May doing the finishing work on the deck that stretched across the back of the tavern and overlooked Pine Run River.
He’d spent so much time there that he’d gotten used to having one of Sigh’s burgers for lunch every day.
And now the deck was finished and it was opening night for the summer concert series.
Tonight, the doors separating the deck from the main room would open and people would eat on it, dance on it, and maybe even fall in love on it.
If Sigh’s burgers were as magical as everyone seemed to think they were.
Hell, he was wondering if that was the case. Over the last month, he’d watched all three wolves in the King Lake Pack find their truemates. And it had all started with Sigh’s favorite burger that he’d picked as the burger of the week.
Luke didn’t believe in magic.
But he could admit there had to be something to it. Either the burgers were magic, or fate had just decided it was time to let the wolves find their truemates.
Luke walked out of his house into the warm June evening as the sun set and turned everything gold and orange. Colt, the alpha, and Riggs were waiting on the road for him.
“You guys in a hurry or something?” Luke asked as he joined them.
“They might run out of burgers,” Riggs said.
The male could eat, and that was saying something from a male with a big appetite himself.
“That’s never happened,” Luke said.
“It might. Did you see the line for people waiting to get onto the deck?” Colt asked.
Luke looked across the lake and saw the line of people at the door.
“It’ll be fine. Dare told us to come in the back, and that they’d reserved a table for us on the deck.” He looked at his alpha. “Why am I the voice of reason here?”
“Because I skipped lunch so I could have two of Sigh’s burgers of the week.”
Audrey’s Gouda Time Burger.
Luke liked gouda cheese.
And he always liked Sigh’s burgers.
He shook his head as they walked toward The Howl. The closer they got to the tavern, the more restless his bear grew.
He wasn’t sure what was up with his bear, but it wasn’t a new feeling.
All May, that restless ache had been an albatross around his neck, watching the wolves find their truemates. He was happy for them, but he was damn lonely.
Sometimes being faced with others’ happiness made him feel like a crotchety gremlin.
“You okay?” Riggs asked.
“Yeah. My bear’s unsettled.”
“Maybe you need to shift? It’s been a few weeks.”
Luke hummed. “Maybe.”
But Luke didn’t think it was about shifting. His bear was restless, but not agitated or irritated. Just alert. Interested.
Waiting.
Which was weird as hell.
Riggs elbowed Luke. “Burger magic.”
“Don’t start,” Colt said.
“Come on, you have to admit something is going on at The Howl. Either the burgers are magic or Sigh is a witch,” Riggs said.
Luke snorted. “Sigh is not a witch, that’s not even a thing.”
“Then they’re magic. And we definitely need to get in on that mate-magic he’s cooking up in the kitchen. Maybe he could start a shifter match-making service,” Riggs said.
“I don’t think the burgers are magic,” Luke said.
“But?” Riggs asked.
“Something’s going on at The Howl, that’s for damn sure.”
Colt nodded. “We’re all thinking about finding our mates.
It’s fun to think about a burger being touched by fate and bringing mates together, but it doesn’t seem realistic.
Plus, we’re all the way across the lake and building things, not running a tavern and serving food.
We’ll find our mates when the time is right, burgers or not. ”
Luke knew that was true, but it didn’t stop him from hoping that his mate would show up soon.
By the time they reached the employee entrance at the back, Luke’s bear was going positively nuts. The back door opened and Dare and Audrey greeted them. “Everything looks amazing,” the human female – now the alpha female of the pack – said with a smile. “You guys did amazing work.”
Dare shook their hands. “Thanks for coming tonight. Everything’s on the house, the table has a reserved sign on it and Sigh said he’ll send over burgers of the week right away if you’d like.”
“It depends,” Riggs said. “Are they still magic?”
Audrey beamed at them. “It sure seems like it.”
They walked into the bar, stopping at the kitchen to greet Sigh and his mate Juliette, then waved at Trick by the door, and then his mate Cassidy, who was at the bar rolling silverware.
As they walked onto the deck, a scent tickled Luke’s nose.
So faint it was there one moment and gone the next.
His restless bear went utterly still.
But Luke didn’t catch the scent again, it was gone as fast as it had appeared.
“Luke?” Colt asked.
He realized he’d stopped and was staring at the door where Trick stood. “Yeah, coming.”
“You okay?” Colt asked.
“Yeah. Give me a minute.”
He left his friends and walked toward the door.
“You look like a man on a mission,” Trick said.
“I need to see who’s outside.” He rubbed his heart, his bear head-butting him from the inside.
“You bet,” Trick said, opening the door.
Luke stepped out and inhaled deeply.
And just like that, his whole world changed.
The End.