Bodhi and Syn
“I swear to the fucking Goddess. If I see that wolf texting or talking on that motherfucking phone one more fucking time all secretive like, I’m gonna lose my shit.” I glared at the bar, watching Bodhi turn away with his phone pressed to his ear. Again.
My best friend Lyric, who was standing next to me, was smart enough to turn her head away and cough into her hand, yet I knew she was laughing. Sometimes being a wolf sucked.
“Fucking wolf hearing. Doesn’t the man know I can hear him even when he’s whispering?”
Lyric put her hand on my arm. “I’m sure it’s not what it sounds like.”
I looked down at my best friend’s hand and tried really hard not to growl.
We’d been friends since we were little. Hell, I couldn’t remember a day when we hadn’t been.
However, staring at us, we looked like night and day.
Lyric had wavy blonde hair and brown eyes and was cute as a button.
I had black hair and blue eyes. Growing up, I’d envied Lyric’s gorgeous blonde locks and dark eyes.
Her petite form made her stand out, unlike me, who is average at five-foot-five.
My real name was Karsyn, but I went by Syn.
Another thing I loved about Lyric—her name was awesome without having to shorten it.
“Oh sure, and rainbows are flying out of his ass, too.” My eyes watched Bodhi stomp through the back door of the Iron Wolves club. Hell, even that was a gorgeous sight.
“Don’t do anything crazy, Syn. You know Kellen would gladly woop his ass if you asked.” Lyric raised her hand to get Turo’s attention.
“What can I get you, gorgeous?” Turo leaned down on his muscular forearms against the smooth bar, his tattoos flexing. The scent of peppermint wafted across the counter.
Lord, how I wish I didn’t want Bodhi, the porchdick, and could want this wolf instead. I licked my lips as I stared at him.
Turo shook his head. “Ain’t happening, Sugar. That wolf would rip my head off.” He winked.
I pouted up at Turo. “Aw, come on, Arturo. You’ve got that big ole’ gun. You can totally shoot his ass for me.”
Lyric smacked me in the arm. “Why you gotta bring up the gun?”
I laughed at Lyric’s whispered words. My crazy friend had busted up Turo’s favorite AR-15 in a bar fight against a rival pack. Of course, Rowan had replaced the weapon, but the big man swore it didn’t shoot right.
I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore the pain in my chest at the sight of Bodhi walking out of the bar.
The feeling was like a knife in my chest. I needed to get away.
Far, far away, but I had to do it without the pack knowing, or they’d never allow me to leave.
Hell, having my brother be the big bad alpha had its perks, but it had a lot of downs as well.
“Alright, bottoms up.” Lyric handed me a shot glass.
One glance at the milky liquid, and I smiled. My best friend had a thing for the alcohol called RumChata. “Bottoms up,” I echoed before clinking my glass against Lyric’s and then draining the sweet concoction. “Turo, line ‘em up, and keep ‘em coming.”
The way his eyebrows shot up would’ve been comical if he hadn’t glanced behind us, asking for permission from one of the menfolk if it was okay. Yeah, I so fucking needed to get the hell outta Dodge, and away from nosy ass wolves.
“If you want, I can go elsewhere.” It wasn’t an empty threat. Although Lyric was happily mated and wouldn’t be going with me, I’d gladly go to a human bar and get my drink on.
Turo sighed, then refilled our drinks. Our shifter metabolism would burn off the alcohol quicker than a human, but we’d at least get tipsy if we drank quickly and enough. I planned to do both.
“You gonna tell me what’s going on in that head of yours?” Lyric turned to face me, the no-nonsense tone saying more than just the words.
I shook my head. “Not tonight. I just want to drink and dance. Maybe see who’s beating the shit out of who in the cages.” Yeah, watching a few shifters in their skin, shirtless, would definitely cheer me up.
Lyric snorted. “Good luck with that. I think the only thing that would do the trick would be if someone hauled that dumb wolf into the ring and beat some sense into him.”
Just the mention of Bodhi made my wolf whine inside my head. Turo refilled our drinks again. I looked at the sweet-looking drink, but I no longer felt like drinking.
“You know, I think I’ll just head home. Would you mind if I took a raincheck on our girls’ night?”
Taking a look over my shoulder, I could see Rowan was standing next to Kellen and his mate, Laikyn.
I loved my brother and my new sister-in-law.
Watching the way neither could keep their hands off each other brought home the fact that all of my family and closest friends were happily mated. Except me. The proverbial third wheel.
Fuck! I was not going to be a pity party for one, thank you very much. Even from the distance of fifty feet, the heat of Rowan’s stare toward Lyric was enough to melt a block of ice.
“Oh come on, the night is young,” Lyric protested.
I pushed the shot glass toward Lyric. “Here, drink up and go have some fun with that man of yours. I’m gonna go home and catch up on some Netflix.
Watching all y’all make googly eyes at each other makes a girl wanna gag,” I said with a laugh, inserting just enough truth so Lyric wouldn’t scent a lie.
My best friend wrapped her arms around me. “I love you. You know that, right? No matter what. You and I will always be bestest friends forever.”
Of course, we would, but a mate came before friends.
I knew that. Understood it even. However, my wolf and I were getting damn tired of fighting the pull of being without my own mate, even though I’d known who he was since I was fifteen.
I was ready to try the whole ‘distance makes things easier’ motto.
When Lyric had mated Rowan, I’d gone to their place with the intention of leaving right then, but I couldn’t work up the courage at the time. Now, with everyone else paired off—Xan with Breezy, Kellen with Laikyn—it was time for me to make a move.
Had Bodhi been born a shifter instead of being turned as a child, maybe he wouldn’t be able to ignore me the way he’d been.
Maybe he wouldn’t be pursuing whoever he was on the phone twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
The thought had my wolf growling, clawing to get out.
I fought her back, not wanting Lyric to see how close I was to losing my shit.
“I’ll give you a call. We can meet at the new coffee shop and see if their lattes are as good as our favorite place. Heck, it looks really cute from the outside.” I got up and put a twenty-dollar bill on the counter. “Keep the change, Turo.”
Before anyone could say a word, I turned and walked out the side door. The cold night air whipped around me, sending a shiver down my spine. My ears picked up the low timber of Bodhi speaking to someone in the distance. With only his voice audible, it was easy to deduce he was on his cell.
Realizing I couldn’t and wouldn’t stick around to listen to him talk to another female, I climbed into my pickup. A single tear fell from my eye before I swiped it away.
“Fuck him. I don’t need him,” I whispered as I started the engine.
The need to kick up some gravel had my foot twitching, but I pushed it back. Always pushing my wolf back. I shifted the truck into gear, easing from the packed lot. Friday nights were always busy at the Iron Wolf, but with it being winter, it was more so.
I made the short trip to my small cabin, music blaring while I made up my mind.
No way could I keep beating my heart against a wall and stay happy.
Had I not been a wolf, I could have found another man and fuck Bodhi out of my system.
However, since I’d been fifteen and come to know who my mate was, my wolf wouldn’t allow me to get that close to another male.
The bitch, I cursed the wolf living inside me.
As I sat and looked at the small cabin I’d made my own, tears fell unheeded from my eyes.
The porch had a swing on one side and two Adirondack chairs on the other with a small table between them.
I’d lovingly bought them, hoping one day to sit out there with my mate and watch the sunset together.
Hell, I’d hoped Bodhi and I would sit out there together.
“Put your big girl panties on and get your shit together.” I swiped the backs of my hands across my cheeks, wiping away the evidence of my weakness.
No sense crying over spilled milk, as the saying goes.
Once inside the cabin, I didn’t bother turning on any lights.
Able to see with my shifter abilities, I went straight to my bedroom and grabbed the bag I’d packed two months prior.
Kneeling on the floor inside my closet, I dialed the lock, opening the small safe bolted to the floor, and took out my emergency funds.
If I planned to have a little break from the pack, I’d have to go off the grid, meaning I’d have to do it with cash.
Kellen would track my ass through my credit cards, but I’d been planning on a little trip alone for over a year.
Hell, I’d been squirreling away cash for the last five if I was honest.
After making sure the cabin was locked up and that the note explaining I was taking a little road trip alone was posted, I placed my phone and the note on the counter. I’d pick up a burner on my way out of town and give Lyric a call in a day or so, then thought better about leaving my phone.