The Werewolves #10
He looks around the room, eyes snagging on Keely, who's a few paces away, laughing in a minotaur's lap. Her perky nipples are visible through her sparkly, see-through shirt.
It takes me a moment to process his being here.
Wondering what I ever saw in him, if he was just convenient because we worked together.
But I don't like this sticky feeling, seeing him here, tainting my new life.
Looking at Keely like that, like he deserves to breathe the same air as her.
And despite whatever complicated feelings I've had the last few weeks, especially the last few nights, this place makes me happy, and I don't want him around. I'm done with Danny.
It's a relief.
And so, I don't even think about it; I wrap my hand around his arm and drag him back to the entrance.
No one stops us, and I even get a few nods, letting me know the monsters are on my side. If I need assistance, I have it.
I love this place.
Danny protests, but I keep dragging him until we're in front of the entrance. The floor manager sees me and runs over. "Oh, Lily, I've been meaning to track you down. Have you seen Mara yet tonight? She needed to speak with you."
"One second," I say, then turn to Danny. "You need to leave."
"Lily, look. If this is about—" But before he can launch into what I'm sure would be a riveting tale about how his dick accidentally fell into Veronica, there's commotion at the door. The bouncer roars, and five big hulking men barge their way into the club.
The biggest one, with a shaved head and tattoos, trades blows with the bouncer.
The floor manager rushes into the fray, then suddenly Keely and Braden are next to me and we all jump back as one guy gets thrown to the ground in front of us by a troll.
Danny shrieks like a child. There's never fighting at the playhouse.
What would drive a monster to violence here in their safe space?
"Wait! Fuck! That's—" Braden tries to stop the fighting, but he's unwilling to get punched for it, so he dodges and weaves around the flying fists.
Then, a man with messy, jet-black hair skids to a stop in front of me and drops to his knees. "Baby. Oh fuck, baby, we've been looking everywhere for you." He clasps my hand in his, but I snatch it back.
"What?" I say at the same time as Danny snaps, "Baby?"
"This is all one big misunderstanding!" Braden shouts. He lets some of his fae magic feed the fight, and everyone's enchanted. The fighting stops, and my manager mutters, "Fucking werewolves." And then, all five of the hulking men are crowding around me.
I still have the drink tray in my hand, and I clasp it in front of my chest, like a protective shield. My heart races, stomach churning, because it feels like something important is happening, but I have no clue what is going on.
"Who the fuck are these guys?" Danny demands.
"Who the fuck are you?" the one on the ground snaps back.
He's beautiful. Painfully, achingly attractive.
His skin is golden brown, like he spent his summer on the Mediterranean.
His lips are full and pink, every feature perfectly proportionate, dripping with sex appeal.
I'm certain I've never seen him before in my life. I'd remember that face.
He growls, "We are her mates. She is the center of my fucking universe." Then he pauses and looks up at me, eyes swimming with adoration. "What's your name?"
I… have no words.
"Lily," Keely gleefully provides. We're drawing a crowd now.
"Lily," all five of them echo, a chorus of relief. The one on the ground comes to a stand and reaches for me again. I try to pull my hand away, but he doesn't let go. "Lily. It's so nice to finally meet you. I'm Nico."
"Teddy." Another man nudges Nico aside. He smiles with his whole face, and it's genuine and warm; the kind of smile that makes you want to hug and squeeze him like his namesake.
But then he pulls my panties from his pocket, the ones I dropped a few nights ago.
"We've been looking for you everywhere," he says, hugging the cotton close to his chest.
These fucking psychos.
"I thought I banned you five." A stern voice joins us, and I look over to find Mara gritting her teeth. I'm getting whiplash, and my heart is racing. Everyone is staring at us.
"They wouldn't let us in. You didn't tell her, you said you would tell her—"
"It's only been two days—"
"She's our fucking mate! A moment is too long to keep her from us!"
There's too much shouting. Everyone is yelling. The guys get into an argument with Mara. I understand only half of what they're saying. They were banned a few nights ago for starting a fight. They shifted in the club—I gasp.
Five werewolves.
But I don't have time to dwell on this revelation, because Danny shoves himself into the array of voices. "Lily, I came here to talk to you. I don't know what's going on, but these, these—" he points at the werewolves in disgust.
Ah, there's the Danny I know. He tried to hide it. Or, he got turned on by the idea of me working here, thought he'd walk on the wild side with me. But that's not him.
He's the boring one.
"Mara, can you please have this man escorted out of the building and added to the banned list?" I say without looking away from Danny. She stops arguing with the wolves and nods, snaps her fingers, and the bouncer with a new black eye ambles over and grabs Danny by the collar.
"Lily, wait! Please! After everything we've been through? The years we had? You're just going to throw it all away without even talking to me?"
There's so much I want to say back. The fight bubbles up my throat, and I'm ready to unleash it. I had a lot of time to think last night after he showed up unexpectedly. He said he didn't know how good he had it with me.
I left, and suddenly he needed to figure out how to do his own laundry. Cook his own meals. I'm not his fucking maid. Or his mother. He damn sure didn't treat me like a partner, let alone someone he's in love with.
"Goodbye, Danny. Don't come around again."
His face turns red when he realizes I'm not giving him a second chance.
"Fine! Veronica was a better lay than you anyway!
" he screams. The wolves all growl, but I'm too embarrassed to process what the fuck is happening at normal speed.
At least that's one problem solved. There's still the matter of five werewolves and my missing underwear.
Mara takes a moment to explain, but the wolves keep interrupting. One at a time, they push each other out of the way to touch my arm or hold my hand. It's disorienting. Finally, Mara snaps. "That's it! You five, out!"
They shout again, but she gives Braden a look, who nods, then feeds his magic into the chaos.
The guys calm down but don't leave. Mara begins, "I told you I would explain to Lily what happened.
And if she agrees to see you, then I know where to find you: outside the door, pacing like lost fucking puppies, I'm sure.
Now, she is my employee. She was guaranteed safety when she took this job, and you five have violated our rules.
You're lucky I'm not calling the police.
Step outside while we speak with Lily. Do not test me on this. "
Mara's voice booms, laced with power. I assumed she was human, but now I'm questioning everything. She's magnificent. With longing looks, all five of the men file out.
I have to bite down on my lips to hold in the plea, asking them to stay.
Anxiety, worse than before, pops its inconvenient head up, and this time, I can barely swallow it down.
It's not internal; it's a shaky thread, tugging me toward them, fear that they're leaving me, which makes no sense.
I feel like I'm spiraling out of control.
The crowd around us has slowly dispersed. The floor manager returns to help Eli since I've abandoned my post. All that's left is me, Mara, Keely and Braden.
It's Keely who finally breaks the silence.
"You're their mate."
Holding my drink tray like a shield, I spin on my heel and head back to the bar.
Lily
"Table nine is ready for their check," I tell Eli. He's been giving me narrow-eyed looks for the last hour, ever since Keely announced the most absurd thing I've ever heard in my life and I stormed off.
What ridiculous fucking nonsense.
Eli prints the ticket, slaps it on the beer-stained tray and slides it toward me, all without taking his eyes off me. I want to groan and laugh at the same time.
Sheepishly, I swipe the ticket and deliver it to the table.
Taking my time, I weave between the tables, but no one seems to need a thing.
It's as if they all know what's simmering between me and the five wolves currently pacing outside, which, if I'm being honest with myself, they probably all do, and they're all in collusion with each other.
Fucking monsters.
Running out of ways to stall, I make my way back toward the bar, only to find Keely and Braden gossiping in low tones with Eli.
I hear the word mate when I approach, which makes my heart and feet stutter.
I've read the pamphlet. I know what that means, technically. But that's impossible. There's no way I could be their mate.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't our resident coward.
" Braden sips his shimmering cocktail through an obnoxious sparkly curly straw, his narrow, high cheekbones highlighted by the sucking motion.
I made that cocktail for the gnomes, using edible glitter, as a special for one of their holidays last week.
The curly straw is all Braden.
I snatch the drink from his hands and dump the contents in the sink on Eli's side of the bar. Then I gasp. "I can't believe I just did that. I'm so sorry. I just meant to—I don't know. Steal your drink."
"You did," Braden sasses, tilting his head.
"Okay, I did, but only because you were being mean."
"I was."
"Right. Well, I don't feel bad then."