Chapter 13
Ever
Taking a deep breath, I push open the door to the bookstore five minutes before my shift.
Ledger glances up at the sound of the bell, arms loaded up with a stack of books, and his shoulders slump as he breathes a sigh of relief.
A sliver of guilt worms its way past my defenses.
I’m sure he was worried I was going to be a no call no show after the way I left right after lunch the other day, not even finishing my full first day of work and bailing yesterday.
But he still hoped I’d show up today, and a stupid part of me lights up at that.
I never received a reply to my resignation email at my old job, and not a single text from any of my coworkers.
I doubt they’ve even noticed that I quit, let alone care.
But one day working here, and Ledger was getting nervous I wasn’t going to show up, and it’s not like he was relying on me to work the register or anything actually important.
Squashing down a myriad of emotions I’m not ready to confront, I wave back at Kai as he calls out a greeting and stride right up to Ledger, keeping my voice low. “I need answers.”
He sets the stack of books on the table beside my work chair, gaze slowly roving over me head to toe, not even subtle in his perusal.
I don’t know if he’s checking me out or scanning for injuries, but I hate myself a little for the fluttering in my stomach under the heavy weight of his complete focus.
“Then I’m your man. What would you like to know? ”
Where do I even begin, is probably a better question. How am I supposed to know what to ask if I don’t know what I don’t know?
“Why here? I’ve never run into any ghosts before this place.”
Ledger sucks in a deep breath, watching me like he’s worried he’s about to send me running for the hills.
“Mercy Ridge is a sanctuary city for supernaturals, but we prefer the term mystics, or mysts. We’re able to use our abilities freely here without worrying about humans finding out and trying to hunt us down out of fear, or capture us to experiment on.
Or to hide out from more powerful mysts they aren’t able to deal with on their own. ”
“Wait. What do you mean we?” My heart skips a beat before thundering in double time. Tentatively, I reach out and touch his arm, but those muscles don’t give an inch. “You’re not a ghost.”
The corner of his lip twitches. “Afraid not.”
“So that means,” I trail off, both desperate for and dreading his answer. Realization sinks in before he even opens his mouth. “Oh, shit. You meant supernatural as in shifters, witches, and vampires, not flickering lights and possessions. Didn’t you?”
Watching me warily, he nods. “That’s right, sunshine.”
“So that means you’re a,” I trail off, swallowing hard. What the hell have I gotten myself into?
“Wolf shifter.”
“Prove it.”
His gaze flicks down to my lips and back just as quickly. “I absolutely can show you now if you’d like. I’ll need to strip though, so it might be best to wait until after work.”
Heat creeps up my neck, but I offer a terse nod.
“Alright. Tonight, prove it. But if this is all some sick joke, I’m not the person to pull it on.
I’ll pack my stuff and be gone before the sun sets and won’t look back.
I like this place, but I’m too old to deal with bullies or play these kinds of games, and won’t put up with that shit. ”
Jaw tightening, he dips his head in acknowledgment. “Noted, but I’d like to put it on record that I’d never toy with someone’s emotions like that. Pranks aren’t my thing.”
“Good. Then I guess I’ll see you tonight.”
“It’s a date,” he purrs. Reaching past me, he grabs a cup of coffee off the table beside my work chair and puts it in my hand, curling my fingers around it.
“And I’ll do you one better because I know it’ll be the only thing on your mind.
” He gestures to the books at my work station, none of them ones I left out yesterday.
“These are all written by mystics and fairly close to the truth, only minor details tweaked to keep the secret. You can start reading up and make a list of questions to bring with you, and I’ll answer them all. Even if it takes all night.”
This is insane. Shifters are great in theory, especially for spicy books, but in the real world? How the hell does that even work? Matter cannot be created or destroyed, and a beast of a man like Ledger has at least a hundred pounds on a wolf unless that thing is the size of a damn horse.
The math ain’t mathing.
“I mean it, Ledger.” Looking him dead in the eye, I show him how serious I am while practically pleading with him to admit he took the joke too far and apologize before it goes any further.
“Don’t lie to me. Trust is hard for me, and I’d respect you more for admitting you fucked up than trying to cover up a lie to save face. ”
His heated gaze stays locked on mine as he closes the distance between us and gently strokes his knuckles down my cheek.
“Trust me, Ever. I have much better ideas of how to play with you than mind games.” He taps the top of the stack of books.
“I can personally guarantee chapter twenty-seven is true.”
With a wink, he walks away and leaves me alone with my thoughts spinning wildly out of control, but one sticks out louder than the rest.
What if he’s actually telling the truth?
I’m torn between blushing, and demanding Ledger meet me in the bathroom so I can see for myself if that hint of his about chapter twenty-seven means what I think it does.
Knotting is for smutty books, not real life.
Otherwise, I’ve been really missing out on what the world has to offer.
Up until now, it’s just been disappointment and stress.
If the monsters lurking in the shadows come with knots and tentacles, do I reeeeeeeally want to run from them? It’s just foreplay at that point.
This is what I’ve always secretly wanted, right?
To wake up one day and my life turn into something more?
Sure, I didn’t stumble through a portal to some fantasy world, but those usually don’t have indoor plumbing or electricity anyway.
I don’t want to die of dysentery and wash clothes by hand; that sounds awful.
But getting knotted by a wolf shifter in an air conditioned house or riding a dragon?
I could totally get behind that reality.
It just sucks that in books they only want humans for breeding, and we don’t get cool powers too. Maybe one of these books has something about being bitten and turned?
I scribble down the question as Ledger interrupts to ask if I can mind the register while he makes an emergency supply run for the café.
“Sure, I can hold down the fort for a while.”
A small furrow appears between his brows. “If anyone gives you trouble, shout for Kai. He’ll handle it, and you call me while he does.”
I’m not sure why the comment annoys me so much.
You’d think it’d be a good thing that a boss cared about his employees’ safety, yet the internalized misogyny rubs me the wrong way.
Which is stupid, because it’s not like I’m secretly some badass that could disarm anyone that shows up to rob the place or harass me, especially if what he’s saying is true and this city is crawling with supernatural creatures that have abilities I don’t stand a chance against. Yet, him automatically deciding the other man in the store is responsible for protecting me is giving me an eye twitch, wanting to prove to him how capable I am simply out of spite.
Feelings are extremely annoying sometimes.
I have no interest in fighting a vampire unless he’s an enemy prince that’ll pin me against the wall and choke me a little.
Way too in my head, I bring my notebook with me to the counter and fill it with every question that even briefly crosses my mind.
After a couple of hours simmering on it, I’ve processed enough to realize that I’m not actually upset about the possibility that everything I know is a lie.
Honestly, I hope it’s true, because my life up until now has pretty much sucked ass.
I’m just frustrated that apparently every person in this damn city knew that the supernatural existed except for me.
Being tech savvy was the only thing that set me apart from other foster kids.
There isn’t a doubt in my mind that getting that selling point in my file of being a socially awkward smart kid saved me from getting put in a group home once I hit my teens.
If no one wanted to adopt me as a cute kid, there wasn’t a chance in hell it was going to happen when I was a few years from aging out of the system.
So I leaned into it. Let it define me. And while it helped score me a few decent homes to get by over the years, it left me with an utter obsession to solve any problem thrown my way to prove myself.
I can’t live in a place that leaves me feeling like the stupidest person in the room. I just can’t.
A cramp slices through my hand, but I keep my furious grip on my pencil as I fill page after page with questions until I’m feeling more settled and in control of the situation.
It won’t matter if I’m the only human in a supernatural city if I know what to expect.
What creatures do I need to fear, and which ones are potential allies?
Bargaining chips. Weaknesses. How to protect myself and my home against creatures with abilities I can only dream of and have no hope of matching?
Do I have any rights in their society, or am I considered cattle, a blood slave, or broodmare?
Knowing the answers to these questions will paint me a solid picture of what I’m dealing with, and what my next steps will be.
If I’m not in danger, I’d like to stay, if only so I can have a taste of how much more the world has to offer, as pathetic as that sounds.