Chapter 1
Chapter one
Enrique “Ricky” Bravo
Present Day
Working at the Barn, Blue Lake’s only bar, wasn’t my dream job. I already achieved my goal of making it into the professional mixed martial arts world. I even won a couple big fights and squirreled the money away for a rainy day.
The problem was that being a shifter gave me a few advantages, and it wouldn’t be fair to make a whole career out of beating men up when they were merely human. But it sure was fun for a while.
As a beta wolf, I wasn’t as big or strong as the alphas in my pack of wolves, but I did have to pretend I had an injury a time or two when a hit should have left me with broken bones.
It wasn’t hard to tell my trainer and manager it was time to pack it in as I inched closer to thirty.
Too many injuries, time to settle down, I’d told them.
They bought it and wished me well, but we’d never been close.
It was hard to make genuine connections with normies outside of the pack with so much to hide. Like turning into a wolf sometimes.
Part of why I happily lived the slut life, hooking up with any warm body on the road, was the need to keep the secret. But it had been a while, as I settled into my new life in Blue Lake full time. Now, retired from fighting, I could take the mantle of pack enforcer. Like my father before me.
Thinking of my not-so-dearly departed dad reminded me why I was working as a bartender when I didn’t drink much. For one, shifters have to drink a lot to feel anything, for another, there were enough dead alcoholics in the pack not to add another one to the list.
Being a bartender wasn’t what I wanted with my life, and it barely covered my groceries, but I had to do something. For the most part, the pack didn’t need an enforcer, and I got bored sitting still.
Six months ago, I helped keep Alpha King’s mate safe, running the MacTaryn bear shifters off King land and back across to the west side of the lake. Since then, we've had peace and quiet.
It felt too quiet.
Call me an adrenaline junkie, but I needed excitement in my life. Something new to sink my teeth into. A lone wolf might be a stereotype, but we actually did better with a pack. Just like any person, we needed family and intimacy. I had the first, but not the second.
Sure, I had the pack, but I’d never had a real partner. Someone to call my own and build a life with.
Maybe my dry spell in our small town was part of my melancholy?
Ever since I gave Clark Finley a pity blow job—and came in my pants like a pup—I hadn’t been into anyone else. Because that’s all it was. Fin was hurt and I helped him out. A one-time lapse in judgement to see how far I could push the older man. There was nothing more there.
Liar. My wolf scoffed at me as I wiped the bar down in the lull between customers.
Who was I kidding? Fin made me feel like a teen again, watching the sexy older man from afar. Just like I had in my actual teens when Rowan’s dad had been my sexual awakening.
Seeing the man who went to school with my parents strip down for a run when I was sixteen had been a revelation. The same father figure—who made snacks for us kids when our dads forgot to feed us—had gotten me as hard as when I watched the cheerleaders at school.
It took me a couple more years to understand my sexuality and start to explore it, but I never forgot the original, forbidden crush. Hell, it was probably what caused me to be into older men instead of guys my own age.
My friends thought it was funny how I flirted with him, since they all assumed he was straight. No one acted more gay than a bunch of immature straight guys. But I was the only one who knew differently about Fin. Including his son, who was one of my best friends.
Outing Fin wasn’t something I’d do, but I also couldn’t bring myself to stop flirting.
The doors opened to reveal the new Alpha of our pack, Fowler King, to scatter my thoughts. He had auburn hair and was bearded, with the motorcycle club jacket patch naming him President. We were a pack of shifters who also rode bikes, protected the town, and were a family.
All of us were happy to have him back, both as our leader and our friend.
Possibly the happiest person to have King in Blue Lake was his mate, Riley, who had his arm looped through the alpha’s. Riley’s blue eyes were fixed to his partner like Fowler hung the moon, but he’d done the same in high school when they were just friends.
They were perfect for each other, and part of why I started wanting to settle down.
Seeing King and Riley together made you believe in soulmates. In each of us having our perfect match. Plus, their coupling helped bring King home permanently.
“King,” I called out with a big smile on my face. I expected him to be here tonight, but I’m still sometimes surprised when he showed up after ten years away. “What can I get you two lovebirds?”
“Ricky, good to see you!” King greeted me, clasping my hand over the bar. “We’ll take a couple ciders, thanks.”
“No problem.” I stepped away to grab glasses and gestured to the back, “Corner booth is yours. Rel should be here soon.”
Riley and King waited for their drinks and then took the booth right as Rel walked in.
His dark skin was contrasted by a white tank top over faded blue jeans.
Rel had been my closest friend since we were kids, practically a brother to me, so of course he only waved at me before heading to join the other two.
Brothers didn’t need to greet each other, especially since we were also roommates.
My mom moved back to Cuba when my dad got abusive, and then he died owing too much for me to keep his house.
Rel’s parents retired to Jamaica, though, leaving him their two-bedroom cabin in Blue Lake.
Him being Black to my Cuban-American meant we stood out compared to most people in town as kids, and we bonded over being different in school.
“I’m taking fifteen, Norm,” I called out to my boss, Steve Norman. Pouring Rel the lager I know he preferred after a shift at the fire station, I took it back to their table.
Right as I slid in next to Rel, the double doors opened to highlight two men with light behind them. I recognized their silhouettes before the doors closed and I saw them properly. Rowan and Clark Finley walked in side-by-side, stopping at the bar.
Nudging Rel over to the middle of the booth beside King, I was sad when Rowen was the one to sit beside me while Fin grabbed a chair and flipped it around to sit on the far side of our circle. Rowen was my friend too, but I craved the alpha’s nearness.
As much as I liked to ogle him, he avoided me.
Was it so much to ask for the older alpha to give me the time of day? And maybe return the favor of our one time together for a quickie blowjob to take the edge off.
For all I knew, Fin wasn’t even bi or gay and just got hard because he woke up that way. He was angry at me and I wanted him to relax. Oral sex is always a good idea, right? And he had said he wasn’t straight.
Damn it. I’m still feeling lingering doubts, because we never talked about it.
Did I take advantage of him?
No, he got harder and had been very into it.
I didn’t force myself on him. Plus, even injured and almost two decades older, he was stronger than me.
He may not know his sexuality, but I knew my wolf wanted him.
I needed to get over this crush and move on, because the man wouldn’t even look at me unless I was talking.
Guess it was time to make some noise. “So, King, what’s on the agenda?”