Three

Chapter 3 Seline

If I can’t read the Alpha, that means that’s he strong. Stronger than even me. It’s rare for me to come across someone like him. The only other person I’ve met who I was unable to get a read on was Mayor Hamrington when I first met him. Coincidentally, that was also when he hired me on the spot.

A powerful wolf Alpha in town is troubling.

When there are too many Others in one place, it is a stirring pot about to boil over. But if you throw in extremely powerful individuals into the pot, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Until now, Arrow Brooke has managed to maintain its peace, mostly due to the mayor’s influence and control. Will the arrival of this new Alpha destroy the order of things?

It’s a troubling thought as I return to my place behind the bar.

I keep my eyes on the group of wolf shifters while I serve other customers. They devour their meal with some amount of grace, all the while immersed in what looks like a serious conversation, if the grim expressions on their faces are anything to go by.

I wrap my magic around me more tightly as a precaution. I’ve managed to hide my wolf side for years now. While Others are accepting of different species, not everyone is as open-minded when it comes to hybrids like myself. One brief love affair between my headstrong, rebellious Lycan mother and my wayward warlock of a father—a father who abandoned both me and my mother from the moment he found out that I had been conceived

—has been enough for me to know that if not even my father is willing to

accept me, how can others?

Wolf shifters, in particular, are even more hostile towards part-wolf hybrids. The twelve years I spent with my mother in her pack have done a good job of ravaging me inside. Twelve years of taunts—of being harassed while the adults watched or turned the other cheek—was enough to damage a child. And then to be exiled from the pack when it was proven that I could not shift was somehow worse.

Even now, all these year later, that insecure child rears its head. Which is why I loathe wolf shifters.

And fear them.

However, despite my aversion to them, it seems that the Alpha might not feel the same way. Throughout the evening, I can feel his eyes lingering on me. What’s worse is my own reaction to him.

Whenever I accidentally meet that predatory amber gaze, I feel this strange itching under my skin, and my normally sturdy grasp on my magic wavers.

Is it because I’m attracted to him?

I shake off the thought as soon as it flickers through my head because it sounds ridiculous. This man is not the first person I have been attracted to. Normally, my taste in men is shit, so the fact that I am lusting after an Alpha

—and a wolf Alpha at that—just goes to show my poor judgment in men.

I keep scratching my skin, however, and when I look down after an hour, my brows furrow at the mess I’ve made of it.

“Allergy?” Gina, one of the new night hires, asks.

Gina is part elf, with a human mother. But that’s elves for you, planting their seeds in every unsuspecting human female they come across. That’s one of the reasons I hired her, because of her hybrid status. However, elves have a habit of embracing their kind, hybrid or not, so after a few more years, her father will probably come searching for her and whisk her away to his

village.

“Seems like it,” I mutter, wishing that my mother could at least have had the good sense to get pregnant by an elf rather than a warlock.

I let out a whimsical sigh, and Gina stares at me. “You drunk?”

I glance at an open bottle of whisky that a customer just abandoned. “No. But I have plans to do so when I get home.”

Gina looks over my shoulder before hollering. “Marty, can you move any slower? It’s been twenty minutes!”

I hear the cook curse back and Gina grins at me, “Sorry. But the couple at table twelve have asked me twice about their pasta and it’s embarrassing at this point. Besides, do you really want to get drunk? Don’t you have to waitress at Benny’s in the afternoon?”

I groan. “Yeah. I forgot that.”

I’m about to say something else when she nudges me. “Table six is trying to get your attention.”

I look over at the group of wolf shifters, and when the Alpha meets my gaze, he gives a small smile. There’s no mistaking the hunger in his gaze. Only this time, I know he’s not hungry for food.

My abdomen tightens and Gina whistles softly. “Somebody’s got his eyes on you.”

“He’s a wolf shifter,” I say tightly, and Gina’s grin drops. “Oh.”

There’s only a handful of people who are aware of my situation, Gina being one of them.

“You want me to go—?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I’ve got this.”

I nod at the other bartender, who nods back. Sliding out of the go-between door, I adjust my apron as I walk over. “What can I get for you guys?”

One of the shifters grinned. “We just wanted to introduce ourselves since you’ll be seeing a lot of us from now on.”

Their Alpha is silent, but it still feels like his eyes are piercing into my soul.

Just what is he trying to do? Xray me with his eyes?

“You mean at the bar?”

“And around town,” the shifter smiles. “We bought the abandoned building the next street over. Some of us are good with bikes and cars, so thought we might as well put our skills to use.”

Super-friendly, this lot.

“So, you’re setting up a mechanic shop?” I ask, slowly.

“Yeah. A few of our younger males showed interest in the local college, so they’ll be signing up for that.”

Hmm, not much about the females.

“I see.”

“I heard you’ve already met Austin, our Alpha. I’m Jason, his second in command. That’s Ray and Seth, and this here is Lexion. We call him Lexi for short.”

“Fuck off, Jason,” the burly shifter growled. “Language, Lexi,” Austin orders sharply, and I blink. Was that for my benefit?

“Well, it’s really nice to meet you all.” I smile, not really trusting their friendly nature. I know I’m biased, which is wrong, but I have to protect myself.

“I have to get back to work now, but the next round of drinks is on me.” I curve my lips at them. Better to part on nicer terms.

They don’t stop me, and I let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully, they stay away from me.

HOWEVER, as much as I want to not think about Austin, I can’t get him out of my head.

It’s the early hours of the morning after I’m done cleaning up. I grab my bag and change into street clothes before picking up the trash bags. I exit through the alley door and lock it before making my way to the large trash bins.

I toss in the trash bags and begin to close the lid of the trash bin.

I hear the sound first before I look up, only to feel something thin pierce my neck. Almost like a small needle.

My hand instantly goes to my neck, and I feel something thin sticking out of my neck.

“Crap…what…”

I yank the thin dart out and instantly feel a wave of nausea.

I grab the edge of the trash bin and look towards the entrance of the alley. I can make out a few figures approaching me. It takes me a moment for my vision to clear, and I recognize the panther shifters from a few days ago. “Cowards,” I spit out. “Can’t even take on one woman without trying to drug her.”

But it seems that these idiots don’t know what I am.

If I was a warlock alone, the drug the dart contained would have left me in a drooling, mindless state. But my wolf side, weak as it is, is struggling to burn through the drug, giving me enough awareness to know that I’m in danger right now.

It’s days like these when I find myself grateful for the Lycan blood flowing through my system. I can feel it fighting off the effects of the drug that can be fatal to most warlocks.

But the panther shifters aren’t waiting around, and I see deadly intent in their eyes as they approach me. I don’t have to speak to summon my powers and I touch the ground, making them all jump in pain at the jolt of electricity

striking them.

But it’s weaker than normal.

One of them darts over the trash bins, lined against the wall, and runs towards me. I try to avoid him, but his hand has already shifted into those deadly claws and he slashes at me. I hiss in pain as his claws score against my neck and chest, tearing cloth and puncturing my skin.

“Don’t kill the bitch yet!” one of them hoots in laughter. “I want to make her crawl!”

Others snicker as I stumble back. I glare at them through the strands of my hair, trying to breathe past the pain.

Crawl? Not fucking likely. I’ve crawled enough for other people to last me a lifetime!

I plant my hands on the ground, one of my fingers landing on some leaves growing out of the crack of the dirty floor. It’s difficult to use my warlock abilities right now because of how the drug is attacking my system. But I refuse to be a victim again. It’s a vow I made to myself all those years ago.

I summon all my strength and feel the ground rumble. As do the shifters. Looks of alarm settle on their faces. “What the hell?”

I smile weakly, not hiding my rage. “Retribution, assholes,”

The ground bursts open and long thin vines race towards the panther shifters. They howl in fear and jump out of the way. I laugh angrily, as the vines change direction, almost as if they have a mind of their own and chase the shifters.

“It’s her!” one of them shouts. “She’s controlling them!” “How?!” his companion hisses. “The dealer said—ugh!”

He’s thrown against a wall by one of the vines and there’s a loud cracking sound as he slumps to the ground, unconscious.

“Knock her out!” One of the panthers screams.

I see three of them rush towards me. While the vines manage to stop two of them, one of them manages to get through. His claws extended, he slashes against my neck, aiming for the most vulnerable part. Even as I try to defend myself, the already seeping blood has weakened me considerably.

I feel his claws slash through neck, and a gurgling sound echoes in my ears as my vision blurs. I see the vines suddenly fall to the ground, and I, too, slump down weakly.

Dammit!

My healing abilities are nowhere close to an actual shifter’s, but they’re fast. While these wounds are fatal, they might not kill me if I’m given enough time to heal.

They are advancing on me and my fingers twitch as I try to common up some strength. Just a small spell to buy myself some time, but it’s hard for me to even think.

Maybe I should consider releasing the magic that is subduing my Lycan side? The decision has to be made fast. If they find out I’m a hybrid, I’ll have to kill them because if I let even one of them escape, it will come back to haunt me.

Just as I’m about to release the magic, I hear one of the panther shifters grunt before he is thrown against the wall by a moving shadow.

“You again?!”

My vision is too blurred to be able to make out anything concrete. All I can see is a large figure snarling and tossing around the panther shifters as if they are nothing more than rag dolls.

I’m struggling to breathe, feeling my skin stitch together at a very slow speed. My head is light from the blood loss.

I don’t know at what point I stop hearing the sounds of fighting, but something is nudging me before a hand cups my face and a familiar voice

reaches my ears. “Seline!”

There’s panic and worry in the voice, and underlying all that is a confused fear.

Austin?

“Seline!”