7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Rissa

To her absolute shock, everything fit perfectly, even down to the shoes. It was the kind of outfit she’d see but never buy because it wasn’t practical. She rarely had extra money to buy clothing and when she did, it needed to be things she could wear to work.

It was nice to wear such pretty clothes. She even wished she had her small bag of makeup to finish the look instead of only the mascara and lip gloss she carried in her purse.

She didn’t even ask Zan about paying Anatoly back. She’d figure that out later. Right now, she wanted to be the princess. When she came out of the bathroom, Zan offered her his arm and told her she looked gorgeous.

This was not how she expected the day after drinking too much to go!

“I thought we could grab breakfast at The Pack House,” Zan said as he led her through the bar. The place looked a little messy, giving Rissa a pang of guilt. Zan probably got overwhelmed with customers and could’ve used her help.

She swore to herself she’d make sure to give the place a thorough cleaning before they opened today. Of course she couldn’t do that in this outfit.

“I need a change of clothes,” she said, walking with him out the front door. She was forced to squint in the bright morning sun making her wish she hadn’t broken her last pair of sunglasses a few days ago.

Zan stopped walking to give her a puzzled look. “What does that have to do with breakfast? And you said you liked this outfit!”

“Sorry, my brain was working three steps ahead,” she said with a grin. “I meant that I needed more work clothes for later. I do like this outfit a lot! But it’s not practical for waitressing or bartending. It’s too loose and easy to catch on stuff, and I don’t want to seem like I’m inviting guys to touch me under the skirt.”

Zan growled. Honest to god growled!

“If anyone touches you, I’ll rip their arm off.”

It was startling to see easygoing Zan replaced by intensely protective Zan. It was also kind of hot.

She patted his arm soothingly. “Thanks, but I can handle myself.”

“You’ll tell me,” he insisted. “If anyone even breathes wrong around you, I want to know.”

“I’ll tell you,” she agreed.

“Good,” he grunted, then rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath, as if he was trying to relieve some tension. “We can stop by your place and pick up anything you want. Anatoly and I want to offer you the second-floor apartment. No one’s using it right now, and your place is a dump. We can work out a deal with the rent because you're working for me too. I promise it’ll be reasonable.”

She blinked at him. “How do you know my place is a dump?”

“I, um, you said it was?” His answer sounded more like a question.

“When?” she challenged.

Suddenly, he gave her that charming grin that made his entire face go from pretty to gorgeous. “When you were three doubles in. You’re chatty with some good whiskey in you.”

She felt her face get hot. “Oh fuck, what else did I say?”

His grin disappeared, replaced with a soft, kind expression. “You told us about your mom being an addict. I’m sorry your childhood was so difficult. I promise, Anatoly and I don’t have any substance abuse problems. My friend’s sister is struggling with addiction, so I know it can be hard for everyone involved.”

Out of all the reactions he could’ve had to finding out she was the bastard daughter of a drug addict, that wasn’t one she ever expected. Hearing about her unstable childhood should've made him wary. Unstable children tended to create unstable adults. For all he knew, she could be a druggie thief looking to cash in on their trust.

But no, he was giving her more grace than even her flesh and blood family was willing to.

She forced herself to blink back tears. “Um, can we forget I talked about that?”

He spread his arms open, inviting her in for a hug. “We can do whatever you need.”

There was no thinking, only instinct. She pressed herself into his embrace with a sigh of relief. He wrapped his long arms around her, hugging and rocking her gently. It was heavenly.

The hug only stopped because she ended it. They were out in the open and while a hug wasn’t much in the way of public affection, it still made her feel awkward.

“Thanks,” she said, looking up at him.

“My arms are always open to you, anywhere, anytime.” Offering her his arm again, he nodded his head down the street. “Now, about that breakfast? I could really use some sausages right now.”

“Sure,” she agreed. “Let's go.”

The Pack House was busy, and Rissa didn’t think they’d be seated right away, except Jesse saw them and pointed to a table half filled with people.

“Do you mind sitting with some of my friends?” Zan asked. She could tell he wanted her to meet them but didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

Her first instinct was to ask to wait until they could have a table alone, but then thought better of it.

Outside of work and volunteering, she didn’t do much socializing. Except for a few of the other volunteers, she didn’t have anyone she would call a friend. Maybe it was time to broaden her group.

“Sure,” she agreed, then was hit by a wave of anxiety. “I hope they won’t get upset if I can’t remember everyone’s names.”

Taking her hand, he led her to the table. “Trust me, everyone will love you.”

Standing at the empty end of the table, Zan pointed to a man who had a colorfully dressed woman with impeccable makeup sitting on his lap. “This is Mikey and in his lap is Maddy.”

Then he pointed to the three people sitting next to Mikey and Maddy. “This is Harper and Silas. The little guy trapped between them is Tag. I promise, he wants to be there. They're not holding him hostage.”

Harper and Silas were both large and muscular. In fact, Harper might be the most muscled woman Rissa had ever seen in the flesh. It was both beautiful and intimidating! Snuggled between them was Tag, startlingly smaller than the other two. He also had the darkest eyes Rissa had ever seen. Could someone have black irises?

“Finally, this is Briar and Memphis,” he said, gesturing to the couple on the other side of the table. “If you ever need non-lethal revenge on someone, talk to Briar. She’ll get it done.”

“Oh yeah?” Rissa asked, taking the empty seat. “What kind of non-lethal things?”

Briar grinned at her and ran fingers through her turquoise hair. “Fucking up their credit, getting them declared legally dead, spreading their social on the dark web, imbedding viruses on all their computers. Stuff like that. If they’re local, I’ll even key their car.”

Maddy laughed. “I promise she’s not evil. She’s a white hat hacker.”

Briar rolled her eyes but gave Maddy a fond smile. “I’m not a white hat. I’m a morally gray hat, and I’m happy that way.” Then she patted Memphis’s arm. “Now, if you need some lethal revenge, this is your guy. He’s got all the moves!”

The scruff- biker-looking dude blushed and ducked down to give her a kiss. “Aww, baby doll, you say the sweetest things.”

“Um, Rissa,” Zan said, drawing her attention. He looked concerned. “They don’t actually mean it.”

“Oh damn, that’s disappointing,” she said, making everyone at the table laugh.

“I like this one,” Harper declared as she stretched her arm over Tag’s shoulders. The petite man snuggled against her side.

“Me too,” Briar said. “Hey, do you read? I’m in this book club and—”

“No!” both Memphis and Zan said together, making Briar and Rissa scowl.

“I like to read,” Rissa said defensively, crossing her arms and glaring at Zan. “I’m not illiterate or ignorant!”

Zan looked appalled. “I never thought that!”

“Then why can’t I go?” Rissa challenged.

“It’s perfectly safe,” Briar said. “You’re part of Anatoly’s flock, right? You could bring him. All the guys get together and bitch about how hard it is to manage us. It’ll be fine.”

“Flock?” Rissa said, looking over at Briar. “What’s a flock?”

Briar blanched and looked around at everyone else at the table. They all gave her wide eyes back, making Rissa suspicious.

“Is it a gang?” she asked.

Maddy gave Briar a little frustrated head shake before smiling at Rissa. “It’s not a gang. It’s kind of what we call throuples or bigger groups. Briar’s in a relationship with Memphis and another guy named Tobais. I think we might have all assumed you were already with Zan and Anatoly.”

Calling throuples or poly groups a flock was kind of nice. It sounded elegant, not that the other names were bad, only different.

Now their weird behavior made sense. They didn’t know how she’d react, and some people could be downright vicious when faced with relationships they didn’t approve of.

“Love is love,” she said. “Doesn’t matter as long as everyone’s a consenting adult.” Then she eyed the youthful appearing Tag. “Right?”

Tag snorted. “I promise I’m well into adulthood even though I look sixteen.”

Will was suddenly standing next to Mikey. “Harper, I’m assuming you’re getting your usual, but what can I get everyone else?”

When Will got to her, Rissa hadn’t had time to look at the menu but figured they’d have basic pancakes. Will barely left after taking orders when someone else showed up with a tray full of coffee, orange juice, and one mug of tea she handed to Tag.

After everyone had their drink, the conversation started up again. She quickly realized this group were good friends and open to adding her to their ranks. It was unsettling to be accepted so quickly when she'd been forced to fight most of her life to be let in anywhere.

She was determined to get Maddy’s and Briar’s number by the end of the meal. She really wanted to hang out with these people again.

Wait, was she making friends?

The devil was probably off buying a coat because hell must've frozen over.

***

Zan

It was good to see Rissa getting along with members of the Lobos Gris pack. Even though technically Briar and Memphis weren’t official members, Mikey considered them pack anyway. Zan wasn’t surprised. Many of the Lobo Gris pack weren’t wolf shifters. Tag was a member, and he was a druid. Maddy was a member, and she was fully human.

It was the most diverse pack Zan had ever heard of. That might have gotten them attacked by more strict packs, but having the friendship of Tobias and Imani, two powerful vampires, was enough to keep them safe from reprisal. Before that, Mikey was constantly on guard. For the first time in years, Zan could see the Lobos Gris alpha was learning to relax and enjoy life.

Part of that probably had to do with the woman sitting in his lap. He didn’t know how fully human BFFs Briar and Maddy found out about the magical world, but the two of them were equally loyal to the Lobo Gris pack as the pack was to them. Maddy and Mikey seemed to have a connection right away, but they’d only recently made it official.

From the gossip he’d heard, there’d been drama before Mikey and Maddy had officially mated. According to Luis, another Lobo Gris pack member, Mikey spent years fighting his feelings for Maddy. He’d been afraid another pack might use her against him. His wolf had always wanted her, but Mikey had beaten his inner beast back to the point that he even started having trouble shifting for a while. Mikey struggled even after Tobias and Imani became part of their friend group.

It took Maddy confronting Mikey and threatening to move out of San Diego to get the man to see sense. They’d been a happily mated couple ever since.

Thinking about Mikey and Maddy made Zan wince. Maddy had known all about shifters, druids, brujas, and everything else long before she met Mikey. Rissa didn’t know anything. There was a real risk she might see all of them as monsters. It made him scared to tell her the truth.

But without the truth, there was no bonding as a flock. Without the truth, they were stuck in limbo. His mind kept turning the problem over and over.

In the middle of his chaotic thoughts, Rissa’s hand slid over his. He looked over to find her watching him with a concerned expression.

“You okay?” she asked. “You’ve been really quiet.”

He forced a smile. “I’m just hungry. You haven’t tasted good until you’ve tried the French toast here!”

“I’ll trade you some of my pancakes for some of your French toast,” she said. He could tell she didn’t entirely believe him, but she wasn’t going to push. At least not in front of everyone.

Feeling all kinds of affection, he leaned over and brushed his lips over hers. “That would be perfect.”