Chapter 13

Sometimes after a full moon, wolves will be a little agitated. There was no rhyme or reason. Some wolves just experienced the full moon differently. Most chose to stay in doors and mellow out for another day or two so they can get past it without it causing some kind of stress in their life. Others… not so much.

Apparently, some of the ones who were still on edge from the full moon decided to come to the club. A few had lost control after someone had bumped into them by accident while dancing, and Deacon had to bounce their asses out. One tried to come back into the club, and since Deacon was not the one who monitored who came in, he managed to slip back inside but ran right into Deacon when he did. Ryker had been next to Deacon when it happened, and he knocked the wolf out. Deacon mentioned that Ryker had dragged the wolf out of the town’s territory lines and made it so he could not come back in.

Score 1 to Ryker and his witch… asshole wolf–0.

The bar was not having as many problems as the dance floor. For the most part, the edgy wolves weren’t testy as long as they got their drinks in a timely manner. Since the club was not overloaded with customers, like usual, it was feasible. What helped was Scarlett keeping herself just under Ruby’s skin. The wolf’s heightened senses could pick up on other wolves’ energies and give Ruby a better heads up if the person she was dealing with could be a potential risk.

Normally, dealing with asshole wolves was not an issue for Ruby. She had hand-to-hand training growing up, and her brother would constantly wrestle and pick fights with her just to keep her on her toes. She was not as delicate as she looked.

It’s Tasha I am concerned about.

With this being Tasha’s first pregnancy, she was at a much higher risk than those who have had multiple. The first pregnancy in wolves could be a toss up if the baby would survive the first shift the mother had. With the full moon yesterday, Tasha shifted before she knew she was pregnant. The shift on a full moon may be easier than others, but Tasha did so without pack magic guiding her wolf. Pack magic made all shifts easier and faster, causing less stress on a pregnancy. So, the twenty-four to forty-eight hours after the first shift was critical. Ruby tried to convince Tasha to go home and rest while she handled the bar. Tasha waved Ruby off and said she felt fine.

That was not my full concern… If any of these wolves cause too much stress on her, Tasha could lose that baby.

Scarlett refused to allow anything to happen to Tasha and prepared to shift at any sign of a conflict that could put her in danger. It was half-way through the night, and so far it seemed as though they would go the entire night without an incident at the bar. Then came in Josh Wilson.

The six-foot, three-inch, tall, bald man limped his way to the bar through the thick crowd on the dance floor. As he made a beeline to Ruby, she noticed his eyes were not on her face. Instead, they were zeroed in on her chest. Ruby fought the urge to roll her eyes just in case he would notice that she did, especially since she could feel that his energy matched those who were on edge and even surpassed them.

Well, well, well. I guess we couldn’t go the whole night unscathed after all.

Ruby made sure to keep her body relaxed so the wolf would not feel threatened in any way. With her being an Alpha, her aura certainly gave off that kind of energy. If she did not keep control of it, it could make this kind of wolf fall over the edge he was already on. That was the last thing she wanted.

The wolf made his way to the bar and plopped his tall, but not large, frame onto a bar stool. His brown eyes bore into Ruby’s red ones and then he gave her a wink.

“Well, they finally got a sexy ass bartender back there. I’m Josh Wilson. Can I get a glass of you?”

What the hell kind of line is that?

I just crossed MY legs it was so awful.

“I’m sorry, but I am not on the menu. What else can I get you?” Ruby asked in a sweet tone that did not give off how slimy she felt after that line.

Josh crossed his arms on the bar and leaned on them to get himself closer to her. It took a lot of energy not to take a step back. Ruby knew one thing when it came to wolves like him.

Never make it seem as though you are trying to run from them. They’ll just take it as a game and chase after you.

“I don’t see a mark on that pretty little neck of yours.”

I wonder if I can somehow draw one on.

Or we just start spraying cold water on these dimwits.

“What can I get you to drink?” Ruby asked in an attempt to get Josh to realize she was not into the flirtatious game he was trying.

Josh winked at her, “keep me in mind, Sweetheart. Don’t let the limp fool you. It won’t slow me down when it comes to the bedroom.” Ruby refrained from shuddering at that thought. “I’ll have whatever is on tap.”

Ruby smiled weakly and moved to get the beer. Tasha came to her side to pour a beer herself. She slightly bumped Ruby’s hip with her own to get her attention.

“Watch yourself with him. His energy is making me nervous,” Tasha warned.

“Any chance you can get Deak to hang around in the background somehow?” Ruby whispered and barely moved her mouth. She had a feeling this guy could read lips.

“No. Deak is to patrol the whole club. After escorting the last asshole out, Ryker did not want him staying in one place.”

Figures.

Ruby handed Josh the beer, and he mentioned keeping a tab open. Ruby gently nodded her head with a smile and punched it into the computer. When she moved onto the next customer, she was surprised the harassment had already stopped. Josh did not try to keep her in one place. Instead, he stayed at the bar and watched her movements as he slowly sipped his beer. She noticed this when she turned to walk toward the liquor section to make a cocktail.

I really don’t like this guy.

Neither do I.

After the drink was made and she handed it to the customer, Ruby needed to make a stop in the bathroom. While in there, she silently prayed to the Moon Goddess to keep an eye out on the bar. She had no idea how she knew, but she could feel it deep within her that something was not right tonight.

When Ruby walked out of the bathroom, she felt a smack on her ass that made her stop in her tracks. She turned her head slightly to find Josh smiling at her. He winked then turned toward the men’s room. A growl echoed through the hallway, and her heart skipped in response. She knew exactly whose growl that was… and it may have been the one person she hoped it would be.

“Did he just touch you without you welcoming it?” His voice was gravelly as if he was trying to maintain control of his wolf.

Is he someone who is agitated after a full moon… or is he protective of me?

Ruby did not dare to meet his eyes. She had no idea who was in control, Ryker, or his wolf. If it happened to be his wolf, eye contact would not be the best thing to do. “It’s fine, Ryker. I can handle myself.”

Ryker put his finger under her chin and lifted it so she would meet his gaze. Ruby’s heart pounded in her chest as her nerves went haywire. When her eyes connected with his, a jolt of heat spread through her as if he was touching her all over again.

“That’s not what I asked. I know you can handle yourself. I asked if he touched you without permission.” Ryker’s voice was steady, and the edge of his tone was gone.

His voice… it sounds so… gentle. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him use this tone with anyone.

“Yes, but it is not something you need to step in with…yet.”

The corner of Ryker’s lip curled up into a sly grin. “I’ll keep an eye on the bar.”

Ryker walked Ruby to the bar, and thankfully Josh did not come out of the bathroom until Ryker disappeared into the crowd. When Josh sat back down on his stool, he ordered another beer. Ruby could feel his eyes watching her every movement. When she noticed Josh would look into the crowd, she would shudder. It was the creepiest experience she had ever been through. Not once in her life did she have someone who would watch her movements this way.

Josh would also try to spark up a conversation each time he got a new beer. At first, it was questions like “how long have you been in town?” Then he tried to get a little more personal by asking her if she was seeing someone. Ruby told him she was and scanned the area to find Ryker. She did not see him, but she made herself keep her heart rate the same as it had been when she answered the question about how long she’d been in town. Wolves can hear heart beats if they pay attention enough, and some do it to catch people in lies. Wolves can also smell lies, but there were too many scents going on at once in the club for that to be of worry. No wolf could smell much of anything outside of alcohol and sweat in this place.

“Well, who is he?” Josh pried.

“That is none of your business,” Ruby snapped.

Ugh. I have been staying professional this whole time…

If he would have left you alone, you would not have answered with an attitude.

“Oh, getting snarky now, are we?”

Josh growled just loud enough to try to intimidate Ruby. Scarlett growled back without Ruby being able to stop her. Josh’s eyes flashed to a wolf gold and then back to his normal brown.

Don’t test him, Scar.

Then he should back off.

“You’re an Alpha, aren’t you?”

Ruby ignored him and walked to the end of the bar where none other than Stacy was flagging her down. Stacy had been changing up her order so she could find ways to make Ruby “mess up” so she could report Ruby to Ryker. So far, Ruby got the order right every time and had it in Stacy’s hands before she could complain. Even though Ruby had been on this streak, tonight was not the night that Ruby wanted to be dealing with this.

Stacy ended up ordering a pina colada with all sorts of extras in it. Ruby smiled at her and told her “right away”. While Ruby was working on Stacy’s drink, Josh whistled at her to get her attention. Ruby ignored it and continued working. When she finished making the drink to Stacy’s specifications, Ruby started to walk it back to her. That was when Ruby felt a whoosh of air fly past her arm. She looked over at Josh, and it was clear he just swiped his arm at her to try to grab her, but his arm was not long enough.

“Excuse you,” Ruby growled at him and continued walking toward Stacy.

Just as Stacy was taking a drink of her pina colada, Josh threw his glass at Ruby’s feet. The glass shattered into a million pieces, and a shard scratched her calf. Ruby slowly turned toward Josh and straightened her shoulders.

Oh this asshole messed with the wrong wolf.

“What the hell is your problem?” Ruby called out.

Josh was standing with his hands on the bar and his shoulders hunched over slightly to look intimidating. To a normal wolf, they would be terrified of him. To Ruby? Not at all.

“Don’t fucking ignore me when I am trying to talk to you!”

Veins in his head began to show. Ruby stood her ground and narrowed her eyes at him. “You are not my only customer, Josh.” Ruby spit out his name for added effect.

“Listen here you little bitch. You don’t get to shake your ass behind this bar, tease us wolves, and then ignore us. That’s how you get clobbered over the head and taken to where you can be put in your place.”

Did he just threaten us?

Before Ruby could answer with her retort, Ryker materialized beside Josh. Ruby’s eyes widened at his sudden appearance and silently prayed that he did not just attack like he did with Elias.

“Is there a problem here?” Ryker asked calmly.

Oh. Maybe the sex calmed his ass down.

We can make it a common occurrence if that is the case.

Not now.

“Yeah. Your bitch of a bartender has been shaking her ass in front of me all night, teasing me, probably to get a bigger tip, and then just says she is taken! Not something I take lightly, Sims.”

Ryker glanced over to Ruby and then back to Josh. Ruby went back to glaring at Josh for his behavior to show Ryker that she was pissed at the accusation.

“I’ve been watching you all night. Ruby has not done a damn thing to make you think you even had a shot. I apologize that you may have thought that was what was going on, but I can assure you that it’s not the case here.”

Josh turned to Ryker and pushed him hard. “Like you would know what the bitch was doing. You weren’t behind that bar!”

“I’ll give you one chance to apologize to Ruby for that accusation and to me.”

“Or what?”

Ryker did not answer. He waited for Josh to apologize, as if that was something that was actually going to happen. Josh laughed maniacally when he realized that was what Ryker was doing. Josh may have had an inch in height on Ryker, but Ryker had at least forty pounds of hard muscle on Josh. The fact that this wolf thought this was a good idea just shows how stupid wolves could be after a full moon.

When Josh was done with his laugh, he swung at Ryker with a right hook. Ryker moved so fast that Ruby did not even see him until he was on Josh’s other side a second later. Ryker then grabbed Josh by his shoulders and tossed him onto the floor.

The people in the club had already formed a half circle around the bar when Josh screamed at Ruby, so when Josh was thrown, he landed on the dance floor where no one was standing.

“I’ll say it again. One chance to apologize.”

Ruby saw Ryker’s eyes turn to silver. It was no longer Ryker in control, and that may not have been a good thing. Josh stood up quickly and began throwing all sorts of punches at Ryker, not landing a single one. At this point, Josh had about ten beers in him. Even with Shifter metabolism, no wolf could drink ten within two hours and not feel something. Ruby could tell the alcohol had slowed Josh’s movements, which would not help him at all against Ryker.

After one of the punches went high, and Ryker dodged it by crouching down, Ryker launched himself forward to tackle Josh to the ground. Punch after punch landed on Josh’s face as Ryker sat on Josh to immobilize him. Blood squirted across the floor as the punches connected, and Ruby heard a few crunches from bones breaking as well.

Deacon ran in and got Ryker’s attention. Josh was out cold on the floor, and Deacon was stopping Ryker from killing him. Ryker stood above Josh but still looked down at him.

“Next time you treat Ruby with respect… or I’ll kill you.”

Ryker proceeded to make an announcement to every patron in the bar. “My bartenders are not here for you to take advantage of. If you have no intention of respecting the wolves that serve you, you are not welcome here, and you may leave. Is that understood?”

The patrons simply nodded, afraid to say a word after the fight they’d just witnessed between Ryker and Josh. No one wanted to piss him off further.

Ryker walked to where Ruby was standing. She had no idea what to say to him. What the hell do you say to someone who nearly kills a man just because he smacked your ass and then calls you a bitch in a drunken rage?

Be mine?

“Take the rest of the night off. The room I offered to you last night is yours.”

Ruby did not hesitate. Ryker’s eyes were still silver, and she did not want to piss off his wolf anymore than the patrons did.

I just can’t have a normal night anymore.