Chapter 8

Kimble

I smiled at the lady sitting behind the counter of the Only Shifters restaurant and bar, who looked a bit like Shirley. It was 7 PM, and from the corner of my eye, I caught staff arranging chairs.

The interior was a vibrant blend of rustic charm and mystical ambience. Wooden beams crisscrossed the ceiling, draped with fairy lights. The walls were adorned with stag antlers and the framed wings of iridescent dragonflies. It was cozy with floor-to-ceiling glass walls, seats and tables arranged alongside them. The shingled roof had creepers, with orange flowers, running over it, and the smell of coffee and alcohol permeated the air. There weren’t any customers yet, but the place looked like it could fill up any time.

Jackie grinned and rushed to give her mother a hug. “Mom!”

Jackie and I had bonded over coffee at my apartment. She was the adopted daughter of her parents, and her mother, Megan, was Shirley’s sister. I had never seen such a cute, enthusiastic, and absolutely adorable girl in my life. Having lived in a neighborhood filled with mean girls and boys, Jackie was a breath of fresh air. She was so positive, always smiling, that her attitude was infectious.

Megan hugged Jackie tightly. “What are you doing here?” she asked, darting an amused glance my way.

“Aunt Shirley sent me to you to introduce your new recruit,” Jackie breathed, looking at me. “This is Kimble. Kimble, this is my mom.”

“My new recruit?” Megan said, bamboozled, sniffing me.

What was with these people sniffing each other? I felt like they were invading my privacy.

“Ummm—”

“Mom, you can call Aunt Shirley and ask her,” Jackie offered. “And I’m hungry!”

“Goddess!” Megan snapped. “Give an old woman a break!” Then she looked at me. “Come here, girl. What did you say your name was?”

“Kimble!” I said, clasping my hands in front. “I have experience as a waitress, and I can handle five tables at a time!”

Megan’s eyebrow raised in surprise. “You’re a human.”

Now I raised my eyebrows. “Yeah! We all are.”

Jackie pursed her lips, a flush rising to her neck, and avoided my gaze. Megan just looked… amused.

“Great!” Megan said, putting her hands in her pockets. “If you’re going to work here, you won’t look the wolv—I mean humans—in their eyes. You’ll serve them and not talk to them at all, apart from taking orders. And you’ll report to me if you’re mistreated or mishandled. The wolv—I mean the humans—out here tend to get angry fast.”

More rules. I stifled an urge to roll my eyes. It felt like everyone was trying to protect me as if I were a porcelain doll. Her stipulations were odd, but I agreed, “Sure!” How could I pass up my only opportunity to earn money?

“You’ll be here from 6:30 PM to 11 PM. If I need extra hours, you have to work, but I’ll pay you overtime.”

“Yes!” I squeaked. “I’ll do anything!”

Megan rolled her eyes. “I’m doing this for my sister, not for you. You’ll be paid $50 per shift. Now come to the kitchen with me. I’ll introduce you to the staff.” She looked at Jackie. “And you, my piglet, sit over there.” She pointed at the farthest corner. “I have something very important to talk to you about.”

Jackie winked at me and walked to the corner table, pulling the strap of her satchel close. I followed Megan inside the kitchen where she introduced me to the staff, which consisted of just four people. “This is Nelson, Isaac, Jeremy, and Violet. Isaac is the chef, Jeremy helps with cleaning dishes, and Nelson and Violet are servers.”

They all looked at me with the same amusement that I was getting used to. I waved nervously at them. “Hi!”

“Wow!” Isaac said and returned to cooking noodles.

Seriously, I was really getting irritated by the reaction of Umbra’s townspeople. And what a strange name the town had? Umbra.

Megan handed me a cleaner spray and a cloth. “Kimble, go outside and wipe the tables please.”

I took it from her and walked out of the kitchen awkwardly, mainly because it felt like she wanted to talk to her staff in my absence.

The bar was packed with people within an hour. At one table, a group of five men were boisterously talking. A girl with sharp eyes, observing the room keenly, was lounged gracefully at the bar, her finger tapping rhythmically.

Jackie had left after chatting with Megan, telling me to call her when I finished my shift. She didn’t want me to walk back to my apartment alone, scared that I might lose my way.

I approached the table assigned to me, the five boisterous men, smiling warmly. “Alright, who would like the steak? That’s our specialty today!”

The men there snapped their heads at me and fell silent. A low growl emanated from the man nearest to me. “Who are you?”

“I’m Kimble!”

He looked behind me and then narrowed his eyes.

I had to say one thing about the men in this town. All of them were handsome. Like Greek Gods rained and poured here. They had perfect features and muscles to die for. Even the girls were very beautiful. I found myself gawking at some of them a lot. But, the most handsome guy in this town was my psycho owner. He had such drop-dead gorgeous, panty-dropping features, but such a pathetic temper with asshole tendencies. He was utterly arrogant and loved to control people. I gritted my teeth. Why was I even thinking about him?

“Hi, Kimble,” the man in front of me smirked.

I blushed heavily as I willed myself not to stare at him. “What would you like, sir?” I asked again, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Steak?”

A man in front of him gave me a super-sexy smile. He tapped his fingers on the table and said, “Yes, we’ll all have that. And we want it sizzling hot and extremely rare.”

“Blaze!” His friend growled at him, but Blaze only grinned.

As I began to leave, Blaze said, “Are you free after your shift?”

“No!” I blurted, forcing a smile. “I’m—I’m busy!”

His voice softened as his green eyes sparkled. “Hey look, I’m sorry to make you feel intimidated. That wasn’t my intention. It’s just that you’re… pretty.”

No one had called me pretty out loud before, other than Josh, and so his words turned my cheeks pink. “I’ll get your order,” I said awkwardly and walked away, feeling his eyes boring into my back.

None of the staff talked to me or helped me. While they joked and bantered, I was deliberately avoided. Most of the guests looked at me with disgust, which was weird because I didn’t even know them. At times, I felt like they were going to crowd me and beat me up. But I put my chin up and did my job, not relenting to their hateful gazes. Some people have only hate and bitterness to offer.

Well, you see, I’d been used to that behavior all my life, and so it didn’t deter my decision to work here. Three million dollars was a lot of money to repay, and I had to start somewhere.

By 11 PM, I was dead tired. Other than Isaac, Megan, and me, all the staff had left. Isaac gave me two tuna sandwiches with chips, wrapped in foil. “This is for you,” he said dryly. “If you want anything else, the fridge is yours to raid.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, taking it from him. I took it outside to the counter and started eating.

The five men were the only customers left and continued to talk rowdily. Blaze was glancing over at me, which made me uneasy. His eyes conveyed that he was waiting for me. I wanted to tell him that waiting on me was useless because I was going to run away soon. I just had to find a way to either earn more or escape.

“Ask them if they want anything else,” Megan grunted. “We’re closing.”

Taking a ragged breath, I placed my half-eaten sandwich on the counter and went to them. “Would you like to order something else? We’ll be closing any time now,” I asked quickly.

Blaze reached for my arm and touched me. “Can we meet outside? I want to talk to you for a moment.”

I gulped and darted my gaze toward the rest of his crew. Each of them looked like they could easily squash me like a fly. “I—” I shook my head, stepping back to put distance between us.

“Please, just for a minute.”

“You can talk to her here, Blaze!” Megan’s strict voice made him tense up.

“Okay…” he drawled. “In a month there’s this Moonlit Choosing Ritual. Annnddd—” He looked at his friends for approval but none supported him. In fact, they grunted and growled at him. He shook his head. “And I’d like to invite you to it.”

I stared at him and blinked. “That’s the ceremony where Alpha Talon will choose Aria as his bride, right? Is it a big show?”

Blaze laughed so hard that his laughter boomed in the restaurant. I could see a hint of a smile on his friends’ faces. “Yes, that too. But the Choosing is open for all unmated people.”

Oh.

He reached for me and placed his hand back on my arm.

Suddenly, the door opened and my jaw dropped. My psycho boss walked in, wearing nothing but jeans. Talon rolled his neck and prowled toward me with the intensity of a predator. His dark hair was disheveled. He was panting, looking like he had run a marathon. His dark eyes locked with mine, and I think for a moment they turned amber. Fear bubbled in my chest. When his attention moved to Blaze, his muscles bunched up, rippling beneath his skin. His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

His chest rumbled, and he actually growled like an… animal.

Everyone in the restaurant got up and bowed to him. Whoa.

This man dominated everyone in the room with just his presence. He seemed to suck up all the oxygen in the room.

His presence was like a darkening sky, a brooding, ominous threat that promised a fierce outburst. The tension coiled like a spring, compressed tightly, demanding release. A muscle feathered in his jaw as he gazed at the men with his hawk-like, sharp, unyielding gaze, pinning them down in a clear show of domination.

He closed the gap between us and tilted his head down to look at me. “What are you doing here?” he seethed.

“Working,” I snapped. I wasn’t going to bend to his condescending and domineering attitude.

He narrowed his eyes. “Have you forgotten what you’re wearing?”

I blanched, hoping he wouldn’t do what I thought he would.

“Open the top buttons of your shirt.”

No. No, no, no.

“Open them!” he practically snarled, when I defied his order.

Tears brimmed in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall, denying him the satisfaction of knowing he had affected me. I opened my eyes and revealed my collar for everyone to see. Humiliation washed over me like a crimson tide.

Talon pulled the leash out and tugged me to him. When I was an inch away from slamming into his chest, he looked up at everyone with a lethal intensity, and in a guttural voice declared, “She’s mine.”

Wrath like never before blasted in my chest. I tipped my head up. “I’m not yours,” I muttered under my breath.