Chapter 8 - Alek

I knew something was wrong the instant I walked into the living room. Mostly, it was because of Evelyn, Oliver's mate and a fellow former Silver Wolf, and the way she was looking at me, as if she'd been waiting for me to show up. And it was because of a level of anger I rarely saw emanating from her. It was rare to see her that angry.

I'd just come in to ask Jameson about a dispute a couple of shifters were having in town. But when I saw Evelyn, I had a creeping feeling that I was probably in for a nasty surprise.

Evelyn slid off Oliver's lap and walked over to me. "I need to talk to you." Before I could say anything, she grabbed my bicep with a surprisingly firm grip and steered me back into the kitchen.

"What's up?" I asked.

Evelyn's green eyes were blazing with anger, but she wasn't angry at me. Otherwise, she would have torn me a new one in front of everyone else.

"I was at the bar last night with Oliver," Evelyn said. As if on cue, Oliver emerged into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. "While we were there, that ‘friend' of yours, Dan,"—she used air quotes around the word ‘friend'—"came in. He started talking shit about a human in town. Basically implying she was a parasite and a manipulative bitch."

My body tensed, and my hands curled into fists. "What?" I growled.

"Evelyn's toning down what he said, actually," Oliver said, leaning against the wall and folding his arms. "But yeah, pretty much. And he's not exactly hiding who she is or where she's staying."

Evelyn shook her head in disgust. "He's also implying that she's coercing you into letting her stay here so she can ingratiate herself with the community before bringing in a bunch of other humans who will inevitably wipe out the entire pack."

I shook my head. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," I said. "Iris would never—"

"I know," Evelyn said. "That girl is way too sweet and timid to do anything like that. I know that, and Oliver knows it because he trusts me, but the rest of the pack doesn't."

"Thankfully, Evelyn and I told Dan to knock it off, and most of the pack trusts us over him. But enough people were there who looked at least mildly concerned about it. Alek, I would talk to Dan and get him to shut his mouth before any real trouble comes of it."

I snarled, claws flexing as rage continued to build inside me. "Oh, don't worry," I said, eyes narrowing. "I'll definitely be having a talk with him."

"Maybe don't kill him, though," Evelyn suggested, raising an eyebrow at my claws. "He's being a dick, but I'd rather not have to explain to Jameson why you killed another shifter in the pack."

"No promises," I growled.

***

Dan was lounging at the bar when I showed up. If he saw how pissed off I was, he didn't seem unnerved by it.

"Hey, buddy." Dan raised his pint glass in a half-toast. "Good to see you. How's it going?"

"We need to talk," I said.

Dan squinted at me, then shrugged, spinning back around in his stool toward the bar and snapping his fingers at the bartender. "Hey, babe, get my friend a beer."

"I'm fine," I said. "I won't be staying long."

"Nah, come on."

I rolled my eyes and slid onto the stool next to him.

"How's it going?" Dan repeated. His breath reeked of beer.

"I heard you're spreading rumors about Iris," I said.

Dan had the glass raised to his lip. Then he paused, lowered it, and frowned at me. "That's what this is about?"

"Yes. Knock it off and leave her alone."

Dan snorted. "I don't know what she did to get you wrapped around her finger, but I'm telling you now to leave it. She's bad news. All humans are."

"I don't care what you think," I said. "She's my guest, and you're going to lay off her. I'm still pissed at you for the whole shifting in front of her and scaring her shitless, but I let it slide because I figured it was a one-off. But if you're going to keep this up, we're going to have words."

"I'm trying to help you out, man," Dan scoffed. "She's going to rip your heart out or get the entire pack in trouble. That's what humans do."

"What is your issue with humans, exactly?"

Dan shrugged but didn't answer.

"I'm going to ask you nicely to leave Iris alone and stop trying to turn the entire town against her," I growled. "I happen to like her, and you're going to have to deal with it."

"You were the last guy I thought would get whipped."

I'd never been great at controlling my impulses, and that last comment sent me over the edge. My wolf howled and flexed his claws internally, ready to teach this asshole a lesson, and I had no problem letting him take over.

I snarled, grabbing Dan by the neck. My elbow slammed into the two pint glasses as I did, causing beer to spill across the counter and one of the glasses to shatter.

"What the hell?" the bartender demanded, but I wasn't paying attention to her.

"Leave Iris alone and stop spreading rumors about her," I snarled, my grip around Dan's throat tightening as my teeth lengthened to fangs. "Or there's going to be more spilled than a couple pints of beer."

Dan glowered at me but nodded. I let go of his throat, flexing my hand.

I turned to the dumbfounded bartender. "Sorry about the mess," I said, then pulled out a couple of fifties and put them on the counter. With one final glare at Dan, I turned on my heels and marched out, bristling with fury.