62. Anna

62

Anna

The tap had run dry.

As the liquid started to spurt and grow foamy, I put the glass down and smiled apologetically at the wolf waiting on the other side of the bar. "Sorry, it's going to be a few more minutes for that beer. I need to change the tap."

"No worries." The woman flashed me an easy smile. "It'll give me a few more minutes to look over the menus. I'm loving all these new choices. Is that your doing?"

I gave her a quick nod. "Just let me know if you have any questions. I'll be right back."

"I'll do it, Anna," Josh volunteered as he sat down the crate of clean glasses he'd just brought up from the back. "I know you're busy."

"Great. Thanks, Josh. I appreciate it."

"Anything for you."

Hiding behind what I hoped was a friendly smile, I turned to address the newest customer who'd walked up. "Welcome to Hair of the Dog. What can I get you?"

Hair of the Dog. Not the most original name for a bar in the middle of werewolf territory, but it was well-run. Emerson had installed me as the newest bartender on day three of my visit .

That was five weeks ago.

Five weeks of not being able to feel anything through the mating bond. Five weeks of having no idea what was happening to the Blood Diamond pack. Were they safe? Had Emerson truly let them go, as he promised? Had the spell not even been real?

There was no point in asking Emerson. I couldn't trust anything that came out of his mouth, and the past few weeks had been so surreal that I still couldn't find my footing. Emerson hadn't tried anything. I lived in his house, but I had my own suite. He'd told me that I could change anything I wanted about the suite. All I had to do was ask.

And, since he knew how much I loved The Fanged Smile, he wanted to give me Hair of the Dog. Not yet. Not until I was ready, but the manager, Louis, was always asking my opinions and trying to train me in the office.

Everyone was kind. Respectful. Hardly the experience I had at The Fanged Smile.

"What do you think I should have?"

Power washed over me, and I tried not to react as my wolf scrambled deeper inside of me.

Elonso. Emerson's second-in-command. I'd only met him once before, when I arrived, but it was clear from the fury on his face that he did not think I belonged here.

I put him firmly in the enemy category.

"I don't know much about you. Are you a beer drinker or more into hard spirits? Wine?

Maybe something a little light and fruity?" I teased.

The hard look in his eyes didn't change. "Beer. Dark beer."

"Well, Blood Moon Pass only has one dark beer, so I guess you'll be drinking the Howler."

One thing about Emerson's bar is that he only allowed his own beer to be served, and their beer was just mediocre.

"Fine. And a hamburger."

"We've got a few choices for hamburgers. Feeling like anything special?"

"No. Hamburger. Plain. Double fries."

My smile never wavered. "A classic. I love it. Coming right up."

I served him his beer and tested the new tap. After letting it run, I filled up a glass and handed it back to the woman. "Did you make up your mind?"

"The steak salad looks too good to pass up. Rare, please. Extra dressing, and a side of onion rings."

After ringing up her order, I glanced at the clock. Nearly four o'clock. My shift would be over soon. Lunch shifts only. This time of the day should be dead, but my bar was always full. I started cutting lemons and limes for the dinner shift and did my best to identify everyone in the bar. All were familiar faces. By now, I knew the wolves who apparently were supposed to make their rounds and keep me busy.

The wolf in the corner spot was Lionel. One of Emerson's guards. He had a tablet open in front of him but liked to watch the television. He was easily distracted by sports updates. He came in every Wednesday. Three stools down from him was Marko. He was one of the staff members at Emerson's house. There was at least one a day which told me they were the ones who gave Emerson reports about what I did at work.

On the side facing the liquor wall was Elonso. This was his first visit, so he wasn't on Emerson's rotation. That made sense. Two seats from him was the female wolf. Maria? Maris?

This was only her second visit, and she paid cash and hadn't given me her name. I'd only heard her use it when she answered the phone.

She wasn't particularly dominant, and she worked mostly on her computer. From her phone calls, I gathered she was a planner of some sort.

On the other corner was Noah. He was barely old enough to drink and had the kind of face that turned beet red whenever I looked at him. He was a newly minted guard member.

Half the tables in the bar had occupants. I couldn't name all of them. One of them was Josh's mother. She barely spoke to me and often frowned in my direction. I got the feeling that she didn't like her son working with me.

There were a few others who didn't just melt at my smile, but not many. Most everyone seemed thrilled that I was here. It was disconcerting.

"Hi, Anna! I'm here a little early if you want to clock out," Cindy said cheerfully as she bumped hips through the waist-high swinging door of the bar.

She was the night bartender during the week and a sweetheart through-and-through. In her early thirties, she was a staple at the bar and, in her own words, loved the freshness I'd brought to the bar. Happily mated with a two-year old at home, she was the closest thing I had to a friend here.

Not that we ever hung out or spent any time with each other. We were just passing ships, but sometimes she came a little early just to hear the gossip or share the gossip.

"I've still got some prep work to do," I told her as I scooped the fruit into their cups and pulled out the jar of cherries. "Anything extra you want to do? I've cut some extra limes for taco night, but they're for the margaritas. Don't let the line steal them for tacos."

Her eyes widened. "I would never. Those bastards get nothing from me."

Chuckling, I finished filling up the garnishes and turned to load the dishes. Cindy immediately stepped in front of me. "Go home, alpha mate. You deserve it."

Alpha mate. I'd heard it enough time now that I didn't recoil in horror. Is this really what Emerson was telling people I was?

I'd never once corrected it but I also didn't acknowledge it. I still hadn't figured out Emerson's game.

"Sure. Thanks. Tomorrow, you can come in a little late to make up for it. Spend a little more time with that cute kid of yours."

"I will," Cindy promised even though we both knew it was a lie. I clocked out on the computer, a wasted move since I wasn't getting paid. Emerson told me I had no need for a paycheck. He would give me any and all the money that I needed. Just as I slipped off my apron, the door opened and a familiar figure walked in.

Janelle.

The witch made eye contact with me and then quickly looked away as she made a beeline for the dining room. At least once a week she came in, always alone, and never looked at me.

Fifteen minutes early. That was new for her. Too bad Cindy was making me leave. I had an urge to sit down with the pack witch and ask her a few pointed questions.

Feeling Elonso's eyes boring into me from behind, I didn't look too long as I finished getting my stuff. "Have a good night, everyone. Cindy will take care of you," I said cheerfully as I headed out the door.

The bright sun flooded me, and I winced but not before I saw the shadow move immediately to my side. Another joined my other side.

"Alpha mate," Deacon said in a low voice. "We will walk you home."

I plastered a big smile on my face. "You always do."

Emerson could instruct his pack to treat me with respect and kindness, or threaten it, for all I knew. He could give me the job he thinks I might like and the false image of privacy, but none of it could cover the truth of the matter.

I was a prisoner. My escorts were guards. Two of them followed me from the house, to the bar, and back to the house again. Two guards were sufficient because Hair of the Dog was smack dead in the middle of the pack, as was Emerson's house. To escape to the boundary, I'd have to cross half the territory.

The one time I requested to shift and run at night, I'd been followed by six wolves, all bigger, faster, and more dominant than me. My run had lasted all of two minutes before I hid back in my suite.

In the house, I eyed the cameras that followed my every move. I searched the suite every day and was fairly confident that there were none there, but I was careful when I showered and changed.

They opened the door to my suite, and even bowed a little. How gallant. I walked in, closed my eyes and waited.

The door shut and I heard an inevitable click.

It locked from the outside.

Five weeks. Not even a stir from the mating bond. Magic couldn't touch me, so it wasn't Emerson's doing.

It had to be Jax's. He wasn't coming for me.