3. Leigh

THREE

LEIGH

L eigh shook the stainless steel cocktail shaker vigorously, feeling the beading condensation pool around her palms. She shook until the container became too cold to handle anymore, and that's when she knew the drink was ready.

She grabbed a tall glass rimmed with sugar and filled it with ice before popping the cap off the shaker and carefully pouring the contents into the cup. She smiled at the color, a perfect pale orange, exactly what it was supposed to be. The egg white settled on top, perfectly frothy.

Finally, she filled the drink to the top with sparkling water and garnished it with a single orange wedge before handing it over to the blonde girl with stars in her eyes.

"One orange creamsicle!" Leigh said enthusiastically.

"Oh my God, thank you. You have no idea how much I've been craving this," the woman said before taking one very long sip.

Leigh smiled wide at her customer's vivid satisfaction. This is what she loved. This is what gave her life that shining beacon of meaning.

She was back bartending at the Sassy Wolfe, right in her favorite element. Managing the other clubs was certainly a fulfilling challenge, but it was here behind the bar where she flourished. Nate considered her his favorite employee for a reason. She was damn good at what she did.

And she had an even better time doing it since the rebranding from the Thirsty Wolfe to the Sassy Wolfe, in honor of Nate's mate, Karla.

"Excuse me, can I get one of whatever she's drinking?" Another woman came to the bar and pointed at the blonde practically making sweet love to her cocktail. "It looks incredible, I don't even care what's in it."

"One orange creamsicle, coming right up." Leigh was used to these sorts of asks. Once one person ordered a particularly enchanting-looking drink, five more requests for the same would come flooding in. She went through the preparation with practiced ease, happily stuck in her zone.

Until one of the pub's waitresses approached her with the cordless phone, mouthing "It's for you" at her.

Leigh accepted the receiver, holding it to her ear with her shoulder while preparing the shaker.

"Hello?"

"Leigh! It's Tristan. Are you busy?"

Leigh bit her lip. She already knew what was about to be asked of her. Just when she was getting back in the groove of things too.

"Me? Busy? Whatever would give you that idea?" she asked before vigorously shaking the drink.

"Ha-ha, very funny, Leigh."

Not many people could get away with sassing the pack alpha, but Leigh was a hard worker with a reputation for a smart mouth. So she was definitely one of them.

"What do you need?" she asked with a more serious tone. She may have felt disappointed, but she wasn't about to let down her pack.

"Glad you asked. Listen, I have a special request for you. I know your hands are full, and that's exactly why you're the one I'm trusting with this," Tristan said.

Leigh passed the drink to the waiting customer before excusing herself to the back office.

"Oh?"

"Yes. You're an invaluable employee and member of this pack. You've proven that with how hard you've been working to keep the clubs going. Which is why I'm asking you to handle this very delicate task that needs to go exactly right."

Leigh rolled her eyes, wondering what he could possibly be buttering her up for.

"All right, what's the job?"

"I need you to go down to Embraced and help them reopen."

Leigh blinked and the corner of her mouth twitched. She was certain she had misheard. Maybe he was driving through a tunnel?

"Sorry, did you say Embraced? The vampire club?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

"Yes. That's exactly what I said."

"You want me, someone who manages several establishments with a ‘No Vampires Allowed' policy, to go to one of their clubs and help them reopen? Tristan, what the hell are you talking about?"

Sweat formed on her brow. How could her pack alpha ask something like that of her? Helping vampires do anything went completely counter to her values. The way they treated humans, those trafficking rings made her sick.

"That's exactly why I need you to help them," Tristan said. His voice grew darker, more commanding. Leigh knew when to be careful not to cross a line with him, and she knew she was very quickly approaching one. "Aria asked for our help because she wants to improve relations between wolves and vampires. I think she has a point, so I'm enlisting you as our representative to help."

Leigh's stomach turned into knots. This whole thing sounded like an obvious setup, like they were planning to spring a trap on them. Why would vampires ever care about having a good relationship with her pack?

Something was missing here. And Leigh didn't like it one bit.

But she also knew she couldn't turn down a direct request from the pack alpha. No matter how much her gut was telling her to say no.

"All right. I'll do it. Do I need to be there at night?" she asked.

"No. The vampire you'll be working with is Aria's cousin. And like her, he's a blood-born. He can walk around in daylight without getting hurt."

Ugh , she thought. The worst kind . You never knew when one was walking around on the street.

"All right, thanks for trusting me, Tristan." As much as she didn't want to do this, she had to admit she was flattered he chose her for the job regardless. "I'll head there now."

She hung up and sighed deeply, letting her throat make a frustrated howling-like sound that was hopefully choked by the four walls around her.

She'd do it. Of course, she would. But she wouldn't be happy about it.

Leigh arrived at Embraced shortly after. She stepped into the dimly lit, empty facility space and looked around. She knew the previous iteration of the club had burned to the ground, so, of course, they'd need to start over with a fresh rebuild. But this was incredibly new. Nothing had been done to it yet.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice echoing around the empty space.

"Back here," a male voice replied. She followed the source behind the bar area, through an open door, and into an office space.

Sitting at a small folding table covered in paperwork was a man who made Leigh quietly gasp.

He was handsome, ridiculously so. Leigh had never met a man who took her breath away, but this man was certainly challenging that record.

He had clean-cut black hair hanging above the most intense eyes she'd ever seen. He was pale, as most vampires were, and incredibly muscular. His short-sleeved shirt left nothing to her imagination, as muscles bulged under the thin fabric.

The man looked up at her as if he was surprised to see anyone at all. That expression quickly changed to one of interest. Leigh quietly gulped, feeling like she was being studied under the vampire's searching gaze. Deep down, she hoped he liked what he saw.

"You must be the wolf they decided to send me," he said.

Leigh felt a shiver run up her spine. He said it so casually as if Leigh were a sacrificial lamb the pack sent him as tribute.

She swallowed. "Yep, that's me. And you must be Aria's cousin."

He nodded. "Claude. Nice to meet you. Let's try to make this as painless and easy as possible. Agreed?" He extended his hand to her.

"Agreed," she said and took his hand to shake it. But as she did, something stirred inside of her. It was her inner wolf, and she was practically howling in excitement.

She hadn't felt like this in a long time, since she was very young and the world around her was still full of new discoveries. Every new scent would send her wolf into fits of anticipation. This was exactly like those moments.

Our mate, her wolf was saying, over and over. He's our mate! Our mate!

Leigh gritted her teeth and pretended like she wasn't having a complete meltdown in front of her new business partner. Certainly, he was handsome, and she wouldn't mind a fling or two in his bed, but mate? That felt a bit overdramatic.

That's ridiculous , Leigh replied. He's a vampire! Our mate would not be a vampire!

It is! It's him!

Leigh considered her inner wolf was just restless, maybe even a little moon drunk. It had been a while since she'd last shifted. She'd just been too busy. She chose to ignore her wolf's cries for attention and continued with the business at hand.

"Shirley Rosario?" he asked, looking at a message. "Is that your name?"

She cursed herself for getting so wound up with her wolf that she somehow forgot her manners. "Oh, it's Leigh. You can just call me Leigh, all my friends do."

Claude raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You'd consider us friends already?"

Her inner wolf barked, crying out they were much, much more.

Leigh put her hands on her hips, wondering why she said something so silly.

"Well… No, I wouldn't say so. But I also understand how important building this alliance between wolves and vampires is for our respective leaders. So, I wanted to get off on the right foot."

Claude nodded, his face giving off no sign of emotion. "Wise words. Well, shall we?"

He took her on a tour of the building, pointing out where everything would be going and what all needed to be procured still. The whole time, Leigh's inner wolf made it incredibly hard to focus on anything but Claude's silky-smooth voice.

It was very inconvenient.