Chapter 2 - Jane

The smell of peanuts and old, worn leather hits my nose, filling my lungs like a cloud of despair. This place is not somewhere I would ordinarily go for fun, but fun really isn’t the objective here, now is it?

I’ve been in Green Lake for just a handful of days, and things are not at all what I expected. Piper has been so occupied with her new husband and daughter, which I get and expected, I suppose, but being away from the Stardust Hollow Pack has left me feeling stranded. Fortunately, I’m not entirely alone in this backwoods town. Piper’s parents have, not surprisingly, come with me on this trip, and Sonya was selected to come, too.

All I can say is thank God for Sonya. Don’t get me wrong, I love Piper’s parents like they’re my own, but their sole objective has been to make sure I’m settled, too. By “settled,” they mean married or paired with a suitable mate. While I’m happy for Piper’s newfound happiness, the constant fixation on love and mating seems so extreme, a little overkill. Sonya, however, is my age, single, and in complete agreement with me that planning out our future days with “settling down” sounds about as much fun as an acid enema.

Earlier this evening, my aunt actually sat me down and told me she had arranged for a blind date. Blind date! I know she meant well, but I was mortified. I don’t know what came over me, but I became desperate to stop it. Before I had time to think twice about it, I told her that I’d met someone at the bonfire the other night and that I wanted to see where things go with him. That, unfortunately, is when things started spiraling. After that, my aunt and uncle hounded me with questions and then suggested I bring him back to the trailer we’re staying in for dinner soon.

Sonya saw right past my ruse, and as soon as I promised to introduce my new beau to them, she dragged me out of there and brought me here to this seedy little bar. Well, the bar isn’t actually that bad. It’s rather nice, actually. It’s just that Green Lake has this whole vibe like they’re clinging to the Old West. Charming, but not for me.

Sonya seems to sense my soured attitude and nudges me in the arm. “Come on,” she urges, an encouraging smile lifting her lips. “Cheer up, Jane. We have plenty of booze, a lot of noise to get lost in, and who knows who we might meet? Maybe we’ll find you someone to bring home to your aunt and uncle by the end of the night.”

“You’re such an optimist,” I tease, but as Sonya guides me through the throng of people in the little bar, I have to admit, even if only to myself, that the prospect is a little exciting. I haven’t been to an actual bar in quite a while, not since Ram planned to marry me off to Green Lake’s beta a couple years ago. Thankfully, Piper took that bullet for me, and she fell in love with Rafe, who I discovered is a very loving, doting, and kind shifter who treats her right. My cousin is more than taken with that mountain of a man.

“Hey,” the bartender calls over the bar top, waving us over. “How can I help ya?”

“You serve wine?” Sonya calls back. When the guy answers yes, she raises her brows and glances at me. “Want something?”

I debate whether I should drink, but then I figure, what the hell? What’s the harm? Besides, it will help me pretend, which, I have to admit, sounds rather fun. “Sure.”

“Red or white?”

“White.”

Sonya says to the bartender, “Two glasses of white, then.”

He grabs the glasses and makes quick work pouring out a chilled white. Then he places the stemless glasses on top of napkins, angling his body away and placing all his attention on Sonya. “You ladies got any plans this evening?”

Coyly, she blushes, tilting her head to cover her mouth as she laughs a little too throatily to my ears. “Why, that depends. Do you got anything special planned for us?”

Sonya is one of those shifters who’s very forward and unafraid to be in her feminine skin. She’s also one of the most stunning she-wolves I’ve ever laid eyes on. Her hair is as red as a flame, her eyes are a very pretty shade of gray, and her smile rivals the rays of the sun. Once she sets her sights on her prey, she’s usually a very successful hunter. Apparently, tonight is no exception.

I look on as she does the eye thing, the thing I’ve seen her do a million times before with men. I can already tell this bartender’s her next victim. At this point, I might as well have disappeared altogether.

I leave Sonya to flirt with the bartender and my untouched glass of wine, inching my way back through the sea of people to the deck chairs stationed outside of the bar, overlooking the quaint little town of Green Lake. Despite the small population and the acres of mountains and forests surrounding them, there is an extremely high number of shifters. Probably because the entire place reeks of shifter heritage and ancient magic.

A car pulls up and kills its lights, drawing my attention. A massive man unfolds himself from the cab of the truck, and when I catch sight of his face, I drop down as low in the chair as I can, hoping he doesn’t notice me.

Shit, shit, shit.

With my pulse echoing like cannon fire in my ears, I groan, sinking further down. When Ram told me I was coming to Green Lake, I stupidly assumed I could avoid this man at all costs. So far, I have been successful, but clearly, my streak has come to an end.

Reiner, the pompous, arrogant, absolutely vexing jerk, stalks across the parking lot and up the stairs of the place like he owns it. I haven’t seen him since the party in Stardust Hollow last year, but of course, he’s still so damn fine. It’s painful, really. Even though he’s a bit older than me, maybe even by a decade or so, he is easily one of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen. And the way his physique appears to be chiseled from stone doesn’t hurt.

When he passes through the doors to the bar, he glances down at me briefly, his brows furrowing, and it takes me a second before he seems to recognize me. Even from this distance, I can see his eyes shift, their light golden brown suddenly darkening so much that they’re nearly black. I can tell I’ve caught him by surprise, too, but there’s something else in his gaze that I just can’t define. Whatever it is, it makes the butterflies in my stomach take flight, and my belly does backflips.

Without a greeting, he breaks eye contact and steps inside, leaving me on the patio to dwell on my bad luck. At some point, I’m going to have to go back in there and find Sonya, but I’m in no rush. The longer I can avoid Mr. Perfect Jawline, the better. With that goal in mind, I busy myself downing my wine and start people-watching the shifters of Green Lake.

There’s a group of females walking, arm-in-arm, towards the parking lot, and they pass by a group of males, all rough- housing with each other. As I watch them interact, I can’t stop myself from wondering what that would feel like, to fit in so effortlessly and connect with others. I just never have.

I know a big part of that is my own fault. I tend to keep to myself, and I’m not as confident and outgoing as others. Honestly, the more people there are in one place, the more I withdraw and feel anxious. But even with that admission, sometimes I envy the women around me and how easy they make it all seem. I watch how they enjoy being females, and it makes me wonder about myself.

What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I let go and be carefree for once? Why do I have to think and worry so much about absolutely everything?

With a heavy sigh, I climb to my feet and head inside. Sitting out here sulking and feeling sorry for myself isn’t going to solve anything. I’m just going to march in there, find Sonya, and convince myself to have a good time tonight, no matter who is here and how much he pisses me off. Reiner is just a single male amongst many, and I refuse to let him mess with my good time.

Pushing past the crowd, I return to the bar. The seat next to Sonya is still empty. She’s put her purse there to make sure nobody else claimed it, but on the other side of that empty stool is the man in question.

Great. Just great.

“Hey, Jane!” The excitement in Sonya’s voice nearly makes me cringe, and I freeze, resisting the urge to let my eyes sweep to Reiner’s. “I thought you disappeared on me. Come watch my drink, will you? I gotta pee.”

Slowly, I creep closer. As soon as I sit down and order another drink, she brushes my shoulder in passing and jets off, leaving me alone next to Mr. Perfect.

“Hey, sugar,” he grumbles without so much as looking at me. “Long time, no see.”

Of all the fucking sardonic shits in the world. “Good to see you, too. Actually, that’s a lie. I’m not exactly thrilled to see you.”

Reiner takes a deep pull from his bottle. “Color me surprised.”

I glare at him, twisting around in the seat to face him. His face is stoic, but there’s something about his eyes, the way the honey-brown color is so… muddled. Dark. Gloomy, even.

“Looks like someone’s in a good mood,” I snap, then instantly feel guilty about it. He could very well have a good reason for looking so sullen.

“Yeah, well,” he quips back just as snarkily. “Someone stole my usual spot, but I guess I should get used to Stardust Hollow wolves invading my territory, huh?”

Ouch. That was rude. If he’s trying to rile me up, he succeeded, because I’m suddenly fuming. Who does this shithead think he is, anyway?

“Invading your territory?” I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “Sorry, buddy. I wasn’t aware you had a claim on the place.”

Finally, he turns to me, his scowl making my skin pebble. Something about his expression looks fierce and desperate, almost anguished. In that moment, he looks so worn down. “Listen, I’m not in the mood, okay? I came here to get away from you people.”

“What the hell did we ever do to you? Pardon us for showing up at the order of both our alphas. You’ve got a real fucking complex, you know that?”

Reiner reaches up, snatches his bottle off the bar, and tosses back another gulp. His throat works, flexing in the most maddening way, and for a second, I forget what I was saying. “My problem is every time they bring our packs together, someone gets on me about sniffing around your she-wolves to find a mate. It’s none of their damn business, but somehow they back me into such a tight corner that I have to lie and say I found one just to get them to leave me alone. If your pack would just stay away, I wouldn’t have to lie.”

Did he just say what I think he said? I burst out laughing, nearly falling out of my chair as I double over with tears in the corner of my eyes. “You’ve got to be joking! What are the chances?”

To my absolute pleasure, his hard features crack, and his stern expression morphs into a reluctant smile. The transformation knocks the breath from my lungs, and I’m left speechless as he gestures for me to continue.

“I’m sitting here, at this bar, because I lied about the same thing to my aunt and uncle. They keep trying to set me up with men from your pack. I freaked out, and now I’ve told them that I’m seeing someone.”

He lets out a disgruntled scoff, finishing the rest of his beer. “You can’t be serious.”

With a nervous giggle, I admit, “But I am. Turns out, we’re in the same boat. Un-fucking-believable. Almost like the damn stars are aligned.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the door to the bar open, and a group of males file in. I recognize them at once. They’re the same friends who came with Reiner to Stardust Hollow. The same ones who laughed at me when I ran out crying after the shit he pulled.

Of course they’d show up here, too. And just as soon as I had started to relax and enjoy the night. Great. How perfect.