Tyrone sputtered, his eyes narrowing on my arm over Paul's shoulders. Did he have a problem with that? Too bad. Paul had been my honorary little brother before he'd been whatever Tyrone thought he was. "Paul, we have orders."
Orders. Rules. Laws. The Alpha's Word. I'd been stifled by all that before. Never again. "Then go. No matter what Delia says, this is my business. I own the building and the land. I also have the right to refuse service, and that means you're loitering. Get out before I sic Jasper on you."
That might have sounded like a joke, but only to people who hadn't seen Jasper in action.
"I'm going," Tyrone barked, his eyes never looking at me, just at Paul. "I'm going alone?"
Paul swayed but remained. "Yes. This wasn't right, what Delia did. I… just…"
"Fine." Tyrone turned and went out the door.
I led Paul to a stool and sat him down on it, sliding back behind the bar. "Are you hungry, bro? The special is a philly burger. I'll throw one on for you."
Paul nodded and reached for the cardboard coaster in front of him, spinning it like a coin. "I'm really sorry about that." His head ducked between his shoulders. "I didn't want to bring that to you, but she ordered me to…"
And as Delia's sponsee, Paul had his basic needs met—food, shelter, protection—specifically from her funds. It was the same as any new member when they joined a pack as an adult. Some packs had more elder households; others had fewer. That also meant Paul was Delia's to utilize in the pack how she saw fit. Today, that had been as messenger boy. The witch had to have known how that would have made Paul feel.
"No worries. Seriously. You've only had a few months to deal with them. We're all used to it." I couldn't imagine the texts I'd get back when I told the others what Delia had done. Considering her last stunt had been finding Riley's violent ex-boyfriend and flying him in to murder Riley, this felt tame. "Hey, Jasper, get this guy what he wants. I'm gonna throw him on a burger. You want anything?"
Jasper shook his head. "I was going to tell you. Sia is out of town visiting her parents until the weekend. If you need or want me to work to close today, I can."
An hour ago, I would've said don't bother. I needed to watch my overhead as much as possible while I was trying to save for repairs. That little white envelope sitting in the safe had grown painstakingly thicker thanks to my scrimping. Still, I hoped my plans had changed from an hour ago. "Sure, thanks, Jasper." Even though I was the boss, when I passed by my sexy customer on the way to the kitchen, I felt like a kid who'd learned it was a snow day. I couldn't let my shiny new toy leave before I'd had a chance to play with him. "Almost done with this. You ready?" I asked him.
The man shrugged. I wondered how much he'd watched. Right now, he looked preoccupied with his phone. "Ready for what?" he asked.
I gestured up and down my body. "All this."
The man laughed. "Go. I've got coffee left."
I rushed into the kitchen, sending the guys a group text after throwing Paul's patty on the grill. If I'd gotten a letter like this, then Branson and Aver must have gotten one similar for the business they started, Walker Construction. By the time I'd cooked the burger to a juicy rare—we were wolf shifters, after all—and threw on the grilled peppers and swiss cheese, the screen of my phone was full of replies.
Most of them were expressions of disbelief. I'd go through them later. I hastily slapped Paul's burger together, plopped it in a lined basket, and dumped fries on top. In my opinion, a good burger was one that fell apart halfway through eating it. When I went back out, Jasper had gotten Paul a Coke, and I set his burger down. "There you go. Just the thing to get the taste of Delia out of your mouth. Eat up."
Paul opened his mouth—I assumed to thank me—but no thanks were necessary, and I'd left my prey alone long enough. At least now I could be pretty confident he was interested. No man would've waited patiently if he wasn't. I slid the last few feet to him, holding my hands out like I was surfing or like I was Tom Cruise from Risky Business.
He smirked. "Smooth."
I dropped my elbow back on the bar top, but this time, I wasn't able to block the pack from my mind as easily. That just meant I needed this distraction more than ever. I put my other elbow down, cradling my chin in my hands as I took in his face. He wasn't just handsome; he was pretty, gorgeous, a looker. In fact, he was so attractive, I frowned.
"Do you now, or have you ever considered yourself, cursed?" I asked. When Branson had found Riley and Nash had found Phin, both men had felt as if a curse had followed them all their lives.
"Only by good looks."
Oh, this was going to be fun. But I wasn't done. "Do you have powers? Can you make things move with your mind? Does your touch compel people to cluck like a chicken?"
The man frowned.
I probably would too if I'd been asked that, but I couldn't mess around. I didn't need to find anyone who would make me act the way Nash and Branson acted once they found their mates. They'd lost all focus on things that had been important to them. Only their mates had mattered. I didn't want to disappear inside of someone else.
"I do have powers."
My gut dropped, but at the same time, my curiosity spiked. "What kind?"
He winked. "That's for you to find out later." He smiled, giving my body time to react.
Anticipation was the key to desire, and I was on a metaphorical edge. I might not have wanted to disappear into another person, but I wouldn't mind getting lost in one for a bit.
"Do you have any other questions?" he asked, slipping his finger around the rim of his mug. The movement was different now, like all pretense had been wiped clean.
"Just one. What's your name?"
His spa-blue eyes sparkled. "Kansas."
Chapter Two
Kansas
"I'm Wyatt."
Of course he was. Why couldn't this guy have a less attractive name like Adolf or Barf? He was the complete package: smoking hot, charming, and with a name that made me glad I was sitting down. If I was smart, I'd leave that moment, get on the first ferry out, and never look back. But I'd never suffered an excess of brains, and on top of that, I was starving. I didn't have the money to pay for the coffee I drank, much less one of those greasy burgers that Wyatt had dropped off to his friend.
I wasn't sure of the relationship there, but it didn't seem romantic. Or if it was, Wyatt was an even bigger jerk than I thought.
I'd done my diligence, asked him the questions. There was no one waiting on him at home, no one who would suffer because of anything he'd done. And he had enemies.
Nice people didn't often have enemies. And if they did, they had pets. Or people depending on them.
I didn't need anyone else to understand my logic because I did.
"How's your friend?" I asked. The other guy looked too young to be in a bar.
Wyatt glanced down the bar at the exact moment the bartender gave the younger guy a refill. "Paul's good," Wyatt said, not looking at me. "He just had to do something he didn't want to today."