One of Clara's eyebrows rose, though the smell of magic fizzled. "But you haven't seen mine," she purred as she stood up. "And we both know you want to." She walked away, and I watched the swell of her ass move.
A snort escaped me. Maybe that was true, but right now I was more annoyed at her than attracted.
And the thought of that stayed with me for the rest of the night.
2
Tanner
Liam, the alpha of the Crescent City clan, strolled in a few hours before the bar closed. He walked with a grace that belied the smirk he usually wore on his face. You didn't become the alpha of a powerful werewolf clan by putting up with bullshit, but there was an exhaustion lurking in his eyes that wouldn't be solved with a good night's sleep. He wouldn't let the pack go unless someone worthy stepped up and, so far, there hadn't been anyone even worth a second look. From what he told me, at least once a week one of his wolves challenged him. The way he told it had me laughing my ass off, but the toll it took on him lurked in his eyes.
Few people who had a good soul liked to fight, but werewolves were a different breed. They thrived on dominance and power struggles. Liam, on the other hand, seemed like a man with a quiet soul and a thirst for peace - two traits that clashed with the position he now held.
"'Sup, asshole?" Liam said as he snagged an apron from behind the bar and tied it around his neck.
A snort escaped me. It was a term of endearment from him. "Hey man. Got a table full of wolves in the back asking for girly drinks. Want to make them?" I usually let Liam take the wolf tables. He liked to fuck up their drinks on purpose out of sheer annoyance with their shenanigans. Or worse. One time we sent out an entire table of wolves who began vomiting in rapid succession. Liam denied tampering with their drinks, but there were few things that could take out werewolves like that and none of us knew about them. Also, we were a business and had to tread carefully in matters like that. Liam denied it, but we made him clean up the mess. I also had to pull him to the side later and tell him that was a one-time occurrence and if it happened again, he wouldn't be allowed behind the bar anymore.
No more wolves had been poisoned, but there was a higher ratio of wolves sending their drinks back than other creatures.
"Nah, man," Liam said as he grabbed a towel and started wiping off the spills I'd made. Beastly was hopping tonight, and we still had three hours to close. "I need a break from the wolves tonight." When he turned, he winced and my breath caught. Showing weakness was a good way to get jumped. Asking him if he was alright would piss him off. Liam caught my gaze and held it for a second, warning me not to say a word. He turned, his movements a hair less graceful than they normally were.
Predators liked prey. They liked to see weakness. "Why don't you stay here until closing?" I asked instead. "Scott and Theo are in the back. If you need a place to crash, we've got extra beds."
Liam stared at me for a moment, the wolf shining golden in his eyes, and just as the dragon was about to rear up and answer his challenge, he ducked his head. "Thanks," he murmured. "I may take you up on that."
"Good." My voice was a hair more hoarse than usual. "Remind Theo. I'm going to take off for a bit after I make this next round, but I'll grab Scott to take my place."
Liam nodded and nothing more was said. I hurried up and made the wolves' drinks and motioned for Catriona, our resident Kitsune shifter and waitress, to come pick them up. Her hair sparkled scarlet under the dim lights as she sauntered over. Cat was one of my favorites. She was gorgeous, smart, and she could be deadly when she needed to.
I nodded at her as she grabbed the tray. "Werewolves?" she asked, jerking her head in their general direction.
"Yup," I said, knowing how much she hated dealing with wolves.
"Ugh." The sound was full of feeling. "I hate werewolves."
I had to laugh. Both of our waitresses hated werewolves. A lot of them were okay, but the younger ones walked around in a state of perpetual horniness and our waitresses sometimes paid the price for it. Both of them could handle themselves, but it pissed me off that they had to deal with it in the first place. There'd been a couple of times we had to get Liam involved, and a couple of others where me and my brothers had to throw some of them out. Liam had started getting his younger wolves in hand before he let them out, but it didn't stop all the problems.
"Don't hesitate to defend yourself," I told her.
Liam nodded at my words. "If they're old enough to touch you inappropriately, they're old enough to get their ass kicked."
Cat sent him a saucy grin. "I can't wait to kick their ass and tell them I had the Alpha's permission."
Liam winked at her. "With my blessing," he said as he grabbed another glass to wipe down. Cat's gaze lingered on him for a moment before she walked away.
I looked at Liam and noticed his gaze trailing her backside. I cleared my throat. "None of that," I reminded him. "Workers and owners don't get involved."
Liam chuckled. "You bastards aren't paying me, so as far as I'm concerned it doesn't apply to me."
I bristled at that and was about to chew him a new asshole, but Liam held a hand up. "Relax, dragon. Werewolves don't take relationships lightly." His gaze went to the table of his wolves. "I should say older wolves do not. The hunt becomes old because there's nothing left at the end of it. And I am an old wolf." He grunted and stretched. "Although you can't tell because of this incredible specimen I wear."
I rolled my eyes. "Idiot," I said without heat.
"Do not worry about me and your Catriona. I do not pursue one-time flings. I pursue a mate." His eyes darkened. "It's been too long and my clan knows I'm chafing at the collar of leadership. A mate could settle that for me."
I looked over at Cat. "She's not a wolf."
A sad smile broke over his face. "And therein lies the problem. A clan rarely accepts someone not of their kin. Cat has nothing to worry about with me other than my gaze."
I nodded at that and shrugged off my apron. As I walked past him, I clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll see about getting you on the payroll."
"I'd prefer an equity stake," he called as I grabbed my keys and jacket.
"Don't get greedy," I grumbled under my breath, knowing he could hear me.
"Wolves are always greedy," Lia said cheerfully as he waved a bottle of good vodka at me.
I waved at Scott and Theo who'd come out from the back. We no longer had to report to each other as long as we found someone to take our shift. We'd been working together so long we were like a well-oiled machine.
My brothers nodded, and I pushed through the door. My keys jingled in my hand, but I shoved them in my pocket. It was nice and cool out tonight so I thought I'd walk for a little while. The French Quarter wasn't too far away.
I was starving. Sometimes there was an old gumbo food truck set up which served the best gumbo I'd ever had in my life. The jambalaya and etouffee weren't anything to sneeze at either. The moon hung high and heavy above my head, the golden light sending an eerie glow on almost everything. It glittered off the small puddles of water in front of me, but the light was so bright I didn't even need to bother with my flashlight. There weren't a lot of street lights where Beastly was located. None of our patrons needed them because their night vision was so good.