1
Maddie
“ S o you’re a wolf shifter , eh? What pack?” The man at the bar tries to give me an encouraging smile, but it just comes across as a bit smarmy.
Ugh. I toy with my drink, wondering if I have enough courage to blatantly get up and leave. It’d be rude as heck, and Pine Falls is a small town. I should probably just suck it up. “Is it obvious?”
“Scent,” he says, and taps his nose. Then he lazes back on the barstool, spreading his legs. “I’m kinda like the alpha in this area, you know.”
Kinda like? You either are or you aren’t. “Wow,” I murmur, pretending to be impressed. “I’m Thorne pack, out of Sacramento. You must be one of the Millers if you’re the local alpha.”
His face flushes. “Yuuup,” he says slowly and looks away, which tells me everything. He’s not a Miller, and he’s not an alpha. He’s just looking to score some fresh werewolf pussy.
Nice try, buddy.
“So what brings you here?” He waves at the bartender, indicating he wants his check. “Findin’ a mate?”
I frown at him. “No, of course not.”
“Uh huh.” He clearly doesn’t believe me.
“That’s really not it at all.” I play with my drink for a bit longer. It’s an unexciting screwdriver, but it’s also really hard for a bartender to mess those up, so they’re my go-to at a new place. “Wanted a change of pace. Saw someone advertising for a cottage rental in the area and I waited until I saw someone post a job in my wheelhouse—”
He stands up, cutting me off. “Well, good luck to you, honey. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah,” I say dryly. “Sure thing.” I watch as he leaves, and I’m all alone at the small bar. Pine Falls is currently not in tourist season so things are quiet, or so I’m told. Right now the bar itself is pretty damn deserted, which is fine. No more creeps hitting on me.
I’m not surprised he threw down the ‘mate’ card so early, though. Pine Falls is shifter central in the North—which is why I found out about the cabin and the job here. Me? I’d just really wanted to get out of California and away from my old pack. Things got real awkward in Thorne territory when my ex became the new alpha and indicated there’d be room in his bed for me and his current alpha female.
So generous of him. Yuck.
So I got the hell out of Dodge. I’d been bored in California and was looking to start somewhere new, anyhow. Pine Falls, Minnesota, is definitely new to me. So far it seems nice enough, and the local wolf pack is run by family, which means they’re content to let me fringe as an omega: not quite part of the pack itself but still included enough to appease my shifter side.
The door opens, and I turn to look. Two women enter, waving at me excitedly. “There you are!”
“Hey,” I say, getting to my feet. I put a few dollars down for the bartender and gesture at a booth in the back. “Want to sit over here?”
Ryann Brown is considered the unofficial welcoming crew here in Pine Falls. She’s not a shifter, but she’s mated to a big burly were-bear named Mal, so that pretty much makes her one of the team. She beams at me and slides into the booth, all sunny smiles and swingy floral dress.
With her is Adelaide Laurent, my boss and a human woman who runs the town spa. She recently expanded to add hair and nails (aka me) in her quest to beautify Pine Falls and to add an option for bored wives when their husbands want to play mountain man. Both of them have welcomed me to Pine Falls and are now my closest friends here.
It’s weird to have two human friends who are involved in shifter relationships, but I’m happy with it. They’re nice and fun to be around, and after the pack fiasco back in California? I’m happy to go lone wolf for a while.
“You want me to buy the first round?” I ask them, sliding in next to Ryann and bringing my screwdriver with me.
Ryann wrinkles her cute little button nose. “Nah, I’m not drinking. Unless
Maddie
“ S o you’re a wolf shifter , eh? What pack?” The man at the bar tries to give me an encouraging smile, but it just comes across as a bit smarmy.
Ugh. I toy with my drink, wondering if I have enough courage to blatantly get up and leave. It’d be rude as heck, and Pine Falls is a small town. I should probably just suck it up. “Is it obvious?”
“Scent,” he says, and taps his nose. Then he lazes back on the barstool, spreading his legs. “I’m kinda like the alpha in this area, you know.”
Kinda like? You either are or you aren’t. “Wow,” I murmur, pretending to be impressed. “I’m Thorne pack, out of Sacramento. You must be one of the Millers if you’re the local alpha.”
His face flushes. “Yuuup,” he says slowly and looks away, which tells me everything. He’s not a Miller, and he’s not an alpha. He’s just looking to score some fresh werewolf pussy.
Nice try, buddy.
“So what brings you here?” He waves at the bartender, indicating he wants his check. “Findin’ a mate?”
I frown at him. “No, of course not.”
“Uh huh.” He clearly doesn’t believe me.
“That’s really not it at all.” I play with my drink for a bit longer. It’s an unexciting screwdriver, but it’s also really hard for a bartender to mess those up, so they’re my go-to at a new place. “Wanted a change of pace. Saw someone advertising for a cottage rental in the area and I waited until I saw someone post a job in my wheelhouse—”
He stands up, cutting me off. “Well, good luck to you, honey. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah,” I say dryly. “Sure thing.” I watch as he leaves, and I’m all alone at the small bar. Pine Falls is currently not in tourist season so things are quiet, or so I’m told. Right now the bar itself is pretty damn deserted, which is fine. No more creeps hitting on me.
I’m not surprised he threw down the ‘mate’ card so early, though. Pine Falls is shifter central in the North—which is why I found out about the cabin and the job here. Me? I’d just really wanted to get out of California and away from my old pack. Things got real awkward in Thorne territory when my ex became the new alpha and indicated there’d be room in his bed for me and his current alpha female.
So generous of him. Yuck.
So I got the hell out of Dodge. I’d been bored in California and was looking to start somewhere new, anyhow. Pine Falls, Minnesota, is definitely new to me. So far it seems nice enough, and the local wolf pack is run by family, which means they’re content to let me fringe as an omega: not quite part of the pack itself but still included enough to appease my shifter side.
The door opens, and I turn to look. Two women enter, waving at me excitedly. “There you are!”
“Hey,” I say, getting to my feet. I put a few dollars down for the bartender and gesture at a booth in the back. “Want to sit over here?”
Ryann Brown is considered the unofficial welcoming crew here in Pine Falls. She’s not a shifter, but she’s mated to a big burly were-bear named Mal, so that pretty much makes her one of the team. She beams at me and slides into the booth, all sunny smiles and swingy floral dress.
With her is Adelaide Laurent, my boss and a human woman who runs the town spa. She recently expanded to add hair and nails (aka me) in her quest to beautify Pine Falls and to add an option for bored wives when their husbands want to play mountain man. Both of them have welcomed me to Pine Falls and are now my closest friends here.
It’s weird to have two human friends who are involved in shifter relationships, but I’m happy with it. They’re nice and fun to be around, and after the pack fiasco back in California? I’m happy to go lone wolf for a while.
“You want me to buy the first round?” I ask them, sliding in next to Ryann and bringing my screwdriver with me.
Ryann wrinkles her cute little button nose. “Nah, I’m not drinking. Unless
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