4

VIENNA

I ball my fists at my sides while fighting the urge to slap that cocky smirk right off of Chase’s stupidly handsome face. How can I be so frustratingly attracted to him, yet want to kill him at the same time? It’s confusing and I don’t have the emotional bandwith to try to make sense of it right now.

He raises a brow, awaiting my response to his request for shots.

“You know I can’t serve you here,” I sigh, leaning my forearms on the bar top and meeting his stare, leveling him with one of my own. “How about waters all around?” I cock a brow right back at him, watching his smug smile falter.

“Aw, c’mon…” he presses, leaning in closer. Notes of fresh pine, clean soap, and clove tickle my nose. Damn he smells good. “Be a good little barmaid and fetch us some whiskey.”

I clench my teeth, his condescension grating on my nerves. “You know the rules,” I grit out.

“Well break them, then.”

I chuckle wryly and shake my head. “Can’t do that.”

Golden flecks ignite in Chase’s dark irises, his jaw ticking. “Why not?”

Rolling my eyes, I gesture around the restaurant to indicate the obvious presence of humans scattered at the tables. He knows damn well why I can’t serve him, he’s just trying to push me. I’ve known Chase for all of five minutes and I can already tell he gets off on pushing people’s buttons.

He looks damn good doing it, though.

Ugh, why do those thoughts keep surfacing? I mentally scold myself for allowing my mind to go there yet again.

“C’mon…” Chase coaxes, his voice smooth as silk. The sound of it tickles something deep inside of me, stroking it to life. “Just one shot.”

I can see how this guy has she-wolves eating out of the palm of his hand. He’s a slick fucker, I’ll give him that. The smirk reappears, and- ugh! There are those dimples again, one sinking into each cheek. Those hornets buzz around in my belly once more, stinging my insides.

I straighten, shoring up my resolve and standing my ground. “No.”

Chase’s smile drops, his eyes darkening. “Well you don’t have to be a bitch about it,” he mutters.

Oh hell no.

My wolf surges forward protectively and I suck in a breath, forcing her back as I narrow my eyes on Chase. “Believe it or not, I need this job,” I say, throwing my hands on my hips. “I know it’s a foreign concept to you, but some people actually need to work to get by. Not all of us have everything handed to them.”

He shakes his head, chuckling lowly. “You don’t know a damn thing about me.”

Chase’s icy tone sends a shiver up my spine. His gaze flickers back up to collide with mine and it’s so intense that I stop breathing. For a second, I almost feel bad about making assumptions. He’s got this whole tortured James Dean renegade thing going on, so hauntingly beautiful in his brokenness. His dark eyes threaten to drag me to hell, yet for some reason, I don’t dare look away…

An arm darts out, snatching the pint glass of beer I just filled from the bar and snapping me out of the trance that Chase has me under.

“What the…” I whip my head around to see the guy beside Chase bringing it to his lips with a smug grin. Not Levi- the guy on the other side. “Hey!” I protest, reaching out in a feeble attempt to snatch it back.

“C’mon, Cal…” Levi chuckles, looking over at his friend.

The jerk who grabbed the beer- Cal, apparently- just leans away and starts chugging it down while the rest of them snicker. I make another useless attempt to reach for it, but I’m too short and the bar between us is too wide. It doesn’t matter, anyways, because he takes the beer down in a whole four seconds.

Chase doesn’t intervene. His eyes remain on me the whole time, that stupid smirk on his lips.

Cal slams the empty pint glass back on the bar top and I level him with a glare, folding my arms across my chest indignantly.

“Sorry sweetheart,” Cal growls, wiping his mouth with a sleeve and flashing me a creepy smile that makes my skin crawl. “I was thirsty.”

The others snicker in response and my wolf pushes forward again in agitation. I’ve been harassed more than enough for one day and she’s had it.

“You guys are assholes,” I mutter, turning on a heel and walking away. I need some space to breathe- to think- and I’ve been neglecting my tables while dealing with Chase and his henchmen.

I step out from behind the bar, ignoring the prickly feeling of being watched by them as I head toward the tables by the windows to make my rounds. Thankfully the restaurant is pretty empty at this time of day, so I only have a few to tend to. One customer still wants the beer he ordered that Cal so rudely drank, and another wants a cup of coffee. A young girl at a table with her parents asks for a hot chocolate. I keep a mental tally in my head of the orders, dreading returning to the bar to fill them. I know Chase and his friends are still there because the weight of Chase’s stare still hasn’t left- I’m practically squirming under it.

I’m collecting a couple of empty glasses from a table of two when out of the corner of my eye, I see a figure seated at another in the corner. I must not have noticed him come in. “I’ll be right with you!” I call out, quickly glancing up in his direction- and when I do, my breath catches in my throat.

It’s a man I’ve never seen before, but that doesn’t come as a surprise; tourists are in and out of here all the time. What does give me pause, though, is the way he’s glaring in my direction. I can’t make out his features very well because the hood of his black jacket is slung up over his head and obscuring part of his face, but the sinister look in his eyes sets my teeth on edge. I immediately know something isn’t right about this guy- and then I smell him. He’s a shifter, but he smells… wrong. Dirty. Foul.

Alarm bells go off in my head as the realization of what he is dawns on me- a rogue. A packless wolf shifter trespassing in our territory, and from the way he’s glaring, he’s here looking for trouble. A rogue sighting is never a good thing, especially on the heels of what we just went through with the shadow pack. My brain short-circuits and I almost drop the empty glasses from my hands, panic leeching into my bones.

Breathe, Vienna.

I take a deep breath, quickly regaining my composure. I don’t want to tip this guy off that I know what he is before I can alert Chase to his presence. We’ve had rogues trespass here before- the alphas usually detain and question them to determine whether they’re a true threat, then run them off.  Clutching the glasses in my hands, I turn and start toward the bar, suddenly glad Chase decided to visit the lodge today.

Rather than heading behind the bar, I make a beeline for where the guys are seated, aiming straight for Chase. They’re all talking and chuckling amongst themselves, but when Chase looks over his shoulder and sees me coming, his smile falters. The fact that something’s amiss must be written all over my face.

His brows draw up in confusion as I march right up to him, invading his space and leaning in close. “There’s a rogue in here,” I whisper through clenched teeth.

Chase shoots to his feet, nearly knocking me over. “Where?” he demands, the tendons in his neck straining as he sweeps his gaze around the restaurant.

Dude’s a little scary when he springs into action. It suddenly feels like he’s even taller, bigger, more intimidating.

“Right over…” I snap my head around to look toward the table in the corner again, but it’s vacant. My voice trails off as I blink, questioning my own sanity. “He was right there,” I choke, throat tightening around my words as I point to indicate the table. “I swear, he…”

Chase takes off in that direction and Levi pops up to follow. I look around frantically for any sign of the creepy guy who stared me down from the corner, but he’s nowhere to be found. He’s just… gone.

I watch as Chase and Levi go to the table in the corner, then stalk the perimeter of the restaurant, exiting through the back door. I’m still on edge, mind racing, so I return to my post behind the bar to keep myself busy until they return, dunking the dirty glasses in the cleaning solution and preparing the drink orders I just took from the customers.

Five of the longest minutes of my life pass before Chase and Levi walk back in. I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, wiping my hands off on a bar towel and stepping back over to where the other guys are seated.

Cal leans over the bar toward me. “You sure it was a rogue?” he asks, eyeing me dubiously as Chase and Levi draw closer.

I resist the urge to throat punch him.

“I know what I saw,” I grind out, gaze locking with Chase’s as he approaches.  

“She’s right, I could smell him,” Chase grumbles, eyes dark and brow furrowed.

At least his confirmation reassures me that I’m not going crazy.

“Whoever he was, he’s gone now,” Levi supplies. He runs a hand through his inky black hair, looking around at the others. “We tracked him to the parking lot, but his trail stopped there. Must’ve gotten in a car and taken off.”

I wish I could say I was relieved, and part of me is that the rogue is gone- but another part remains on edge, nervous that he’s still lurking out there somewhere.

I wring my hands in front of me, gnawing on my lower lip. “What if he comes back?” I ask, still tense from the shock of the encounter.

“Nah, don’t worry, babe,” Levi replies smoothly, flashing me a smile. Something about that charming smile of his helps to put me at ease. “We’ll report it, and I’m sure the squad will throw a security detail up here or something so it doesn’t happen again.” He tosses me a wink and I feel my cheeks heat in a blush.

Chase just stands there quietly, hands shoved in the front pocket of his hoodie, jaw ticking. I look to him and his eyes are cold and impassive, like a switch has flipped.

I open my mouth to speak, but before any sound comes out, he darts his gaze away. 

“Let’s go,” he barks out, turning his back to me as the other guys jump up to follow.

Levi hits me with another smile. “See you around, Vienna.”

Before I can reply, all six of them are trudging toward the door, their abrupt exit rendering me speechless. My eyes burn a hole in the back of Chase’s head, but he doesn’t turn around.