Chapter 10: Magic's Mate

"Shots! We need shots," Alanna called out once they found a table. Adira slid into the empty chair, as did Deputy Lainie Everest and Eve Hartlow. It was ladies night at Everglades, a shifter bar in Holopaw, and Alanna was determined that Adira would have a good time, to unwind and forget men and shifters, especially coyotes. It was a dive bar, really, nothing like Shades back in Draven Falls, but it held its own, rustic charm. It was a wooden structure, appearing to be constructed of discarded planks, rather than finished wood, with scratched up wooden chairs and tables, weak mirrors and flashing beer logos on the walls. Serving girls wandered from table to table, taking orders and flirting with the men patrons, whether the men had dates or not. Country music blared from a broken down jukebox, bouncing off the walls, as couples line danced and chugged their beers. It was the perfect place to get drunk and forget.

While they were there to put coyotes out of their minds, there was one shifter Adira didn't want to forget. She couldn't, even if she tried. Dimitri consumed her thoughts and, if she was honest with herself, her fantasies. She could still feel him between her legs from that morning. If they had only tumbled in her bed once, the sensations probably would have faded by now, but after three rounds on the mattress, she almost couldn't walk.

"Of tequila," Lainie Everest shouted, echoing the call for shots, as she tapped the table several times. Her long, dark hair swished around her shoulders with the movement. "I'm not on duty tonight, so I definitely need tequila." Lainie was the only shifter on Sheriff Einstein's unit, a panther he hired to help him navigate the shifter realm. As such, her hours varied depending on what was happening in Bull Creek at the time. One of the reasons she attended girl's night out was because Chet didn't trust Bane to leave Adira alone. Nor did Dimitri, for that matter. Adira knew the women were babysitting her, even if Lainie denied it. However, as long as alcohol was involved and no men, Adira allowed it.

"Yeah, how did you manage the night off?" Eve asked, her brows wrinkled with confusion. She was one of the humans who took up residence in Bull Creek a few months ago, running from a past she still refused to discuss. When Alanna told Adira about the other woman, all she said was that when Eve arrived in their community, her body was covered with more bruises than healthy flesh. "Saturday night should be all hands on deck, shouldn't it?"

Lainie just laughed, shaking her head. "First, shifters can't get drunk. At least, not with this stuff. We're lucky that way. And seriously? All hands? In this area? The most action we ever see around here are hunters shooting off their sticks out of season." She rolled her eyes as if Eve's question was ridiculous. Adira knew the real reason Lainie had the night off, however. "They see way more action in St. Cloud and Kissimmee. If it weren't for old man Tucker losing his keys once in a while, I would never get a call."

"You should have been out at Bull Creek last night, then," Eve said, ignoring the look Alanna shot her way. Instead, Eve tucked a strand of her sandy hair behind her ear and pressed on with her tale. "Bane Kastner stopped by and brought some of his coyote buddies. I thought they would trash the place until Adira got all sparky on them." She grinned, as she glanced over at Adira, wiggling her fingers in the air. "It was… shocking to watch."

Adira rolled her eyes, ignoring Eve's poor attempts at wordplay. According to Alanna, Eve was fascinated with all things paranormal, and it seemed after last night, Adira was young Eve's new fixation.

"Yeah, we definitely need shots," Alanna said as she waved down one of the serving girls making the rounds. "Beers and tequila shots," she ordered, once the woman came close enough to hear her. Alanna then turned back to the others. "Now, enough about last night. Let's talk about Adira and how she woke up this morning." She grinned, as she leaned over, waggling her eyebrows at the witch on the other side of the table.

Adira felt her face flush with heat at the thought that they all knew she slept with Dimitri that morning. Slept with. It sounds so lame compared to what we did, which was… Incredible. "How on earth do you know what went on between Dimitri and me this morning?" she asked. "Were you sleeping on my porch as well?"

Alanna shook her head. "Not hardly. The ground is too hard. My wolf isn't even happy sleeping on the ground. No, my cabin is close to yours. Too close from the sounds that woke me up this morning." She grinned at her friend. "Shifters have great hearing, remember?"

Adira's blush deepened, as she closed her eyes. She forgot about how open the shifters were about all things sexual. She'd rather talk about coyotes. She had no idea what was really happening with Dimitri, and she didn't want to figure it all out in front of her new friends. "Definitely need tequila."

"Wait a minute," Lainie said, straightening in her chair. "You got it on with my brother?" Then she pointed at Alanna. "And you want to talk about it with me here? I don't want the low down on how my brother goes down."

Eve grinned, her eyes going wide, as her brows popped up. "I wouldn't mind talking about it," she said. "How was he? He looks like he could be wild in bed."

"Don't!" Lainie shouted as she held her hands out. "Not one word."

"I thought shifters were pretty open when it came to being naked and sex," Eve said.

"Not when it comes to my brother," Lainie said. "Now, let's pick a new topic."

"Agreed," Adira said.

Alanna just grinned, and Adira knew the topic was bound to come back up sooner or later.

Eve shrugged, surrendering her curiosity for which Adira was grateful. Of course, that only left one other topic. "What is Chet going to do with the influx of coyotes in Bull Creek?" Eve asked the deputy. "Bane means harm. You can see it in his eyes."

Lainie shrugged. "There's nothing Chet can do right now. Technically, Bane hasn't done anything but overflow at the mouth and trespass at your party, a community party, so it wasn't really private or trespassing. Nothing's happened that's worth the paperwork to hold him even for a few hours."

Noel brought their drinks over, setting the beers and shot glasses in front of the women. They ceased talking until she disappeared again. There were no men at the table, so no real reason for Noel to linger, flirting her way into a bigger tip. Once she was out of earshot, Alanna asked Lainie what the sheriff told her about the bonfire.

Lainie shrugged. "Just that Bane appeared, and Dimitri said he'd handle it. We're not supposed to interfere in any official capacity until called. To me, that means it's going to be a shifter thing, which means I may be in it after all."

"What do you mean, a shifter thing?" Adira sat up straighter, reaching out and wrapping her hands around her beer bottle. The whole it's a shifter thing sounded ominous at best.

Alanna shook her head, probably to warn Lainie from saying anything else, but the deputy didn't notice the motion the way Adira did. "It means that Dimitri and his boys are going to handle it, more than likely," Lainie replied. "It's not going to be pretty. Bane has some strong men in his pack. I'm not saying Dimitri's enforcers aren't capable. I just worry that they'll be outnumbered."

Adira turned to Alanna, her brows dipped in confusion. "Dimitri is going to fight Bane? Why?"

Eve was staring at her beer. "To protect us humans," she said, her voice low.

"To protect us all," Alanna said. She ran her hand through her hair as she reached out and lifted her shot glass. The other women followed suit.

Adira stared at the amber liquid. Dimitri couldn't go up against Bane. Bane was not the type to fight fair. She just found Dimitri. She couldn't lose him. Not now. Not ever. There was still too much sex to be had, too many emotions and sensations to experience. She would stand beside him; of that, there was no doubt. That's why Agatha sent her to Bull Creek after all. To help Dimitri in his quest to protect the community and its residents. Adira would not allow him to face Bane alone. She would be by his side when it happened. Nothing would stop her.

"To Bull Creek," Alanna said, as she lifted her shot glass into the air.

The others followed suit, echoing the toast. Then they all downed the liquid, allowing it to burn its way down their throats to start a fire in their bellies. Adira knew a war was on the horizon. I need to get my full powers back. Dimitri is going to need me at my best. She stared across the table at Alanna, who stared right back, her expression revealing that the other woman thought the same thing as Adira. They both needed to stand by their men, even though those men would do everything they could to keep the women away from the battle. Male chauvinist… She sighed as she reached for her beer. Now she had to figure out how to make Dimitri see her point of view.

The conversation turned from Bane and his obsession with Bull Creek to more important matters, like the way Brad Pitt's ass looked in jeans. The drinks kept flowing, shots kept coming, and the laughter grew louder. Adira didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but tonight, she was all about the other three ladies around her table. She really hadn't taken any time to relax since the breakup with Jensen, and since Agatha sent her to Bull Creek. From one chaos to another seemed to be her journey.

She became so lost in the merriment, she almost missed the shift in Alanna's posture. The other woman stiffened, her back going straight, as her head turned toward the door, her eyes narrowing into thin slits of agitation. Adira turned her attention, following Alanna's gaze, until she noticed the two men walking into Everglades. She recognized them as the men at Bane's side last night. Four others accompanied them, each with thick muscles and dark hair, their black eyes menacing, even as they smiled at the ladies they passed. She strained to see if Bane was with them, but they seemed to be alone. Blue sparks tingled at her fingertips, and she took a deep breath, reining in the power that wanted to shoot from her hands, her agitation sparking her magic.

Tamping down her power, she watched as the men walked around the bar, stopping here and there to flirt with a lady, whether she had a date or not. They thought they were the catch of the evening, and acted like it, their arrogance overbearing and nauseating. She took a deep breath. "I think it's time to go," she said.

The others nodded, downing their beers, and grabbing their purses. As they slid out of their chairs, the coyote pack noticed them, and their smiles turned to leers. They ignored the women they harassed, moving through the crowd toward the four from Bull Creek. Adira ignored them, keeping her gaze on the target—the exit. They almost made it, too.

The men howled as they reached out and grabbed the women by the arms, stopping them, and turning them back around. "Where are you ladies going? The party is just getting started, now that we're here." He was tall, his dark eyes spotted with gray flecks. He leaned in toward Adira, sniffing her as he did. "I thought I recognized your scent from last night. You're that witch. You should definitely stick around. Let's get in a few slow dances."

She jerked her arm out of his grasp. "Thanks, but, um, ew. I'm sure someone in here is slumming. You're sure to find a last call booty mate."

The men with Mister Leer laughed at her remarks, razzing their friend. "The girl has your number, Augur," one said.

Augur glared at the one who spoke, as he shooed the rest to silence with a glance. He reached back out and jerked Adira against him. "Not very friendly, are you? I can fix that."

Adira gripped his arm, raking her nails across his flesh. He cried out, jerking his arm away from her, lines of blood popping up on his arm. "You bitch," he snarled as he raised his arm to backhand her. He never got the chance.

"Back off," Deputy Everest shouted, as she reached between the two other men to shove the man off Adira. "Now, before I haul your ass to jail."

One of the other men sniffed into the air. "I thought I smelled pig." He turned to his fellow coyotes, gesturing to Lainie with his thumb. "This dame works for that old sheriff." He turned back to Lainie and sneered. "A shifter mingling with humans. Doesn't seem right, does it?"

Lainie stepped closer to the man, her narrowed eyes threatening him to say anything more. "It's time for you to leave. Now."

The man snatched out, ready to grip the deputy's throat, but never connected. His arm froze in midair. He strained, sweat popping up on his brow, his coyote growling as his upper lip curled upward. Adira stood, her arm outstretched, as shards of blue light wrapped around the man's arm, holding him in place. He jerked his gaze to her, his lips curling even more. She just smiled. "I think the deputy said it was time for you to leave." She shoved with her arm, sending the man flying out the doors behind him and into the parking lot.

The other men stared at their partner and then turned growling eyes to Adira. Alanna stepped in front of her friend. "I wouldn't," she said.

Eve puffed out her chest, as she drew the knife she kept at her waist. "Yeah, I'd leave if I were you."

"Now," Deputy Everest repeated.

Augur, the one who sniffed at Adira, just sneered. "This isn't over," he threatened. "Bane has plans for you." He then sneered at the rest of the women. "For all of you."

"No doubt plans he drew up with crayons," Alanna said.

"It's over for tonight," Adira said, and then she led the way out of Everglades. It was time to go home and prepare. The first shots in the upcoming battle were just fired.