Chapter 1

Dani pushed a strand of dark hair back from her forehead that had come loose from her high ponytail as she leaned forward and wiped down the table. It was almost closing time and the restaurant was empty of customers. In the back the cook was still cleaning up and one bus boy, was scrubbing dishes, but the front half of the restaurant was silent.

In ten minutes she could clock out, slip off the unreasonably high black heels that her boss required her to wear during her shift because he liked the way it made her ass look, and go home. She'd make sure that her mom was okay, make her take her meds and eat something, and then she'd finally take a shower and tumble into her own bed.

Standing she tugged at the short pink skirt that barely covered the lacy boy shorts that she'd worn that day, knowing that Frank, her boss, was in California for a business conference. The actual uniform for The Dirty Wolf Steakhouse included a thong with a pearl string.

Dani rolled her eyes and stopped for a moment to stare at her reflection in one of the large glass windows at the front of the German themed restaurant. Her pack's small city attracted many tourists during this time of year, and the restaurant was popular among both wolves and human guests. Her uniform was fashioned after one you might see any young woman wearing at Octoberfest, except her boss had made adjustments to this dirndl dress, instructing the dressmaker to shorten the expensive embroidered satin and lace fabric of the skirts that he had selected, until it hardly covered anything at all.

The actual fabric was quite lovely. It was a soft sheer lace, with satin roses embroidered across it. The corseted bodice was a rich, dark pink, with thick pink laces, that cinched Dani's small waist to an even smaller size and kept her from even thinking about snacking on any of the cook's delicious pretzels when they came out of the oven, and the bodice gave way to delicate white lace that barely covered her bosom.

When Dani had first begun working there she had argued that the girls ought to be allowed to wear flats, or maybe stylish boots that were easier on their feet. But Frank insisted on stilettos.

It wasn't an easy job, and she was exhausted after every shift. Not only was it hard being on her feet for a minimum of eight hours, but she was constantly patted and pinched by the eager hands of the men who visited the restaurant. Both wolves and human tourists seemed to think that the high prices on the menu, and the revealing outfits of their servers, entitled them to a touch here and there.

Dani was surprised that she'd worked there for eighteen months without knocking anyone out.

But she'd done it.

Her father had died when she was four and her mother could hardly get out of bed anymore. She slept all day. Dani needed the cash that she made at the restaurant and it was far more than she could make at any other job in their little city.

Once, before her mother lost her job at the power plant, Dani thought that she would go away to college when she got out of high school. But that hadn't happened. Sometimes she had imagined leaving the pack and never coming back. Other girls fantasized about who their mates would be, but not Dani. Maybe she had thought, she might be a doctor someday, or a teacher. Anything that might give her control over her own destiny.

Instead when she'd graduated last June, she had got to work and had been working ever since, letting her dreams slowly fade away. She couldn't leave her mother. Not when she was like this.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she almost didn't hear the sound of the door open behind her, followed by Kent hurrying in through the front door.

"Dani, quick. Call any of the girls who might be able to come in." Dani turned sharply on her stiletto and frowned at the Harvest Moon Pack's Third in command.

"Kent, no." She met his eyes and shook her head.

"You can't say no to this. The restaurant has to stay open late tonight."

"You guys should have made a reservation and rented the place out with Frank. Tell the Alpha he can hang out at the Blue Moon. He doesn't need Bratwurst or Strudel or whatever it is he thinks he's craving tonight." Dani put her hands on hips and lifted her chin. "And if he gives you a hard time tell him that I'd already left when you got here."

"Dani, you know that I can't lie to him. Besides this isn't about Alpha Vos. There's a group that's come down from Kenai. It's Alpha West, his Beta, a dozen guards and about a dozen more pack members. They're hungry and Alpha Vos has insisted on bringing them here to show them a good time."

"How many people are we talking Kent?" Dani was glaring at him. The cook, Dylan, hearing her raised voice had come out from the back and was drying his hands on his apron, looking mildly concerned.

"Thirty five? Or so. Okay, at least forty." He said the words quietly and Dani shook her head vehemently.

"Dani. He's the Alpha. You can't say no. You don't have a choice." Kent grabbed her hands gently and gave her a look that he hoped was encouraging. She rolled her eyes.

"He's right Dan. We don't have a choice." The cook was turning back to the kitchen, to prepare for a much longer night than he had expected. Kent watched him walk back behind the counter.

"Come on Baby. Afterwards maybe we can blow of steam together. It's been a while since you've come over to my place."

"Whatever Kent. How's Krystal, by the way?" She took a step back before he could reach for her cheek. She and Kent had been on and off for years, which had been fine in the past because neither or them had found their mate yet, but she'd been annoyed with him recently. He kept calling her late at night despite having a steady girlfriend who he constantly came in the restaurant with. She didn't love Krystal with a K, but she also didn't love guys who cheated, even if she couldn't stand the girl.

"She's out of town with a group of friends. They went to casino for the weekend. I have the house to myself and I'm lonely, Baby. Besides, we both know she's not as fiery as you are, in or out of bed." He stepped forward suddenly, and wrapped his arms around her, leaning in for a kiss.

Dani felt a surge of annoyance run through her. It wasn't the first time someone had grabbed her this shift. With one quick motion she lifted her knee as hard as she could and drove it into his groin, then pushed him back towards the entrance.

"No Kent. Stop calling me when you're wasted and keep your hands to yourself. Now go back and get your group since you're apparently not taking no for an answer when it comes to your dinner party. I'm going to go call a few of the girls and see if any of them can come in right now."