Chapter 8: This Isn't Your Fight Kid

Lucy POV

Lucy stood at the counter at her place of work thinking of the hike earlier in the morning while wiping up crumbs from the donuts and bagels that had been bought by customers. She couldn't stop pondering about the odd situation with Gabriel wincing in pain after she had touched him.

Was he allergic to her? Was it her body wash? She had been wracking her brain ever since they said goodbye after he dropped her off.

He had been bandaging her leg after she fell and scraped up her leg. As she went to touch his arm, her silver bracelet had moved down and had barely touched him before he had pulled away from her as if in pain. She distinctly heard him breathe quickly as if he burned himself. He seemed to dismiss the situation and moved on from it by saying they both needed to get back in time for work.

He seemed to be in a rush after that and barely looked at her as he dropped her off at Gertrude's house. What was bothering him? Why did she feel like there was a distance between them?

Had she messed up her chances with him?

Her brow furrowed as she thought about whether she had said anything that could have offended him. She had been proud of herself at the time for being able to feel comfortable enough to touch his arm. He had been such a gentleman bandaging up her leg and she felt thankful (as well as embarrassed) that he had been with her when it happened.

Yeah, something was definitely off, she thought as she threw away the crumbs leaving the counter pristine for the next customer.

The bell rang, indicating someone had indeed come into the cafe. Lucy stood tall to greet the new customer.

"Good morning," she chirped with a smile and took a look at the female customer coming toward her hesitantly.

The customer tugged at her jean vest, obviously nervous and her smile seemed forced. She was on the shorter side with natural dark black hair, dark brown eyes, and tan sun-kissed skin. She had a nose stud piercing, multiple earrings on her ears, and was wearing a black t-shirt and jean shorts with a snazzy pair of bejeweled sunglasses.

"Hi, uh, can I get a medium caramel latte?" the female customer asked with a worried look as she took off her sunglasses.

Lucy nodded. "Can I get a name for the order?"

"Sara. No H," Sara whispered back, handing Lucy a card. After paying she went to the end of the counter to wait for her coffee. She kept her head low and placed a headphone into one of her ears. Lucy couldn't help but notice her hands were shaking.

Lucy glanced at Sara as she made her coffee order. Something was making her uneasy. Lucy could tell because she had been in those same shoes many times before.

The bell rang once again, causing Lucy's heart to leap in slight confusion. Usually the cafe was quiet at this time of day, with it being right before the lunch rush.

"Sara Byron. There you are. No need to act like you are trying to hide from us, after all, we are friends!" a male's voice bellowed across the café seemingly addressing the young woman who had just ordered her coffee.

Thank goodness there wasn't anyone else in the cafe right now because the man had spoken as if not caring it had just disrupted the whole space.

Lucy observed Sara look over at the guy who had walked into the cafe with two other males following closely behind him. All of them were tall, wearing biker gear, and looked to be gruff and intimidating. With the way their hair was cut short, the number of tattoos on their bodies, and the way they carried themselves, Lucy felt like they must belong to a gang.

Before Lucy had finished making Sara's coffee, they had all cornered Sara at the end of the counter.

Lucy was torn wondering if she'd have to support a fellow sister-in-arms, or if she should just mind her own business and pass Sara her coffee.

"Please, leave me alone Barry. Let it be. I gave you my answer." Sara shuffled uncomfortably and Lucy wondered if she was wishing she could disappear into the Linoleum floor.

"I don't take no for an answer. You even got the Alpha to give you a free pass. What did you have to do to get him to do that, hmm?" Barry angrily slammed the counter next to Sara, making her flinch.

"Hey! I don't know what your problem is, Buster, but we have a strict policy about bullying and aggressive behavior here," Lucy shouted across the counter at Barry, making everyone's heads turn toward her.

Lucy couldn't help but empathize and remember the time when that senior doctor had cornered her in the hospital, breathing heavily and proposing all sorts of disgusting behavior. She had been terrified and there was no one who had come to her rescue.

She couldn't let this behavior which was happening in front of her slide.

"Hey human b*tch, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Barry laughed and looked at his two friends for support.

"Yeah, this isn't your fight kid," one of them puffed on a vape pen nonchalantly. He had a scar on his eyebrow and a buzzcut to match his boring demeanor. They looked at her as if she was a nuisance, just a speck compared to their existence. Lucy felt as if they had an inflated sense of ego and confidence in themselves.

"Any female in need is part of my fight," Lucy quipped back, placing Sara's coffee drink next to her. "Here you are dear, do you need anything else?"

Before Sara could answer, Barry aggressively swiped the coffee drink back across the counter with the back of his palm causing it to splash across Lucy's chest. A searing burning pain was the sensation Lucy felt as the hot coffee came into contact with her sensitive cream-colored skin.

Lucy's temper was lost as she yelled, "Now you've done it! Get out! You are no longer welcome here. I'll speak to Nadine and make sure you can no longer even think about getting coffee here for the rest of your life. GET. OUT."

She grabbed a broom next to her and started flailing her arms toward them which was enough to spook them. She couldn't believe herself actually, shocked as she shouted at them. What had come over her?

"Sh*t this human bitch has lost her marbles… quick run!" Barry yelled as they careened toward the front of the cafe in haste. The second the door slammed behind them, Lucy locked the door and flipped the open sign to closed. She needed a moment to collect herself and could understand that Sara possibly wanted the extra security of a locked door.

Lucy shook her head, wondering why they kept emphasizing that she was human.

What a bunch of strange guys, she thought as she turned to check in on Sara. Sara was wide-eyed and had a goofy grin on her face.

"Wow, you are like my hero…" Sara gushed in awe as she grabbed some napkins from the counter and rushed toward Lucy. "Are you all right? That must have been some hot coffee! I cannot believe Barry did that to you, I am so sorry. This is all my fault…"

Sara started dabbing the front of Lucy's apron and torso collecting still-dripping coffee.

"Oh no, that's Barry's fault, there was no need to get aggressive and violent toward either of us. What did he want with you anyways?" Lucy gasped, grabbing onto Sara's arms, worried about her new acquaintance.

"Oh, nothing good," Sara answered as she made eye contact briefly with Lucy before clearing her throat. "Thank you so much, can I buy you a drink? I'd like to repay you. My name is Sara."

"I gathered that, and my name is Lucy." Lucy chuckled, shaking Sara's hand with a smile. Adrenaline was still rushing through her veins and she couldn't believe she felt brave enough to kick three males out of the cafe like that.

Sara tilted her head as she looked Lucy up and down more closely. "You are the Alpha's girl, aren't you? You smell like him."

Lucy was taken aback. Alpha? Girl? She didn't belong to anyone! And smell? What kind of smell did she have? Lucy had put on deodorant this morning, so it couldn't be any body odor!

"I think you must have the wrong person…" Lucy trailed off wondering what in tarnation these people were going on about. The biker guys had called her a human as if they weren't humans themselves and now this Sara person was asking if she was someone's girl. And what's an Alpha?

"Oh, uh, never mind. Sorry, forget I said that. I'm serious about that drink though. I owe you big time. Let's be friends, I think I'd love to get to know you more." Sara changed the subject with a look like she had her hand in the cookie jar. Was she hiding something?

The two new friends made plans to get drinks that night at a pub in town and Sara promised it would be her treat.

As Lucy and Sara exchanged numbers, Lucy pondered how the mid-morning events had transpired. Something wasn't right; there was something odd about Sara and these biker guys. Not to mention how Gabriel seemed this morning.

Were they connected somehow?

Lucy was determined to find out what was going on.