Chapter 1
Mari shivered with the feeling o The dark, little bar was no more than a hole in the wall. Every surface had a vaguely sticky quality, though the bartender stood at the well rubbing at it with a stained rag. Apparently just pushing the dirt and grime around in a circle, rather than cleaning it. Blake could feel his lip curling in disgust as he neared the grubby human. “Double whiskey, whatever single malt you have, on the rocks,” he sighed as his eyes flicked around the room. He was on edge, and couldn’t quite place it. His friend didn’t seem bothered by the dingy surroundings even in the slightest. His eyes slid skeptically to meet Riley’s with a slight raise of his eyebrows.
Being out-and-about among the humans was not Blake’s idea of a good time. They were all so soft, and, frankly, just overwhelmed him with their general level of noise and filth. It was rare that his and Riley’s interactions with them didn’t find them in similarly dreadful conditions, and the women! They were the worst. They seemed to just ooze desperation at times, and, for some reason, would think it was okay to touch him. His arms, the occasional smack on his rear, or worse his hair. Blake could never understand what made them think that was acceptable.
He and Riley were friends and, ultimately, brothers in every sense of the word, except for being bound by blood. Blake’s parents had died at an early age, and it was Riley’s family that took him in, raising the brash, sullen, young dragon as their own. Blake and Riley were opposites, though, in every way. “This can’t be right,” Blake insisted as he gestured around the room, “There’s no way this is where we were supposed to meet them.” He raised an eyebrow as if challenging Riley to disagree.
Riley laughed, shrugging his friend’s concern off as he leaned carelessly against the bar, seemingly unbothered by the sticky surface. He held up two fingers to the bartender pouring Blake’s drink. “This is the place,” Riley said with a nod before turning to face him, “She said to meet her at the Dry Goat Pub, unless you think there is more than one establishment by that name around here?”
The bartender slid the two drinks towards the men, eyes narrowed. They stood out in the crowd, if you could call the small smattering of people a crowd. Blake passed him some cash and turned to walk away. There were three men in the corner staring balefully at some sort of sports game. Another, who looked like he was asleep or dead on the end of the bar, and one small man sitting alone at a table in the back. Among the rather sad middle-aged humans, the two young men towered over the room, each nearly brushing the low ceilings with the top of their heads. Even with their understated tee-shirts and jeans, they looked more like models or body builders, than the normal patrons of the Dry Goat. The bartender seemed none-too-thrilled at the change in clientele and continued to eye the two suspiciously as they crossed the room. He seemed content enough to take their money, though, and went back to rubbing his spot on the bar without question, other than his continued staring, which grew increasingly awkward the longer it continued.
“Bloody wolves,” Blake grumbled as he folded his long frame down to fit in a chair at a table, kicking his legs out to the side as they were just too long to comfortably fit under the table, “I don’t understand why we’re even doing this. Why can’t they solve their own problems?” He was sullen, sulking, and clearly annoyed at the whole prospect of having to work with another species for any reason. Blake could feel his dragon writhing beneath the surface, irritated at being suppressed and forced into such mundane surroundings. He longed for the outdoors and an escape from the claustrophobic atmosphere of the dank, little bar. A ripple of frustration furled through him, his eyes flashing a dangerous red for a moment.
“Hey, I don’t make the calls, I just follow orders, man,” Riley said after knocking back his drink. “Drink. Chill out. All we have to do is meet up with the wolves, complete the bodyguard gig for the night and we’re done. And we’re escorting young girls to a night club, how bad can that be? We sacrifice one night, and Selene gets what she wants from the wolves. Besides, girls. How bad can it be?” His bright grey eyes flicked to the door where two women entered. Riley would never understand why Blake was so vehemently against just letting things happen. Blake was wound tighter than anyone Riley had ever met, and didn’t even understand the concept of “go with the flow.” He was physically incapable of relaxing. Riley was sure that if Blake ever actually took the stick out of his ass, it would kill him. Despite the love he had for his friend, there was no denying that he was far too serious about things.
The two young women approached their table with smiles on their faces. Riley rose from the table with a smile. Riley frowned down at Blake. Blake had pointedly shifted his attention to his glass, which apparently had a smudge on it that his focus. Riley sighed at him before turning his attention back to the two women. “Nina?” he asked, shaking the woman’s hand with his face and demeanor lighting up. The distinct smell of wolf preceded them, and there was no question in Riley’s mind that this should be the woman they were sent to escort for the evening. Daughter of the most highly respected leader of the wolf clans in the East Coast.
“Yeah,” she giggled with a smile as she looked up at him shaking his hand, “This is my friend, Emma. Such a pleasure to meet ya!” She had a thick New Jersey accent, and it made Riley laugh slightly. Honestly, Riley could think of a lot worse things the two of them could do with their evening other than take the two young women out and watch over them. How hard could it be?
“I’m Riley. This is Blake,” he said, kicking his friend’s foot, attempting to get his attention. Blake was still absorbed in his glass and blatantly ignoring the people around them. Riley often wondered how Blake would have gotten by in the world without him.
Blake’s eyes flicked up for a fraction of a second, and he saw all he needed to. He had been disinterested in who they were before they had even arrived at the bar. Both women looked like the typical young wolf-shifters in their area. Their bodies were too muscular for women, tacky clothes, too much skin showing, and way too much makeup. Worst of all, they smelled like wet dogs. Blake’s eyes returned to his glass with a disappointed frown. He wanted the whiskey, but was under no circumstances putting that filthy glass in, on, or near his mouth.
The girls seemed to falter at Blake’s less than welcoming reaction. Riley waved a hand at him dismissively. “Ignore him. He’s always like that,” Riley explained before entering into what amounted to small talk about how it was Nina’s birthday.
Blake frowned at the explanation from his friend. He didn’t understand why Riley was so ready to fawn all over the women. They were nothing but mutts. What was the big deal? They were told to keep them safe for the night, nothing said they had to be nice, or be their best friends. There wasn’t even a mention that he, technically, had to talk to them.
The truth was Blake had never felt like he could make small talk with people. He wasn’t much for branching out socially. He could carry on a conversation with Riley and his adoptive parents, but they had spent so long with him that they understood him or at least accepted him. He felt awkward in his human form, like he didn’t fit. As a dragon, he felt free, alone but at least free from all the pressures that seemed to surround all the politics that went along with the shifter world.
Riley clapped him on the shoulder, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Ready, Blake?” His friend looked down at him, pale grey eyes dancing with humor. Per usual, Riley was certain that he was going to have to drag his friend kicking and sulking through the entire night.
An exasperated sigh escaped from deep within Blake as he rose from the chair. He shrugged a muscular shoulder and glanced down at the females with them, feeling their eyes on him. Both women had that typical look of appreciation and shock on their faces. He averted his eyes, uncomfortable with the feeling of them tracing his figure with their eyes. He had encountered women of various species, and had yet to encounter any that didn’t react the same. They looked him up and down. Blake could smell the lust roll off them in waves, and, frankly, he couldn’t imagine a bigger turn-off.
Blake turned leaving his full glass on the table as they headed for the door. Riley with an arm around both females, and Blake felt himself trailing awkwardly behind. As much as Blake hated the attention, Riley ate it up. Riley had always embraced the good looks he was graced with, and played up the big, strong, dragon card every chance he got. Blake let the door to the pub swing closed behind him with a dull thud, echoing his enthusiasm for the night in general.
At least being out in the night air helped Blake feel incrementally better than he had in the stifling, little pub. If it was that bad in the small, dingy pub, he had a bad feeling about how he would feel at the nightclub they were supposed to be going to with the girls.
Apparently, Nina had her heart set on a “normal human night out” for her 21st birthday and her father was influential enough to make it happen with the toughest escorts he could manage. Blake wondered idly what Selene could possibly want from the wolves, but that was above their paygrade. He had learned long before that there wasn’t much that he understood when it came to interspecies politics, or cared to know.
They piled into Nina’s car, Riley and Blake working to fold their tall bodies into the small backseat of the sedan. It was bad enough being in human form and feeling like so much power and being was crammed into such a tiny form, to then be forced to crunch his human form into such a small space was downright insulting. Faint coils of smoke slipped through Blake’s nostrils as his frustration peaked. “I hate cars,” he grumbled under his breath.
Riley shrugged a single shoulder and smacked him lightly on the shoulder, making the best of the situation like he always did.
“It can’t be that bad, the girls said it’s just fifteen minutes away,” Riley explained in what he thought was a helpful tone, but realized it was useless as his friend continued to fume next to him. The faint smell of brimstone permeated the small car. Riley shot his friend a look that was supposed to clearly convey the message that Blake should chill out and knock it off. All that he seemed to accomplish, was irritating Blake even more. Blake crossed his muscular arms across his chest and continued sulking. Blake huffed, shifted his weight yet again attempting to fit in the cramped space, and pointedly fixed his gaze out of the window. He kept reminding himself he just needed to get through the night. Just make it through this hellish night full of wolves and humans and he could go back home. He could fly and be far from this place. Blake desperately wanted to be left alone for a while, at least until Riley roped him into the next stupid mission he accepted.