Page 5 of Little Etheldreda Riding Hood

“Nice to meet you Zach. I’m Red.”

“Red’s the name on your birth certificate?”

I smile and shake my head. I doubt my rejected Luna story has made it to packs all across the state, but I don’t want to give my real information to random men who may or may not live close to my new home. He could be psycho or have a podcast or still share a bed with his mommy. “Red’s what my friends and family have always called me.”

“A woman of mystery. I like that.”

I roll my eyes as we walk back into the main part of the club and he laughs. I don’t give him an opportunity to choose our place at the bar. I sit with my back to the stage, next to the frogman, in case I need a decent guy to get me out of an awkward situation.

Zach takes the seat at my left and calls the bartender over. There’s a knowing look on the bartender’s face that makes me uncomfortable, but it’s just a drink. I shouldn’t feel guilty. I’m not a knot thot. I am not here trying to take home every guy with a knot.

“What are you having, Red?”

“I still have a bit of driving to do. Do you have water or soda?”

“You sure?” Zach asks and I nod.

Zach orders a beer for himself and a soda for me then turns back to me. “Driving, huh? Just passing through?”

I bite my lip, debating how much to tell my new acquaintance. “No, I’m actually not too far from my destination. A friend is renting me a room in her trailer.”

“Not many people move to Black Raven County on purpose.”

I smile. “Well, I came from a place much like this one. I needed to get away, try a change of scenery. What about you? What do you do?”

He smiles. “Oh you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that.”

I want to roll my eyes at how vague he’s being, but fair’s fair. If I’m going to keep everything to myself, he has a right to as well.

The bartender comes back with our drinks and gives me a wink. “If my big brother isn’t doing it for you, I get off at ten.”

A deep guttural growl bubbles up from Zach. “Fuck off, Zander.”

Zander throws his head back and laughs as he walks away to get another patron’s drinks.

“So, this is the family business?” I ask, spotting several other werewolves in partial shift around the club.

Zach nods. “Yeah, this is my uncle’s place. Wolves, we tend to hang around our packs and help each other out…”

“Con each other into slave labor,” Zander interrupts as he brings the frogman and his friends refills.

Zach rolls his eyes and I chuckle. “I don’t think that’s unique to wolves; I’m sure all big families get sucked into child labor. My step dad and uncle had me working at their wood shop from the time I hit middle school.”

“Wood shop? What did they make?”

“Mostly furniture, though they’d do custom carpentry from time to time. They’re old fashioned and girls weren’t really supposed to work in the shop, but I wouldn’t go away.”

He turns his full gaze on me and I have to suck in a breath. His eyes darken for a moment, black filling his entire eye before quickly returning to normal. Morgan’s eyes would do the same thing, especially at the beginning of our relationship. He chuckles. “Stubborn, huh?”

I break our gaze and look down at my soda. “Definitely.”

“So what do you specialize in?”

I shrug. “A little bit of everything. Though I haven’t done much in a while, my–” I stop for a moment, thinking about how much I want to say about Morgan.

“My ex didn’t like me working around all those men, so I’ve been working as a home health aid for the last year.”

“Your ex sounds charming,” Zach says distastefully.

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