Page 8 of Silas

The bite of food in my mouth turns to ash. I can’t believe I am being selfish and not considering that. “I will see what I can do, but I am not making any promises.”

Nodding his head in acceptance, “That is all that I am asking. I still say that you should ask Gail about the new girl in town. She is a stunning beauty for sure.”

I nod my head once, diving back into my lunch. I don’t understand where Warrick thinks I am going to fit in looking for my Luna. There just isn’t enough time in the day to add that to my plate. Even if I was to stumble upon my mate, where would I even fit in dating her and caring for her? I understand it is something that I will have to do, but why bring it up when our biggest concern is this debt we have? I can’t imagine that this new girl is going to be my Luna. It’s a joke really to even mention it.

Finishing up our meals, we pay our ticket and head back to the pack house. I have lots of paperwork that needs to be done and I have no more time to waste.

Low music is playing in the background from the jukebox in the corner while I swirl the ice in my whiskey on the rocks. It’s rare that I come to Pour Me Another, but with Warrick’s words floating around in my head, I took a moment to sit at the bar while I consider how I will fit this into my life. My plate is so full that I can’t wrap my head around even thinking about a woman, let alone searching for one.

The smell of warm vanilla, cinnamon, and apples floats in the air, reminding me of my mother’s baked apple pies. “Whiskey on the rocks, please.” A timid and sweet voice speaks next to me. Glancing to my right, there are long flowing amber red curls, a cute button nose speckled with freckles, bow lips tinted a deep pink, and leaning back on my stool slightly, I see curves in all the right places. My wolf perks up. It can’t be true. Taking another deep inhale of her scent, I am fucked.

“Now that you have finished checking me out, I think it’s only fair that you at least tell me your name after basically undressing me with your eyes,” she snaps.

“I am sorry about that. My name is Silas. What’s your name?”

“I’m Nova. I am the new girl in town, but you already know that, don't you?” A whiskey on the rocks slides towards her and she tips her head to the bartender. She lifts the glass to her lips,taking a slow sip. There’s this lost look in her eyes, like she is just trying to find her feet here. I wonder if I can help with that?

“I mean, I knew that you are the new girl in town. But I can’t figure out why you would even want to come here. I can’t imagine a city girl like yourself would even be happy in a place like Jasper. So why are you here?”

“You are rather rude and presumptuous. How would you even know that I am a city girl? It’s not like I slide an information card to you.”

“You have this air of snooty, city girl behavior about you. You might as well write it on your forehead with how glaringly obvious it is.”

Her mouth drops open, “You know, they say that small towns are warm, friendly, and welcoming. So far, you are off to a shitty start in that department. Is this how you treat all new people in this town?”

Shrugging my shoulder, “All I am saying is that you don’t belong here City Girl. So why not do us all a favor and scurry back to whatever big city you came from?”

Picking up her whiskey, I think she is going to continue to sip it and ignore me. Suddenly, she hurled the drink in my face, the icy liquid stinging my skin, the glass clattering harshly against the bar as she screamed, “You are such an asshole! If I want to be in this town, I have every right to be. Let me tell you, I couldn’t stand living in the big city, which is why I took the elementary school job. Your snap judgment about me doesn’t require a response from me.”

Twirling around, she storms out of the bar. I am beyond fucked. Not only is she my mate, and my future Luna, but sheis human. That can’t be right. Our mates are not supposed to be human. My wolf is pacing inside of me, demanding that I chase after her. Ignoring him, I grab napkins to wipe down my face and shirt.

Our mate can’t be human, fate had to have gotten it wrong.

Chapter 4

Nova

The absolute audacity of that man. Who does he think he is to make those wild assumptions about me and then demand that I leave town? He has another thing coming if he thinks I am going to leave just because he demands it. I have dealt with far ruder men while living in New York City, so if he thinks thatbeing rude is going to chase me out of town, then he doesn’t know who he is messing with.

Slamming down onto the couch, I snatch out my phone from my purse and call the one person who will have my back on this, Nellie.

Within one ring, Nellie is answering the phone. “What is my beautiful queen doing, calling me at such a late hour?”

“You won’t believe what happened.”

She lets out an excited giggle. “Oh, spill the tea.”

“I decided tonight that I would go to the local bar, Pour Me Another…”

“What is with this town and its crazy business names?”

“I don’t know, but I love it so much. It’s unique and adorable. Anyway, as I was coming up to the bar to place my order, this man decided to not only check me out but make it so obvious that he leaned back on the stool to stare at my ass. As if that weren’t bad enough, he then proceeded to make some seriously wild assumptions about me. The cherry on top of this fucked up sundae is then he told me I didn’t belong here and should go back to whatever big city I came from.”

A startled gasp comes through the phone. “That asshole! Who does something like that?”

Lifting my feet off the floor, I slide each one under my legs and pull the blanket across my lap. “I know right! I couldn’t believe that he did that. So I took my one and only sip of my whiskey and then threw the rest of it in his face. I left right after that, came home, and here we are now.”

She lets out a loud whoop. “Girl, I don’t blame you! I would have kicked him in the dick for acting that way, so he got off easy if that is all that you did to him.”

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