Smashed (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8.5)(31)

A gleeful smile lit up Jenner’s face. “But of course.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere with you unless it’s to see Lex.” The stubborn wolf stood his ground. “You owe me that much.”

“I don’t owe you a damn thing. Let’s go to Lucy’s Lounge. It’s been a while. We’ll shoot some pool. You’ll drink some beer. We’ll talk.”

Suspicion marred Shaz’s face. The protests were there, waiting to be delivered. After a moment of consideration, he gave in, much to my delight.

“Fine. But you’re buying.”

Lucy’s Lounge was the only decent place in Stony Plain to hang out socially after dark. Getting Shaz out of the city and back into the small town was better for everyone. The city was teeming with violence and unrest. He was already so wound up due to the events of the last week that I saw no need to feed that fire.

It had been quite some time since I’d been to the small town bar. Back when Alexa and the younger pack wolves had spent a substantial amount of time there, I too had frequented the place. Playing poker with a small group of humans had allowed me to keep an eye on her back in the days before she knew what we were to one another.

The bar had seen better days. It was rather unkempt, making no attempt to be anything other than what it was: a place to drink without any unnecessary frills.

“It feels different,” Shaz observed. “It’s all wrong without the others.”

By others I knew that he meant the young wolves who had once frequented the place along with him and Alexa. Two of those wolves were dead. There was just one wolf present now, other than Shaz, a middle-aged guy who was already shooting ugly glances our way.

“What’s that all about?” I asked, nodding to the watching wolf.

Shaz studied him, boldly meeting his gaze. “I’m not sure. I thought I left on good terms. Maybe I was wrong.”

“Fuck him.” I headed for a pool table, ignoring the watchful wolf gaze upon us. The loud, raucous calls of my former poker buddies drew me to their table where I made small talk, careful not to flash them any fang.

I made up a few excuses to explain my absence. It was easy enough. Humans love to complain about anything and everything. Once I mentioned the business and stress of daily life, they were quick to take that topic and run.

I disentangled myself, joining Shaz at the pool table where he racked the balls. As I rubbed chalk onto the end of a cue, I scanned the vicinity for signs of anything amiss. Other than one testy wolf, the place was all human.

The sense that something was missing was strong. Shaz wasn’t wrong about that. It felt strange to be in a place where I had once so looked forward to the moment Alexa would walk in the door, knowing that it would not happen tonight.

A waitress was quick to discover that Shaz hadn’t been served. In no time she’d supplied him with a beer. When she asked me if I wanted anything my gaze slid to her neck.

“No,” I lied. “Nothing for me.” It wasn’t the need for blood that made such thoughts flit through my mind. It was merely the constant want of it.

“So,” Shaz said when we were alone again. “Why did you really bring me here? I doubt it was so I could kick your ass at pool.”

I watched him break the carefully racked balls. The muscles in his arms and back moved with fine definition as he smacked the balls with the cue. He was a fine creature, well formed and built with the intensity of a wrecking ball.

“I thought we could talk. And I really mean talk. No fists and foul words.”

He eyed me with a glimmer of a grin. “Yeah, right.”

“Well, it’s worth a try.” When he lined up his next shot, I tapped the end of his cue with my own, knocking his shot off course.

“You son of a bitch,” he said with a laugh. “I knew you were going to do that.”

I took my shot, keeping him in my vision to avoid any retaliation. “Let’s try some of that male bonding stuff. Tell me about when you first met Alexa.”

His smile vanished, and he stared off across the bar, remembering. “One of my first memories of her was on a full moon pack run. I’d just been initiated into the pack here in town. I was this awkward teenager, and she was head over heels for the pack Alpha. But she was so nice. Welcoming. She made me feel less like an outsider. She was a friend from the start. Right away, I was attracted to her. The wolf, my wolf, it wanted her from day one.”

His face lit up as he talked. It fascinated me that we both knew her in such different ways. As he spoke his smile returned.

“That must have been hell,” I commented. “Having to watch her with Raoul.”

“You have no idea. It was torture to see them together. It was even worse to hear them in his bedroom.” Shaz shuddered visibly at the memory. “But the absolute worst was when he tossed her aside like yesterday’s news so he could move on to his newest conquest. I watched him break her heart, and I wanted to f*cking kill him.”

With grim amusement, I noted that we shared more than our love for the same woman. We shared the desire to protect her. “I had that same fantasy, my friend. Many, many times.”

“I’ll bet.” Shaz’s gaze was pensive upon me, seeking the answer to a question he hadn’t yet asked. “Why did you wait so long? I mean, you came to town years before you and Alexa even…got together. Why not tell her everything right away?”