AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jace shrugged. “Any time. So what happened in there? You went running off like a bat outta hell.” The moment David had spotted K9’s bartender, he’d beat feet without so much as an explanation.
David shook his head. “You saw. Allyson was here. What about you?”
Jace took another drag on his cigarette. “You go first.”
Jace watched as David stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared up into the dark sky. You could never see the stars in Rochester. Every night, the lights from the city obscured them. That was one thing Jace missed about Honeoye Falls. About his time out west, too.
“David, how come you never told me the ex you’re still hung up on is a werewolf?”
David shook his head. “Because she’s not. She a bartender here now. I guess she wanted to work with other supernaturals.”
“What do you mean ‘other supernaturals’?” Jace lifted a pointed brow.
David sighed. “She’s Fae. Half pixie, specifically.”
Jace cleared his throat. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Pixies? You’re in love with a damn pixie?” He lit another cigarette and took a hard drag. “What is the world coming to?”
“Most of them still live on the Isle of Apples. You know, Avalon. It’s hidden off the coast of Scotland. So when her mother passed away a few years back—her mom was full-blooded—Allyson didn’t have any other faeries around. Your girl hired her here, sort of let her join their pack, even if she’s not a wolf shifter.”
Jace raised his eyebrows. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “That’s wild.”
David rolled his eyes. “Tell me about it.”
A moment of silence passed before Jace cleared his throat. “She’s not my girl, David.”
David scoffed. “Oh, shove it, Jace. Just because she’s a wolf shifter, that doesn’t mean—”
“She’s engaged. Arranged mating.”
David’s eyes widened. “What?”
Jace nodded. “You know that wolf I was waiting with? Amarok? She’s set to be mated to him. It’s like their equivalent of marriage. Bastard flat out said she was going to be his wife.”
David fiddled with the collar of his shirt, like he couldn’t find enough room for his neck. “I’m sorry, J. That’s rough.”
“Nothing to be sorry for. But I don’t know how I’m gonna work with her now.” Jace watched his smoke climb toward the sky.
David scanned him up and down as if he’d grown ten extra heads. “What do you mean, you can’t work with her?”
Jace paused. He glanced at David but didn’t respond. He didn’t want to get into this discussion.
“No. No.” David shook his head. “You still have the hots for her after all that?”
Silence stretched between them.
“That’s rough, J. But you can handle it. You didn’t know she had a fiancé or a mate or whatever.”
“At first,” Jace corrected.
David winced.
Jace flicked his ashes. “It was easier when he didn’t have a face or a name.”
David nodded. “I get that, but past mistakes don’t mean you can’t change course now. So deal with her on a business level only. Hands off. Doesn’t matter if you’re attracted to her. You can think she’s the greatest woman to walk this earth, just keep it in your pants and you’ll be fine.”
