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His packmates were waiting for him on the outskirts of the woods, facing the main part of the city. They greeted him with a few pats on the back once he shifted, tossing him a set of clothes and shoes before they all headed into town for a night of fun.
The nightlife in San Francisco always drew Owen back into the human’s part of the city, time and time again. He couldn’t help but love the adventure it promised. Much different than the strict routine of pack life.
It wasn’t that he hated his life in the Raff pack. More than occasionally, the weight of the responsibility resting on his shoulders got heavy, and putting it down for a night or two, was needed.
“Hey, look,” Kian pointed, catching everyone’s attention.
Down the street, he could see it was blocked off, leading into a park that lay on the other side. Bright lights and groups of people wandered around behind the barricade.
“Let’s go check it out.”
There was a rounding rumble of approval as they all headed that way.
It turned out that there was a festival the humans were throwing. Several events and fresh gourmet food were being served while people walked around and mingled with each other.
Owen couldn’t help but breathe in the atmosphere.
A few of his packmates broke off to check out one of the local taverns, the promise of female companionship a driving factor in that decision. Owen shook his head and wandered farther into the crowd by himself.
It wasn’t that the thought of someone warming his bedwasn’tenticing, but he’d gotten tired of courting human females. He didn’t want to keep pouring himself into an unending void that never seemed to get him anywhere. He wanted little more than just a stray hookup here and there. It took too much work for a real relationship.
Spotting a sign up ahead, Owen made his way to it, noticing a wine tasting. He snorted. Humans were so strange with what they liked to do for activities. But, hell, maybe there was something he was missing out on.
He passed through the roped-off area and looked around at the different caterers wandering with trays full of glasses, the liquid inside of them moving ever so slightly while they walked.
“Hey! Watch out!”
He turned just as he felt his shoulder smack into something … or rather,someone… and sending them flying. His eyes widened, and he grabbed hold of the only thing he could, the end of a stray wine glass.
At his feet, he heard a woman groan, coupled with the sounds of liquid pouring onto the ground as he held the wine glass upside down.
THREE
REIKA
The Outdoor Lands Festival had been a surprisingly nice change of pace, considering it was way more crowded than Reika had expected. She’d wandered the park without any destination in mind … mostly sticking to the events going on inside the festival.
She hadn’t thought of inviting anyone to go with her, though it wasn’t like she had anyone even if she had the foresight to do so. Since leaving her pack, it’d been hard to make friends, especially when her life before had been so drastically different from those around her.
Relating to other women her age was hard enough since she grew up in the woods and couple that with the fact she grew up a shifter, it made that even more complicated. But, regardless of those facts, it still felt nice to be surrounded by people. Kind of like she was a part of something, even if that wasn't exactly the case.
Reika spotted a wine tasting shortly after she’d arrived and decided that if she was going to mingle and try to make friends while she was here, then alcohol would definitely be the substance to loosen herself up.
She headed to the ticket booth and paid for a glass of expensive white wine. She’d never been much of a wine snob, but she could always appreciate the taste of a good, aged wine every once in a while.
She took a sip, smacking her lips a few times at the delicious bitterness before clutching the glass to her chest and wandering around the small roped-off section. She spotted a man around her age, walking aimlessly through the crowd with his neck craned in the opposite direction.
She stopped and stepped to the side as he drew closer, giving him a wide enough path to divert around her. What she didn’t expect was for him to completely turn just as she moved and slam right into her.
“Hey! Watch out!”
A hand snaked out, gripping the wine glass in her hand in an almost automatic reflex, sending her tumbling to the ground. She groaned when her hip hit the hard dirt, liquid spilling next to her foot.
Reika looked up, seeing her glass had been tipped over, all of her expensive wine having been dumped out of it.
Damn it!
“Oh …shit,” the man said. “I amsosorry.”
