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It was a simple,elegant tribute to his mother. Thomas was pleased with that, at least.
Everyone quickly made their departure once the burial hole began to be filled.
Thomas stayed so he could have some alone time with her.
“I’m going to miss you more than you’ll ever know. You’re all I had left. I don’t know why you had to go, but I guess there are a lot of things I don’t quite understand. I just don’t know why you had to do it alone.”
Tears stung his amber eyes as the wind picked up, tousling his shaggy brown hair and making him look messy.
He knelt and tossed a handful of dirt over her. “I love you. I know I’ll see you again but not soon enough. Say hi to Pops for me.” He stood and brushed the dirt from his knees, his black trench coat whipping around him.
Thomas inhaled the chilly air, taking a deep breath.
No matter how sad he was about his own loss, other things needed his attention. Desperately. That much had been clear just by the aura the shifters had given off even before he’d entered the service.
He needed to be ready for what he was about to walk into.
The pride may have assumed he wasn’t going to return as alpha and claim his right. Despite his anger and grief at his loss, part of him hoped this was the case. A good challenge would help release his emotions.
“Guess we’ll just have to see,” he mumbled as the last shovel of dirt was thrown over his mother’s grave.
He turned to head back to his car. His first stop needed to be the pride’s hangout. He had business to deal with.
Thomas pulled up later in front of a dive bar that no tourist or outsider would dare step foot in.
It was rundown and shabby, and the outside looked foreboding. Not even the locals spent time here. It was better known as a front for their business than for what it actually was … The Den.
And that was the name of it as well. Not clever, but no one thought anything about it. They just assumed it housed bikers and other kinds of rough customers no one really wanted to tangle with.
Thomas had thrown on his preferred leather jacket in place of his trench coat.
He ran his fingers through his dark brown locks. It was no use. His hair stayed windswept from earlier, but he tried to control it slightly. Maybe right now, the wilder he looked, the better. He needed an edge.
He wasn’t going to let himself be underestimated. Not now or ever.Fuck around and find outneeded to be stamped on his forehead, and his presence needed to emanate that more than ever.
When he stepped out of his car, he heard the chaos of the pride inside.
“Fucking dammit,” he grumbled. He popped up his collar and headed toward the entry.
A burly shifter stood guard at the door, smoking a cigarette. “What do you want …” He cut himself off when he met Thomas’s glowing auburn-brown eyes. “Boss! I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you. I …”
Thomas waved off Marcus. He knew Marcus would be one of the more loyal ones to him. As big as he was, he was your typical teddy bear of a brute. Unless provoked, of course.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s been a long day.”
The bouncer’s eyes turned soft. “I’m sorry about Elena. She was … she was …”
“I know, I know.” Thomas didn’t want to share his sadness right now. He had to keep his mind focused.
He patted Marcus on the shoulder and pushed his way inside.
What he saw made him angrier than he’d imagined.
Irritation surged through him as he saw members fighting among themselves in human and lion form.
They knew they couldn’t shift within the city limits, even if they were in the bar.
Especiallyif they were in the bar.
