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I barely knew the woman, and I needed to hold off on this protective urge toward her. It was bordering onoverprotective.
Moving away from the town hall, I walked through the square. It was a sunny day, warm but not too hot, and several people greeted me as I passed. Because Blackwood Creek was so small, I knew everyone’s names. I couldn’t claim to know every resident well, but I always had a smile and a greeting for anyone who passed me.
Across the square and making a beeline for me were Mr. and Mrs. Banes, one of the more affluent couples in town. They were part of the righteous group of people who lived in town, and they held a deep frenemy relationship with the Greenthornes. I wondered how their friendship worked, since they were always gunning for the top rung of the hierarchy.
The Banes also had their daughter with them. She was around my age, and it had been suggested to me many times over the years that we would make alovelycouple. At one time or other, it had been suggested that every available woman from border to border of this town would be aquality wife, a good partner, a girlfriend who would do whatever I asked.
The attempts at matchmaking were old, and I wasn’t interested. I wanted to be free of it all. The townspeople, shifters and humans alike, constantly pushed their daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and any other single female they knew at me, thinking marriage—or in other cases, mating—would happen in an instant. The constant hinting at my eligibility all the time was irksome.
Wanting to avoid the Banes, I veered into The Tipsy Tavern and prayed they wouldn’t follow me. I couldn’t deal with them at the moment. I had too much on my mind—the safety of the other packs, trying and trying to bring them into the fold, Blackwood Creek, and Tori. At the moment, Tori seemed to be my biggest concern.
“Yo, Mr. Mayor, what can I get for you?” Mateo was drying a glass as I walked to a stool and sat.
“Whiskey. Neat.” I didn’t even care if it was the cheap, rotgut swill. I needed a drink, and I needed it now.
“You got it.” Matteo was on his way to a healthy tip.
My wolf prowled inside me, agitated that I’d stopped him from going after Tori. I’d have to figure out how to deal with him because he didn’t like being kept away from the pretty little wolf. Pretty soon, he’d start acting out and force me to shift.
Mateo set a glass in front of me, and I lifted it in thanks before taking a long swig. I looked at him and nodded because now he seemed to be staring. “What’s new with you, Mateo? Anything interesting happening?”
He also knew about the shifters. It made life easier to have a bartender whose patrons didn’t have to worry about letting anything slip when they got drunk. Mateo was as solid as they came, and he’d been the town’s therapist until Ms. Kipling came along. That had been the running joke for a long time now.
We laughed over some of the Magpies’ shenanigans and the local gossip. Then, of course, he brought up Tori because she was the talk of the town.
“So, Mayor, you and Tori, huh? You played it cool that first night, but come on, you didn’t hide it well.” Mateo smirked at me.
Cocking my head at the bartender, I waited for him to continue.
“Come on, you two only had eyes for each other. It was probably smart not to let the town see you two together after that first night. There’s no hiding that chemistry, let me tell you.” His smirk widened into a full-out grin.
Laughing, I shook my head. The guy had no idea. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He wiped down the bar, then smacked the rag over his shoulder. “Hey, I get it. You’re trying to keep things on the down low. I can respect that, even if no one else can. Small-town living at its finest.” He chuckled, and I joined him.
Finishing up my whiskey, I left cash on the bar, smacked it twice, and said my goodbyes. I didn’t need to talk about Tori when I was trying to stop thinking about her all the damn time.
As I headed toward the door, Zander Elkins shoved my shoulder. I wasn’t surprised that he was a little unsteady on his feet, but he was a shifter of the troublemaking kind who always felt it was his duty to take digs at me.
He was born an alpha. It was common practice between two alphas to tussle for position, but his issue was that he was weaker than me and didn’t handle it well, knowing that I’d force his submission publicly.
He always had to needle and challenge me, and I had to reign in my wolf before I demonstrated my dominance over him. It’d get ugly, which wasn’t what I wanted for Blackwood Creek. I wanted this place to be for all shifters, which meant welcoming all alphas into the fold—provided they didn’t challenge me. If they did, I would answer the challenge and dispel the challenger as duty required.
“If it isn’t the big bad mayor.” Zander slung his arm around my shoulders and breathed in my face. Whatever he’d been drinking smelled like sewage. “What are you doing here at the bar? Already lost interest in that tasty newcomer after just one night?” He closed his eyes, and I shoved him off me. “I bet she’s a tight little fuck, isn’t she?” He cackled like he’d just heard the funniest joke. “Word around town is you used and abused her, then kicked her to the curb.” He puffed out his chest and staggered. “Just like a spoiled rich boy to tire of his new toy so soon. It’s surprising that you’re fucking a woman in town, though. I thought you usually went out of town for your particular needs. What, is nobody here good enough for the great Ridge Blackwood? Is that what makes the stranger so appealing to you? She’s not from around here, so she’s higher class?”
I clenched my fists and jaw, and my wolf’s hair started brandishing along my forearms. I threw up all the barriers I could and slammed my wolf down. This wasn’t the time or place.
I moved around Zander and headed toward the door, but before I could get outside, the drunk son of a bitch had to get in one last comment. One I couldn’t and wouldn’t ignore.
“You know, I think maybe I’ll make my interest known to the little wolf. Show her a good time. Tell me, how was she in bed? She seems fiery. What would you rate her out of ten?” He snickered.
My fists balled up, and my wolf forced his way through. I couldn’t control him any longer, and I didn’t want to.
Taking a brief second, I scanned the bar, made sure nobody was watching, and dragged Zander outside around the building where we wouldn’t be seen. I slammed him hard against the brick wall, waited for him to slink forward, then shoved him against it again. I wanted to be sure I had his undivided attention.
I pooled all my alpha energy, focusing it on my command. “Zander, you’ll stay the hell away from her, or you’ll have to deal with me. And let me tell you something, you little fuck. You don’t want to do that because contrary to what you might believe, spoiled rich boys like me don’t play nice, and I will beat the fuck out of you without even breaking a sweat. I have no problem letting my wolf put you in your place.” I stared him down and delighted in his struggle not to submit. “If I so much as catch a whiff of you near Tori, I will make you regret it every day until you fucking die.” I moved in closer, lowering my voice and clenching my teeth. “I’ll enjoy every moment of it, too.”
Zander’s drunken gaze aligned with mine, and he sneered at me. “I’m not afraid of you, Ridge.”
