Death's Servant(4)

Sadness sweeps across her face, quickly replaced by good humor. “You don’t need to worry about that. There’s no claim here.”
My eyebrows jump up my forehead. “Really?” She nods and a stillness steals over me. How could she be a lone wolf on her own? Or are there others but no alpha?
Innate instinct creeps up, startling me with the depth of desire coiling in my gut. The need to rule and dominate other wolves washes through me, surprising me with its ferocity. She will bow to my wolf.
Where the hell did that come from? I’m not eager to lead a pack, nor do I know enough to keep one safe.
After a slight hesitation, a warm invitation crosses her face. “Sure you don’t want to stay in town a while? Get to know the area? There’s lots of open ground to run.”
A feeling of home, so long suppressed under Romeo’s lead, warms my heart. “Maybe I will.” Impulsively, I extend a hand in greeting. “Hi, I’m Jon.”
That adorable blush I noticed earlier comes back, spreading up her neck as she reaches for my hand. Hers eyes dart toward the floor before briefly returning to me and flitting away. “Raine.”
Oh, she’s familiar with a pack, all right. That was definitely a submissive wolf reaction. “Pretty name for an even prettier lady.”
She smiles, a flirtatious look lighting her eyes. “Thanks. Now, what can I get you to eat?”
My stomach grumbles right on cue. I laugh, the stress from Manitoba rolling off my shoulders like it never existed. “I’ll start with two steaks. Medium rare, please.”
She winks and nods, sashaying her hips as she walks away to place my order.  
About fifteen minutes later, Raine returns with my meal. I clear my throat as the full platter slides across the table. “You wouldn’t know of any place hiring, would you?”
“Are you okay with manual labor?” Her dark blue eyes linger on my torso as I nod. “There’s a huge construction boom in the county. Good money. If you don’t own tools you could hire on to an existing crew or find landscaping work pretty easy.”
I studied botany at James Madison University, the campus farther south, where the werewolf attack changed my life forever. My dream at school was to someday own a nursery and landscaping company. Hope for a new life blossoms in me for the first time since leaving Canada. Maybe it was fate that brought me back to Virginia. “Does the diner keep a recent newspaper behind the counter?”






 
    Nine by Night: A Multi-Author Urban Fantasy Bundle of Kickass Heroines, Adventure,   Magic
    
 


 

Chapter Three

I start work immediately with a local landscaper and am quickly promoted to leading a crew—my knowledge of plants and ability to speak Spanish the driving forces behind the advancement. Today is Friday and I plan to ask out the cute waitress for dinner. I had breakfast at the diner this morning, when she first arrived at work, so I know she’s got the evening shift off.
The bell over the door jingles when I enter, sending my nerves into overdrive. A warm smile lights Raine’s face when she sees me.
“Nice to see you again, Jon.” She glances at her watch. “My shift is almost over.” A faint flash of disappoint flashes over her features. “Damn. Looks like someone else will serve you.”
“I was hoping you might join me for dinner.” I clear my throat, nervous for the first time in months. “You know—someplace else—not here. Like a date.”
Raine glances down my body, noting my freshly changed clothes. “I’d like that, Jon.” The gleam in her eye turns predatory, triggering an answering heat low in my middle. “I’ve only got a casual sundress with me, is that okay?”
“You could be dressed in rags and I’d still be happy to take you out.”
“Aren’t you sweet.” She smiles, the humor only halfway reaching her eyes. “Give me ten minutes.”
The young Were retreats to the back hall where the employee lockers stand near the manager’s office. There was a lurking sadness in her eyes when she agreed to dinner. I hope over our meal I can coax out of her whatever brought it on. My wolf wants to make her mine, and the human part of me doesn’t quite know what to do with the new urges.


The noise of the Blue Ridge Grill fades into the background as I watch Raine polish off her second burger. “For a tiny little thing, you sure can keep up.” My face freezes in horror as I realize I just told the attractive woman I brought to dinner that she eats a lot.#p#分页标题#e#
Raine’s laughter trips from her lips in the first show of genuine humor I’ve seen from her all night. “Oh my God—you should see your face right now, Jon. Classic!” She wipes the tears from her eyes with the end of her napkin. “No one would accuse you of being a silver-tongued devil, that’s for sure.” She smiles to show she’s teasing then shrugs a slim shoulder under her pale blue sundress. “What can I say? I work so much it’s hard to keep the pounds on.” Her face sobers, the humor draining as fast as it came, and she looks away. “We do have an excellent metabolism.”