“Where are we going?” I wasn’t going to change his mind, and he was right. We weren’t going to find Mary Anne in the city. At least not without some unbelievably good luck, and I didn’t seem to have any of that anymore.
“Just a little place I stopped at the last time we were down this way. It’s pretty low key, and we shouldn’t run into any other paranormals there. It’s only a few miles away.”
“Good.” I had no interest in dealing with anyone, especially more paranormal creatures.
Then a thought hit me. “I have no money.”
“I’ve got you covered.”
“Why?”
“I can handle buying a few rounds.”
“I mean you’re going above and beyond here.”
“You’ll pay me back eventually.”
Denny turned on some talk radio show as we drove. I had no idea what anyone was talking about because I was too busy thinking about Mary Anne. I needed to talk to her before she did something she could never come back from. My life as I knew it might have been over, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t be together. I needed to know we’d be together again. It was the only thing keeping me sane.
***
I was four drinks in. This was the point when a buzz usually kicked in, but it didn’t. I was completely sober and just as angry and worried. The bar Denny had taken us to was a nondescript dive. In that way it was perfect. The beer was cheap, and the service was fast.
“Those parents are delusional. Like it was some other random truck they found? They need to accept their kids are dead.”
The blunt words had me turning around. Two middle aged men were drinking beer and watching a news broadcast on one of the large screen TVs behind the bar. From the number of empty bottles in front of them, they’d been drinking for a while.
“The guy is lucky he’s dead. If I were the girl’s dad I’d have killed him for doing that.”
“She wasn’t innocent either. She went because she wanted to.” The bartender joined the conversation. “Everyone’s making the girl out to be a saint, but it’s stupid. People die all the time. They need to stop making it a focus of the media.”
“But these are rich kids from EU.” The first man laughed. “That makes them special.”
“Spoiled brats deserved it anyway.”
EU? They were talking about us.
“The girl was cute though. I bet she was a nice piece of ass.”
“What was her name? Mary Anne? It’s like a country girl fantasy.”
I didn’t think. I stormed over to their table and tossed it over.
“What the fuck?” Both men jumped into my face. I easily picked them up by their shirts and hurled them across the room. No one was talking about Mary Anne like that.
That should have been it. We should have left, but then something hard hit me over the head, and several other men approached me. My body gave me no warning as I shifted and lunged for the bartender who was wielding a baseball bat. I ripped his chest with my claws before shoving him over the bar counter shattering the glasses and liquor bottles stacked against the back wall.
I was aware of someone tugging on me, and I slowly pulled myself back from the edge. I growled at the surrounding patrons that starred in fear and amazement.
“Shift back, Gage.” Denny hissed. “Shift back now!”
I looked around at the mangled bodies of the men. They were breathing, so I hadn’t killed them, but that didn’t change the fact that I was in trouble—the kind of trouble you may never come back from.
I shifted and was only partially aware of Denny pulling me out of the bar and into an alleyway across the street. “What the hell, Gage?” Denny snapped.
“I’d like an answer to that too.” A large man strode toward us. He was shirtless, and his eyes were black.
Denny turned. “I assure you we have this under control.”
“Under control? My partner is calling in witches right now to clean up that mess. Those wounds only come from one animal.”
“No. That’s not true many animals can cause—” Denny started to explain.
“Shut up, Were.”
“Were?” I finally spoke.
“Yes. We know who you are. And you’re coming with us.”
“Why?” I stepped closer. “Why should I come with you?”
Denny held his hand out to stop me. “Those men were making sexual comments about his mate. His response was extreme, but also understandable.” How was Denny staying so calm? I felt anything but.
“That doesn’t excuse revealing himself to a room full of people. How any of us feel doesn’t matter though. It’s all in the hands of the king.”