The next evening, Zach took a breath to gather his wits about him, and then marched toward the door of the bar. He told himself that it was a simple case of needing to find some work, and that getting close to the girl with the amazing scent had absolutely nothing to do with it. When he left Lunar Falls, he’d had a nice little cushion of cash in his checking account, but being forced to leave the only life he had ever known had changed all that. He burned through most of what he’d had in checking during the first couple of months on hotel rooms mostly, and gas for his car, and he knew that he had to be careful with what was left in his savings account. To that end, for the last several months he had been taking the occasional odd job until he found someplace more permanent to land. So he wasn’t deluding himself right now. He really did need the work. The chance to be near the girl was just a fortunate coincidence. He grabbed the door handle and froze. He could already smell her fragrance even out here, and it was so intoxicating it nearly drove him insane.
Like most Moon Hunters around his age, he had heard the stories from the older generation – the tales of how the imprinting worked and how it could drive males to madness, especially if the female they had imprinted on didn’t “feel” him in return. He had thought it was just a bunch of tall tales the old folks liked to tell, and frankly, Zach had always believed that fabled mating-induced frenzy was part of the reason their Elders had long ago deemed the imprinting archaic and bad for their society. Plus, it introduced all sorts of undesirables into their gene pool. Purity had been instituted for a reason, after all. Still, he couldn’t deny what was happening to him now or explain why this female’s scent was affecting him so strangely.
When he’d left the bar last night he couldn’t get her, or her scent, out of his mind, and he had actually had to force himself not to follow the delectable aroma and track her down. He felt like he was going slightly crazy. He was obsessed with a woman he had never really gotten a good look at, and he felt almost compelled to be near her.
He took another breath, opened the door and stepped inside, fully expecting her to be waiting for him on the other side. But when he looked around, all he saw was the guy behind the bar and a couple of people sitting at tables. The place was practically empty, and the girl was nowhere to be seen. He could smell her though.
“Can I help you, pal?”
The man behind the bar gave him a stern look that said “Order a drink or get out,” and Zach gave him a nod as he walked up to the bar.
“What are you drinking?”
“Actually, I was looking for something other than a drink.” Zach met the man’s gaze with a confident air.
The man looked at him with narrowed eyes. “You don’t look like a cop.”
Zach smiled. “No. I’m not a cop. I’m just a guy who’s slightly down on his luck and in need of some work. I was wondering if you might have anything. I’ve never tended bar before, but I’m a quick study.”
The man was silent as he looked him over for a moment, and as he did Zach suddenly caught a whiff of her. He looked up just in time to see her set an open crate down on the floor behind the bar. Then she crouched down next to it and proceeded to remove the bottles one by one as she went about stocking the lower shelves. From this vantage point, Zach could only see her from behind, and his mouth actually watered at the sight. Her long, light brown hair flowed over her shoulders and down to the middle of her back in luscious waves. She was wearing a pair of brown cowboy boots, a plain white tank top and a pair of cut off jean shorts that left little to the imagination. And Zach couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to grab her and bury his nose in the crook of her neck, inhaling the sweet seductive scent of her as he bit her neck.
“I got plenty of bartenders, pal. Sorry.” The man’s abrupt words snapped him out of his lust filled trance.
“Oh. Well … I got lots of useful skills. I can push a broom. I can wait tables.”
“No offense, dude, but I know my patrons pretty well. I don’t think you’re what they want to see in a pair of tight shorts, you know?” The man grinned at him.
Zach smirked at him and glanced down at the girl again. She abruptly stood up and disappeared to the back room as he watched her go.
“Yeah.” He met the man’s gaze again and shrugged his shoulders. “Look, man … I can wash dishes. I just really need a job, you know?”
There was a long pause, and Zach could almost see the internal conversation playing out on the man’s face.
“All right, look. It just so happens that I am in need of a little muscle around here. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but The Nowhere has the dubious reputation of being a bit rough. A lot of the guys that come in here are bikers. Some are ex-cons, and some are just bad, shady dudes, you know what I’m saying? I saw you in here last night. You drank one beer and then you left. What I could use around here is a man who can refrain from drinking, keep a level head, and keep the peace. Someone who knows how to diffuse a tense situation and clean house when it’s warranted.”
“You mean you need a bouncer.” Zach gave him a look that told him he understood perfectly.
“Basically. You think you can handle that?”
A slow smile crept over Zach’s face. Before he had been forced out of Lunar Falls, he’d been one of the GrandAlpha’s Enforcers – an elite team of security specially trained in a number of fighting techniques in human, wolf and werewolf forms. Yeah, he could more than handle it. And it made him feel good to know that his Enforcer training would be put to good use.
“It just so happens that I do have some experience in that area,” he said.
“Okay.” The man stuck his hand out. “The name’s Ty.”
“I’m Zach.”
“Zach, why don’t you come back here in three hours. That’s when this place really gets hopping each night. I’ll give you a try, and if it works out we’ll talk about a permanent position for you. How’s that sound?”
“That sounds real good, Ty. Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
“Don’t thank me yet. This is just a trial tonight,” Ty said.
“You won’t regret it. I promise.” Zach thanked the man again before giving one last glance toward the back, but she was nowhere around, and he still hadn’t seen her face. That didn’t stop him from leaving with a smile.
o0o
Sarah marched through the back room and descended the stairs to the cellar in a rush. At the bottom of the rickety staircase, she stopped abruptly and placed her back flat against the rough cool surface of the wall, panting slightly. The sharp tingle in her skin was like an itch that she couldn’t scratch. Her eyes were burning, and she knew that they were glowing. She shut them tight and brought a hand up to her forehead, wiping away a thin sheen of sweat.
What the hell was going on?
She felt feverish and slightly lightheaded. This couldn’t be happening. It was impossible for this to be happening; there were no male Moon Hunters within five hundred miles of this place. And then she opened her eyes and frowned as she wondered about that. She had never heard her dad or her grandfather, or anyone else for that matter, mention that there were other Moon Hunter packs in different states. Ohio was werewolf territory. That’s what she had always been taught. But if there were no others, then what was going on with her right now? There was no way that her body would be reacting to a human this way. And if that was really what was happening here, then Sarah knew she had a problem — because it meant that some strange and random male had gone and imprinted on her. And to top it off, her body was responding to him. She “felt” him. Which meant the real question was … who the hell was she feeling?