Chapter 5

“AND THEN HE told me I shouldn’t rely on magic to get me dates because I was just lucky he happened to stop in the store at the right time. Otherwise, I probably would have been waiting forever!”

“He did not!” Lara exclaimed.

“Oh, yes, he did! And then he tried to backtrack, saying his words came out wrong, but I think they came out just fine!” 

“Well, that’s rather disappointing,” Jessica said. “I had high hopes for that hottie.”

“Me too,” Lara said. “I hope you told him off!”

“Oh, trust me. He definitely felt the bite of my tongue.”

* * *

“Cougar Boy!” Max let out a bark of laughter.

Cole scowled. He hadn’t meant to let that bit of information slip. He was just so incredulous. He couldn’t believe how quickly she’d taken offense, especially considering most people didn’t believe in magic.

“So they actually think they’re witches?” Karl asked.

“Yep. And they also believe in genies and fairies,” Cole said.

“I knew a Djinn once.” Glory, one of the owners of Shenanigans, paused on her way by. “He was a lot of fun.”

Max scowled. “And where would you have met a Djinn?”

“You do know I had an entire life before moving to Jamesville, right?” Glory shook her head and stalked off.

“Man, when are you going to just ask her out and be done with it?” Pete taunted Max with a grin.

“I don’t know,” Cole said. “I mean, she is a black bear. I’m not sure Max has what it takes to handle a raging she-bear.”

* * *

“I think we need some cheering up,” Lara said. “Sure our first candidate turned out to be a dud, but I know where we can find some other paranormals to flirt with.”

“Oh, no,” Megan said. “Count me out.”

“But it’s a Shenanigans, Megan,” Lara said.

“Really? There’s a Shenanigans all the way out here?” Jessica asked.

“Yeah, it’s in the woods, pretty far off the beaten path.”

“Well, I’d be willing to bet it caters exclusively to shifters, considering Cole’s never met any of our kind and doesn’t actually believe we exist,” Megan said.

“Shifters,” Jessica muttered. “So isolationist.”

* * *

“So does that mean the women really are witches?” Pete asked.

“What are you talking about?” Cole shook his head in disgust.

“Well, if Glory’s met a genie, then witches might exist too, right?”

“My dad used to tell me stories of the Djinn,” Max said. “He’d never met one, but always said there were probably more paranormals out in the world than we shifters knew about. He never mentioned witches though. And even if they do exist, I seriously doubt they’d smell human like our trespassers. My guess? The women are completely normal humans.”

Cole scoffed. “They’re anything but normal, Max.”

“Well, all right, I’ll grant you that. Let’s just say their abnormal isn’t exactly paranormal.”

Glory, who’d been walking by with another tray of beers, stopped dead right behind Max, then shook her head and walked on.

She definitely knew something they didn’t and Cole expected her to return at any moment to educate them.

Sure enough, after delivering a couple beers to a table of wolves, Glory wandered back their way. She grabbed a chair from a neighboring table and shoved her way in between Max and Pete. 

Cole grinned. This should be fun. A cranky black bear in between two idiotic wolves.

“So. What are you guys talking about tonight?”

Max gave her a suspicious glare. “Why?”

“Well, first I hear you chatting about the Djinn and then about witches. So now I’m curious. Has Jamesville finally expanded beyond shifter world? Are we actually getting more paranormals in our humble town? Do share.”

“You know that witches don’t exist, right?” Cole said.

“Really? Who told you that?”

Cole glanced around the table, but everyone else just shrugged. Fine. If they wouldn’t say it, he would. “Common sense.”

Glory laughed. “Okay, so did common sense also tell you that humans can’t shift into animals?”

“We’re not humans,” Karl protested.

“You sure do look human.”

“Knock it off, Glory,” Max said. “Just tell us what you know.”

“The Djinn exist. So do witches, the Fae, vampires, even mermaids.”

“And you know this exactly how?” Cole asked.

“Do you know what Shenanigans is?” 

“Oooh, I know this one,” Pete said. “It’s a bar.”

Glory rolled her eyes.

“An awesome bar.” Dan spoke up for the first time. He probably figured someone needed to finesse the situation. “A place where we can relax and enjoy our libation of choice.”

Karl groaned. “What is it with you cougars?”

“What?” Dan asked innocently.

“It’s not just a bar,” Glory said impatiently. “Well, it is, but there are Shenanigans all over the world and you know what every Shenanigans has in common?”

“Oooh, I have a guess,” Pete exclaimed. “A black bear bartender?”

Everyone turned and stared at Glory’s brother, Travis, who at that moment was kissing the breath out of his mate, Phoenix. 

“Jeez. Every night it’s the same,” Glory grumbled. “I’m happy for Travis, don’t get me wrong, but I really don’t need to be around my brother when he’s feeling frisky. It’s just gross. And to answer your question, Pete, no. Not every Shenanigans has black bear owners or bartenders. But they do have paranormal owners and bartenders, so that was a pretty good guess.”

“Yes!” Pete pumped his fist.

Cole shook his head at Pete’s antics. “So what’s your point, Glory?”

“My point is that every Shenanigans is open to all paranormals, though many cater to a specific kind. For example, this Shenanigans caters to shifters, mostly because shifters live in the area. But if another kind of paranormal were to walk through that door – any kind of paranormal – they’d be welcome. Shenanigans is neutral territory, no matter where it lies.”

“How come I didn’t know this?” Max demanded. 

“Have you ever left Jamesville?”

Max thought about it, then shrugged.

Glory nodded. “I wouldn’t be surprised if most shifters have no idea about the Shenanigans network. You know why?”

“Why?” Cole asked.

“Because shifters at heart are isolationists. We burrow in our sleuths, our clans, our packs and we stay there. Even when we wander, we do it in such a way that we avoid those not of our sleuth or clan or pack.”

“What about humans?” Dan asked.

“What about them?”

“Well, are they allowed in Shenanigans? Because I’m pretty certain three impostor-witches just walked in the door.”