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“Oof, no more. Bad drinky.” I heaved myself off the stool with a little more oomph than I’d intended, and the whole world tilted to an obscene angle—or maybe it was me who’d tipped, because a pair of hands caught me around the shoulders and set me right again.
“Easy does it, friend,” a male voice said.
I looked down at where he was bracing me on the chest. His skin was pale and soft, his nails nicely manicured. I followed the arm, clothed in a fancy suit, up to his face. He was a slightly older gentleman, with a bit of silver-foxquality going on, and when he smiled at me, I found myself smiling back. “Better?” he asked gently.
“Uh-huh.” I nodded, though I was pretty sure if he let go, I’d go ass over teakettle and end up face flat on the floor. Luckily, he didn’t let go. He just chuckled lightly and patted me on the back.
“Why don’t we sit you down over here. I’ll get you some water.” He led me over to a table in the corner and eased me down.
“Thhhanks,” I slurred, rubbing my face and blinking hard. Why was it so hard to form words? The alcohol really crept up on me, and now my legs felt like jelly. On the plus side, though, at least that hollow ache in my chest had dulled a bit.
I might’ve dozed off for a second, because I was startled what felt like just a few seconds later as the stranger returned carrying a glass of water and a burger and fries in a red plastic basket. “There you are,” he said, setting it all down in front of me. “A little bit of greasy food will help soak that all up.”
I hadn’t even thought I was hungry, but I was proven wrong when I descended on that food like a lion on a gazelle, grabbing that burger with both hands and shoving it straight in my mouth. It was all the meaty, cheesygoodness I never knew I needed in my life. “Thanks,” I mumbled around my first mouthful.
He lowered into the seat beside me and crossed his arms over the table, bringing him right to the edge of my personal space—my sober space, anyway. Drunk me felt like hugging this man who’d brought me life-sustaining munchies. There was a weird scent on him, kind of chemically, that reminded me of the science lab at my old high school. “My name is Eric. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with the bartender. Sounds like you really miss this man of yours.”
Wiping the back of my hand across my mouth, I nodded. “Yeah, I really do.” I set the burger down and finished chewing my mouthful.
“What’s your name?” Eric asked.
“Morgan.”
“Well, Morgan, I was thinking maybe I could help you find him. I have a lot of connections, access to restricted networks not available to the public. Maybe if you told me a little bit about him…?” He smiled encouragingly, and I sighed.
I picked up a fry and nibbled on it, debating what to tell this curious stranger. “I don’t know how much I can tell you about him, not even his name, since it wasn’t like we sat down for coffee and talked about our families or ourlikes and dislikes or anything. I know this is going to sound farfetched. How could I possibly be in love with someone I only saw for a handful of seconds, but I just…know, you know? He’smine. The second our eyes met, it was like this hook sank into my soul and tied me forever to him. He’s not like anyone I’ve ever met before and not just because he’s… well…”
Eric leaned in and whispered, all conspiratorial, “Because he’s a wolf?”
The way he said it wasn’t like the bartender, who’d misunderstood, or my psychiatrist who thought I was delusional. He said it like he believed me. True belief, not just mild interest. “Yes!” I hissed back, shoving the food aside so I could lean closer, until we were sharing the same air. “My shrink thinks I was hallucinating, but I know what I saw.”
“I believe you,” he said, nodding frantically.
I examined his face for signs that he was lying or pulling my leg, but he seemed genuine, even eager. A tiny ping of unease sounded in the back of my mind, but it was easy to ignore. I’d been so desperate for someone to believe me. My boss, my co-workers, the panhandler in front of my apartment building, the guy who worked at the Q-Cup on the corner. Anyone! And now, here was this guy not even questioning it.
“Have you seen him before?” Then I gasped, a new thought popping into my head. “Or someone else like him?” Of course there were others! Why hadn’t I thought of that?
He held his hands up, placating. “Now, I don’t have any firsthand knowledge myself, just what I’ve heard from a friend, but I think there might be a lot of them. They might even be living among us, right here in Fairhome.” He nodded slowly, letting that statement linger in the air between us.
Goosebumps prickled my skin, my heart stuttering in my chest. I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder at the other bar patrons. Any one of them could burst from their skin at any moment! One second a crowd, the next an entire pack of beasts! What would happen if I stood up on the table right now and announced to everyone that I was looking for my wolf? Maybe one of them was a friend of his.
When I looked back, I swore Eric had this manic smile, but by the time I gave a long blink to rest my sandpaper-dry eyes, his face was back to his friendly curiosity. “So, why don’t you could show me on a map where you saw him? It’ll give us somewhere to start looking.” He pulled out his phone and opened the map app, setting it down on the table between us.
That little alarm bell in my brain had been quiet at first, but it was getting louder. I shook my head, trying to clear my jumbled thoughts. I blinked down at the lit screen, my vision blurry, and when I reached up to rub my eyes, I found nothing in the way. I looked back toward where I’d been sitting at the bar. “Where are my glasses?”
“You don’t need your glasses,” Eric said tightly, pushing his phone closer. “You just need to point to where you saw him. Surely you can do that much.”
His voice had pitched higher, and now that I took a second to look closer, I saw the muscles around his mouth were tight, and his hands were shaking.
Unease crept deeper into my bones, the distillery I’d poured into my stomach sloshing uncomfortably. “Why?” I asked.
Eric frowned but tried to stifle it. “Why what?”
“Why do you want to help me? What are you getting out of this?” I’d never been what you’d call bold or brave, but this was my wolfy-poo we were talking about here. For him, I would grow a spine.
“Well, I…” I could see the gears churning behind his eyes; he was trying to come up with an excuse. “Who doesn’t love a good romance? I just want to see you get your happy ending,” he said with a laugh that sounded forced.
After a long moment of me glaring at him, he sagged in his chair, his beaming smile slipping straight off. “Look, lemme be real with you for a second. I’ve been so fascinated with shifters my whole life, ever since my grandpa said he saw a woman turn into an eagle and fly away. Just…poof! Amazing, right? It’s the stuff of legends and fairy tales. And when I overheard you talking with the bartender, well, I guess I just thought maybe you might let me meet your wolf.” He shrugged, looking a little embarrassed.
