“Nope.” He sidesteps me and starts backing away. “I’ve already said too much. This is a conversation to have with your girlfriend, not me. I’m off to see if I can salvage things with Ewan.” The coward vanishes without another word.
Frustrated, I head back to the table only to grow more irritated when I see Selene’s not back yet. She’s caught up talking to Dove and their other friend Cordelia, where the two witches sit a few tables away.
Gathering all the patience I can manage, I sit and take a long pull of my beer. It’s stronger than the one I had with our meal. That’s what I get for not specifying what beer I wanted, I suppose. The label says it’s called Devil’s Brew. Funny. Guessing it’s another supe-owned business—they seem to enjoy their puns.
Shrugging, I take another swig while I wait for Selene. The alcohol dulls the sharp edges of my distress, so I keep drinking. It hurts that nobody thought to tell me about fated mates, especially Selene. If she knows she’s only killing time with me until her perfect match shows up, shouldn’t she have been upfront about that? Before I know it, I’ve downed half my beer. The room spins. Woah. I look at the bottle as if it’s betrayed me. Did someone spike my drink?
“Jared, are you OK?” Selene rushes to my side, and I realise I’ve slumped over the table at some point.
“Don’t drink your drink,” I slur.
“Pardon?”
I try again even though my mouth feels like it’s full of cotton wool. “Someone spiked my drink. Don’t drink yours.”
“Seriously? Shit, let me tell someone and then we’ll get you to a healer just in case.”
“S’OK. I’m resting.” The table’s cold against my overheated forehead. It’s nice.
A couple of minutes later, a large hand shakes my shoulder, making me look up. “Hey, Jared.”
“Garrett.” I smile widely. “Selene, this is my friend Garrett. He abandoned me, but we’re friends again now. His house is huge, he’ll take me in when you leave me.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not leaving you—I’m right here.”
“When you find your fated mate and you leave me.” Obviously. “Everybody leaves me.”
“Oh boy,” Garrett says. “He’s in bad shape.”
“Could you see if your nose can scent anything in his drink?”
“Sure.” Garrett reaches for my beer.
“Hey, that’s my drink. You own this bar—you can get your own. Wait, wait, does that mean you own my drink because you own the bar?”
“Yes.”
Oh. Makes sense. I wave a hand towards the bottle, almost knocking it over. “Then help yourself, boss.”
“I’m not your—you know what, never mind.” He picks up the bottle. “Well, that explains it.”
“What is it? Has he seriously been drugged? Who would do that?” Selene asks, panicked. I don’t know why she’s so worried about me. She’s leaving me.
“No. But he is drunk off his arse on Devil’s Brew.”
“What,” Selene squawks. “Jared, why would you order that?” I blink up at her. She’s so beautiful. She grips my face in her hands. “Focus, Jared. Why did you order Devil’s Brew?”
“What?”
“The beer, mate.”
“Yes. Beer. I ordered a beer.”
Selene crouches in front of me. “OK, Jared, this is important.” Oh, is it happening now? Am I being dumped in the middle of the bar? That’s harsh. Does this mean she met her mate?
“Is Garrett your mate?”
They exchanged horrified looks.See—I’m so brilliant it’s scary.
