Ryu’s attention was quickly changed when the other two alphas with him led him to an empty table. I knew the taller one, Lorenzo — he sometimes guarded Cinderhollow’s barrier, since he was adept at clear magic. The third alpha bore a familiar resemblance to Lorenzo, so I assumed they were related. A younger brother, probably.
Lorenzo stayed behind at the table while Ryu and the third alpha approached the bar counter.
“Hey. Welcome,” I said in my typical bartender’s voice.
“Hey, Scar,” Ryu said with a smile. “My friend Dante wanted to go for an Alpha’s Night Out, so here we are.”
The other alpha must have been Dante, then. I nodded at him.
“How’s business tonight?” Ryu asked.
I shrugged. “Pretty busy. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.”
“Why would it be a bad thing?” Dante asked. “It’s nice to get that extra coin!”
I raised a brow at him. “When you’re a single omega dealing with a bunch of loud, obnoxious alphas, maybe then you’ll understand.”
Dante winced slightly and glanced over his shoulder at the other large group of alphas, who were once again in the middle of a peanut shell throwing contest.
“Yeah, nevermind, I can see why,” Dante muttered.
“Other than that, how’ve you been?” Ryu asked me. “I haven’t seen you in a while, man.”
Yeah, because you stopped showing up at the bar.“Same as usual. Working my ass off and not getting any younger.”
With a spark of annoyance, I realized I was older than both of the alphas standing in front of me. And with even greater annoyance, I remembered all three of them were dragon shifters, blessed with immortality and powers I would never understand.
“Meet any nice alphas while you’re working, at least?” Dante asked.
I met his gaze and bluntly said, “No.”
“Oh.” He looked sheepish. “Uh, anyway, I’ll get a glass of wine for Lorenzo, and a rum and coke for me. Heavy on the rum. Please.”
I began mixing his drink as he returned to the table, leaving only Ryu at the counter with me.
“What about you?” I asked him.
“Just a malt beer is fine.”
I reached into the fridge and found my fingers reaching for the brand I knew he preferred. Apparently I remembered even though I hadn’t seen him in so long.
“What about you?” I asked. “Any lucky omega yet?”
His eyes widened. Apparently the question surprised him. “Um, no, not yet. Been busy with work and stuff, you know?”
Strange. I would have thought a handsome young alpha like Ryu would have found an omega by now, but I didn’t voice that out loud.
“Thanks,” Ryu said, taking the bottle. He grabbed his friends’ drinks as well. “I guess, uh… I should head back to the table.”
“Guess so.”
Our eyes lingered for a strange, short moment. Then Ryu smiled and nodded before returning to his friends.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.
As I watched him walk away, annoyance built inside me. Why did I end the conversation so quickly?
And then I thought: why did I even care? Ryu was just an acquaintance, barely even a friend. Why was I upset that he left to go hang out with his friends, instead of me - a grouchy bartender he barely knew?
