Besides, he needed gas anyway.
So he took himself off to the gas station, for both gasoline and a ‘chance’ encounter with the man his clan favored.
Upon arriving at the station, the pump refused to react properly, giving him a different excuse to enter than he’d planned, but no matter.Glenn walked towards the quaint building, and as he did so, his nose caught the hint of a werewolf.One in full fur, it seemed, as Glenn could see him through the glass.He could also see an employee in uniform, with the name Ross displayed on a tag.
Really?Werewolves felt comfortable enough entering here in their other form?Well, well, well.Perhaps Annabella and Dunham were correct after all.This one had spirit if he could calmly accept the supernatural world.
And Glenn was quite curious how this Ross would handle having both vampire and werewolf inside at the same time.It probably wasn’t nice to test him like this, without even properly meeting him first, but Glenn never claimed to be a nice person.
He drew open the door, fully prepared to defend himself if need be, but mostly focused on the young man fetching a—was he seriously fetching a hot dog for a werewolf?
Glenn had to blink a few times to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.They didn’t appear to be.
As expected, the wolf spun about sharply, hackles raised as he growled out a warning.Glenn faced him down with an amused quirk of the brow.Silly pup.He could tell this one didn’t have much age on him, and Glenn was far faster and stronger than a pup barely weaned.It wouldn’t be much of a competition.
The man in the gold-and-black gas station uniform dodged sharply around the wolf.Glenn almost interceded on instinct—getting between a werewolf and vampire was never wise—but he checked the impulse.No.No, wait, see what he would do.
With a sharp smack against the werewolf’s nose, Ross forced the wolf into a retreat.“Feliks, quit it.”
The werewolf jerked back in reflex, then sneezed violently, shaking his head.
“Stop,” Ross commanded firmly.“You know the rules.No fighting inside the store.You want to fight, you take it outside.”
“But—” Feliks sounded like a five-year-old denied a treat.
“No.”
“You don’t know who he is!”Feliks protested.
“He’s my customer.He’s inside my store.No fighting.”It was clear Ross would not take no for an answer.
And despite the fact the werewolf could rip him limb from limb without even breaking a sweat, it was the wolf who backed down.
Glenn could only admire the confidence of this man, so wholly human, and be amused by it as well.He’d not seen a human act like this in centuries.What gave him this confidence?Not everyone possessed the ability to look a dangerous creature in the eye and submit it to his will—and to do so without exploiting it in some fashion, no less.It sparked excitement in his chest to see it.Because that ability right there, that was exactly the skill a Function needed.Glenn felt like sending up a prayer of thanks in finally finding someone who could give him the help he needed.
Never had Glenn been so glad that he took another’s advice.He owed Annabella and Dunham a serious favor for the recommendation.
Not to mention Ross was handsome.Annabella hadn’t been exaggerating there.Even the horrid gas station uniform couldn’t hide that.He was toned, just muscular enough to be defined, his amber skin washed out a little under the lights.Oh, but his eyes.Apple green, and so penetrating, as if he could read every thought.Perhaps he could—it would explain how well he handled the wolf.A thread of lust wound its way through him, unexpected to say the least.Glenn hadn’t seen a man who caught his interest so immediately like this in many, many years.But there was something about Ross, something that made his hands twitch with the urge to touch.
The hot dog was handed over to the wolf, and meekly taken and consumed without further argument.Feliks didn’t stay, though.He drank up the bowl of water, mumbled a good night, then slunk back out.
The attendant breathed out a sigh of relief, fetched the bowl, and put it off to the side to clean later.Glenn watched him go, this human named Ross.An unassuming enough name, though he had a feeling the man himself would prove to be anything but.
Glenn approached the counter as Ross resumed his place behind it.“That was impressive.I’ve never seen a human wrangle a werewolf before.You do that often?”
“It’s called customer service,” Ross deadpanned.“Are you looking for something, sir?”
“Gas.The pump outside wouldn’t take my card, for some reason.”
“Pump 3?”Ross checked.“Yeah, that one’s glitchy for some reason.Our tech guy is due tomorrow to fix it.I can run it from here.How much do you want?”
“Twenty dollars should suffice.”He handed over his credit card, still trying to determine the nature of the man in front of him.Annabella and Dunham had both sworn he was human, and only human, but—surely not.Witch?Wizard?Something else, perhaps?Something had to give Ross the confidence Glenn had seen on display, surely.He inhaled deeply, frown deepening.“I don’t detect anything from your blood.You’re wholly human?”
Ross didn’t look surprised by the inquiry.Which did beg the question of how often he was asked.Glenn was a little worried about that.Who else had picked up on this man?“Nothing supernatural or magical about me.Sign here, please.”
Glenn wasn’t sure what to do with that answer, either.Wholly human?And yet he could respond like this?He took the receipt and signed it on autopilot.The man in front of him was far more interesting.“And yet you are unfazed by the supernaturals you encounter?”
“The ones who come in here to shop aren’t the type to cause trouble,” Ross answered simply.“They’re reasonable.And I’ve never seen anyone supernatural outside of here.”
