Plopping down on one of the empty barstools, I rested my forehead on the sticky bar, not giving a shit about what kind of germs were populating on my skin.
“That bad, huh?” the bartender said.
“That bad. Give me whatever gets you drunk the fastest.”
The slim omega snickered. “Nothing is fast with us wolves, but let’s give it a shot.”
I lifted my head to see a shot glass full of clear liquid in front of me.
Goddess, this was not a good idea.
But, so far, this day was topsy-turvy, so there was a chance the wrong decision might make things right.
Nothing was making sense today, especially me.
Maybe alcohol would help.
I stopped debating and drank the shot in one go. It burned the fuck out of my throat and then down my chest. I coughed and made a noise that caused the other patrons to look at me.
“Another one,” I said.
“Are you sure?” the bartender asked, walking over. “You seem like a lightweight.”
“Well, today, I have been up almost twenty-four hours. My water pump broke. I have to stay in a motel until it’s done, and the cherry on top? I met my mate, and he’s an asshole.”
The omega’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “That calls for more shots. I’ll bring the bottle over.”
My outburst not only earned me the prestige of a bottle of silver tequila to myself, but it also garnered the attention of the people around me. Some of them came to sit next to me and while the bartender poured shot after shot, I poured out so many details about the day and my life, it was embarrassing.
But thank the goddess the tequila took away my inhibitions. All embarrassment simply floated away.
Why didn’t I drink more often? This was amazing.
“He said all of this the first time you spoke to him?” one older man asked me. He had a trucker hat and a flannel shirt. He was a passer-through, his words. Somehow that made him safer to spill my guts to.
“Well, when we went to the motel room.”
The man shook his head. “No way for an alpha to behave if you ask me.”
“One more,” I said to the bartender.
“I don’t know, Zac. You’re drunk already. You’ve downed an entire bottle of tequila. That would kill a human.”
I scoffed. Oh, the anger was pouring in. We were at that part of the heartbreak. “But I’m not human, am I?”
“No, but I’m cutting you off. You’re done.”
“Fine.” I put a bill on the counter and began to walk off when flannel-shirt man caught my elbow. “Hey, you don’t meet your mate every day, and Fate wouldn’t give you someone you were incompatible with. Give the alpha a second chance. Some of us make mistakes. Trust me. Don’t let your mate pass you by.”
My mate. He was still at the motel.
He was next on my list, now that I was more angry than sad.
Move to the city! As though I’d never had that thought. I had. I considered it. Considered getting the penthouse and being some hotshot healer for the rich omegas. They would fill mypockets and I’d be living the high life. But my conscience got the best of me. I wanted to help people, not just be rich for doing the same thing. There were couples and omegas who needed a safe place to give birth and to have prenatal care without worry about if one of those visits would mean they couldn’t fill up the fridge that month.
Everyone deserved health care.
My grandfather’s money had given me a choice in the matter, and I didn’t take that lightly. With no mortgage and no car payment, I was free to take a lower-paying job, but the benefits to shifter kind and my community far outweighed any salary I could make in the city.
