And that wasn’t the only issue with the bear.
He expected me to just throw my arms around him and give up my entire life, my roots, my friends, my career because he floated into town after his luxury car broke down.
Poor, alpha bear. His overpriced car cost more than I made in a year.
It was time for me to give him a piece of my mind.
First, I had to find the motel. I knew it was around here somewhere. Oh, maybe I was drunker than I thought.
“Let me give you a ride,” Kael said, pulling up next to me.
“Hey! Kael! Where did you come from?”
He looked at me with some disappointment. Too bad. He could join the club. I was the founding member today. We were disappointed with life in general. “The bartender called me. Let’s get you to the motel so you can rest.”
“First!” I pointed my finger in the air. Oh, the moon was big tonight. “First, I have some things to say to that big, burly, handsome bear.”
Kael shook his head. “Get in.”
Minutes later, because small town, I was dropped off at my motel room and given more advice to get some rest.
No. No rest for the wicked or the drunk. And right now, I felt like a bit of both.
“Hey, you big jerk!” I banged on the motel door. No chance of waking up any other patrons because there were none. Not even flannel guy was here. “You suck!”
There. That oughta get him right in the gut.
Ugh. I shook my head. I wasn’t making sense.
“You come in here and say,oh, hi, little mate. You’re so beautiful.” I banged louder, this time with both fists. “And then you say,come live with me in the city with my fancy car and my fancy job and my big handsome faceand you don’t give two shits that I have a life here.”
I heard a groan inside. I’d woken the bear. Good. He’d come here and stirred things up. It was my turn now.
This time, I kicked the door. “Did you even hear yourself?Don’t worry. I’m big man alpha bear. I take care of you. Let me throw you over my shoulder and drag you home to my cave. Me wins!”
He said none of that, but that was how it made me feel.
I kicked some more, but the day and the tiredness and the tequila were all rearing their heads, showing me how powerful they could be.
“And now…” I said, much weaker than I’d intended. “And now you won’t come to the door, and you broke my heart and that’s not how it’s supposed to work. And…and you suck!”
Chapter Seven
Edris
I stood inside and listened to him rail at me on the other side of the door. He slurred his words, a dead giveaway that he’d been drinking, and I’d learned a long time before that you don’t argue with a drunk. Was this his way of coping with uncomfortable emotions?
Resting my forehead against the door, I cringed as it rattled under his pounding. My bear was having fits, wanting our mate in here immediately. Or sooner. But in his current mindset, I feared it would not be good to try to have any kind of a sensible conversation.
“Omega, go back to your room, and we’ll talk in the morning.” I spoke through the door, but if he could hear me over his own noise, he gave no indication. And for his sake, mine, and that of any other guests of the Mates Motel, I couldn’t just leave him out there any longer. He was getting louder by the minute, and at some point, someone was going to call the authorities. Or he’d hurt himself. So, I gave in and opened the door. “Zac, we—”
No sooner were those words out than he’d pushed past me into the room. Shrugging, I closed the door behind him and turned to face the interior. I wouldn’t let it get out of control. This was my mate, and we should have a whole life ahead of us. Things aid under the influence, or in response to his being under the influence, could harm our future.
“Omega, sit down here at the table and I’ll make some coffee.”
“No, I don’t want any coffee. I just want to tell you why I am so up-shet.” I’d never seen someone drinking actually hiccup, like in movies, but Zac was doing it. “Hic. Excuse me.”
“Do you want me to scare you and try to make them go away?” I stood, hovering over him, wanting to make everything better, to take the next steps forward with him, but at least the latter would have to wait. He was even drunker in person than he’d sounded from outside.
