Ian rattles off names that I promptly forget, too many too soon when they haven’t made an impression to cement themselves in my memory. Add in the dozens of things happening that keep pulling my attention one way or another, and I’ll be impressed if I remember what myownname is after trying to rapidly learn everything.
“So pretty much you’ll just need to worry about the storefront for right now,” he announces, swiping an apron and a hat from a shelf and passing them my way while we walk. “Waiting on customers, boxing up what they want, re-traying to make the showcases look nice, and bringing more things out from the back. You ever run a register before?” Nodding, I stop in my tracks as he walks through a swinging door out into the store, returning a few seconds later when he realizes I didn’t follow.
He peeks his head back through, giving me a confused look. “What’s up?”
Inhaling a slow breath through my nose, I lean closer to his ear to whisper since I know firsthand how impressive shifter hearing is. “Prep me for what to expect? What’s company policy for if things get heated?”
He pulls back with a frown until my meaning dawns on him, leaving him looking absolutely pissed off, and I take a cautious step back.“If someone comes in here and decides to throw a bitchfit or spew any racist bullshit about you being a mage, I will personally...call Ares to come rain hell down on them.”
My lip twitches. “You’re not going to go all white knight and defend our honor, I take it?”
He snorts, the vehemence draining from his face as swiftly as it arrived. “Do I look like a complete idiot? Sure, I could hold my own well enough if I had to, but I’m not about to have a pack of wolves jumping me in the alley because I hurt one of their member’s pride. Work smarter, not harder. Let them fight it out amongst themselves and it’s easier for them to drop it and move on.
“Ares is one of Rin’s mates, and a scary motherfucker to boot. Let him take one for the team; not like they don’t owe me one for kidnapping me, anyway.” At my alarmed look, he waves me off. “Story for a different day. What I’m trying to get at is that Rin’s human and in their pride. Hell, some of the wolves are in a similar set up with Olivia. Yeah, they might not trust mages, but after all that Rin’s harem and I went through to help fix a sick cub, it went a long way in mending the distrust between our species. You come here with good intentions, everyone’s cool. But if you try to hurt one of their own?That’swhen you get your face mauled off.”
He squeezes my shoulder once before promptly letting go with a curse as he gets a jolt. “Someone starts anything, safe word is literally just ‘help’. Chances are damn good that a customer would lay the bastard out before any of us even had to intervene.” He winks conspiratorially. “Shifters have a bit of a thing for damsels in distress and will likely jump at a chance to show off for you.”
My mind instantly turns to Rheyas who couldn’t drop my ass fast enough and I scoff. “Not all of ‘em.”
He doesn’t press for more information, though curiosity is evident on his face. Following him out into the store, I take a fortifying breath, mentally praising the gods that there are labels taped to the back of all of the trays. The line is to the door and I swallow nervously, glancing at the harried girl running around frantically working alone out here.
Ian points out where the box of disposable gloves is sitting beneath the counter with a flourish. “Best of luck.”
Whirling around, I gape at him. “You’re not staying to help?”
He raises his hands in surrender, walking backwards to the swinging door. “Sink or swim, Esmerelda. Part of the interview is seeing how you do under pressure.”
“I’m not even hired?!”
Sure as shit better be paying me for all of the shit I spent an hour moving either way.
Smirking, he winks. “Guess that depends on you. Have to work for the things you want around here, Crackles.” My nose wrinkles at the nickname and he busts out laughing. “Just do your best and the rest has a way of falling into place.”
He walks away, leaving me staring at a sea of bright, piercing eyes in various shades. They range from curious to annoyed, but it seems more from the wait than anything personal. Giving myself a mental pep talk, I grab a plastic glove.
“I can help whoever’s next.”
Five
Ian
Rolling over for the tenth time in as many minutes, I thump my head back on the pillow. I’ve been tossing and turning for hours, and it’s becoming abundantly clear that I’m not going to be able to fall asleep at this rate. I’m still too keyed up, having more energy churning beneath my skin than usual. Honestly, I’m tempted just to go outside and blow something to hell for the sake of taking the edge off, but I doubt my neighbors would look kindly on shit exploding outside of their window in the middle of the night.
It may be far more tolerant here than any place I’ve come across in my life, but I’m under no delusions that centuries of prejudices and distrust are going to fade away over the course of a little over a year. Rin, Livvie, and I coming to live with the shifters in the surrounding area was a huge milestone, and helping stop the slaughter of humans and igniting a war beside Wren and her mates only pushed things closer to some well overdue change. I don’t want to sabotage all of the progress we’ve managed to make just because I can’t sleep.
I’d rather get shitfaced like a proper adult.
Rolling out of bed and shuffling towards the kitchen, I thump my head on the closed freezer door when I find nothing in the fridge or cabinets. “Balls.”
Spending another few minutes debating, I finally suck it up and start suiting up, yanking on a coat and gloves. Lacing up my boots, I snatch my keys off of the end table and head out into the middle of Jack Frost’s kink shack.
I nearly wipe out in the driveway before climbing into my car, waiting for the heat to defrost the windows rather than having to scrape them. Heading towards the only place in the vicinity still open, I do a mental tally for how much should be left in my account. Not like I get paid through the nose at a bakery, and I spent most of my savings closing on the house about six months ago. I long for the day I no longer have to live paycheck to paycheck.
The twenty-four hour gas station doubles as a convenience store, even if the ‘convenience’ comes with a price tag to match. Worth it though, to be able to get some sleep. With the way shifter tolerances run? I wouldn’t be surprised to find out they blend this stuff with gasoline; nothing knocks you on your ass faster than moonshine brewed in the wilds.
Parking right in front of the doors, I jog inside, sighing in relief at the blast of heat. There’s only one other guy shopping and I don’t recognize him, but by the way he’s loading up on energy drinks and snacks, it’s clear he’s just passing through.
“What’re you doing out so late?” Dave leans on the counter behind the register, setting his phone aside and latching onto the chance to break up the monotony of his night.
