Imprinted By The Alpha (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (The Marked One - Book 1) (17 page)

As Ava climbed into the passenger side, Kelly shouted, “Let’s go, sista! Lil’s going to be pissed if we’re late.” Ava rolled her eyes as she took in the black Gucci sunshades Kelly wore, having purchased them on their recent shopping excursion to Baton Rouge. They’d both needed to unwind, and they’d returned more relaxed.

“We have plenty of time. What’s your rush?” Ava grumbled as Kelly peeled out of the driveway.

“You know how bitchy Lil can get. I’m just not in the mood for her to rain on my parade today.” She floored it as she turned into the road.

Kelly was right; Lil had taken her bitching to a new level lately, and Ava knew she had to be wound tight over Blaez and his attacks. But since those deaths, everything had been relatively quiet. Ava might be naïve to think that Caleb had blown things out of proportion or already found a way to work things out, but she wanted to believe that it wasn’t as bad as it had first seemed.

“You know, your hair is growing on me. It looks pretty cool, and I’m thinking about putting a thick black streak in mine to match.”

Ava sighed. “I’m getting used to it. And you would look like a reverse skunk.”

It took only five minutes to pull into the Coyote parking lot. It was a Friday night, and the parking lot was already starting to fill up. Tonight would be a full house, and the rush would start in less than half an hour.

“Are you ready for a long, painful night?” Ava asked, pushing herself out of the low slung seat.”

Kelly made a face as she opened the door and let Ava through. “Let’s hope the band is good enough to make up for the hard work.”

******

L
il was behind the bar, as usual, her back to the door when a new, sweet scent wafted through the air with the chime of the door opening, and her nostrils flared. She whipped around, glaring at Ava, who had called in sick for the past several days. She entered as if nothing was wrong, but Lil scented a change and barely hid her suspicion as she took in the girl’s new look.

Her animal instincts kicked into high gear as she and Kelly moved closer, the smell stronger and more potent. Kelly hadn’t changed a bit, and she’d been here every day, Lil watching her and wondering what exactly was going on with the other young woman. She hadn’t heard anything from Caleb about her, either, and she didn’t like that one bit.

Her bar was starting to fill up, but she felt the rumble of a growl building in her chest as she watched Ava, her eyes glowing and the shock of silver hair completely out of character in her cozy establishment. “You two, in my office, now!” she called, pointing at Ava and Kelly. She was going to have a few words, right now.

******

“I
told you!” Kelly whispered as Ava glared at Lil’s back, her eyes narrowed. The woman stormed back to the office, and it set off alarms for Ava. “Are we late?”

Ava checked her watch and shook her head. “We’re fifteen minutes early.” She hadn’t missed the slight glow in Lil’s eyes, and she was curious as to what exactly had set the woman off.

Kelly clung to her arm as they headed back to the office, and Lil slammed the door behind them, walking over to her oak desk and leaning against it. “Come here, Kelly,” she bit out, and Ava felt her friend flinch.

But Kelly moved toward her boss, sending Ava an anxious sidelong glance. Lil grabbed Kelly with both hands, and Ava tensed, ready to fight the woman, regardless of what she was if she hurt Kelly. She scrunched Kelly’s shirt in her fist and pulled her forward, sniffing around her neck and collar. With a disgusted face, she shoved Kelly away. Kelly nearly toppled, catching her balance on the back of a chair, her eyes terrified and angry.

“Ava.” Lil’s feral expression indicated it was her turn.

Ava froze.
She knows.
Shit! Her heart beat harshly in her chest, and she moved hesitantly forward, holding her head high. She wouldn’t let this woman terrify her. After all, hadn’t her mother told her that she held dominion to restore balance for all creatures? She told herself that she was more powerful than Lil would ever be, though she had trouble believing it.

With two steps forward, she stopped moving. Lil closed her eyes, her nostrils growing large as she drew a deep whiff of the air. For a moment, her face was serene, and she took Ava off guard, grabbing her arm and jerking her forward. She growled, “Your eyes. You fed me a bullshit story about your eyes.”

“I can explain, Lil,” Ava cried, panicking and trying to pull her arm free.

But Lil held tight, her grip biting into Ava’s arm as she reached for the other hand, flipping it so the inside of her wrist faced up. Ava held her breath, hoping the decorative bracelet Kelly had bought to help her cover the mark didn’t slide away. But it didn’t matter. Lil yanked at it, snapping the band and dropping it to the floor. Her large brown eyes glowed intensely, bright amber, and she examined the mark with sight and smell.

Suddenly, she dropped Ava’s arm like it burned her and backed away, baring her teeth and growling like she was ready to attack.

“Lil, please, calm down.” Ava didn’t have the confidence in herself to stop whatever Lil was going to do when actually faced with the threat, and she whimpered with panic. Lil was usually the epitome of control, despite being a werewolf, and this was terrifying. She could almost smell Kelly’s fear, as well, the girl backing into the corner behind Ava.

“It’s you!” Lil hissed between her teeth. “You’re the marked one!”

******

N
ostrils flaring, Lil took in Ava’s scent, so strong with every inhalation that she felt drugged by it. How had she missed this? She was so much more attentive than this. She’d had Ava working side by side with her, and only now did she recognize who and
what
Ava was. She saw the surprise on Ava’s face at her words, and it was no wonder. Only a handful of people knew of the mark and what it meant to her kind. To all the supernatural.

For a moment, she raged inside that Caleb had kept this from her. After all, he had some sort of sordid relationship with Ava he didn’t want to discuss. But then she realized...he didn’t know, either. He had left last week with a few pack members to try and track Blaez.

Lil was taken off guard as Kelly stepped forward, placing herself directly between Lil and Ava. Her face was stormy, though Lil nearly laughed at the intensity of her fearful odor. “Yes, Ava is the marked one. Why are you acting this way? It’s not like she’s going to hurt anyone.” Her voice was deceptively low and calm and Lil gave her credit. Anyone who couldn’t smell what she did wouldn’t know that Kelly was quaking with horror inside.

******

A
va didn’t want Kelly taking chances like this. If Lil phased, they were both dead. This was a side of Lil that neither of them had seen, and Ava only knew in theory what she was capable of. This was getting out of hand, and something had to give.

“Not going to
hurt anyone?”
Lil screamed and paced the room, her shoulders rolling as if she were going to pounce them at any moment. “Do you fucking realize that Ava holds the cure for werewolves? One ounce of Little Miss Sunshine’s blood and our extinction is at hand, you dip shit!” Her hostility permeated the air.

Ava stood stalk still as Lil circled the room, landing behind her desk in the black leather chair. Her eyes shone with fury. “Jesus, this is why you took the week off.” They locked gazes, and Ava stood her ground. “When did this happen?”

Quietly, Ava responded, “Last week, on my birthday.” She fought the urge to cry desperately, and her voice shook with the effort. “No one is going to find out, Lil.” She would hide what she was, no matter what it took. No one else in town, outside her family, knew what she was. She could keep it that way.

Lil laughed sarcastically. “No one will know?” She shook her head. “Your scent is far too strong for that. You reek of some sweet, pungent musk that I smelled before you ever got through my door. Every werewolf within twenty miles knows you’re here already, I guarantee it. And other packs are going to catch a whiff on the breeze and come here to fuck with us. The vamps are going to fall on us in droves.”

She tapped her fingernails on the desk in rapid succession, and Ava thought that, hopefully, she was calming a bit. “Caleb has no idea, does he?”

“I haven’t seen him since last week,” Ava responded.

Lil grunted, glaring at her before she turned away, deep in thought. “I’d have you chained in my basement, eating table scraps, if it were up to me,” she mumbled.

“Nice, Lil,” Kelly barked, catching Lil’s attention to Ava’s dismay. “It’s not like she asked for this nor has any intention of doing anything bad.”

Lil shook her head. “It’s not always about intentions, sweetheart.” She scowled. “I need some time to decide what to do.” Ava watched her get up and walk toward the office door. “Work tonight’s shift. We need the help, with the new band playing. It’s going to be a cluster fuck as it is.” Ava caught her breath as Lil’s glowing eyes turned on her again, boring into her. “But this is your last shift.” Her voice was stern, and she walked out, leaving no room for negotiations.

Ava felt betrayed, and she exchanged horrified looks with Kelly as she collapsed into one of the chairs. Lil made no apologies and, after coddling Ava for weeks like a mother hen, she was tossing her to the wolves, literally, in favor of her own survival. Or what she expected to save her.

“Jesus Christ!” Kelly breathed.

Ava’s hope for normalcy shattered. Everything was falling apart, anything that could go wrong had. Lil would likely run to Caleb, and Ava was certain his fury would more than match Lil’s. She hung her head, catching it in her hands and trying to breathe normally. She couldn’t change what had just happened. The sky was falling, and she was powerless against it.

“You know, she’s wrong,” Kelly muttered, coming and dropping a hand on Ava’s shoulder. “I don’t care how terrified she is, she’s being unreasonable and has no excuse for treating you like this.” Ava looked up and found Kelly reaching into her bag. She tore off her uniform shirt, replacing it with one of her own. “If you’re fired, then I quit.”

Ava blinked at her in surprise. “You don’t have to do that, Kelly.”

Kelly scoffed. “Fuck her, Ava. She’s not going to talk about my best friend like you’re some sort of rabid beast. Like she has room to talk!”

Ava couldn’t help but smile at Kelly’s attitude. She was angry, too, and she adopted some of Kelly’s fierceness. Enough of this shit, she decided. Her mother’s words came to her in that moment. It was time to accept what she was and embrace it to her advantage. No more feeling sorry for herself. It was time to start acting with the power she held deep inside, even if she didn’t understand it. After all, she was
‘the marked one’
, and she stood, giving Kelly a wink, and left the office, with her friend gaping at her.

––––––––

T
he brutality of the evening rush had been worse than expected, with Kelly, Ava, and Rhonda running and rushing the floor for hours without breaks. As the band began their sound check, the place finally started to clear out, and Ava found it a perfect time to have a seat at the bar, watching Lil work.

Checking to make sure no one was listening; she asked quietly, “You hate me, don’t you?” She kept her tone and her expression stern as Lil hesitated in her movements but didn’t look up.

“I don’t hate you, Ava.” Her voice was tight. “You’re certainly not at the top of my list of pals right now.” As if it was a peace offering, Lil gave her a reluctant smile and poured a shot for each of them. Holding up her own glass, Lil growled, “Here’s to bullshit.”

Ava seconded, “To bullshit!” She tilted her head back and tossed the liquor down her throat. She slammed the glass on the bar, and Lil chuckled softly as she went about her business with the patrons.

Ava swiveled in her seat, taking in the clearing diners and the incoming partiers. “Are you just gonna sit there, or are you going to help?” Rhonda asked snidely with a disapproving look at Ava before she turned to run a list of beverages to Lil.

“I’m on it.” She slid from the seat, grabbing a tray of beers to deliver and ignoring Rhonda’s bad attitude. She was likely on the rag; it was what usually made her so irritable.

As she delivered the drinks, Ava took in the sight of the band, which had a country sound reminiscent of the classic southern rock. She ran orders and mingled as the band played hit after hit. They were pretty good and had the crowd going. With a break in orders, Ava and Kelly stood by the bar, listening and swaying to the music for a moment, when Lil stopped moving mid-pour.

Ava watched her anxiously, her head popping up and her eyes glowing softly. Her face twisted with rage, and Ava followed her stare to the entryway, her eyes widening as about a dozen men strode through the door. They were in their mid-twenties and early thirties, as far as Ava could tell, wearing black leather coats and jeans. They had varied beard growth and appeared rough like bikers. They certainly weren’t locals, and Ava’s eyes shot back to Lil as she grabbed the shotgun from behind the bar.

“Lil, what are you doing?” she asked cautiously, her heart skipping a beat.

“Ava, go to my office and climb out the window. Now!” Lil spoke through her teeth in a firm and strangely calm voice.

Not one to ask questions, Ava slid around the edge of the bar, between patrons, aiming to get behind the counter and break into a run for the office. Her eyes fell on a single man, walking through the middle of the others, and she noted the way they moved for him, clearing a path. His command and the respect he demanded exuded from him. As she stared at him, no longer moving, she saw that he was clean shaven, showing his chiseled facial features and his jet black hair was short and well kept. His jeans and tight white shirt showed every muscle, and his strength was obvious in the width and the carriage of his shoulders. And to top it off, he amplified sexual appeal that drew the gazes of every female in the bar.

Ava tried to tear her eyes away as they traveled up his bare arm, covered in tattoos that ran all the way beneath his sleeve, reappearing on his shoulder and neck. Now, her heart thumped so hard it made her lightheaded, and she wanted to run but felt rooted in place. She heard Lil telling her to go, ever more forcefully, but she was transfixed. The tribal tattoo was in clear view now as the man’s gaze fell on Ava. She instantly panicked.