weighing on my mind. I struggled with the pain I saw in Yeager’s eyes when I made him take me home as much as I wrestled with his impossible claims.
“So, just wild sex on his motorcycle,” Edie said revealing her real assumptions.
“No, look I don’t want to talk about it,” I told her.
“Something bad happen?” she asked. I looked at Edie and frowned.
“What part of I don’t what to talk about it don’t you get?” I asked and smiled at her so she’d know I wasn’t angry.
“Hey, you can’t blame a girl for trying,” she replied. Willy slid several plates under the heat lamps and rang the bell. “If you want to talk, I’m here,” Edie offered and I appreciated the sentiment.
“Thanks,” I replied as we grabbed our orders and took them in opposite directions to deliver the food to our customers. On my way by the coffee machine, I hit the start button to start another pot brewing. We were busy, even busier than the day before. Thursday was the day Wolf’s Run officially began. There would be motorcycle shows, auctions, concerts, wet t-shirt contests, and generally all manner of debauchery. My crew and I would keep the thousands of bikers well fed and they would help keep me in business for a little while longer.
Things were going smoothly at the diner and the pace helped keep my mind off of the previous night. It hit me while I lay in bed trying to get a bit of sleep and failing miserably that I wasn’t as disturbed about Yeager’s claim he was some kind of werewolf as I should be. I should have assumed he was crazy but I didn’t. On some level I accepted his story despite how incredibly ridiculous it sounded. There was no such thing as a werewolf, or whatever he claimed he was.
No, instead I tried to understand why I trusted him so easily and why I felt his pain so deeply. I tried to figure out why I felt some connection to him. He said I was his mate as if I was some kind of animal but I couldn’t deny the visceral reaction I experienced at hearing it. Exactly what I felt I wasn’t sure but I sensed something and it wasn’t negative. It made me feel...I don’t know...special. I lay awake all night until the alarm went off trying to wrap my head around the biker, his questionable claims and the way they made me feel but it was futile.
“Out!” I heard and looked up from the party from whom I was taking orders. It was that big biker, Dolan, and his gang. They were kicking another group of my customers out of my restaurant. Yesterday, the two couples were done eating when Dolan and his gang, the Fangs as he’d called them, took over their table. Today, the table had just given me their orders only moments before.
“Hey, leave them alone,” I told him. I realized everyone in the Rusty Skillet was staring at me to see what was about to happen.
“Not going to sic your little boyfriend on me this morning?” Dolan asked referring to Edie.
“She’s a girl but she’s still more man than you’ll ever be. You’re a bully. I don’t want you in my diner. Get out!” I told him. Be strong and show him you’re not intimidated even if you are. That’s what my mom would have done. He just laughed, however.
“How about me and the boys here take you out back and show you a good time?” Dolan offered crudely. All my resolve melted at that. The look in his eyes was wild and raw. I knew he’d make good on that threat if I pushed him.
“Hey, you heard her. Get out of here,” a biker at a nearby table told the big man in my defense. Then Edie appeared there next to me to lend support as well.
“Yeah, beat it, loser,” she said. Dolan growled at her. Growled! Like an animal. Then he pushed a woman aside, knocking her and her chair to the floor, and approached Edie and me. He made me feel small and helpless as he loomed over us.
“Maybe we should take both of you out back,” he said menacingly. The biker that had warned Dolan stood up and got between us facing the big, dark man. Our