“Damn I don’t want to go. I want to stay in bed with you all day. Be a good woman today and go talk with the pack. They’re curious about you.”
“I bet,” she grumbled. He laughed at her then kissed her quick on the mouth. He said one last goodbye then left. If she wasn’t careful this would start to feel like some kind of fucked up relationship.
Willow flung herself back on the bed, ran a hand between her legs, and cursed.
“That son of a bitch gets me revved up on purpose.” Wait, was that what he was doing? Wooing her via her hormones? It wasn’t like she had a choice either. If she wanted to live she needed to feed someway. Growling, Willow scrubbed her hands over tired eyes and got out of bed.
God dammit, if she was going to stay here and do this then she was going to do it her way, not his. He wasn’t going to dominate her. If it were the last thing she did, she wouldn’t submit to him.
Willow grabbed a jacket out of her backpack and left the cabin. Cool air had settled over the town during the night and the dark, cloudy sky hinted that snow would be upon them soon. She’d need to go shopping if she was going to stay here much longer. Her meager backpack items wouldn’t last her a month in this winter. Just to think, if he hadn’t caught her she could be in her new Florida summer home left to her by Papa. Those times almost seemed like ages ago now. Oh God, what was she thinking? She was losing her mind even contemplating this stuff.
Willow kicked a rocked off the road and stomped down towards the pack’s houses. She hesitated for a moment outside of Bitchy Amy’s place. Talk about a woman who couldn’t let go. If a man didn’t want you, then why didn’t she move on already? Aside from her shitty attitude, Willow didn’t see anything wrong with her.
Deciding to check out the town, she skipped the houses and walked the couple of miles into Lyonis’ homemade town. The smell of sweet pastries and fresh made bread teased her senses as she passed next to a bakery. The woman behind the register caught her glance through the glass and waved happily at her. Willow hesitantly stuck up her arm and waved back. The woman almost bounced with joy.
“Weird people,” she muttered and continued on. A clothing store caught her attention next. It was about half the size of the department store she usually used back home, but she needed clothes.
She grunted with approval as she stepped inside the store. She found the winter coat aisle and immediately started grabbing items in her size. She didn’t care much what they looked like—anything simple made her happy. As she stepped in line to pay the cashier smiled wildly at her with a mischievous look in her eye.
“Hello there, I’m Stacy. Everyone calls me Stacy P. because there’s another Stacy too, and we’re only a year apart and we get mixed up a lot. So you’re Willow, huh? Quite the beauty too, and strong. You know I’m not surprised Lyonis was fated with someone like yourself. I always say a strong man needs and even stronger woman to keep him in line, you know what I mean?” She snorted and giggled, never once stopping from ringing up items...or taking a breath.
Willow closed her mouth and tried to think of something to say. How the hell can the woman say so much but she couldn’t think of one thing to say back?
“Um, it’s nice to meet you, Stacy.”
“That’s Stacy P,” she corrected with a wink and a smile. Willow smiled back at her. She couldn’t help it. The woman was probably in her early thirties and she had a hair of curly blood hair that bobbed every time she talked.
She rang up the last item and said, “That’ll be a hundred and four dollars even. Whew, that never happens. You know my momma used to say that was a sign of good luck.” Willow gave her a tight-lipped smile as she patted her back pocket.
“Shit.” She forgot she didn’t have any money. She had a twenty on her and that was it. She swore that ever since she got to this town, it was like she was living in a surreal world. One in which she was captive.
“I’m afraid I made a mistake. I forgot to take more money out of the bank.” Ire rose quick and hot. It was his fault. If she hadn’t been woman-napped from Europe then she’d be free to leave and stop at an ATM and be sunbathing at the ocean right now instead of buying freaking winter clothes.
Stacy P’s eyes lit up even brighter. “Not to worry! I’ll put it on the Alpha Lyonis’ account.” Willow frowned; the thought of owing him money like tar in her gut.
“No, thanks. I think I’ll just wait until I can stop at a bank.” Willow started to leave but the woman stopped her. She held out the bag of clothes to her and lifted her chin high.
“No, I insist. Take them; you’ll need it since the cold weather’s coming in. I promise he won’t mind at all.” She giggled like she just told a joke that only she got.
Sighing, Willow snatched the bag and mumbled a thank you. “Have a great day; come by anytime to chat!” Willow waved her off and left.
The bag slapped against her leg as she wandered down the street. More pack members passed her with smiles and hellos. Since when did they get so welcoming? Willow snarled and glared at the members as she rushed past them. Without even thinking, she opened the next door on the street and went in.
“Oh, thank God,” she sighed. It was the town’s pub. The name above the bar read: The Wolf’s Den. She almost chuckled. She thanked God there were only two patrons and hurried to the bar. The bartender was an older man with a face aged with wrinkles, lines, and a full head of thick white and gray hair.
“What can I do you for, my Queen?” Willow’s jaw dropped at the title, and quickly she realized the two patrons had stopped talking. She looked over to see them watching her, expectantly. What the hell did that mean? Why were they watching her?
“Quit staring!” she yelled to the men. They quickly looked away and went back to their conversation. When she looked back at the bartender she fought the urge to blush. There was always something about yelling in front of older folks that hit her the wrong way.
“No need to take it out on them, they can’t help it.”
“Help what?” Willow grabbed onto her hair and pulled the cords until she felt a sting of pain. The second she was done, she realized she’d forgotten her hair tie. Just perfect.
“People are even more curious about you since they know you’ll be staying now. So what can I get you to drink?”
Willow’s mind spun.
“Whoa, wait. What do you mean I’m staying?” The bartender turned around and started pouring a cup of black, steamy coffee. Willow almost sighed at the smell as he placed it in front of her with a small bowl of sugar. “How’d you know how I take it?”
He gave her a wise, knowing look and shrugged a shoulder. “Tool of the trade, I s’pose. Drink up, you’ll feel better.” Willow sipped her sweetened coffee and let it soothe her stomach. She set the cup down after a moment.
“Okay, now tell me what you meant by that.”
“By what?” he asked innocently. Willow clenched and unclenched her fists while in her mind she pictured throwing the coffee on the bartender. Okay, she wasn’t that evil, but at least she could fantasize about it.
“What do you mean I’ll be staying here?” The old bartender smiled gently and rested his elbows on the bar.
Leaning towards her, he said, “Oh, that? The whole pack already knows about it. People are getting real excited. Seems like good timin’ to me too with the Winter Festival comin’ up.”
Willow took a long, burning drink of her coffee and slammed her cup on the bar.
“Answer me clearly old man, or prepare to fight.”
The bartender tossed back and laughed a hoarse, wheezing laugh until his cheeks turned red. When he finally calmed enough to look back at her, his eyes were watery with unshed tears. Willow bared her teeth at him.