It took Nick a moment to connect the name with a face. “Ah, the Nazi.”
“Why was he nicknamed the Nazi?”
“Because he’s a Nazi.”
“It’s the ‘drug lord’ rumor surrounding him that bugs me.”
Yeah, admittedly, it wasn’t comforting.
“I’m surprised he hasn’t approached your mate and insisted she join his pack or leave.” Derren took a sip of his coffee. “You know, her wolf’s not easy to sense. If I hadn’t already known she was a half-shifter, I doubt I would have picked up on it.” That was Derren—he missed nothing. “Maybe that’s why she’s been left alone.”
“Her father’s human,” Nick told him after swallowing a piece of toast. “I found that out when I was searching for info on her to try to guess where she might be hiding.”
“You know what that means, don’t you?”
“That the urge to mate won’t be as painful for her.” Half-shifters had heightened senses and accelerated strength and speed just as full shifters did, but they differed in that their animal and primal instincts were diluted. “That’s a good thing. I don’t want her in pain.”
“But it also means she won’t be able to appreciate the kind of pain you’re in by being around her and not claiming her. She’ll be uncomfortable and restless and horny, but she won’t have any idea of what you’re going through. Won’t have any idea how hard life’s been for you since you laid eyes on her.”
That was true. Shaya had it in her head that things had been an easy ride for Nick, that he’d found it simple to step aside. It was half the reason why she was so pissed at him. After demolishing the remainder of his breakfast, he said, “Like I told you last night, I don’t want her to come to me because she feels sorry for me.”
“But if she understands that you haven’t, by any means, had an easy time, she might be a little less harsh on you.” Derren took a long swig of his coffee, having finished his pancakes in record time. “And I still think you should tell her everything. The bigger picture would help.”
Smiling, Nick snorted. “What, you’re trying to be my advisor now, too?”
Derren cocked his head. “Do you think I’m smart enough?”
“Fuck you.” There was no heat in his words. “I need to use the bathroom.” Seeing that Derren was about to accompany him—most likely due to the gathering of snarling shifters—Nick threw him an impatient look. “I don’t need you to hold my hand while I take a damn piss.”
Derren chuckled. “Have fun, then.”
Oh it would be fun if one of the shifters confronted him. Blowing off steam would be pretty helpful.
He got his wish. Nick had just finished buttoning his fly when four dominant male wolves entered the restroom. Not intimidated by their scowls or aggressive postures, he ignored them, went to the sink, and washed his hands. As he dried them, they formed a semicircle around him, blocking him in. Turning, he looked at them all curiously…like they were bugs. They didn’t like that.
The one in the middle stepped forward slightly, tilting his bald head. “Who are you?”
“You guys are confronting me. I’ll ask the questions. What do you want?” That seemed to have knocked his confidence a little. Good. Stupid shit was dominant, but he wasn’t an alpha, and yet here he was practically challenging one, endangering himself and his packmates. He should know better. He should have been taught better.
“Our Alpha would like to speak to you.”
“Really?” drawled Nick. “And why is that?”
“You’re on our turf.” He clenched his fists, snarling fiercely. “He wants to know why.”
“Is that right?” Nick ensured he sounded bored. In truth, he was. When he was Alpha, there had been lone wolves who had drifted in and out of town occasionally. Unless they had bothered him in some way, he had left them alone. And if he had needed to speak with them, he hadn’t done this whole song and dance in an effort to intimidate them. There was nothing big and bad about it. In fact, it was plain disrespectful and showed a lack of good leadership.
“So you need to come with us.”
Nick stepped toward him. “If your Alpha wants to speak to me, he’s welcome to come and find me.”
“You really don’t want to play this game. We’re members of the Sequoia Pack. Our Alpha is the Nazi.”
Nick just looked at him blankly. “As I said, if he wants to speak to me, he’s welcome to come find me.”
“You have no idea who you’re fucking with.”
“Neither do you.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re either very brave or very stupid.”
“I’m bored.”
“You’re crazy,” he decided.
Nick smiled. “How can you tell?”
“Listen, I follow orders. That means I’ll take you to him conscious or unconscious. Do the smart thing and make the right choice.”
No one was taking him anywhere. In a sharp yet fluid movement, Nick delivered a hard punch to the wolf’s temple, knocking him out cold. Before any of the others could react, he yanked the hand dryer from the wall behind him and bashed it over the head of the wolf on his left, sending him dizzily crashing to the tiled floor with a hard thud. Just as Nick turned, one of the others charged at him. But Nick was faster. He used the hand dryer to shove him backward and simultaneously knock the wolf behind him off-balance. Nick then dealt his opponent a solid kick to the ribs, pretty sure at least one of them cracked. As the wolf keeled over slightly, Nick grabbed him by his hair and bashed his head on one of the urinals. The male went instantly limp and slumped to the floor.
Nick cursed in surprise when water suddenly sprayed at his face; the remaining wolf had turned on the faucet and curled his hand in the flow of water to make it spray at Nick. Taking advantage of Nick’s distorted vision, the wolf aimed a mean kick at his face. Nick managed to dodge the move, but the kick still caught him on his shoulder. Totally pissed, Nick grabbed the next leg that came at him and twisted sharply, breaking the bone. The wolf screeched through his teeth and fell flat on his ass, satisfying Nick’s enraged wolf.
Nick glanced around, taking in the scene in front of him. The wolf with the broken leg was getting paler by the second. Both the bald wolf and the one who had a close encounter with the urinal were still unconscious. And the male who had suffered a blow from the hand dryer was on the floor, moaning and cradling his head. He looked at Nick, who then arched a brow at him, daring him to get up. He didn’t.
Nick sighed. “And that, children, is why you shouldn’t pick a fight with an alpha—whether he’s outnumbered or not. Your own Alpha should have taught you that. Consider this a lesson learned that your own Alpha should have taught you.”
Strolling out of the restroom, Nick cast a quick glance at the three wolf shifters at the rear of the diner. They looked back at him, but there was no challenge in their gazes. Satisfied, he continued to his table.
Spotting him, Derren rose from his seat. “Did you let them live?”
Nick placed the money for his food on the table. “If I hadn’t, then they couldn’t explain to their Alpha that I’m not an easy target, could they? I don’t need this shit right now.”
“Not that I disapprove of you teaching the wolves a lesson,” said Derren as they exited the diner, “but if you want to win your mate over, it makes sense to stay alive rather than go around pissing off drug lords.”
“I don’t know—I think she might prefer me dead.”
CHAPTER FOUR
You seemed a little distracted today,” Kent told Shaya as they were slipping on their coats at the end of a long shift. “And you look real tired.”