Runaway Wolf Girl

Chapter Three

"Minna, girl, do you see those two guys sitting over there?" Angela whispered excitedly. Her mouth was right against Minna's ear, her breath brushing against Minna's skin, covering her in goosebumps.

"No," Minna said firmly, and glared at Angela. "I don't see those two guys sitting over there because I've actually been doing my job instead of checking out the locals. And back up- we've talked about this- it's called personal space."

Angela rolled her eyes, but she took a step back and leaned against the countertop.

"Well, it's not my fault you choose to actually do your job, and checking out the local men is a full-time job in itself," she chided good-naturedly, ignoring Minna's terse tone and sour face with her own laid back attitude. Minna wrinkled her nose and shook her head. Angela laughed. "You should really reevaluate your priorities- like me. Getting paid to check out the locals is not a bad fate, my friend. And I am due for some romance. Do you know how long it's been since- you know...?" Angela raised her eyebrows.

"Three months," Minna replied automatically, knowing full well how long it had been since- you know.

Angela wasn't exactly mum on the subject. She was an open book about pretty much anything and everything. Having a filter wasn't one of her attributes. Thanks to an inability to hold back on any subject, Minna knew all about Angela's love life... along with all their coworkers and any patron willing to listen to her s****l woes.

"THREE. MONTHS," Angela repeated with emphasis. "Three long, grueling months since a man has touched this body. If it wasn't for my BOB, Jessica would be gathering dust right now."

Jessica was Angela's own personal name for her... for her you-know-what. Minna had made the mistake of asking her why she'd dubbed her nether region with an actual name instead of well, anything else, and Angela smiled, all cat-like, and told her that "Jessica" was her very first orgasm, and then went on detailing her elaborately steamy experience with the now-notorious Jessica. Minna's ears turned red just thinking about it, but Angela was just like that- very open about her own sexuality, and she loved being with both men and women.

"It's not about biology or gender or what 'part' you're born with," she had told Minna. "For me, it's all about the connection. If it's got that spark, then that's all I need."

She'd never had love or s*x explained to her like that before, but, to Minna, it made sense. It didn't matter if she was only attracted to men or just women, or if she was attracted to men and women- there had to be that "spark."

Her wolf completely agreed.

The loud human female makes sense at times, she said.

Yes, sometimes she can be more than just loud, Minna acknowledged with a grudging smile.

"Oh, yeah," Angela had turned, unknowingly interrupting Minna's conversation with a snap of her fingers. "Sparks are important, like I said, BUT- a great butt is an absolute must. You gotta have something around when you need to give a little smack." And with that bit of advice, she'd walked away, swinging her hips and humming to the latest pop song, leaving Minna and her wolf feeling more than a little dumbfounded.

Her wolf bristled a bit shaking her coat.

Nevermind, I take-back what I said, she growled and Minna laughed.

Of course, now Angela would be talking about her s*x life, or her lack thereof, so very loudly and at work!

There's a time and a place, Angela, Minna thought in exasperation, looking around, checking to see if anyone had heard. No one seemed to be paying attention, although Minna narrowed her eyes and noticed the two guys Angela had been referencing earlier. Both were eating their food, staring down at their plates a little too fiercely. Their shoulders were shaking silently, and she wondered just what they were laughing at- but they were sitting a little too far away to be in earshot, so she gave them one last look before dismissing the suspicion.

She turned her attention back to Angela. "Your BOB?" Minna repeated, furrowing her brow.

"You know," Angela's eyes sparkled as she leaned closer. "Battery Operated Buddy," she whispered loudly.

"Ohhhhhh," Minna nodded. She needed to get one of those for herself. It'd been awhile since... Well, she'd never really had the chance to have a relationship or even a one-night stand. Her past was... complicated.

That's putting it lightly, her wolf told her. We should have destroyed them for what they did. If you had released me, they wouldn't be hunting us right now.

We just had to leave, Minna replied shakily.

Her wolf snorted and turned her back to her. They would never see eye-to-eye about any of it, but Minna wished they could at least talk about it without arguing. Her wolf was the only one who knew what they'd been through, how they'd suffered, but she wasn't easy to talk to, especially about what happened. It was lonely, isolating, having to hide so much all the time. She wished she could talk to someone else about it , about all of it: her past, her non-existant love life, a BOB... but Angela was the closest thing she had to a friend, and talking to her about anything was too risky.

But, even though Angela was the most frightful gossip, Minna was grateful to her.

Starting over was always hard, and as many times as Minna had been forced to recreate her life, having someone as friendly and welcoming around as Angela made the transition a little easier. She helped with Minna's restaurant training, showed her the town, hung out on the weekends.

Minna smiled and looked at her friend, who was still going on about her lack of romantic companionship- which was odd given her looks. Angela was pretty enough, with big, brown eyes; naturally long lashes; thick, dark hair; and a heart-shaped face. She had a big, generous smile... which also went hand-in-hand with her big mouth. Minna shook her head. Nope, Angela couldn't keep a secret to save her life; Minna wasn't stupid enough to believe otherwise.

"Well, I have tips to earn, so stop checking out guys and help me with my table," Minna ordered, picking up one of the trays ladened with food and balancing it on her shoulder.

"Fine," Angela huffed and with a swoop of her arms, she expertly hefted the other tray filled with drinks. Smaller than Minna, Angela was surprisingly strong. She said it was all the Pilates she did to keep her body in shape for her future love interest- wherever they were.

"Which table?" she asked.

Minna turned to answer and... immediately slipped in a stray puddle of beer.

"Watch out!" Angela shrieked, but it was too late.

The world became topsy-turvy, and all Minna's efforts to regain her balance were futile, the heavy plates and tray making it impossible. She was going down and there was nothing she could do but close her eyes, hold her breath, and hope the ensuing mess wasn't terrible enough to get her fired. She had a dog to feed and rent to pay.

Sorry, Duncan, she thought guiltily as she fled backwards.

She mentally waved goodbye to her job and only source of income. In such a small town as Pecan Cove, no one would hire her once they caught wind of her fall. They'd consider her a clumsy detriment to the job- a liability. She'd be begging on the street corner. Duncan would have to hunt rats for his dinner, although... he'd probably enjoy that.

Keeping her eyes shut tight, she braced herself for the impending impact, waiting to hit the floor. It was going to hurt her pride more than anything. She would deal with it- she'd been through worse, and she tensed her body in expectation.

A full ten seconds passed and she felt... nothing. It was like time was suspended and she had been put on pause- delaying her humiliation all the longer.

Slowly, she cracked an eye and peered through her lashes.

A man stared down at her.

Which was completely unexpected.

What was even more unexpected was just how good-looking he was. His eyes were a deep shade of green, shot through with flecks of gold. His chin was firm and stubborn, grizzled with a stubble of five o' clock shadow. A lock of hair had fallen forward, and her fingers itched to reach up and brush it away. The urge to touch him, any part of him, was quickly becoming overwhelming.

Minna clenched her fist so she wouldn't give into temptation.

"Are you alright?" he asked gruffly.

As she stared into his rugged, handsome face and felt her body slowly yielding to his firm touch, she was at a loss for words. She was overtaken by his scent, his hands, his sheer existence- her wolf was submitting in ways she'd never done before, bending to this man's presence. She felt her whimpering and pawing, her cries urgent, and Minna tried to quiet her, which was impossible when she was so emotionally and mentally undone herself.

Swallowing, she opened her mouth to speak, but- nothing would come out.

Blinking up at her unexpected savior, she nodded.