Full Moon-Appalachian Shifters

Chapter Twenty Jolene

A wolf, three coyote shifters, and a pissed-off girl walk into a bar. It would be a funny joke if the punchline wasn’t that my sister was still missing. It has been a month and I have heard nothing about her whereabouts.

It has just been the shifter grapevine and Bobby Jean’s network of weirdo preppers. The police just blow me off and they are going to be in for a rude surprise when I join them. There is something they are hiding.

Talon said he could smell the lies coming off of them, I didn’t need supernatural powers to know they were full of it. I stopped going to them to find out if they had any leads, they would always come up with some excuse or throw me off the scent.

Tawny was following Larry and said he frequented this bar on the outskirts of town and he always left with a giant white envelope and a guilty look on his face. I decided it was time to do a little recon work of my own.

Of course I couldn’t go without the entourage which irritated me even more. Tawny was a regular so they knew her, but Talon, Caleb and Phoenix flanking me, made it feel like I was a toad walking with GQ models.

All the women in the bar turned their attention to the men and I slunk off while they dealt with the unwanted attention. I was still coming to grips with the whole ‘you have three mates’ thing. Sighing I found a nice booth in a dark corner to sit and lurk.

Talon came over with a bottle of beer and scooted in beside me, out of them all, he is the one I usually went to if I had a problem or had a bad dad. Talon was like the big brother I never had and he has been a rock for me.

It also helped that he wasn’t playing the stupid mate card and trying to convince me of something I still couldn’t accept. Sighing I raised my bottle and we clinked them together. It was nice to just sit with him.

Country music blared on the jukebox and people were getting loud over a game of pool. I rubbed my temples and knew I was going to be done with socializing for the next week. Talon put his hand on the back of my neck and I could feel myself calm down.

“I don’t know how you do that Talon but I am glad you can.” He chuckled and watched the room; he always kept an eye on the exit and entrance. He was always on alert even when it appeared that he was relaxing.

“I’m glad I could be of assistance. I am also glad you took us in. You didn’t know us and well this is still all very new to you.” I squeezed his leg and gave him a smile. I couldn’t tell you why I let these strangers into my home.

All I know is that my grandfather would have turned over in his grave if I didn’t help those in need. I could have been murdered in my own bed, but my instincts were right so far when it came to them.

“I like having you guys around, well maybe not those two. I even like Tawny.” Talon snorted and Tawny shot us an annoyed look. I raised my beer bottle to her and she ignored me. We were not going to be best friends but we were on good terms with one another and we could speak our minds without getting offended.

She also seemed to like working at the shop and I wasn’t going to complain because sales have doubled ever since the twins started working there. Talon and Tawny were the talk of the town and tourists were attracted to the shop that sold great weed and had the hot twins.

“I love how you two just decided to run away and hide.” Phoenix stalked over with a scowl on his face and I grinned. There was something about him that just made it even more fun to annoy him. Caleb clapped him on the shoulder and they did this little bro telepathic thing.

I wrinkled my nose and gave Talon a look, he shrugged and continued grinning. All of a sudden, I saw him straighten up and tense. I followed his line of sight and saw a man with red hair and very expensive clothes wander into the bar.

Caleb saw him tense up and followed his glare as well. Ok, what were they sensing? Was it some sort of odd turf war between them and this guy? I mean obviously, he did not belong in here and by the stares, he was getting the clientele knew this as well.

“Phoenix, get our girl out of here.” The three shifters stood up and started toward the man in the cashmere sweater. He was still oblivious as to what was going on around him. There was something wrong with him.

“Come on, we should leave.” I shook my head and narrowed my eyes at the man, there was a strange wavy blackness around him.

“Hey Phoenix, you know I’m skeptical about all this shifter mystical stuff.” He sighed and I grabbed his leg digging my fingers into his steely thigh. There was something seriously wrong with that guy and he had no idea.

“Can you release the death grip on my thigh and tell me what has you so riled up? Against my better judgment, I am letting you stay.” I ignored his remark and refrained from making a snarky remark.

“Ok, there is this odd blackness surrounding that guy. Like it is his aura or something but I’m not sure how I know this, he doesn’t know there is this darkness surrounding him.” Tawny and Talon were closing in on him and he finally saw them.

Phoenix glanced up and let out a string of curse words that I never heard of. Raising an eyebrow at him he glared at me which meant I was to stay here while he took care of whatever was about to go down.

He grabbed Caleb and whispered in his ear and then they looked at me and then at the guy. Next thing I knew I was being dragged out of the bar by Caleb and Tawny and I was not even given the chance to ask questions before they stuffed me into the backseat of Phoenix’s SUV.

Tawny slid in behind the wheel and we were peeling out of the parking lot just as Larry was pulling in. I pressed my nose up against the back window and muttered under my breath. Whatever was happening I lost my chance to spy on the sheriff.

“You were right, there was something wrong with that fox. Phoenix is going to take care of it and Talon will spy on Larry.” I sniffed, I hated the word spy, it was not as glamorous as the movies made it out to be.

“I prefer to call it gathering intelligence.” Tawny laughed from the front seat and I scowled at her.

“I’m not laughing at you girl, I just think using the words intelligence and Larry in the same sentence is hilarious.” I grinned and shook my head, she was right but still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew something.

Caleb was watching me and I knew he wanted to say something, sighing I have been avoiding having any real in-depth conversations with him. He always wanted to talk about the bond between mates and how we should cement our bond.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Tawny coughed and I raised an eyebrow at her, Caleb was staring down at his hands and fiddling with his fingers.

“He wants to claim you as his mate, actually he and Phoenix both decided they need to do this as soon as possible.” My mouth dropped open and Caleb growled a warning at Tawny.

“Hey she needs to know, you and the Alpha are too concerned with sugarcoating it.” Sighing I placed a finger between my eyes and tried to rub the headache away that was creeping in.

“Go on explain. You’ve already said this much and it seems Caleb is going to be a boy scout about it.” She chuckled again and we took a sharp turn throwing me into him.

“Well there is something amiss in the community and you are not safe. The boys seem to believe that claiming your mates it will awaken your powers.” Frowning I stared out the window. What the heck does that mean?

“How long do I have to decide on this?” She shrugged and made another sharp turn, Caleb let out a string of curses and I was seriously debating on taking away her license.

“The sooner the better. It will be pleasant and Phoenix and I can either go separately or together.” My eyebrows shot up and he was still looking at his lap. My mouth went dry as my mind ran rampant with lewd fantasies.

Swallowing I tapped my fingers on the door and wondered how horrible it could be. I was attracted to both men and frankly, they were not wholly unpleasant to be around. Was I really going to do this?

“Ok.” It was Caleb’s turn to look shocked and Tawny snickered from the driver’s seat.

“You mean it?” I smiled and squeezed his hand, if I learned anything from my sister disappearing is that life could change in an instant.

“Yes, let’s talk it over with Phoenix when he comes home. I will claim you two as my mates.” Caleb grinned and the tension left his shoulders.

Why did I have the feeling my life was about to get more complicated and troublesome than it was now?