The Bond that Claimed Her

The bar light is low, the sun setting outside and the streams of light coming through the windows. I sigh as I clean the glasses behind the bar. Been in this town two years and I still feel like the outsider. I look at my watch, 6:35 pm. Friday nights generally don’t pick up until 8 or 9. Just the usual crowd of people, John the retired Werewolf Alpha, Gretchen, the poor widowed witch, and a few others scattered around the bar. “Hey Lenny girl, can I get a refill?” John asks. I smile, “Starting early today John? What happened now? Your son’s ruining everything you built again?” I joke at I grab his glass and refill it. I enjoy what I do. I’m a therapist, I’m a drink mixer, I’m a trusty source of information. “You guessed it. Goddess if I only had a daughter like you to keep ‘em straight. But no, they had to go mate with them girls from Silver Creek. Heathens both of them I tell you!” He says growling. “They wouldn’t know how to pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were wrote on the heel” he grumbles. I laugh hard. “Give them some slack John, they JUST mated what, 2 months ago? They need time to adjust to being Luna. Not all girls are prepared to have mated twin Alphas” I say brightly. “Give them some time to settle in. They may surprise you!” I say smiling as I hand him back his refilled beer. “Yea well, you’d still be better. At least someone can have an intelligent conversation with you. What the f**k even is a Tik-Tok trend?” He mumbles. I laugh hard. “John you’re adorably old. I would most certainly NOT be better.” I sigh “I don’t even have a wolf John. I couldn’t be anyone’s mate let alone a Luna” I say quietly. The scars on my back hidden by my shawl ache. The words repeated to me over and over growing up ringing in my ears. *Nothing. Worthless. Wolfless.* I hold my stomach unconsciously, a defense mechanism since I was little. “Damnit girl how many times do I have to tell you before it sinks in? She is just late. I know a girl as smart and charismatic as you isn’t wolfless. She’ll come when she’s ready” he says confidently. I let a small smile ghost my lips “That’s the beer talking John. But thank you” I say softly. More wolves pour into the bar as the night goes on. It’s located in neuteral territory in Colorado, which means every wolf, vampire with or other supernatural traveling across the country or even between states stops here. I view it as my window to the outside world. The cultures I learn about, the people I meet. The bar has settled into a loud crowd. The music has started, people are laughing, and I’m doing my best to keep up with everyone. “Excuse me, two whiskeys please, neat” I hear behind me, the voice deep, low, almost rough around the edges. I turn around and two very large, very attractive, men are sitting in stools. “Sure!” I say brightly with a smile “And uh, two shots of tequila as well” the one on the left says. He’s smaller than the guy on the right but not by much. They both are insanely fit. The one on the left has his long brown hair tied up in a bun, bright green eyes and is flashing me a killer smile that would probably make a lesser woman melt. I smirk “Tequila on a road trip? You celebrating or trying to forget?” I say with a chuckle as I grab the whiskey glasses and the shot glasses. “What makes you think we are on a road trip? Are we that obvious?” The one on the right asks. His black hair short and scraggly, but somehow compliments his rugged demeanor. His eyes are a piercing blue, studying me as I pour the drinks, his expression unreadable. I laugh, “Well, most Alpha’s don’t roll up in a bar in sweatpants and a leather jacket. So I’m going on a limb and assuming you’ve been on the road for a while and needed a break.” I say as I slide the whiskey and tequila towards them both. He snorts. “And what gave me away as an Alpha?” He asks. I roll my eyes. “You’re huge, you give off the broody vibes, you look grumpy, and you have an air of superiority about you” I say laughing. “Plus you still have your name tag on from whatever conference you were at” I say with a giggle pointing to his black shirt under his jacket. He looks down and his friend bursts into laughter. “Damn Alpha, she’s got you pegged. Took her 3 seconds to size you up. Pleasure to meet you Ms. Bartender. I’m Beta Marcus Neal and this prize grumpy specimen is Alpha Camus Shadowend. We are from the Blue Moon pack up in Washington State.” He says beaming, holding his hand out for me to shake. I smile brightly “Pleasure. My name is Selene, Selene Ashford of nowheresville Colorado” I say shaking his hand. It’s course, calloused, but i feel a faint tingle on the contact. I let go, rubbing my hand afterward. I shake it off. “Nowheresville eh? So you don’t have a pack?” Marcus asks me casually as he sips his whiskey. “No a pack would require having a wolf. And seeing as I don’t have one, I decided to settle here. Been at this bar two years” I say trying to glaze over the fact that I, in fact, do not have a wolf. “You have a wolf” Caius says gruffly. I see Marcus tense beside him, clearly they are having a mind link conversation I can’t hear. I ignore it. “Oh yea? Hm. Didn’t know Alpha’s were omniscient. Please oh mighty Alpha. Inform me more about me that I don’t know” I say with a small bite to my words. “What my uh, less than charismatic best friend is trying to say, is that our wolves can sense yours. Alpha and Beta wolves have stronger senses. She’s in there” He says confidently. I sigh “Yea I’ve heard that before. But what 22 year old do you know that hasn’t gotten her wolf yet? Wolves come at 16, mates come at 18. That’s how the world works. I have neither.” I say with a brow raised. “Ok yes, true, but we are 26 and we don’t have our mate yet either. You could consider us late bloomers too” Marcus says brightly with a smile. “Mate?” I ask as I wash glasses, needing something to do with my hands. “Don’t you mean mates? Plural?” I say. I see both of them stiffen. Caius’s knuckles go white holding onto the bar counter. “Oh um yea. Mates. Sorry been a long day, I’m getting loopy. Driving with Mr. Brooding here will do that to a guy” Marcus mumbles. Cause keeps his eyes on me the whole time, watching every movement I make, every glass I wash. “So. Um, Alpha, what’s your pack like? I don’t get too many people from Washington down this way.” I say trying to change the subject. I see him relax slightly at the question. He sits forward and looks up to me.