The pittance I earn here isn’t for food anymore. It’s for my escape fund. Every cent is a step closer to being free of this town. If I can completely suppress my shift, perhaps I can move to a human town and no one will notice my true nature.
I push through the diner’s door, the cold night air a shock against my flushed skin and I instantly shiver. The parking lot is dark as I walk to the single sputtering streetlamp. I’m halfway across the cracked asphalt when a throat clears nearby.
I jump, my heart leaping into my throat. I spin around to see him. Jaxson. His dark car is parked beside the building, almost invisible in the gloom. He’s leaning against the hood, arms folded across his chest like a predator waiting in the dark.
“Get in,” he says, his voice a low command that cuts through
