Not-So-Fated Mates

Chapter 13: Blue Moon

Layla POV

    Layla didn’t often go to the Blue Moon, as she was usually too busy with her duties as commander, but since it was a pack-owned bar, she knew the bartenders and most of the regulars, so when she, Chelsea, Drake and Jackson approached the bar, she received quite a few nods and hellos, and the bartender, Robert, was already pouring her normal whiskey. “Hey Layla, Chelsea, nice to see you guys,” he said as he moved to pour Chelsea a glass of wine.

    “Hey Rob,” Layla and Chelsea responded with smiles as he handed them their drinks.

    “And you two must be our esteemed visitors,” Robert smiled, bowing his head and baring his head slightly in a way that would go unnoticed by the few humans who frequented the bar. “What can I get for you?”

    “I’ll have a rum and coke,” Jackson piped up.

    “And I’ll have a whiskey as well,” Drake said.

    “Comin’ right up.” As Robert started making their drinks, Layla sipped her drink and looked around. It was certainly busy tonight, but not uncomfortably so. She wasn’t a fan of large crowds, but while Blue Moon was certainly popular, a lot of humans preferred the dance clubs, so it was usually mostly pack members or other shifters in town that frequented the place, and being around other shifters was more bearable than humans. Not that she didn’t like humans, she just knew how humans were about those who were “different,” and it made her less than comfortable being around them, especially in great numbers. Most shifters felt that way, and who could blame them? Even though it was centuries ago, they still remembered how their kind had been treated by the overly superstitious humans at the time. And while humans seemed to get less superstitious every year, they still had a tendency to react violently and cruelly to even their own kind when they displayed differences, so they weren’t exactly eager to associate with them.

    “Here you go,” Robert said, giving the guys their drinks. “There should be a table over in the corner if you guys would prefer.”

    Expressing their thanks, the group grabbed their drinks and headed over to the table in question, settling in around the corner booth, the all-blue lights that shone throughout the bar creating an almost intimate atmosphere despite the rock music that poured out of the bar speakers and the not-so-low hum of conversations around them. Luckily, the booth directly next to them was unoccupied, and the other side was free of tables due to that wall being closest to the pool tables where a couple of groups were gathered around, laughing and playing, so they were possibly in the most quiet part of the bar, and therefore able to easily have a conversation.

    “So, what do you guys think of the pack so far?” Chelsea asked, sipping her drink and looking between Jackson and Drake, but Layla noticed the way her eyes lingered on Jackson. She smiled a little, her friend was definitely a flirt. And from the way Jackson was grinning and giving her elevator eyes, she could tell he was certainly interested. Not that she was surprised, the guy gave off the aura of being a ladies’ man.

    “I like it here. You’re all more laid back than our pack,” Jackson said. He grinned wider as he pointed at Drake and said, “This one is a little too strict sometimes.”

    “Watch it,” Drake growled at his beta, taking offense.

    “See what I mean?” Jackson chuckled, winking at Chelsea.

    Drake just rolled his eyes and took a big gulp of his drink. “There’s not enough alcohol in the world to deal with you.” Layla and Chelsea laughed. Jackson imitated his alpha by rolling his eyes back at him.

    “So, what you’re saying is Mr. Grumpy here has a stick stuck up his ass,” Chelsea grinned, her eyes shining with amusement as Jackson snorted into his drink and Drake gave her a dark look.

    “I don’t think I like you,” Drake said, finishing the rest of his drink in one massive gulp, making a face.

    “Too bad,” she chuckled, glancing over at Layla who was laughing quietly. “Was he always this grumpy?” she asked, looking at the beta who was still chortling.

    “Not always. Believe it or not, when he was younger, he used to be the life of the party,” Jackson said, his humor still sparkling in his eyes.

    “What?” Layla and Chelsea said in unison, sharing looks of shock before looking at Drake who shifted uncomfortably under their gazes.

    “Is that really so hard to believe?” he asked, his brow furrowed as he stared down at his empty glass.

    “Well, yeah,” Chelsea responded immediately, causing him to flush a little bit. “I mean, I haven’t seen much of you, but every time I see you, you look like someone kicked your puppy and you’re plotting their horrible death.”

    “That seems overdramatic,” he huffed, raising his eyebrow at her.

    “I don’t think it’s quite that bad, but you are overly serious a lot,” Layla piped up.

    Drake gave her an odd look for a moment, and she felt a bit guilty for what she’d said, but it was the truth. He definitely was a serious guy. “I’m going to get another drink,” Drake said abruptly sliding out of the booth and heading towards the bar.

    Staring after him for a moment, Layla finished her own and slid out as well, leaving Jackson and Chelsea giggling and flirting as she walked to the bar. She set her empty glass next to his, ordering another before glancing at him. “I’m sorry if what we said upset you. Chelsea is overdramatic sometimes, and I was just saying you seem serious a lot, like you don’t smile much. It’s not a bad thing, and neither of us think less of you for it.”

    Drake nodded, his eyes directed towards the wall of alcohol behind the bar. “You’re not wrong,” he sighed. The bartender put his drink in front of him and he took a gulp before finally looking at her. “I just haven’t felt I’ve had a reason to have fun in a long time.”

    “I can kinda get that.” Layla grabbed her newly filled drink off the bar and took a good-sized drink as well, swishing the amber liquid a bit before setting it back on the bar.

    “Yeah?” Drake said, raising his eyebrow in curiosity as he leaned against the bar.

    “Yeah, I mean,” she started shrugging, “after getting rejected by the i***t you met earlier, it hurt a lot more than I’m willing to admit. So I dove into training to become one of the pack warriors. For a few years, that’s literally all I did. That’s why I was able to become commander, which, I’m sure you are well aware, is pretty hard to do by the age I achieved it, much less by a woman.”

    “True.”

    “Honestly, the only reason I even come out once in a while to places like this is because of Chelsea. When she’s determined, it’s no use trying to tell her no,” Layla laughed.

    “I can definitely see how that would be an issue,” Drake grinned.

    “Yeah, especially after years of excuses. When she finally got me to go out for the first time in years, it was because she had been bugging me for weeks, and threatened to steal my favorite katana,” Layla said with a smile. “She may be small, but she is good at picking out weaknesses and torturing people with them.”

    “I had noticed,” he said, rolling his eyes. “But I hadn’t expected your weakness to be a sword.”

    “Yeah,” Layla ducked her head, blushing slightly. “I know it’s weird, but I love my katana. It’s kinda my baby.”

    “If it makes you feel better, one of my babies is a battle-axe.”

    She laughed, “One of your babies?”

    “Yeah,” he admitted with a smile. “The other is my gun.”

    “Nice. I’m surprised you own a gun, most of our kind tend to shy away from them. I mean, I always thought they were cool, but I’ve never even been shooting.”

    “Oh, we’re going to have to remedy that.”

    Layla looked at him in surprise. “You’d take me shooting?”

    “Sure. I think you’d have a lot of fun,” he shrugged.

    “Awesome.” She bit her lip, her eyes glazing over as she thought about it. She shook her head, taking another drink before looking at him again. “By the way, what did you want to talk to me about when you came to my room earlier?” When Drake looked a bit flummoxed at her sudden change of subject she explained, “Sorry, I tend to randomly think of things.”

    “It’s okay.” He cleared his throat before saying, “Anyways, I was going to talk about what had happened in the hall before dumb f**k showed up.”

    “Dumb f**k,” she grinned. “I like it. But yeah, we probably should talk about that.”

    “I don’t know what it is, but I’m really attracted to you.”

    “Was that a compliment, or an insult?” she asked, looking slightly offended.

    “No, no, that’s not-ugh,” Drake said, rubbing his hands across his face.

    “Chill, chill, I was joking,” Layla laughed.

    “Sorry, I’m just not the greatest with words,” he admitted. Then, as if a switch flipped, a devilish grin painted his face and his eyes smouldered, and Layla just barely bit back a gasp as she felt the heat start to grow between them. “I’m not here very long, and I know it’s a business trip, but I think we both need a bit of fun.” As he said this, he pulled her into him so that her body molded to his and their faces were inches apart, running his finger across her bottom lip, causing her sparks of a dangerous fire to ignite within her.

    “I suppose we could,” she whispered, breathing shakily as she placed her hands on his firm, muscular chest.

    “I can’t offer more than a little fun while I’m here,” he said huskily.

    “I know,” she responded, her tongue darting out to lick her lips, his eyes darkening as the heat grew between them. “I’m good with that.”

    His sinful grin grew as his face descended towards hers until he nipped lightly at her lips, causing her to breathe out a low moan. He pulled away a little as he thought of something. “Have you ever-?”

    “No, never really had the chance,” she responded, her voice breathy.

    “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he breathed.

    “More than sure,” she said, before pulling him back down to taste his lips briefly before pulling back again to look in his eyes. “But we should probably stop here for now. I’d rather not have my first time in public.”

    His lips quirked and his eyebrow rose. “Hm, so you’re saying you’d want to do this in public another time?”

    “Maybe,” she teased as she pulled away, giving him one last peck on the lips. “I guess we’ll have to find out.”

    His eyes darkened. “That we will.”