A week had passed since the terrible reliving of the past, and throughout the night, Orion hugged me, rubbing circles on my back until I didn’t know when I fell asleep. The days after, I was under the weather for two days, with a fever, a runny nose, and a sore throat. During that time, Orion had practically hovered over my bed, his eyes scanning the room for any intruders, staying with me till I fell asleep, using his arm as a bedrest, and feeding me even when I told him I was okay and that I could do it myself.
Then Roland laughed, telling me to let him do it so that it would ease his beastly anxiousness.
Although his protectiveness made me smile and feel happy, I still felt the lingering effects of the nightmare. Orion never pushed me to talk about it; he didn’t even look at me with curiosity. Which I was grateful for; I didn’t think I could speak about it. I wasn’t prepared; I don’t want to dwell on the past by saying it, but I knew I’d grow out of it too... Can I? Can I outgrow the pain, the horror?
But I’ll try for myself. I was happy here, and Knox won’t find me here, as Orion had said no one could enter the territory without his permission.
A few days prior, when Roland was doing follow-up about my recovery, she sat beside me on the bedside and was teasing the life out of me. She told me the entire clan was still reeling from seeing a human woman with him. Apparently, the Clan Leader had never claimed a female in his life. The whole territory was scrambling for details about me, while a few bitter females who had been eyeing him for years were throwing fits. Roland even warned me some were already plotting how to snatch him away.
I had simply grinned, leaning back against my pillows. “They can try if they think they’re strong enough.”
Roland’s laugh had echoed through the room. “I love that confidence, Aurora.”
Now, I was standing inside the tavern, officially starting my day at work after Orion drove me here himself, asking me for the fifteenth time if I was truly comfortable or if I wanted to turn the truck around and go back home, while I just giggled, nudging his ribs softly and assuring him I was perfectly fine.
I was really happy to start work. I wanted not the one that was dictated to me or forced upon me, but the one that was chosen by me. The work I chose myself. This is one freedom from the shackles of the past.
The manager introduced himself, asking a few brief questions before guiding me through the basics of the bar. He assured me I would catch onto the rest as I began serving. Nodding eagerly, I adjusted the blue beret on my head and smoothed down the grey uniform shirt. It really looked really cute. Pulling out my phone, I discreetly snapped a quick selfie and sent it to Orion.
A second later, my phone buzzed, and I pulled up the text and choked back a laugh. It was an awkward selfie of him. It was obvious the man had no idea how to take a proper photo; the camera was angled so close to his face that the frame only caught his nose, his lips, and a hint of his sharp jawline.
I quickly fired back a single text: ’Old man.’ I pocketed my phone the moment I saw the manager walking back towards my station.
As I began wiping down the counters, two female shifters {I knew through their tall frames, and I’ve been told I was the only human living here} walked up to the bar, their eyes tracking my movements before they leant over the wood. “Are you really dating the Clan Leader?” one of them asked bluntly.
I paused, the damp rag freezing in my hand as my mind went blank. Was I dating Orion?
We had never sat down to talk about our status. I knew we shared a soulbond. We had shared kisses; he had worshipped my body with his tongue that made me blackout, and he had dry-humped me against a concrete wall until I shattered... but what exactly were we to each other? I forced a casual shrug, sliding a polite, unbothered smile onto my face.
“You could say that,” I responded smoothly, turning around to stock the glasses behind me.
Behind my back, I could hear them whispering furiously, talking about me being a human and insisting a soulbond with a human was impossible. I tuned them out completely, my own thoughts suddenly spiralling. Should I ask him about it? Was I actually ready to take another step?
Fear clutched at my throat. Men... I really, truly liked Orion, to the point where I couldn’t believe how fast I was falling for him. But Knox’s ghost was still hitching on my back, whispering a reminder: men change. They wear a sweet mask until they feel they own you, and then they show their real colours—controlling, manipulative, and abusive.
I didn’t want to put a label on whatever Orion and I have going on. Not yet. If I kept the boundaries blurry, it wouldn’t hurt as badly if the other dropped. If there was no label, he couldn’t fully break me. Maybe we were just fuck buddies. Maybe that was safer.
My spiral was cut short when a male customer slid onto a stool in front of me, leaning forward to flash a slimy grin. He immediately began flirting, his words dripping with an overconfident tone and lies (when a man talks too much about himself and achievements, he is lying; don’t believe it). I instantly pulled up a blank, stone-cold expression onto my face–the dead face of a model. As I tilted my head, not responding to what he was cooking- when he didn’t get a reaction of me gushing or being interested, his grin began to sour, and his irritation.
That bruises men’s egos; I’ve seen a lot in the industry.
Another bartender rushed past me, whispering hurriedly under his breath, “Just smile at him, or else he won’t leave. He’s one of our most stubborn regulars.”
I didn’t care, because he was regular and didn’t mean I should baby him; he was a grown fucking adult as I intentionally stared down at him, which I know would totally piss him off, and yes, he gave me that bruised-ego reaction of all men.
The man’s eyes narrowed, his voice dropping into a harsh, condescending sneer. “You’re just a human—”
His words cut off instantly as the front doors of the tavern swung open and Orion walked in, his aura commanding the room without him saying a single word. His hands were shoved casually into his pockets, with Rook and Liam flanking him. The moment my eyes locked onto his, an automatic smile broke across my face, and my breathing turned shallow and fast.
The three of them took a seat at a booth in the corner. I picked up the electronic order tablet, smoothing down my shirt as I walked over to their table.
“How are you doing, Dawn?” Orion asked softly, his amber eyes locking onto mine before darting sharply across the room, tracking the stubborn customer who was already quickly scurrying away from the bar. “I hope there have been no disturbances.”
I giggled, shaking my head to ease his obvious lurking. “Nothing I can’t handle. I can take care of myself, Clan Leader," I responded in a teasing way.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he nodded. Rook and Liam quickly placed their orders, and I took the tablet back to the service station. The male bartender prepared the drinks, and I carefully balanced the tray, walking back over to serve them.
“See? I’m already getting the hang of it,” I grinned proudly, setting Orion’s drink down first.
Orion looked up at me, his gaze melting with pride that it made my knees weak. “I knew you would. You’re smart, my dawn.”
A blush rushed straight into my cheeks, and across the table, Rook let out a loud, mocking whistle—only to release a sharp “Ouch!” as Orion kicked him under the table.
I bit my lip to hide my smile, watching Orion settle back into the booth, his scorching gaze never leaving me as I walked around the bar tending to other customers.
***
PS: So I’ve been thinking, and I’m changing the term I’m using in this book now. ’Luna’, ’matebond’, ’mate ’, and ’alpha’ are werewolf terminologies, and this book is about a bear shifter. There should be a change not to lean on the werewolf. So Luna is not matriarch, Alpha is not clan leader, pack is now clan, and matebond is now soulbond. Some terminologies are still the same, though they aren’t only used for werewolves, like rut, knot, heat, marking, claiming, and breeding.