Page 21 of Luna Rising

He didn’t laugh, his grip on my hand growing tighter. “Yeah. I see him. Oh, hey, look. Two barstools are free.”

A pair of shifters scurried away as we approached, leaving their beers behind. Ewan pulled out one high-backed chair and patted the seat cushion. I slid onto the barstool and frowned.

“Did you make them leave?” I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

An alpha usually only held sway over their own pack, but Ewan was the reincarnation of the first wolf the fae ever successfully made. His domineering presence screamed, “Obey me!”, in a way that was hard to deny.

He actually looked ashamed of what he’d done. “We’re on a timetable here. No telling how long before everything wears off and they have to rename this place Slaughter City.”

I pushed the previous patrons' drinks away and rolled my eyes. “I appreciate the confidence boost.”

“You’re good. You’ve got this.” Ewan squeezed my leg under the bar. “Seriously, all jokes aside, nothing is going to happen. I won’t let it, okay?”

I wasn’t so sure. There were just so many mortals with veins and pumping blood. Thanks to Essie, I couldn’t hear their heartbeats or smell their enticing aroma, but I could still feel them. My throat grew tight as the thirst intensified.

“What’ll it be?” a voice called to be heard over the crowd.

Even with my senses dulled, her question echoed loudly between my ears.

“Zos?” Ewan stared at me pointedly, making it clear he’d used the old nickname to check Tish’s reaction.

She showed no signs of recognizing it or me.

“Um, a beer. Something not too heavy. Maybe a cider.” My tongue felt too big for my mouth, and I stumbled on the words. “Nothing sweet.”

Tish cracked a smile. “I got you.” She looked at Ewan. “For you?”

“Darkest stout you have on tap.” He laid down a credit card. “Keep the tab open.”

Ewan swung his legs around, angling his body toward mine. He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and leaned in. “Don’t think about them. They’re background noise. It’s just you and me.”

I tilted my head, his face tantalizingly close. “You make it sound so easy.”

He moved in for a kiss. “Just you and me,” he murmured.

Tish cleared her throat as she placed our fresh beers on the bar and dumped the ones from the previous duo. Tickets popped up on the printer, and she went about her business.

Ewan tasted his beer and gave an exaggerated eye roll. “Best I’ve ever had.”

I sipped my cider. It was good, nothing to get dramatic about. Maybe once everyone trusted me enough to leave the house without the tonic and tea, I too would experience the joy of my heightened sense of taste. The cold liquid soothed my raw throat, helping to dull my thirst.

“Do you recognize her?” Ewan peered at me over the rim of beer as I watched Tish work.

Her face was familiar, though it hadn’t played a starring role in my dreams the way others had.

“Sort of. My dreams are like tunnel vision. The entire scene is there, but I can’t see it unless it’s directly in my memory of the encounter.”

Ewan nodded. “Mine are similar. They’ve filled out a little since… well, you know. Yours will too.”

I sipped my cider and shrugged. “I sort of hope they don’t.”

To my surprise, he nodded in agreement. “Some memories are probably best left unexplored.”

A twinge of sadness worked its way through the bond. Oh, Gaia. He knows, I thought, and then desperately searched for a new topic of conversation before he felt my sudden panic.

“So, distract me from all these beating hearts. Tell me about your friends.”

He shrugged. “What do you want to know?”

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