Page 49 of Marcus-stiltskin

I look down at my feet and bite my lip to keep from smiling in front of them.

“The first sign of trouble–” Zach starts.

Zander holds up his hands. “There will be no trouble tonight, Alpha Lamar.”

Zach rolls his eyes and walks away towards the back.

“What’s that all about?” I whisper, my inner nosiness winning over my annoyance at Zach. “Won’t he become the Alpha when he and Red get married?”

Zander snorts. “He doesn’t want to. He’s trying to convince Randy to keep the title a little bit longer. Says he wants to have time to enjoy being married.”

“As someone who’s walked in on him and Red in the office, I think they have been enjoying all that marriage has to offer already.”

He laughs. “Yeah, and their birth control game is strong. If he knocked her up, he’d have no choice to take on the role of Alpha, but as long as they don’t have a kid the Wolf Council doesn’t really care what happens. Poor Randy can be a fucking ninety-year-old Alpha, for all they care.”

“They wouldn’t just give it to you?”

He shakes his head. “No, and I wouldn’t want it. It sucks to be stuck like Randy is as the Beta who had to step into the Alpha’s role. Your pack loses its Beta and you’re on your own.”

I’d never really considered all the weird family workings behind the pack I worked for. “Why isn’t Randy forcing him to take over?”

He shakes his head. “That’s not how Betas are built. We worry about the pack. We protect them at all costs. It’s why we suck as Alphas…we’re people pleasers, at least when it comes to our pack.”

Zander wanders off to the back, leaving me alone at the bar. It’s still early, and only a few of the regulars are here at the bar–Atticus, who’s a–you know, I’m not sure what he is. He’s green, but not the same green as the huge Gobelin, Norm, that sits next to him. I walk over to that end of the bar and lean close to them.

“Are y’all going to be here tonight?”

“I am,” Norm says. “Wife’s got to work.”

“Same,” Atticus says.

“I invited my man to come here tonight. He’s new in town. Do you think y’all could keep him company?”

“Sure thing, kid. What’s he do for a living?” Atticus says.

“He used to be in the military. Now he’s thinking about starting an animal sanctuary.”

Norm puffs up a bit and sits taller on his stool. “I spent some years in the Marines. He wasn’t in the Chair Force, was he?”

I laugh at his name for the Air Force. “No, sir. Army. He lost his leg in Afghanistan, so he’s a civilian now.”

“Well, in that case, he’s welcome to hang out with us. We’ll keep him occupied and the ladies away,” Norm says with a wink.

“I’ll keep him occupied. Norm will keep the ladies away,” Atticus corrects.

Norm gives him a look. “Back in my day, the ladies couldn’t get enough of me.”

“I think you mean they couldn’t get far enough away from you,” Atticus counters.

I laugh. “I appreciate you both.” Hopefully Marcus doesn’t mind me finding him buddies for the night.

I finish setting up my tray and then head to the dressing room. The room is full of girls in all sorts of crazy costumes. It’s an annual tradition among the dancers to try to come up with the most insane costumes possible if you’re taking the stage. Unfortunately, I came too late for it last year, and this year, I justwasn’t up to it. The Wild Hare just seems less and less worth my effort lately.

“Hey, stranger,” Shania teases as I take a chair next to her dressing table. “Is your man coming by tonight?”

“Yeah, I’ve got Norm and Atticus holding him a seat at the bar.”

She stops fussing with her makeup and meets my eyes. “What’s wrong? Is he already pissing you off? Just say the word–these heels can kill a man–”

---