Page 43 of Rock and a Hard Place

Gunnar had mentioned The Howling Wolf that first evening, but I didn’t realize that his brother Griff, the only brother who wasn’t part of Redrock Protective Services, actually lived on top of the building. I’d met him and Emily only briefly on the day of the wedding, and it was great to spend more time with them.

Between trips and outings during the day and mind-boggling sex and tender moments at night, Gunnar had kept me so busy the last few days that I hadn’t even thought about Dr. Shen and The White Claws’ offer. After realizing that there was magic involved and that they were never going to get a good photo of us, many of the photographers had given up after several failed attempts, especially since some rich kid decided to make headlines by getting himself arrested. Entertainment news cycles sure moved fast.

I couldn’t believe the wedding had only been a week ago. I’d almost forgotten already what my life was like before all this started. Gunnar and I had spent the rest of the week exploring all the places in Darlington we wanted to.

We’d gone to the Royal Reef Adventure, where between it not being made of glass like the botanical gardens and Gunnar knowing the owner, privacy wasn’t a concern. The giant aquarium had recently opened up in the city and was rumored to be owned by a kraken. I didn’t get to meet him, but I did get to experience a privateSwimming with Sharkssession.

Tansy’s privacy charm had deemed the wearing of a snorkeling mask enough protection that it allowed several photos of me interacting with sharks to be taken, which was great because I had a lot of fun sending them to my parents. Mom thought it was the coolest thing. Her childhood dream had always been to be a marine biologist, but she’d had to settle for teaching high school biology.

Dad just kept asking if I rode one. Because, well, Dad. Every time a new shark showed up in a picture: “Did you ride that one?” “How about that one?” “What about you, Gunnar? Did you ride one?”

It was only after this call with my parents that Gunnar told me my dad had pulled the “I know Kung Fu” line with him before the wedding, to which I groaned and covered my face. I’d bet Mom reminded him that Tai Chi is not Kung Fu. They did this schtick all the time. I swear, sometimes I thought Dad did this just to embarrass me.

We also took a helicopter tour of the city, which was very cool to me but kind of blah for Gunnar. It was only then that I realized it wouldn’t be that special for him since technically he could fly, though I hadn’t seen it in action yet.

“Hey! Steal fries from your own wife!” Shelby exclaimed as Gunnar reached around my shoulder to steal some of her fries.

“Aww, but she’s got sweet potato fries. I want the normal ones.”

Tansy, who sat across from me, grinned. “They do this routine every week. No one steals Shelby’s fries. We don’t know how she does it, but if we sit here long enough, she eats every last one.”

I glanced over at her portion, which was just as large as mine. She’d been the one that had convinced me to get the larger size.

“Impressive.”

Shelby beamed. “It’s my one achievement every week.”

I reached over, swiped a few normal potato fries from her plate, and stuffed them into my mouth.

“Hey!” she exclaimed in mock rage. “Not you too!”

Next to me, Gunnar bellowed a laugh and held the hand that wasn’t wrapped around my waist up to me for a high five.

Shelby swiped a handful of my fries in retaliation. I finished the last swig of my rum and coke and leaned in against Gunnar.

“Did you want to leave a bit early so we can stop by The Pint of No Return for a drink on our way home?” I asked Gunnar.

“Why The Pint?” Tansy asked. “That place is full of college kids.”

“It’s where we met,” Gunnar said, smiling at me.

“I’ve been going there since college myself,” I said. “I guess the clientele never changed.”

I wanted to say hi to Levi to let him know I was okay. I hadn’t kept many friends from college, but Levi had always been there behind the bar, offering a quiet ear throughout my school, work, and boy troubles.

Gunnar grabbed a generous handful of what was left of my fries. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

“I need the ladies’ room first. I’ll be back.”

I made my way over to the edge of the U and started toward the back of the pub. To my surprise, not a single guy tried to get handsy or chat me up. Like The Pint, The Howling Wolf was a shifter pub, but unlike The Pint, there were fewer college-aged human males in here trying to pick up chicks, most likely because there were fewer young women to draw them in.

And to think I’d gone to The Pint of No Return the whole time because I thought it would be safer with more women around. Then again, maybe I wasn’t getting any unwelcome attention because I very clearly belonged to a gargoyle, and the Redrocks were regulars here.

I stepped into the stall, did my business, and stopped in front of the mirror after washing my hands. The door to the bathroom opened, and a blonde who looked vaguely familiar but that I couldn’t place walked in. She stopped by the sink next to mine.

“Is it true that you’re really a snow leopard shifter?”

The question caught me off guard, and I stood there gawping like an idiot before I recovered. I wanted to tell her to mind her own business, but when I opened my mouth, what actually came out was, “I have snow leopard shifter blood in me, yes. But I’m just a normal girl.”

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