{"id":2759,"date":"2022-01-17T06:47:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T11:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=2759"},"modified":"2022-01-17T06:48:03","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T11:48:03","slug":"full-moon-saloon-excerpt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=2759","title":{"rendered":"Full Moon Saloon excerpt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kira is a fox shifter making a name for herself in a wolf’s world. But when she’s sent to arrest an alpha who turns out to be innocent, she can’t force herself to keep following orders like a wolf….<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Full<\/a><\/p>\n

Chapter 1<\/h1>\n

Girls\u2019 night out in a shifter bar?<\/p>\n

I cocked my head at the cursive neon lights that glowed above the door of the blocky, three-story building. Then I checked my phone. Yep, this was the address Charlie had provided in her emailed invitation.<\/p>\n

She just hadn\u2019t included the establishment\u2019s name\u2014Full Moon Saloon. And her nose wouldn\u2019t have picked up on the scent of fur that overwhelmed car exhaust and autumn leaves while I lingered on the busy sidewalk out front.<\/p>\n

The question was\u2014why would my entirely human friend pick this place? Charlie had no concept that some of us went furry on occasion.<\/p>\n

Or so I thought. Given the dangers to Charlie of learning about shifters\u2019 existence, so I hoped.<\/p>\n

I shrugged away the trickle of concern and pushed the heavy door open, blinking as my eyes adjusted to the dim, throbbing interior. The scent of fur was stronger here, but a quick scan suggested no one was four-legged at the moment.<\/p>\n

Danger, however, infused the space. Someone was hunting. But who and hunting what?<\/p>\n

The establishment was smaller than it had appeared from outside, a closed door off to my right and one behind the bar leading to apparently non-public parts of the building. But that didn\u2019t mean it was easy to find the hunter. Shifters were everywhere, elbows planted on polished wood tables, booted feet invading walkways, husky chuckles nibbling into the back of my neck.<\/p>\n

My eyes settled on the broad shadow of the proprietor. Separated from his customers by a bar that ran the length of the room, his right hand caressed the long counter as if it wasn\u2019t a hunk of dented and scarred wood but was instead a woman\u2019s hip.<\/p>\n

Wait, no, he wasn\u2019t caressing the bar. He was wiping down its surface.<\/p>\n

And he wasn\u2019t hunting. The trickle of cold in my spine came from somewhere else.<\/p>\n

I found Charlie before I spotted the hunter. Or rather, she found me.<\/p>\n

\u201cKira!\u201d Her greeting trilled above the music and chatter. Her hug struck like a rattlesnake and for one split second I let old memories bite.<\/p>\n

Swords, camaraderie, and cascades of laughter. Cramming for finals while lounging knee to knee atop a white, fluffy rug in the twins\u2019 dorm room.<\/p>\n

Then emptiness. Silence. Friendship disappearing without explanation.<\/p>\n

I swallowed, forcing myself out of the past to focus on the present. On a friend redolent with chemical reagents and bunsen-burner fuel, just like she\u2019d smelled way back when.<\/p>\n

Charlie squeezed me tighter before pushing me back to arm\u2019s length. \u201cYou look exactly the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course I did. My half-Japanese heritage meant I was often mistaken for a teenager even though I was actually midway through my twenties. Speaking Charlie\u2019s language, I shrugged. \u201cBlame it on the genes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm.\u201d She squinched her eyes half shut. \u201cYou\u2019re starving. Better feed you before something breaks. Thom, can you nuke us a pizza?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bar pizza was vile. Still, my stomach growled and Charlie released her customary peal of horse-snort laughter while drawing me toward the puddle of light above two empty bar stools.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat what you want?\u201d The bartender\u2014Thom\u2014didn\u2019t look in my direction. But he was closer now, or so my nose informed me. Close enough that I could tell he wasn\u2019t much older than Charlie. That his scent wasn\u2019t mere shifter fur but instead carried the headier musk of dominant alpha werewolf.<\/p>\n

Still, his question came out gentle. Not subservient, but protective. As if he\u2019d smelled my initial caution and wanted to make sure Charlie wasn\u2019t steamrollering over my wishes.<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t. Tonight, vile bar pizza with Charlie was exactly what I wanted.<\/p>\n

And, without me needing to turn that thought into a verbalization, Thom nodded. Dropped the cloth onto the counter then headed away from us through a door into what was presumably a kitchen, leaving me alone with my once-friend.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been too long,\u201d Charlie said as I sank down onto the bar stool beside her.<\/p>\n

I nodded but kept scanning the room. Because the scent of the hunter had rebounded even stronger as Thom stepped away from us. And, being human, there was a good chance Charlie was the one in the predator\u2019s sights….<\/p>\n

Well, make that a slight chance. The bar wasn\u2019t just full of werewolves the way I\u2019d initially assumed; it also contained a healthy helping of non-shifters. For example, a man and a woman, clearly on a date, were laughing at a table only feet from three snarly werewolves. The combination, loosened by alcohol, seemed problematic at best.<\/p>\n

But as I turned my head, seeking danger, the certainty that a hunter stalked the premises faded from my hair follicles. And Charlie\u2019s words snagged my attention instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad you emailed.\u201d<\/p>\n

My brows drew together. I hadn\u2019t emailed.<\/p>\n

Well, I guess I had. I\u2019d sent out a group request for contributions to the alumni magazine last winter. \u201cI\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

She spoke over me. \u201cCan we not talk about what happened? At least not tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie and her twin had been adorable as teenagers, all big blue eyes and glossy curls. Now, at twenty-eight, her prettiness had matured into elegance. If she\u2019d wanted, she could have used that beauty the same way I used my understanding of human psychology\u2014to wrap everyone around her little finger.<\/p>\n

Which wasn\u2019t why I nodded. I nodded because those usually wide eyes were squinting painfully. Charlie\u2019s smile wasn\u2019t as broad as I remembered it being. And, frankly, I didn\u2019t want to sully the present with the past any more than she did.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re a chemist,\u201d I guessed based on the parts of Charlie\u2019s scent that had carried over from college. \u201cWhat awesome discoveries are you on the trail of?\u201d<\/p>\n

And just like that, the awkwardness receded. Charlie waggled her eyebrows, her voice turning confidential. \u201cI work on a military base. If I told you more, I\u2019d have to kill you. But here\u2019s a hint\u2014Gate City ghost!\u201d<\/p>\n

Her arms waved wildly, as if including me in a well-known secret I wasn\u2019t actually aware of. Or maybe she thought there was a specter present in the bar beside us. Never mind that ghosts, I was pretty sure, didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

I hummed noncommittally, the time we\u2019d spent apart yawning wider. And Charlie deftly changed the subject, pointing her chin at my sword then tossing out a conversational gambit that I could run with.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you<\/i>. I\u2019ll bet you\u2019re still charming your way out of trouble while wearing the cutest, sharpest sword this side of the Mississippi. Let me guess.\u201d She bit her lip, gloss catching a glint of lamplight. \u201cPirate?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLaw enforcement,\u201d I told her, which was only sort of a lie.<\/p>\n

\u201cOoh, adventure. Dish, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

So I regaled Charlie with the tale of my latest escapade, leaving out bits where the trespasser had gone furry and tried to nibble his way through my trousers. We were both laughing when Thom slid dinner between us, a pizza that he\u2019d somehow dressed up to become more than thin layers of toppings atop wheat-based cardboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cFull Moon Special,\u201d he said, eyes remaining hidden. This close, his presence was hotter than the molten cheese that drew my fingers and made me forget about the danger of a scorched tongue.<\/p>\n

Something unfamiliar and heady fluttered through me and I shivered. Charlie, never one to miss a physical reaction, poked at the goosebumps beading on my forearms.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to go there,\u201d she whispered, her tone low enough so the human two bar stools down wouldn\u2019t hear. \u201cThom doesn\u2019t date. Doesn\u2019t hook up either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Charlie didn\u2019t understand the superior auditory abilities of werewolves. The scent of amusement emanating from the alpha werewolf roiled between us in a wave of spice.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood. Great.\u201d I took my slice with me as I spun the stool all the way around so my back was to the source of my chagrin. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you tell me about them?\u201d I asked, waving vaguely at the other bar patrons before biting into the Full Moon Special. It had real parmesan on top, along with fresh pepperoni that sparked my taste buds wide awake.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best part of moving here,\u201d Charlie agreed. Picking up her own slice, she used it to point at two women parked at a table in one corner. \u201cOfficers\u2019 wives rubbing shoulders with scientists and locals. Never a dull moment in the Full Moon Saloon.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a moment, the buzz in my brain made it impossible to focus. Then Thom\u2019s scent receded, the gentle whoosh of the kitchen door promising he\u2019d taken pity on me.<\/p>\n

And, at the same moment, the scent of active predator reasserted itself. Someone was<\/i> hunting. Nearby. Intently. And they were very close to the kill.<\/p>\n

Luckily, Charlie seemed content to chat about the people around us, giving me further opportunity to peer past my pizza into the room. As best I could tell, the so-called locals were evenly split between werewolves and farmers. Other than the oblivious dating couple, most of the humans seemed to have chosen spots far from danger. Which made sense\u2014humans usually sensed shifters\u2019 predatory nature at an instinctive level and took steps to preserve their own skins.<\/p>\n

Well, no, the couple on a date weren\u2019t the only ones lacking hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck sensitivity. A young human\u2019s reed-thin arms shook as he braced himself one-handed against a wobbly walker. Beside him hovered a very rough-round-the-edges werewolf, young yet bulky. The shifter\u2019s gaze riveted on the human as if the latter was a juicy rabbit just waiting to be snapped up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my boss\u2019s son, Eli,\u201d Charlie explained, catching the direction of my gaze if not the purpose for it. \u201cHe makes friends with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, Eli appeared to be telling the werewolf beside him about the history of bar games even as he struggled to pick up a dart. The tiniest hint of a smile fluttered across the werewolf\u2019s lips and I relaxed.<\/p>\n

Yes, this werewolf was hunting. But not blood. I suspected he intended to fleece Eli for all the young man was worth.<\/p>\n

For his part, Eli\u2019s stream of chatter was so relentless that I blinked and nearly missed the moment his laboriously lifted metal projectile landed dead center in the dart board. \u201cLooks like you\u2019re paying,\u201d Eli crowed, his jubilation resembling that of a ten-year-old winning a heated round of Monopoly. \u201cI\u2019ll take Pepsi. In a glass. With a cherry on top.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you do when a rabbit turns on you with teeth bared? I would have been tempted to laugh and accept failure. The hunting werewolf didn\u2019t share my approach.<\/p>\n

Instead, a fist thudded onto the table between them, rattling empty glasses. The werewolf growled something wordless that, to a shifter, would have come across as a threat to rip out throats.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t feel bad,\u201d Eli offered, leaning in closer so he could pat the irate shifter\u2019s shoulder. \u201cI\u2019ve been practicing.\u201d Then, as if reciting truisms from a parent: \u201cLosing just means you need to try harder. You\u2019re still a worthwhile person inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beside me, Charlie snickered. She thought Eli was tweaking the nose of a rough-around-the-edges bar patron. What she didn\u2019t realize was the sharpness of that bar patron\u2019s teeth.<\/p>\n

Sure enough, Eli\u2019s pat turned the werewolf\u2019s muscles stiff. Then he made everything much, much worse.<\/p>\n

Leaving his walker behind entirely, Eli flung himself into a hug that wouldn\u2019t really have been considered appropriate even among humans. With an irate werewolf, the gesture was deeply unwise.<\/p>\n

I dropped my pizza and drew my sword as the werewolf\u2019s scent turned dark and dangerous. He shoved Eli hard at the same instant Charlie muttered, \u201cOh shit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chapter 2<\/h1>\n

We weren\u2019t close enough to catch Eli as he was flung backwards, but someone else was. One of the military wives scrambled forward, perfume seething around her person as she sank down to her knees with Eli\u2019s head cradled in her lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s fragile!\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n

And the shifter picked up the nearest table. Hefted it as if the metal and wood weighed no more than a soccer ball and would be just as easy to toss toward Eli\u2019s head.<\/p>\n

Unlike a soccer ball, however, the heavy furniture wouldn\u2019t bounce harmlessly away when it made contact. Instead, features would shatter. Blood would fountain. Bones would break.<\/p>\n

Luckily, Charlie and I were able to prevent that disaster from unfolding. \u201cPied Piper?\u201d my friend murmured. \u201cYou don\u2019t happen to have another sword handy, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways,\u201d I lied, tossing her the non-magical weapon I\u2019d been holding. As she tested its balance, I mentally massaged my star ball to create another blade in a newly materialized scabbard running the length of my spine.<\/p>\n

Because a kitsune\u2019s star ball was one of our greatest assets. Made up of immaterial energy that helped us shift in the blink of an eye, the star ball could also be solidified into physical objects both visible and very, very tangible. The only danger being that separation from the result sapped my strength as quickly as water drained through a yanked bathtub plug.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t intend to be separated from my star-ball sword, however. Instead, I twisted the blade until it caught a glint of light from the dangling ceiling lamps, shining warning into the shifter\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

He curled back his lips, snarling. I cocked my head, grinning at the haze of adrenaline fizzing through my veins.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t speak to the werewolf, however. Instead, I addressed Charlie in a voice loud enough to catch everyone\u2019s attention. \u201cWanna do it? Right now? Outside for all the world to see?\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie wiggled her eyebrows just like she had in the college cafeteria when we were trying to catch cute guys\u2019 attention. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see who ends up on top, you or me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The werewolf, bless his heart, panted. He really was pretty far gone into his animal self. The never-to-be-flung table clattered to the ground as my sword curved towards Charlie\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Just a tap. A clang of steel on steel to solidify any wandering attention.<\/p>\n

Then I was sidling backwards while Charlie ushered me doorward, her sword nudging mine when our trajectory needed a tweak. We\u2019d perfected this dance years ago, so I was able to let my muscles drift into autopilot while I scanned the interior of the space.<\/p>\n

The formerly irate werewolf wasn\u2019t the only one following after us. As best I could tell, we\u2019d attracted the attention of every red-blooded male in the Full Moon Saloon.<\/p>\n

Every male…including Thom. He slammed out of the kitchen like a storm cloud, taking in the scene with one glance before vaulting across the bar. Hard boots gashed a new dent in the surface of the wood he\u2019d so lovingly polished earlier. His gaze, when it met mine for the first time, was like an icepick to the brain.<\/p>\n

Blue eyes boasted the hue of a submerged glacier. Luminous yet hooded. Wild and dangerous and dark.<\/p>\n

For one split second, I fell into the Antarctic Ocean. Then Charlie\u2019s sword clanged into mine a little harder than necessary. Flinching back to reality, I noted that Thom had picked up his pace.<\/p>\n

Which was when I realized he thought Charlie and I needed rescuing. \u201cWe\u2019re fine,\u201d <\/i>I mouthed. \u201cCheck on Eli.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Because Charlie\u2019s boss\u2019s son\u2014man in stature, boy in behavior\u2014seemed unharmed from a distance. He was on his feet, being guided back to his walker. But that fall hadn\u2019t looked good….<\/p>\n

Thom hesitated then swiveled away from me. The icepick eased up into a strange sort of yearning. I shook my head, refocusing on my friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wonder if one of these big guys would like to have a go with the winner?\u201d Charlie mused, eyes sparkling. Then we were dancing out the door into the crispness of October in Virginia, two dozen hungry werewolves at our back.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Ten minutes later, we were still dancing, even though Charlie\u2019s and my positions had reoriented so we could fend off the werewolves who\u2019d piled on all at once. Their behavior was reprehensible…and deeply gratifying. Because it gave me permission to press my back up against the back of an old friend and whack sense into those who deserved whacking in perfect unison with someone not in my pack.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m gonna drag you behind that car,\u201d the werewolf in front of Charlie snarled, his words not quite words but still getting his point across. \u201cThen…\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie snorted before he could finish, twisting her blade and tapping him on the forehead with the flat so hard he yelped. \u201cI suggest you go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

A human usually wouldn\u2019t have been able to make headway against a shifter, but these werewolves had reflexes dulled by drinking. Plus, even though they wielded swords, I didn\u2019t get the impression they trained with them. Typical of outpack wolves gathering in a bar like this.<\/p>\n

No wonder the guy Charlie had struck mumbled something I pretended not to hear then turned away into the darkness. Returning my attention to my own fight, I slid beneath a hulking werewolf\u2019s guard, locked the hilts of our swords, and flicked his off into traffic. A car\u2019s brakes squealed and the shifter made a very similar noise as he hightailed it out of my blade\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n

In the lull as our remaining opponents realigned themselves, I checked on the real purpose of our endeavor. Yep, there was the slow-moving huddle I\u2019d hoped for, skirting the edge of the battle. Eli in his walker, flanked by Thom and the overly perfumed military wife. The unlikely collaborators helped the young man into the back of a car, then Thom leaned his head in after to offer a few words.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re safe here, Eli. I won\u2019t let this happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bartender\u2019s words rumbled with werewolf danger, but Eli just laughed. \u201cI know I\u2019m safe. I don\u2019t get nightmares.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then the military wife was easing the vehicle away into traffic and Thom\u2019s icepick eyes met mine above three werewolves\u2019 bobbing shoulders. His eyebrows rose, a question. I shook my head, a reply.<\/p>\n

No, I neither needed nor wanted any help. This was all fun and games.<\/p>\n

Behind me, Charlie disarmed another of her opponents just as ably as the first one. \u201cYou\u2019ve been practicing,\u201d I called over my shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot quite enough,\u201d she answered, only slightly more out of breath than I was. \u201cSwords don\u2019t play a big role in lab work. Actually, I\u2019m surprised they do in law enforcement. Since when do cops rely on blades instead of guns?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNew thing.\u201d My mouth puckered with the sour taste of the lie and I almost missed the shifter, not so wobbly as the others, who leapt up in my blind spot. I tried to parry, but the angle was wrong. Words, more instinct than expectation, barked out of my mouth.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharlie! Cobra!\u201d<\/p>\n

Even as I spoke, I rejected the expectation of assistance. After all, the term was a throwback to the days when Charlie, her twin, and I had all taken lessons under my sister. Ancient history. Unlikely to work today.<\/p>\n

So I counterattacked, knowing as my arm lashed out that the wild blow wasn\u2019t going to be effective.<\/p>\n

To my surprise, our code was remembered. Charlie\u2019s sword came stabbing back over her shoulder while I tossed myself sideways. And the werewolf who\u2019d invaded my blind spot grunted in distress.<\/p>\n

Charlie\u2019s blind blow had only been a glancing one, but the guy still sheathed his sword, backing away from us with hands raised. The chance of an easy lay might have tempted him initially. But neither Charlie nor I was easy, not when we clenched swords in our fists.<\/p>\n

And now the air between us sweetened. Moving in perfect harmony, only a few words were necessary to unite us in reminiscence.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember that summer?\u201d Charlie asked, referring to her twin\u2019s kidnapping when I was in grade school and they weren\u2019t much older, a trauma that had tugged us all so close together that we remained friends until college. After the event, the Raven twins had signed up for swordfighting lessons with my sister, which might explain why Charlie brought up the distant past now.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d I answered. Then, broaching the topic I\u2019d never been mature enough to ask at the time: \u201cDo you think Jessie has flashbacks about it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNah.\u201d Charlie\u2019s blade flashed into my peripheral vision. We were almost out of werewolves to unite against. \u201cSwords made us both strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there were no opponents left. Just an empty sidewalk and the tentative germination of an old relationship turned new.<\/p>\n

Assuming reality didn\u2019t squelch that tender sprout of connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t lost our touch,\u201d I observed, swiveling to revel in our triumph.<\/p>\n

But Charlie\u2019s back was all that met my gaze. Her shoulders were tense the way they hadn\u2019t been in battle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to visit the lady\u2019s room,\u201d she muttered. \u201cI\u2019ll be right back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chapter 3<\/h1>\n

Here in front of the bar, there were three small round tables directly beneath a streetlight, each boasting two rusty metal chairs. Rather than following Charlie the way I wanted to, I sank into one of the latter. At least I could keep an eye on the werewolf who\u2019d seemed most upset about losing to ensure he didn\u2019t sneak inside and waylay Charlie while she was alone.<\/p>\n

Nope, he was stalking off across the street, crossing against traffic. A horn blared and he shook a fist at the driver. Venting aggression at cars\u2014great move, werewolf.<\/p>\n

I was still chuckling at the loser\u2019s misplaced testosterone when a deep, gritty voice curled out of the darkness right beside me. \u201cYour drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Someone had slipped past my guard, which meant I should have sprung to my feet with sword extended. Should have swirled around until my blade bit into his throat.<\/p>\n

Instead, I turned slowly, knowing who I\u2019d see even before two of the pinkest, cutest beverages imaginable settled onto the table in front of me. I mean, there weren\u2019t just umbrellas stuck into the neon-colored liquid. There were candy lips kissing each rim.<\/p>\n

This was exactly the sort of frou-frou fun Charlie adored. Someone knew his clientele\u2019s taste.<\/p>\n

The bartender who\u2019d carried them out to us, however, was ten times as enticing as the beverages. Tall, broad, well-muscled. Dark facial hair that formed a well-cropped shadow around a square jaw. Eyes that no longer averted themselves from mine, and a smile that softened crags like sun slipping through a break in a mountain range.<\/p>\n

Add in the flannel shirt and I expected Thom to pull out an ax and go Paul Bunyan on me. No wonder I let flirtatious banter dance off my lips. \u201cThese are adorable. But could you possibly leave them for Charlie and make mine a virgin?\u201d<\/p>\n

I did<\/i> want a non-alcoholic drink, but I\u2019d also found that tossing the V word around tended to pique guys\u2019 interest. Only…this time my effort backfired. The sun left the mountain and Thom\u2019s question came out hard and cold. \u201cVirgin?\u201d<\/p>\n

And banter eluded me. Words eluded me. Thom hadn\u2019t repeated my request as a sexy rejoinder. Instead, his voice had gone gruff, his body language proving that I\u2019d made a major faux pas.<\/p>\n

Did Thom think I was making a dig about his refusal to date? Insinuating that he was a virgin because he couldn\u2019t find a willing partner?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no, no! That\u2019s not what I meant!\u201d Diarrhea of the mouth. How embarrassing. And I couldn\u2019t quite make it stop. \u201cThis is about me, not about you. Bad idea to drink tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Someone laughed inside the bar. A car rolled past on the street in front of us, teenagers bobbing along to the beat of way too loud music.<\/p>\n

Thom still didn\u2019t speak.<\/p>\n

So I did. \u201cWhy, you might ask, did I come to a bar if I don\u2019t want to drink? That\u2019s an excellent question. The deal is, I haven\u2019t seen Charlie for six years, since I was a freshman in college and she ditched me without explanation. She sent me this address yesterday and I had the afternoon off. So of course I showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

I slapped one hand across my face, covering up my eyes so I didn\u2019t have to see Thom\u2019s reaction. \u201cAnd, yes, I did just air all my dirty laundry to a stranger. Kill me now.\u201d<\/p>\n

For another moment, the night hung heavy around us. Then soft flannel brushed my cheekbone. A gentle hand pried my fingers loose from their stranglehold grip on my forehead. I blinked and peered up, half hoping and half fearing that the icepick would reignite.<\/p>\n

Only, Thom wasn\u2019t watching me. Instead, his gaze turned the spot where Charlie and I had fought just a few minutes earlier. The scent of fur seethed around us, leftover from aggression released in battle. \u201cI understand your caution,\u201d Thom rumbled, the words vibrating like honeybees in my stomach. \u201cBut I, personally, will ensure your safety in my town.\u201d<\/p>\n

His<\/i> town. So Thom was<\/i> an alpha.<\/p>\n

Filling in the blanks settled my crazy emotions. Helped me forget about the icepick and see what Thom saw.<\/p>\n

He thought I was a female werewolf outside her pack showing understandable caution around a horde of riled shifters. \u201cNo, that\u2019s not it,\u201d I corrected. \u201cUnfortunately, I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, apparently, no ability to come up with succinct replies that hadn\u2019t first been written by dead poets. Argh!<\/p>\n

Wait, that argh hadn\u2019t emerged from my throat. It had instead come from Charlie as she dropped down into the other chair, formerly sweat-streaked hair reformed into its usual perfect waves through her entirely human sort of magic.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d she continued, the joy of winning against so many opponents sloughing off her. \u201cYou\u2019re staying the night. I have a guest room. Actual clean towels. Come on, Kira. Don\u2019t let me down.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now, finally, ordinary words became available in my jumbled brain. \u201cFamily. They\u2019re expecting me.\u201d<\/p>\n

I shrugged, realizing as I did so that Thom had slipped away, his absence allowing me to carry on an understandable conversation at long last. Which, after all, was why I was here.<\/p>\n

So Charlie and I conversed while someone other than Thom delivered more drinks to our table. I tried not to be disappointed that his alpha musk didn\u2019t reassert itself while I sipped something with no kick but great flavor. And, gradually, I lost myself in the recital of family business.<\/p>\n

I told Charlie about my sister\u2019s six-year-old son\u2014\u201cI call him Grub\u201d\u2014and current pregnancy with my first and only niece. She reciprocated with the tale of her twin sister\u2019s job teaching fencing in the same school all three of us used to attend. Jessie had two-year old and four-year-old girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow,\u201d I murmured. \u201cBabies everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. But you and I are single and out on the town!\u201d Charlie, who had gulped down her first two drinks and sipped her way through a third and fourth, now grabbed her borrowed sword off the table and brandished it at the nearest streetlight.<\/p>\n

The blade circled dizzily before tumbling back toward her upturned features. \u201cHow about I take that?\u201d I pried the hilt out of my friend\u2019s fingers one second before sharp steel made contact. Settling the weapon back into its sheathe at my hip, I added: \u201cAnd take you home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlready?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s two AM.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the bar was closing around us. While Charlie and I had been deep in conversation, the hot bartender must have turned things over to a less brain-fuzzing human woman. She was the one who had brought us drinks and who was currently locking the door to the Full Moon Saloon.<\/p>\n

The empty<\/i> Full Moon Saloon. I hadn\u2019t noticed everyone else dribbling away while Charlie and I relived our past adventures. Hadn\u2019t noticed the street turning somnolent. Now, the only illumination flickered out of streetlamps and a few porch lights.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou two good to get home?\u201d the closing bartender asked.<\/p>\n

I nodded and returned my attention to Charlie. She\u2019d relented and was doing her best to lever herself upright. Unfortunately, she kept canting sideways before she achieved a vertical state.<\/p>\n

\u201cOopsie,\u201d my friend murmured, catching herself just before she tumbled back into her seat a third time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere.\u201d I offered my arm and we stumbled through the night to the cute little house Charlie had clearly been fixing up for some time now. I settled her onto the sofa and promised: \u201cWe\u2019ll stay in touch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways!\u201d Charlie\u2019s promise would have been more believable if a line of drool hadn\u2019t already soaked into a throw pillow.<\/p>\n

Still, the possibility of a rekindled friendship warmed me as I drove the long hours to the territory of the werewolf pack who\u2019d propped me up when the Raven twins let me down so many years ago. Sneaking into my childhood bedroom through an unlocked window so as not to wake the inhabitants, I embraced my return to the place that would always be home to me.<\/p>\n

\"Full<\/a>Here I was happy. Part of something bigger. Completely at peace.<\/p>\n

What I didn\u2019t learn until later is what else happened in Gate City that night. A woman who\u2019d enjoyed herself in the Full Moon Saloon was found torn apart by animal teeth at a private zoo a few miles deeper in the countryside. My first instinct had been right. The uneasy alliance between humans and shifters at the Full Moon Saloon had been a powder keg waiting to ignite.<\/p>\n

Keep reading in Full Moon Saloon…<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kira is a fox shifter making a name for herself in a wolf’s world. But when she’s sent to arrest an alpha who turns out to be innocent, she can’t force herself to keep following orders like a wolf…. Chapter 1 Girls\u2019 night out in a shifter bar? I cocked my head at the cursive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,3,162],"tags":[151,14,7,27,23,8],"class_list":["post-2759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-excerpts-aimee-easterling","category-aimee-easterling-news","category-series-kira-fairwood","tag-kitsune","tag-paranormal-books","tag-shifter-books","tag-urban-fantasy-books","tag-urban-paranormal-romantic-fantasy","tag-werewolf-books","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2759"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2763,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2759\/revisions\/2763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}