Pandemonium by R.E. Butler
Chapter Three
Rhaider pulled open the door to Tails and held it for his band mates. He was one hundred percent antsy, and he was not a male who got nervous. Something about this bar, about this town, made his bear want to stick around, and it felt like their acceptance as the house band was suddenly supremely important. Like the most important thing he’d ever faced in his entire life.
“You okay?” Rebel asked before walking through the open door. “Your eyes are flashing.”
“Yeah. I guess? I just feel like we need to be here.”
Rebel hummed. “Performance nerves?”
“More than that, maybe.” Rhaider followed him into the bar. “I don’t know. I’m fucking tired of being on the road.”
“We all are,” Maverick said. “But if this doesn’t work out, I’ve got two more bars we can audition for house bands for. We’ll find the right place eventually.”
Rafe stepped next to Rhaider. “I feel the same way. It’s like this place is different.”
Rhaider appreciated that his brother was in sync with him. He looked around the bar and inhaled, sorting through the scents that lingered. Liquor, malt and yeast, sweat, perfumes and colognes.
Lots of lions.
A wolf.
Humans.
“Hey!” a male said as he walked into the bar. “Are you Midnight Grizzlies?”
“We are,” Rafe said. “Are you Titus?”
The male was tall and well built. Grizzlies tended to be more muscular than lean, like lions, but Rhaider could tell by the way he carried himself that Titus was a male that people didn’t fuck with.
“I am.” Titus reached them and extended his hand. They all shook hands and told him their names. “Welcome to Tails. I’ve got you on at eight. If you need help bringing in equipment, I’m happy to lend a hand.”
“We’re good,” Rafe said, “but thanks.”
“The stage is yours,” Titus said. “After you set up, come to the counter and we can discuss tonight’s expectations and what being the house band here entails.”
“All right, thanks,” Rhaider said. He looked at Maverick and nodded toward the stage.
“I’m on it,” Maverick said, then headed to the stage. He was the one who set up the sound system, so while the rest of them would bring in the equipment, Maverick would set up the electronics.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Titus said. “Holler at me if you need anything.”
The male walked away and Rhaider turned and followed his band mates out to the large panel van that held their equipment. He played the piano and wrote and arranged most of the songs their band sang. Rafe was the lead singer and played guitar; Maverick played bass, and Rebel played drums.
Rhaider’s bear made a grumbling complaint when he left the bar, and he stopped and turned to look at the building.
He had no idea why his bear was complaining so much and feeling so antsy.
“Something in the bar, I think,” Rafe said coming to stand next to him.
“Someone, maybe,” Rhaider added.
“That too. It’s weird, but I really don’t want to fuck this opportunity up. I feel like we’re supposed to be here.”
“Yeah.” Rhaider turned to his older brother and clapped him on the shoulder. “We’re not going to fuck it up.”
Rafe nodded. They gathered their things and hauled them inside. It took them almost two hours to set up, and by the time they’d done the sound check, the bar was slowly filling up.
Rhaider pulled the van around to the back parking lot at Titus’s request. Then he and his band mates met the male at the counter where Titus gave them each a beer, and then rested his hands on the counter.
“Duke’s coming in soon. He’s the alpha and also co-owns the bar with me. We’ll be meeting tomorrow to discuss whether you’ll get the job or not, so you’ll hear from me sometime in the morning. I won’t leave you hanging long, I promise.”
Rhaider glanced back at the people filling the bar, then turned his attention to Titus. “We’re staying at a B&B. We’ll be available by cell anytime.”
“Good.” Titus leaned on the counter and cleared his throat. “If you get the gig, you’ll be on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Three sets, at eight, ten, and midnight. The sets should be an hour long. You can go longer if you like, but not shorter. During the breaks, you can get food from the back and drinks—we just ask that you not overindulge. I don’t want our people to have to bounce you.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Rafe said. “We’ll be professional while we’re working.”
“Good,” Titus said, nodding. “Do you have any questions?”
“If we do end up with the job,” Rhaider said, “we wanted to know about hunting in your territory. Being bears means we prefer to be on private grounds as opposed to shifting on public land where hunters might mistake us for the real deal.”
“Duke and I have already discussed it, and we’d be open to you shifting and hunting in our territory, but it would need to be during designated times so we can alert the pride, that way no one is surprised.”
Rhaider nodded. Since they’d left their clan, it had been difficult finding places where they could safely shift and hunt. He doubted the lions would ever let them join their pride, but so long as they gave them some latitude with shifting and hunting, they’d be happy.
Titus introduced them to a petite blonde bartender named Blu. Rhaider shook her hand and picked up the scent of wolf. She was who he’d smelled earlier.
“Nice to meet you,” he said.
She shook everyone’s hands. “Of course, I’m a delight,” she said with a grin.
He snorted. “It’s time for us to get ready.”
“If you need any drinks or anything, give me a shout,” Blu said.
“Thanks,” Rafe said.
Rhaider kept an eye on the clock as he warmed up on the piano, his fingers gliding up and down the scales.
Titus walked up onto the stage promptly at eight and stopped in front of Rafe’s mic. “All right, we’ve got a great band here to audition for us tonight. Put your hands together for Midnight Grizzlies.”
The crowd clapped and cheered. Rebel clacked his sticks together and counted them off to the first song.
As music filled the air, Rhaider let himself go into the song, his bear’s anxiety drifting away.
He was definitely happy they’d come to Tails.
