The Bear’s Nanny by Erin Havoc
09
ASTRID
THE BAR IS half-full when I arrive. Some sorts are usual, coming here as they leave work. I nod to two old men who always sit at the same table. They’re in parkas, jeans, and baseball caps, their faces with full, white beards and wide smiles. They bought me a beer when we first met and told me about growing up here. The safety, nature, the silence. People in Shadow Falls can’t picture themselves living anywhere else. And I wonder if I shouldn’t be doing the same.
Sabrina waves from behind the counter. “The usual?” She offers.
There’s no option, really. I’ve already asked for alcohol twice, but she won’t give it to me. Unless a customer pays for it and gives it to me, I’ll go through the night without a drop. And, curiously, it’s not so bad. When I arrived, booze was the only thing that helped me go to sleep. Now, even with the howling of wolves, I’m usually tired enough with taking care of Owen; I don’t need help sleeping.
I plop down on my usual seat by the bar and intertwine my fingers over the counter. Sabrina goes about her motions, and I watch her carefully build the alcohol-free mojito.
“Those wolves are crazy, right?” I ask, leaning forward.
She shoots me a curious glance. “Wolves?”
“Yeah. Howling in the middle of the night.” I wave a hand around us. “Is it usual? Should I get worried?”
Sabrina grins and shakes her head. “Not at all. Wolves are territorial, you know? They’ll stick to their spot of land.” There’s something on her face that tells me there’s more about these wolves. But she just studies me for a moment before turning her attention to the drink. “You just stick around here or around Kieran’s, and you’ll be fine.”
I tilt my head and accept the glass she slides my way. “I’ll be fine by Kieran’s? Why?”
She shrugs and touches her forefinger to her lips. “They won’t go there.”
With that, she sashays to another part of the bar to attend to another customer. I squint at her back, watching her go. What was that supposed to mean? Is there a way Kieran keeps the wolves away? That’s certainly a relief since he has a small child to care for. But I’m still curious as hell about it.
The bar gets busier as time passes. A redhead sits next to me and introduces herself as Sarah. We chat for some fifteen minutes before her girlfriend arrives, and the two take me to their table. There’s something so heartwarming and so curious about how quickly I make friends around here.
Even with the weird glances.
“Have you ever been to New York?” Sarah asks, a glass of whiskey in hand. “I want to spend the holidays there, but Olivia isn’t a fan of big cities.”
“I have,” I sip from my mojito and shoot Olivia a glance. “What’s wrong with it?”
Olivia shrugs, her straight blond hair sliding to the front of her body. “Born and raised in Shadow Falls, what do you expect?”
Sarah groans. “Convince her, Astrid. I beg of you.” She smiles. “You’ve seen both Shadow Falls and New York. What do you think?”
What do I think, indeed? “I never thought about it. Ever since I left home, I just drove until I stopped here.” Or was stopped since my car broke down.
Sarah bobs her head in agreement. “But you’re going back, right? You’re not staying for long, I think. Big cities have a way of ruining small towns for people.”
Olivia elbows her. “Don’t talk shit about Shadow Falls. It’s a perfectly good place to live in. None of the dirt and noise New York has.”
I scratch my head. The dim light makes it look like I’ve been here for hours, in this bubble. Life moves slower; Shadow Falls is like a time spell. I keep forgetting I don’t live here, and I have problems to figure out.
“They’re different,” I tell them. “I guess to each their own. Here, life’s slow and gentle. There, it’s hectic. Everyone’s in a hurry, and there are so many things to do.” I shake my head, thinking back to all the things I could have done when I lived there but didn’t. “But you’re usually so busy you just don’t live. The quality of life drags. I used to hate the noise too.”
“Right?” Olivia says, raising her brows and nodding. “A girl can’t have her beauty sleep in a place like that. I’d rather spend the holidays on the beach or something.”
“But there’s noise here too,” I add, trying to balance things out. I don’t want to sound like I’m defending one or the other since I’m not sure what I’m going to do. City life is important, and it’s all I’ve ever known. But small-town life calls to me, and I’ve never felt so welcome.
Both Sarah and Olivia chuckle. Sabrina sways our way and props three full glasses in front of us, even though no one asked. I smile at her in thanks, and she goes back behind the bar. The other two don’t seem to notice, as if that’s the usual treatment.
“Noise?” Olivia grins. “There’s no such thing here. Unless you’re complaining about the birds.”
“Because if you do,” Sarah jerks, “you have a point. There’s this crossbill under our window that just loves to wake me up at five am on Sunday. I swear, that bird knows how to read a calendar.”
We laugh, and I shake my head at them. “There are the wolves too.”
Their faces change; their smiles disappear, melting into something like worry. Sarah runs her fingers through her red hair, looking at Olivia. The blond clears her throat before sipping from her drink, looking away. Like they don’t like to talk about that. Just like Kieran.
I wonder if there’s been an accident with wolves, and nobody talks about it. That’s something small towns would do, right? Pretend something bad never happened, so their reputation of a peaceful place doesn’t get ruined.
I lean forward. “You hear the wolves, right? Now that it’s a full moon, they just go on and on.”
Sarah shoots me an awkward smile. “Oh, yeah. It’s impossible not to hear them. So noisy.”
A pregnant silence grows between us. I take a large gulp from my fake mojito, gaping between the two. This was a tender subject. Clearly, I shouldn’t talk about the wolves. But Sabrina reacted just fine. I make a mental note to check the web for wolf incidents around these parts when I get home, to my cozy inn room.
The silence breaks once the bar door opens with a slam. I jump in place, whirling around to scowl at the newcomer, my heart skittering in my chest. Whoever thought that’s an acceptable way of entering any place deserves at least a glare.
But the men ambling inside are not the type I would face. They’re four incredibly tall and muscular men. Some are in black jackets, others in checkered shirts. All have beards on their faces, and the ones that rolled their sleeves to their elbows show off hairy arms. They are all superb looking. But there’s something about the way they search the bar that makes my spine tingle with alarm.
Olivia shifts slightly. She’s been sitting to my left, and now she half-covers me with her body. I stare at her, trying to understand the reason for her protection, but she’s not looking at me. Her brows furrow and her nostrils flare as she stares at the men, studying them. Sarah has the same cautious look on her face, her back ramrod straight.
I’m not the only one finding the newcomers odd. The chitchat dies out, and everyone’s looking at them now. If I thought people here looked at me weird, I had it easy.
The leader, the biggest man, with eyes dark like black holes and a head of curly dark hair, walks to the bar and props an elbow on the counter. He faces Sabrina and takes a deep breath.
His mouth slashes into a smile. “Why, what do we have here?”
“You’re not welcome in this bar.” Sabrina’s voice is rough like I’ve never heard it. Her eyes flicker with flame, and she pulls her shoulders back, almost looking twice her usual size.
The man doesn’t seem fazed. He cocks a brow. “And I heard Shadow Falls was a place for every kind. I never expected this lack of warmth.” He chuckles, and the others in his group follow. There’s something about them that makes me think of Kieran and his friends. Maybe because they’re all tall and handsome and buffed up. But it’s all wrong.
While Kieran’s friends never treated me especially friendly, they were not bad. Wyatt was courteous, and Asher was cold but never rude. I’m safe with them. None of them would hurt me, as if we’ve known each other for years.
These men are the opposite. There’s a threat with every step they take. I’m not comfortable in their presence, and the general reaction doesn’t help either. The two old men by their usual table have gotten to their feet, tilting their chins up in challenge and going ignored. My skin pebbles. There’s something about them that puts everyone here on the edge of their seats. And I don’t like it.
Sabrina leans forward, furrowing her brows further. She raises a hand and points at the man. “Leave.” The word crackles with lightning. The hairs on the back of my neck rise. My heart skips a beat, my legs tensing. It’s like my body wants me to run like a fight is about to break out. But it’s just Sabrina. A couple of old men. It makes no sense.
The leader studies Sabrina, and her hand, then backs off a step. He raises his hands in a pacifying gesture that means nothing when I look into his face and see the mocking smile there. “Peace, witch. We’ve come for beer. You can deny our presence, but not our money.”
“I’ll deny your money too. We don’t need your sort around here.”
Your sort. What does that mean?
My neck’s hurting from the angle I’ve been craning it, so I twist in my chair and change my position. The tips of my short hair bat my jaw as I move to face the unwelcome newcomers.
The leader tilts his head up as if he just remembered something. His nostrils flare, and he takes a deep inhale.
“What is it, alpha?” I hear one of the others ask.
Alpha. I would laugh if I wasn’t so afraid of what the hell is going on right now. Sabrina looks like she knows these people, and they mustn’t be nice to get this sort of reception.
The leader, or the alpha (retch), whirls around. His eyes drill into mine, and I squeak, jumping in place.
Olivia and Sarah shoot to their feet, stepping in front of me. Crap, crap, double crap. What’s going on? I get up too, my heart hammering against my ribcage. This is bad. The way this man looks at me isn’t nice, not nice at all.
He comes closer, every step calculated. The two dark orbs of his eyes are still on me, and he sniffs the air around me as he stops a couple of feet from us. He leans over and takes one long sniff. It makes every hair on my body rise.
“I know this smell,” he roars in the back of his throat. There’s bloodlust in his pupils, and I grind my teeth together not to show fear. Never show fear to the bullies. Though I’m afraid this guy graduated from this category a long time ago. “You smell of him.”
Him? Who’s him? The only him I’ve spent time with is Kieran or Owen. Who the fuck recognizes smells like this? I’m trying to look brave, but my knees tremble pathetically. This man has such a presence. There’s a promise of pain with every move of his muscles.
I get why Sabrina doesn’t want him here. He spells trouble, and with a capital T.
He takes another step and, this time, Sarah puts her body in front of mine and snarls. I kid you not. She snarls.
“Get the fuck out of our town,” she spits, her voice hoarse in threat. Olivia stands at her side, pressing their shoulders together, and even though I’ve just met these girls, an immense wave of affection crashes over me.
The old men step closer too. “Get out!” They cry out.
From the crowd, more people get to their feet. I hear more than one growling, just like Sarah did. My head goes fuzzy. Is this really happening? I adore that they’re defending me, but the adrenaline and the roars are just not working together.
“Alpha...” One newcomer mutters, his shoulders slumping as he looks around them.
I guess they think it would be too much trouble to fight everyone because the leader nods once. The others quickly make their way back to the door, but the leader still studies me for a long moment before he turns and leaves. No threats leave him, but the way he walks out with his chin up and his shoulders squared, I just know he’s coming back.
My stomach roils. I press a hand to it, feeling nauseous.
The bar slowly calms down, though the voices explode in chatter. Several people pick up their phones, and I blink, wondering if this really happened.
Sarah whirls around to face me, her hands going to my elbows. “You all right?”
I nod. “What was that?”
Sarah and Olivia exchange a glance and press their lips together. Whatever’s happening here, I won’t find out now.
Sabrina makes her way to me. Her violet eyes are wide and bright, brighter than I’ve ever seen them. She tilts the corner of her lip and touches a hand to my cheek. “You don’t look well, dear.”
I lick my lips. “That was scary. I think.”
She nods. Sarah and Olivia glance at her with twisted mouths. I feel like I’m intruding on something. Like there’s something else happening that I can’t understand.
Sabrina’s hand is still on my cheek. “You’re sleepy, aren’t you? You should rest. Early work tomorrow.”
I’m not sleepy at all, or so I thought. My eyelids become heavy, and I release a yawn. How odd. I slept well last night, and it’s not even late.
Sarah locks her elbow with mine. “You’re staying at the inn, right? We’ll walk you there.”
I nod, and before I’m aware, I’m laying belly up on my bed. I can’t remember how I got here, but I still have my clothes and boots on, my fingers crossed over my stomach. And I wasn't even drunk. Sleep still rakes its nails in the back of my mind, but I manage to sit up and scratch my eyes. It’s not even ten. Even so, I know I won’t hold sleep back for long.
I kick off my boots and find my phone in my back pocket. My fingers fly on the screen, and I type “Shadow Falls Wolf Incident.” There are no results. For none of the combinations I search.
In fact, there are no results on Shadow Falls. At all. It’s not even on the map.
I should find it weird. Should look into it, search more. It’s not like I’m in a pocket of time or something. I can still use the internet, and I can message my lawyer and everything. There’s something wrong about this entire thing. Something going on that I can’t see.
No matter how hard I try, sleep wins me over. I topple onto my pillow and, before I turn the lights off, I’m embraced by darkness.