Lib Novel Page 5
It’s the man who was watching me during the fight, the one with the blue eyes who made me lose focus.
I try to pull my hands away from him, but his grip is like iron.
“You’re going to kill him,” he warns me, his tone deep and rough, almost a growl.
His strength is greater than mine, and when I look into his eyes, the feral edge to his gaze makes me fearful. He’s a wolf shifter. There’s no denying it. A human wouldn’t have this kind of strength. And if that weren’t enough, the scent of his blood oozing from the scratch I gave him is a dead giveaway.
I can’t pull away from him using force alone, so I try another tactic. I yank my arms down as I cross them, which causes him to lose his grip. Without a second thought, I jump free of him.
“Wait!” he calls, but I grab my bag and run out the door.
I expect him to give chase, but he doesn’t.
I’ve gotten just a few feet away when I catch two different scents. They’re on either side of me, as if zeroing in on my location. I think fast.
If I keep running straight ahead, they’re going to give chase and might catch me. They’ll expect me to do that, and if this is a preplanned attack on me, there might be others waiting in the forest. The only alternative I can see is up.
There are plenty of trees in Oakrest’s forest. The boxing gym has a training track in these woods for those who claim to be serious athletes, and Mathew leads tourist hiking groups through here. Securing my backpack, I quickly leap onto the closest branch and then propel myself off of it to jump to another tree with denser foliage. Using the leaves to camouflage myself, I realize I have no choice but to stay here till they’re gone.
A few minutes later, two large wolves burst out of the forest and look around.
They sniff the ground, and I hold my breath, knowing that even the faintest sound will give me away.
They glance at each other and then in the direction of the boxing gym. The man who stopped me from maiming Roger steps out of the building. “Anything?”
The two wolves shift into their human forms, and I see that they’re wearing casual outfits. With witch magic on nearly every shifter clothing store out there, my kind no longer has to worry about destroying their clothes with each shift.
I study the two men. I don’t recognize them. They’re not from here.
“She escaped. Sorry, boss.”
The younger of the two steps forward. “Did you see her?”
The blue-eyed shifter nods. “I think it could be her, but I can’t say for sure.”
His companions exchange a look. “So, what now?”
Their leader purses his lips. “We do know one thing. There is indeed a wolf shifter taking part in these illegal cage fights.”
My stomach sinks.
This isn’t good.
This isn’t good at all.
Chapter 2
Sophia Hope
I stare at the drinking glass I’ve been wiping for the past five minutes.
Whoever has been using this waterproof, red lipstick needs to have her ass handed to her. What kind of idiot uses waterproof lipstick that smears? And the kind of smear that doesn’t even wash off. My mind is boggled by how this lipstick can even be called waterproof when it clearly stains glasses. We have a serial glass stainer in town, it seems.
I chuckle to myself, amused at my own joke, before my expression sours. I have managed to get most of it off, but I still have three other glasses waiting to be cleaned.
Sighing, I set down the glass and look around the bar.
The Dancing Bear functions as both a bar and a restaurant. I once told Elsa, the owner and my boss, that a restaurant with a bar was just a restaurant. She vehemently disagreed. Apparently, we’re a bar with a restaurant. My plans don’t include getting fired, so I decided never to broach the topic again. Restaurant with a bar or bar with a restaurant—as long as I get paid, it can be a flying goose for all I care.