Austin glanced over at the kid, and suddenly the mood in the tasting room changed dramatically. The size of the space shrank. His stance, his brawn, and his swagger all screamed predator.
The effect nearly took my breath away. It suffocated courage. I knew Austin wouldn’t hurt me, yet my whole body vibrated with fear. The energy he radiated felt dangerous. Deadly, even.
I desperately wanted to get out of there.
But out of there was a strange world where a woman could change into a rat.
Instead, I put my hand on his arm, needing the solidity of touch (since I didn’t have a Xanax).
His large bicep popped under my palm. He wrapped his arm around me and drew me in protectively. Donna, clearly feeling the same pressure I had, remained behind the counter but took a couple of halting steps to the side, behind Austin. She clearly craved the same comfort I did.
The younger guy stiffened. Then his spine gradually bowed.
“Whatever, bro,” the guy said. He snatched his phone off the counter. “Service was slow, anyway.”
He turned and walked toward the door, leaving the girl behind. She flashed Donna an apologetic glance before following the guy out of the tasting room, only pausing to open the door the guy had let close in her face.
As though pricked with a needle, the pressure in the room instantly dissolved. Austin released his arm from around me and leaned against the counter, all ease and good humor.
“What in the hell,” I said, my breath exiting me in a whoosh.
Donna let out a shaky breath as well, smiling through it. “And that is why you could’ve been alpha of any pack you wanted.” She chuckled to herself. “No alpha I’ve encountered could do that so effectively. You barely needed to posture.”
“Ah.” I wiped the hair out of my face with a shaking hand. “So this is where your connection to the animal kingdom comes in handy, is it? Scaring douches?”
I belatedly noticed Austin’s mood had darkened with Donna’s comment. He reached for the scotch. “It is an effective way to scare douches, yes.”
“Right. Where were we?” Donna touched two of the bottles.
“At the one that tastes better,” I said.
She smiled and picked the second, once again pouring a taste for me and a glass for Austin.
“Okay.” I took a very deep breath, remembering what Austin had said about keeping an open mind. Then pulling up the many, many books I’d read in the fantasy genre. And the fairytales I knew. And the folklore. Turned out, I had a lot to work with. “Were-things. Shifters. Uncrowned alpha—that makes sense now. Why don’t you have a pack, then?” I swirled the wine in the glass. Pushing his scotch aside, he watched what I was doing and then picked up his wine glass and emulated it. For a bar owner, he hadn’t bothered to learn much about wine.
“I thought this town was a better use of my talents,” he said, and I noticed Donna looking down and tightening her lips. There was clearly more to Austin’s story, but based on his quickly deteriorating mood, he wasn’t keen on sharing.
“And what talents do you bring?” I asked, tasting my wine…and was immediately distracted. I nodded and looked over at him, motioning for him to taste. After he sipped, I said, “Well? How does it taste?”
He looked at it for a moment, then shrugged. “Like wine.”
“Better or worse than what you have in your bar?”
“Better, definitely. Also more expensive.”
“People will pay, trust me. They will pay for good wine, especially if they came to this area to wine taste. They’ll expect to pay, and they’ll expect good wine.”
“They’ll also be Dicks and Janes and I don’t need them in my bar,” he replied.
“Magical people don’t indulge in wine tasting?” I asked. I pointed at Donna. “They work in tasting rooms. You don’t think they like wine?”
He sighed, entirely put out. “Yes, fine, they do visit. And they do drink wine. There, happy? You’re right, I’m wrong. That good?”
“It’s good to see you smiling for once, alpha,” Donna said, eying him hungrily.
“I’m not your alpha.”
“Yes, sir.” She bit her lip and busied herself behind the counter.
“Not to make light of the smiling thing, because you are much hotter when you smile and you should definitely do it more, as she said, but yes, I am always right, and of course that makes me happy.”
He leaned a little heavier on the counter. “In answer to your question, my talents lie in making sure the people of this town stay safe. I don’t need a pack for that. I provide a sanctuary for those who don’t really fit anywhere else. Yes, the town has some oddity to it, but the people here are just trying to live a quiet life. I am letting them.”
“Because magical people…don’t like people doing their own thing?” I asked, trying to piece this together.