Welcome to the Black Hills

Wolf and Beer It

The door to Gee’s bar stood open, allowing music, conversation, and the clinking of beer bottles to filter into the evening air. Pausing at the edge of the gravel lot, Ryker surveyed the seven vehicles ranging from off-road to motorcycle to trucks parked in front of the bar. On the far side from his position, two wolves made out against the wall of the bar itself. The combination of scents, sweat, arousal, alcohol, and fried pickles mingled with sun on fur, snow, and the distinct undertone of bear. Gee had pissed on every corner. Most of the wolves wouldn’t notice it, but occasionally the bear got it into his head to remind the wolves he owned the bar.

His oldest friend wasn’t known for his subtlety.

The woman’s low moans escalated, and Ryker shook his head slowly. Any moment she would—

Her escalating cry gave credence to her partner. Dimming his own scent, he drew his power into himself and quieted his presence. No sense in disturbing their fun. Many Wolves continued to resent him, and he could live with their anger and their scorn. He deserved it.

Their fear, however, despite what most believed, never failed to remind him of his own powerlessness. Yes, they needed to be wary of him. He was the boogeyman sent to frighten them into obedience. Raw, gut-wrenching terror overriding the simple joy of existence they now led when he appeared? No, he would never be completely comfortable with it. His wolf didn’t share his issue. They’d been born to protect the entire pack—those who hated him, those who feared him, and those who didn’t know what to do with him.

The door to the bar opened wider, and Colt strode out with Tasha over his shoulder. Her laughter washed over him even as Colt smacked her on the ass. She was in no danger from her piss-headed and stubborn mate, if anything, quite the opposite. As if sensing him, she glanced in Ryker’s direction, but he stayed in the shadow of twilight. The little cookie maker still dropped by his cabin periodically, though not just to deliver cookies. She came to visit Saja. Not all of the females had taken to his mate, and even among those who had, not many were willing to come to his cabin.

The lack of visitors never seemed to bother his recklessly fearless mate. If the wolves wouldn’t come to her, she went to them. Occasionally, Ryker followed her without her awareness. Though few would ever dare harm what was his, it satisfied his wolf to know for certain she was safe. When he felt like an argument, he would let her know he’d shadowed her movements.

Saja did like to make up, and he enjoyed rankling her temper. Finally, the couple at the wall of the building collapsed in a wave of pleasurable release. If they noticed him leaving the shadows to head for the door, they wouldn’t be interrupted in their play.

Once inside, the scents grew stronger and Ryker took care to breathe through his mouth. More than one gaze jerked toward him then slid away as he crossed the bar floor to the table where Drew waited for him. The Alpha sat alone, unusual enough. He had no trouble gathering a crowd to him, but he grinned at Ryker and kicked the chair out by way of invitation.

An unnecessary one since the only reason Ryker was at Gee’s for the evening rather than with his mate was Drew’s request to meet him. The bear in question strode out from behind the bar and delivered a second beer for him, in the bottle and unopened. Ryker handled his own drinks—even when Gee served. Instead of joining them, Gee wandered back toward the bar.

Catching his eye, Ryker raised an eyebrow, and the bear shrugged. “I wasn’t invited.”

Taking the offered seat, Ryker nodded to Drew and left the cold beer where it sat. If Drew sent him out immediately, he saw no sense in wasting the drink.

“Thanks for coming.” The unnecessary greeting was very much the Alpha’s way. For more than a decade, the Enforcer had endured a leash to a madman who took pleasure in the craven fulfillment of his darkest fantasies. He could suffer through pleasantries.

“You’re welcome.” As if he would have ignored the order. He hadn’t mistaken the note for anything other than an order. Meet me at Gee’s after sundown. – Drew.

Saja had offered to come with him, but Drew only sent for him if a problem needed resolving. Ryker kept his mate away from problems. Everyone was safer for it.

“How was your day?” Tilting his chair back so it balanced on two legs, Drew took a long swallow of his own drink. Beer, from the scent of it, though his came with a foamy top inside an icy mug.

“Fine.” He hadn’t had to kill anyone, though a couple of the juveniles probably thought he planned to when he caught them sneaking out to a car they’d “‘stashed’” at the edge of pack land with a keg.

They were probably only just arriving back in Los Lobos, pulling the car he’d disabled after discovering it. Their scent had been all over it, so he knew who the culprits were.

“Just fine?” Drew continued to balance his chair on the rear legs.
Giving himself a moment to consider all the angles of the question, Ryker opened his beer. If Drew had wanted him to handle something, he’d have already given him instructions. Which meant he wanted to discuss the problem. “Yes. Fine.” The word served as an appropriate description.

“Good”.” His Alpha nodded. “So, do you have plans for tomorrow?”

He’d intended to take Saja hiking. The quiet days in the pack came in spurts, and his mate occasionally grew restless with their isolation. Hiking to see some natural wonder always improved her mood. “Nothing I can’t rearrange. What do you need?”

“Me? Nothing.”

Nothing? Ryker paused before taking a drink. “You did request that I meet you? Correct?” There was a small, however unlikely, chance someone had decided to prank him. A handful of Wolves had attempted it in the past, most failed miserably. If someone had been successful, however, he would have to find work for them.

“Oh yeah, I had Tasha drop the note for me when she went to have tea with Saja earlier. I thought we should have a beer.”
Perplexed, Ryker reconsidered his drink and set it back on the tabletop. “Why?”

“So we can talk.” He’d taken a circuitous route to get there, but then occasionally Drew’s behavior reminded him of how much time he’d spent with humans. Saja liked small talk, too. Fortunately, she did most of the talking.

“About?”

“Anything good happen?” Drew set down his beer. “I saw a flock of geese today. Ever see the movie Jurassic Park?”

Ryker blinked once. It was a month too soon for migration season to have begun. It could indicate an earlier arrival for snow. He’d have to take that into account. “No.”

“So nothing good happened today or the movie?” Did Drew need to work himself up to whatever the issue was? Sometimes, his Alpha’s soft heart meant he didn’t care for broaching difficult topics.

“The movie.”

“Cool. You should. It’s about recreating dinosaurs. So, what good things happened today?”

“No rogues.” Every so often, a handful of Wolves seemed to return, as though they hadn’t gotten the message Magnum no longer held sway. Ryker enjoyed removing them. Mostly. He did not complain, however, when they failed to appear. Too often someone got hurt. There had been enough hurt.

“Always good news.” He grinned. “Did you hear Gee is thinking of adding fried jalapeño poppers to the menu? I used to eat them in New Orleans. I’m so happy we could meet tonight.”

Perhaps the one pranking him was Drew. Narrowing his eyes, Ryker asked, “Why are we meeting, Alpha?” A nudge in the right direction might get him his orders so he could go. The conversations around them had begun to drift off, and no music played anymore. 

“Ryker, I was thinking, once a week you and I, we’re going to have a beer. Shoot the shit. Be men.”

“Why? We’re already men.” Had someone done something to Drew? Some herbs, when used correctly, could cause issues for them even with their metabolisms.

“Listen, you and I, we don’t know each other as well as I would like. I think from the time we’ve spent together…we could be friends.”

He’d known the Alpha since the day of his birth. Recalled exactly how Magnum’s excitement at the arrival of his son had led to parties throughout the day and into the night. When Drew took his first steps, Ryker had been present, and he’d been there the day he’d learned to shift on the run. He was a good Alpha. What else did they need to know?

“You are my Alpha.” He’d sworn to him, offered him his loyalty and protection. Nothing would sever that tie save madness. A madness he would never need fear because Drew extracted a promise from Ryker to end him if he went down the path of his father. His nose alerted him to no scent of hidden herbs, and the beer smelled as the beer should.

“Ryker, we can be friends. One beer a week. You can take off if I get boring or drunk.”

He was serious. “You want me to share a beer with you once a week?”

Drew held up one finger. “One.” He paused, head tilted. “Unless you want more. I’m game for more.”

Gee would have noticed if something was wrong, and the bear hadn’t so much as looked at them after delivering the bottled drink. Earnest honesty echoed in every word Drew spoke.

Reclaiming his bottle, Ryker lifted it and drained it in three swallows before replacing the bottle on the table then rising.  â€œOne beer.”

“Awesome.”

“Is there anything else you need?” He’d said one beer. Ryker had finished his beer.

Drew leaned forward. “What do you think I should get B for her birthday?”

Still standing, Ryker stared. Betty Holden hated him. He’d exchanged exactly four words with her in the months since Drew’s return. Four more than she’d given him in the years in between Drew’s exodus and eventual return. He had no answer for him. You can take off if I get boring or drunk.

How many beers had Drew partaken of before his arrival? The bright look in his eyes held mirth, and the Alpha’s smile widened before he drained the last of the beer in his icy mug.

Not boring, but perhaps drunk. Taking his Alpha at his word, he said, “Something she will like.” Then inclined his head before pivoting on his heel and leaving.

“Next week, Ryker,” Drew called after him. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

At the door, he glanced back and inclined his head to acknowledge the order. Outside, he strode across the gravel lot, puzzling the meeting. The noise level rose with every step he took. The Wolves were happier with their happy Alpha. By the time he reached his cabin, he still hadn’t quite reconciled Drew’s desire to share a beer and be “men,” but his mate couldn’t stop laughing after he told her what Drew had wanted.

Perhaps it had been a prank. When Saja wrapped her arms around him, Ryker let go of his concern. He would meet Drew in a week, as ordered, and have one beer.

An order was an order, and at least it hadn’t involved killing anyone.

Yet.
 
(c) Heather Long, 2015