Chapter 1 _ Thee Angel

The men stumbled into the Silver Moon Bar as if they had already had a skinful. They didn't even bother to approach the bar, one of them merely calling out,

"Bring us three jugs of your finest ale, wench!"

before laughing and clapping his friends on the back. Angel gritted her teeth, knowing it was better to put up with whatever they threw at her rather than bring any attention to herself.

Being the daughter of Rosh Constantine, she had learned to keep her head down. And being the only one currently working, she had no choice but to serve them. Filling three large glass pitchers with beer, she placed them all on a tray and carried them over to the corner booth where the five men had taken a seat.

Four of them seemed much too interested in their conversation, laughing and joking, but the fifth…

She could feel his eyes upon her the entire way across the bar. She knew those eyes well, the pale stormy grey that danced and darkened

depending on the emotion behind them. They were mysterious and entrancing and Angel knew better than to look him in the eye.

The beast inside her bowed her head respectfully as she approached the table and carefully placed the tray on it, narrowly missing the flying elbow of one of the men.

Not one of them thanked her for it, and she didn't press them. The wolf inside her knew better than to get in the way of testosterone-fueled werewolves on a night out. Instead, she turned and walked right back to her station behind the bar, trying and failing to concentrate on polishing the glasses.

"Can't anyone get any peace around here?"

grumbled the fae gentleman at the end of the bar. Though by human standards he appeared to be only in his fifties, Angel could guess that he was at least two hundred, and all he wanted was what he ever came into the Silver Moon Bar for, a couple of honeydew cocktails and some quiet conversation.

Angel was always happy to give him that because he was one of the few people in Silverdale who actually treated her like a person. Gritting her teeth, her shoulders tensed, Angela knew she couldn't simply let the noise slide. Her boss would have her hide if it got back to him.

The men were getting louder, acting as though they were on a stag do with all their noise and their antics. One of them had even jumped up onto the table and was proceeding to remove his shirt to whip it around his head. Angel couldn't help but growl at the spectacle yet the moment she did, she wished she hadn't.

His eyes snapped to her once more. The challenge that glinted in those pale grey depths was clear even from right across the room. It's my job, Angel reminded herself, steeling herself for what she was about to do. Yet a part of her couldn't help but think that her job wasn't worth getting killed over.

Even as she rounded the bar and began to cross the room back to the table of rowdy werewolves, Angel felt his eyes upon her. She was astonished when moments before she approached, Rosh Constantine reached up and gripped hold of the arm of the man on the table. He yanked hard, leaving Layon with no choice but to do as he was bid as Dash snarled in a low and menacing tone,

"Sit down."

Yet his eyes never left her. And even before she reached them, she knew that would make her a target.

"Excuse me guys, but could I politely ask that you keep the volume down?"

she asked, feeling her cheeks begin to flush. The beast inside of her was clawing at her, begging her not to do what she was doing. Her wolf wanted her to turn around and walk away before things got ugly. At least, part of it did, the other part was ready with teeth bared and claws outstretched, prepared to defend herself as she had always had to because nobody else was going to do it for her.

Layon opened his mouth as if to speak, running his fingers languidly through his glossy black hair. Yet the burly, caveman-looking werewolf

beside him beat him to it.

"Well, well, if it isn't the traitor's daughter,"

Jason growled menacingly, though there was an edge of amusement to his tone that made

Angel's hackles rise all the more. Gritting her teeth, urging herself to remain calm, she closed her eyes for a moment and sucked in a breath to stop herself from doing something she might regret. Jason was practically Layon's secondin-command and if the alpha of Constantine's werewolf pack, who just so happened to be Jason’s father, had it his way, then these two would one day be the next alpha and beta.

Angel cringed at the thought of a knucklehead like Jason ever being in any kind of position of power.

"Just keep the noise down, okay?"

Angel insisted the moment she opened her eyes again. Before they could respond, she quickly turned on her heels and began to walk away.

"Hey, don't walk away! I was going to ask how your dear old daddy is!"

Jason yelled after her, his sentence ending on laughter, and Angel felt her claws beginning to protrude from her fingernails. She dug them painfully into her palms in order to control herself. The last thing she needed was to go and shift during work hours. Angel was surprised to feel remorse coming off the son of the alpha in waves, yet she was not surprised that he sat silently, listening to his second as he made fun of her.

What else should I expect from the son of the man who banished my father?

Ang asked herself, continuing to walk away.

Bile rose in her throat at Jason's next words,

"She might be a traitor's daughter, but she's hot."

"Yeah, and I hear redheads are freaks beneath the sheets,"

Layon agreed and Angel's mouth began to fill with saliva, threatening to make her puke.

Though she had been born into their pack, Angel felt no kinship to those fools, and she couldn't think of anything worse than actually mating with one of them. Perhaps my father being a traitor is a good thing, she thought, though deep down she knew things would have been much simpler if her father had never tried to challenge Layon's father.

Maybe then both of her parents might still be around. As things stood, she was basically an orphan and with the way her community treated her, she may as well have been packless too.

Trying to forget about all of that and simply do her job, Ang called over her shoulder,

"Keep the noise down or you're out!"

The sharp intake of breath she heard suggested that Jason was about to yell something back at her, but he never got the chance because the double doors at the entrance of the bar suddenly swung open so hard that Angel was sure the handles would leave holes in the walls. The moment that Angel saw Suzen, her blood ran cold.

Tears threatened to prick the corners of her eyes and she had to hold her breath in order to stop them. Once, she and Layon's sister had been the best of friends. That was before. Before her father had become a traitor and before her mother had taken her own life due to the constant ridicule, leaving her to fend for herself.

A single glance from the pale grey eyes that she shared with Layon told Angel that her ex-best friend had noticed her, and yet the two barely

acknowledged each other as they passed in the center of the room. The tension Angel felt coming off the black-haired bombshell told her she felt as awkward as she did. But Suzen's tension was quickly refocused upon the men at the booth.

She charged over in her six-inch heels looking as though she may as well have been walking barefoot, swinging her hips and standing tall as though it was nothing. The moment she reached the table, she slammed her palms down on the surface, causing all the men to take note. They all paused even as Layon began to smile a wicked smile and greeted his sister in a sly tone.

"Hey, sis."

"Layon, it's time to come home,"

Suzen snarled back at him and even as Angel watched them out of the corner of her eye, she could hear Suzen's claws scraping the surface of the wood. Even though their father owned

practically everything in town, even the bar they were standing in, Angel was certain that she would be the one in trouble if she allowed a fight to break out between the two siblings. The air around the table crackled with tension, almost as though a storm was beginning.

"And if I don't want to?"

Layon asked, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at his sister. Though there were three years between the two with Layon being the senior, the two were practically twins with their grey eyes, black hair, and flawless sun-kissed skin.

"Dad's pissed, Layon,"

Suzen announced. She offered Jason a glare when he opened his mouth as if he meant to get involved. The man quickly pursed his lips, dropping utterly silent, and Angel couldn't help but bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. The last thing she needed was to draw any more attention to herself.

“He’s had reports that you and your guys have been causing trouble all over town. You’re supposed to be training."

“Give the guy a break,” Cole grumbled at Suzan.

“We are only letting off some steam.”

“I’ll give you letting off some steam!”

Suzan snarled back at him and even without looking, Angel knew that her eyes would likely have flashed a bright silver, threatening to shift, threatening to become the beautifully sleek black wolf she had been gifted with when she had come of age.

Suzen was lucky, all the Aplha pack were, and many of their pack besides. Practically all were beautiful or otherwise naturally gifted, everyone but Angel, who was seen only as the traitor’s daughter.

Almost as if she sensed the sudden tension in Angel, Suzen glanced in her direction. The momentary lapse in judgment left room for the males to quickly change the subject.

“Hey, didn’t the two of you use to be friends?”

Jason asked, inclining his head in Angel’s direction, though he was clearly speaking to Suzen. The black-haired woman tensed further, her fingers digging into the edge of the table as she glowered at Jason for asking such a question.

“Once, but that was before she turned out to be a traitor,”

Suzen said, her voice dripping scorn, though Angel did not miss the regretful flash in

her gaze as she glanced over her shoulder at her once more. However much she regretted the words, it did not stop them from stinging Angel.

Though she knew why they could no longer be friends, why Suzen denied having anything but disdain for her, Angel couldn’t help but wish that things could have been different. Of all the pack, Suzen was the one she missed the most.

Living on the very edge of their community, Angel felt as though she was always on the outside looking in. Angel struggled not to react, holding her breath until Suzen swung back around to growl at her brother,

“Layon! Home, now!”

Then without leaving any room for argument, she spun and stormed back out of the bar, offering Angel only a single glance before disappearing back through the double doors. Listening closely, Angel could hear her stomping up and down the sidewalk, awaiting her brother.

“I’m going to take a piss!”

he yelled loud enough for the entire bar to hear, his voice filled with distaste at being ordered about by his little sister. Angel rolled her eyes, relieved that she had turned away enough that he would not see her face. Standing close to the bar, she could do nothing but hold onto the surface as he passed right by her. She could feel his gaze on her even as he heard Suzen offering a challenging growl from outside.

The other members of the pack still sitting at the table began to rise, obviously knowing better than to ignore the order of the alpha’s daughter.

Angel kept her gaze averted from them all, making out that she was looking for something in the pocket of her apron until the double doors swung shut behind them and Layon disappeared through the door that led to the back hallway and the restrooms.

Waiting until she heard him disappear inside the men’s room, Angel quickly made a break for it, telling Finan the fae elder,

“I’m just going to grab something from the storeroom. Can you keep an eye on things for me?”

At a nod from the silver-haired man, Angel charged through the very door that Layon had disappeared behind and began to race toward the storeroom door at the far end of the hallway, hoping to avoid him and the others until she was sure they were all off the premises.