CHAPTER 4

Ravena was once again certain that she was about to be exposed as the woman drew in closer. Silva inhaled, her brown eyes growing droopy. Ravena prayed no one could smell that she was a lupus garou and not one of their own kind, despite the fact that she was wearing a ton of ostentatious human fragrances and, of course, the stench from the recent dye job—despite the fact that she had tried to mask that scent by washing her hair with strawberry shampoo. It appeared that it had failed.

Good, good, good. Silva shifted her weight forward. Sam, please make the woman a margarita.

Tom spoke out, "Put the first on my tab." "I wouldn't want the lady to think we're just a bunch of grumpy old coots," the man said.

Silva responded, "The second one is on me."

As much of a beta wolf as he appeared to be, the miner Joe Kelly appeared sad that he hadn't spoken out first, but he probably wouldn't say anything to irritate Lucian. The only exceptions would be Lucian's brothers, and Silva appeared to be free to act whenever she chose.

Lucian remained silent. His simple gaze conveyed control; he was dangerous and unlikely to agitate others. More than any words, his actions—or lack thereof—spoke for themselves. In Bruin's position, he would have blustered all over the pub. If she had stolen his seat, Bruin would have instantly called her out, humiliated her, and physically thrown her out of the establishment to show that he was the pack leader and that no one would defy him. But even a single glower from Lucian represented a grave threat, and she would be well to pay attention to it.

Everyone was enthralled by the explanation for Silva's interest in Ravena. They must have assumed Silva knew something about her. Silva seems delighted by the fact that Ravena was a red lupus garou posing as a person. Ravenaat least thought the woman had discovered her.

"Where are ya staying, darlin'?" Silva's tone was far more soothing, and the sweetness seemed artificial.

The unexpected frog in Ravena's throat was expelled. "On my way through."

Silence. The woman's eyes grew gloomy, and she sent a fleeting glance Lucian's way. He was looking at Ravena with widening eyes. Shit. The way she talked, the tone, something must have reminded her of Freya this time.

While Sam whipped up Ravena's margarita, there was quiet talk at the table across from Lucian's and among the grays at the bar, but no one said a word at Lucian's table.

The situation repeated again until the establishment was busy and rowdy. More customers entered the pub, all hoping to welcome their leader. However, when they saw a dead ringer for his slain partner seated at his normal table, they turned to see Lucian. However, nobody ventured to eat at her table. God is good. She could only guess at what was said during the most significant talks because they were held at a low volume. The clone of a dead sister appears at the grays' hangout to get retribution. All of them would be trembling in their boots. Right.

Ravena finished her margarita and immediately felt the need to go the restroom. The atmosphere had become quite warm, so she shed her jacket. Big error. The moment they realized how small she was, the room became silent once again.

Ravena was expecting another bottle of water, but Silva rushed over with another margarita for her.

This time the woman said, "On me, sweetie," and she meant it. Even in her four-inch heels, she was short for a gray woman, standing at almost five feet ten.

“Thanks.” The woman's face sank as Ravena stood up because she likely thought she was leaving and snubbing her for the drink. "Got to use the little girls' restroom."

“Oh.” Silva's lips raised just a little. "That way back," She made a hand gesture.

“Thanks.” Before everyone started acting so curious about her, Ravena had never given any thought to how it might feel to go through the bar to the women's restroom. She walked to the bathroom with her chin cocked up, shoulders straight back, and body 10 degrees hotter than usual.

Several males gave each other friendly head nods. A few of them respectfully removed their cowboy hats. However, nobody grinned—not even Joe this time, as would be expected. Most would give her a quick once-over before their pack leader made her feel welcome, but they wouldn't do anything to be excessively kind. If Sam revealed to Joe that the miner had paid for her first drink, Lucian would likely confront him.

Three women, who were seated at one of the bigger tables with several males, scowled at her as if they wanted her to die. Had any of them followed through on the threat to kill Freya?

Ravena entered the restroom without looking at them, but as soon as she sat down in a cubicle, she heard the exterior door creak open. Her body froze. Too late to avoid the problems she was about to encounter.

The three ladies were waiting for her as she came out of the restroom, their faces somewhat amused but sinisterly so. All of them had brown hair and were in their mid-twenties, so they were likely all trying to be Lucian's new partner and worried that she was fresh competition.

Ravena had no idea that anybody would believe she would be interested in chasing the pack leader when she devised this plan to find her Freya's killer. The thought of really mating with a larger gray... She shook her head in her head.

The woman in the cowl-neck sweater and jeans questioned, "What's your name?" with a menacing tone in her voice and her western boot pounding on the tile floor. Her orange-painted lips were twisted in an unpleasant manner as her amber eyes narrowed and she inhaled deeply in an effort to scent Ravena or whatever she was. Ravena momentarily considered the possibility that her face may horribly freeze in such manner. "You're not one of us and you're not from around here," someone said.