Book 1: Chapter 9

All four of us pulled into The Wayward Tap’s parking lot. The front door was propped open and the biggest of the three rogues was leaning against the outside of the building, smoking. All of us backed up to the door so we could easily load the alcohol in. I got out, followed by the rest of the guys. Nate bounded up to the rogue, chatting with him. Dean raised an eyebrow but I shrugged.

The female rogue, or Solaris, walked out smiling. “We will need to take a look, see what you guys want.”

Nate followed her into the bar and I started to go as well.

*'Dean, Ken, stay out with the tucks. Keep an eye on the one out here.'*

*'Yes Alpha.'* They mind linked simultaneously.

The two of them were some of my top warriors. We had quite a few guys with trucks but I wanted at least two of best here just in case. It may be business but I wouldn’t trust these guys even if you paid me.

Walking in, the bar had a very medial tavern vibe going on. Everything that might have been electronic was covered or looked like it fit within the theme. It was actually pretty impressive. It was large with a bunch of booths lining the walls and tables that looked like they were set out to fill the large space between them and the bar itself.

The bar was almost floating in the middle of the room. It was facing towards the front door and all the alcohol was set up with barrels facing that way, but you could walk around the back of it as well. There were more tables and a hallway that had three doors. The far one was definitely a door out to the back but there was two; one on the right side and another on the left.

Nate’s voice and Solaris’ was coming from the left door which was propped open as well. Peaking in, I saw it was their storage or cellar room. There were crates stacked up with all sorts of alcohol. Some looked so old that I wondered if everything they had out front was really what they offered or if there were some special occasion ones here as well.

“So basically this entire wall is beer. We have three different versions of the Hawaiian one which you like. We also have a few independent breweries as well. At least the ones that we tasted and thought were exceptional. What we deemed worth actually stocking.”

“Do you have Heartland Breweries beer?”

Solaris turned to me, a smirk on her face. “Oh, you mean Heartland’s best piss water? Yeah…no. We actually like beer here and we don’t settle for things just because it’s local.”

My eyebrows knit and I looked at Nate who shrugged. “We are feeding and having the entire pack over. What do you suggest? Because honestly…I feel like…” Nate crossed his arms over his chest.

“You feel like you need all of it?”

He nodded.

“Then take it.”

Nate’s eyes widened and so did mine. “Wait, but don’t you need inventory? I mean if we clear you out completely, how are you supposed to run your business?”

Solaris shook her head, smiling. “When I said you caught us at a good time, I meant it. My old man wants to see us. So Finn, Noah and I are headed out for a few days. Closing down the bar in the mean time. We can order a complete restock to have it delivered the day we get back. So you can literally clean us out completely. I’ll even give you these guys and some taps if you want.”

She patted the barrels that were behind her. Nate looked like Christmas had just come. He looked at me, a twinkle in his eyes. Rolling mine, I just waved my hand and shrugged.

“I’m leaving this to you, Nate. You’re the planner. I’m just here to carry shit to the truck and pay for it all.”

The grin turned into a full blow giddy beam of happiness. “Alright. We will take all of it!”

Solaris nodded. “What we will do is I’ll take inventory of what you are taking. Noah and Finn will bring it out to the front and you guys load it. I’ll run up the tally, your Alpha can pay, and the whole damn territory will be drunk later tonight. Sound good?”

“Hell yeah!” Nate walked past me and slapped me in the chest as he did.

She turned and grabbed a clip board that was hanging on the wall. I shuffled my feet slightly.

“Look…I…”

Her eyes locked with mine, one was golden and one was the bright magic blue. “I’m not doing this for you, Alpha. This is purely business. After what you tried to pull I should say no. I, however, like to run my businesses without any person fucking feelings getting mixed in. Maybe you should learn by example.”

My nostrils flared and I stomped out of the room. Going outside, I pulled the tailgate down and it slammed down. Nate was talking with the rogue who was outside and his eyebrow rose.

“Everything okay, Silas?”

I glared at him. “You owe me, Nate. Big time for this one.”

He chuckled and shook his head, turning back to the rogue. Solaris yelled their names and the rogue left to go help. Nate was bounding around as he pulled open the back of his Jeep. He already had taken the back seats out before we had left. It now was completely empty and ready to be loaded up.

“Hey, Beta, you can start loading up with what we bring out here.”

“Thanks Finn!”

Nate motioned to us to go in and the ridiculous amount of loading began. The barrels went into my truck, Nate’s Jeep was stacked up to the ceiling with boxes and all the way out. Even Dean and Ken’s trucks were stacked up to where we put covers on them to help tie them down. Solaris was sitting at the bar, filling out some paperwork with her phone next to her. Dean slammed his tailgate shut as the last of it had been loaded up. Walking in, I walked over to her. She was scribbling on a page and I realized she was writing out the receipt for me by hand.

“That…should…be…it!” She smiled and slid the paper over to me.

Honestly, I thought it was going to be a lot more. She wrote down every single one of the types, how many cases, how many in the case, how much each case cost, what per bottle or can the price was, even the expiration date of each one. It was way more information than I needed but I still went over each of the pages.

“If you need me to, I can grab the manifests we get to confirm the price we charged is the same. The only difference is the flat fee I added at the end. Some of these guys do charge for delivery so I need to cover that cost plus the cost to order more.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Pulling out my wallet, I handed her my card. She pulled out a handheld card reader and charged my card. Handing it back to me, there was another receipt that printed out and she handed that one to me as well.

“Enjoy your night.” Solaris smiled and grabbed the duffle bag from the floor that was next to her.

I walked out and she followed, locking up the bar as we left. Looking in the parking lot, the two other guys were leaning against another Jeep that was parked further away. They were already ready to leave and must have been just waiting for us to finish up.

“Do you know when the bar will be open next?” Nate asked as Solaris moved between my truck and Nate’s Jeep.

“Honestly, it depends. I’m hoping to be back by Tuesday if there isn’t some crazy shit that I need to do. You can always check the website. We keep it updated regularly so when we come back it will be posted.”

Nate smiled and waved as she headed to the two rogues. My eyes widened as I saw one lean down and kiss her while the other slapped her ass. You could tell the two male rogues were mates but the fact that they shared Solaris was a bit unheard of.

“Like what you see, Silas?”

I looked over at Nate who was snickering, his window rolled down. “You can shut the fuck up right now.”

“I’m just saying. It’s pretty hot. What guy doesn’t dream of a three-some?”

“Werewolves who would rather only have their mate, Nate. That’s who. Let’s go before you piss me off anymore that I make you sit at Saul’s for the night.”

Nate looked at me, horrified. “You wouldn’t.”

“Test me, Beta. I dare you.”

-

It was a whirlwind of unloading once we got back to the pack house. We managed to get everything unloaded, chilled and set up the way Sam wanted just before the run. Everyone was gathered on the east side of the territory and so all of us, save for Meredith who said she was too old to be running that far, met up with the rest of the pack. After my usual speech and welcoming our newly shifted wolves, we began the run.

This year it seemed that the kids took it a little too seriously. We were running at a little faster speed than normal but everyone seemed to find their stride. Groups formed and a few of the older members took a more leisurely pace but most of us kept up with them. We ended back at the pack house and Meredith was ready for us. Back up clothes, food, and drinks were brought out for everyone and the celebration started.

“You know, Alpha, I think this is the best one yet. Best food, best drink, just all around a good time.” Shane owned the hardware store in town. “Good on you!” He slapped my back and ambled away, already drunk.

Looking around, I spied Nate speaking with a few of the carriers. They were absolutely sloshed and I could hear Nate slurring almost every word. My watch showed it was two in the morning and some of the pack was already dropping. Usually, they just passed out in the yard but some were able to make it into the pack house. We locked the doors to the important rooms and set out the couches in the hallways for people to collapse on just in case.

“Siiii…laaaaaa…ssssss…” I quirked an eyebrow up at Nate. “You…are far too sober.”

Chuckling, I made my way over to them. I realized why they were huddled over in the corner. There were two cases, well one now, of tequila. The bottles were tossed around and shot glasses littered the table.

“Look! Look! Solar….Solar…” His eyes narrowed for a second.

“Solaris?”

He pointed and nodded his head furiously. “She give us free tequila. Snuck in two cases for us! Isn’t that nice? I thought it was nice. Boys thought it was nice. Want to feel nice?”

Biting my lip, I shook my head. “I’m not sure I need…”

“Come on, Alpha. Don’t be a stick in the mud. You’re always so fucking straight-laced. I mean, you drink whiskey and chill but when’s the last time you got drunk.”

I raised my eyebrow at Ken. “It was…” My brow furrowed and I tried to remember. Honestly, actually getting drunk wasn’t my forte. So I would drink but not to that point.

“See! Shots for the Alpha!”

They poured at least five and started to hand them to me. Shaking my head, Nate elbowed my in the side.

“Come on. It’s just a night.”

Sighing, I knocked back four of the five. I couldn’t take a fifth even with how smooth the tequila was. Nate took that one and shot it back. They started chatting about adding new training techniques and maybe another practice for the more experienced fighters to really up their skills. Listening, I felt the world suddenly move and I stepped back to center myself. The guys stopped talking, smiling.

“Ready for another round, Alpha?”

I hummed. “I think…I feel good?”

They chuckled but I didn’t quite understand why. Nate clapped. “Time for another round! Let’s go!”

Holding the shot glass in my hand, everyone knocked theirs back and looked expectantly at me. Sighing, I knocked it back as well. Suddenly, my smile spread and I leaned against Nate. The rest of the night becoming a blur.