Chapter 1 ~ Just Sayin’

Walking into the diner, I look around. Not busy yet.. and I am grateful. It gives me time to prep the salad bar…which seems stupid! We serve wolves.. not rabbits. But the she-wolves around here have to look after their figures…apparently! Nobody ever told them about their high metabolism from shifting, I reckon!

Ernie comes in from the back “I didn’t hear you come in, sweet girl! Is the bell broken again?” I shake my head ..”Nope! It’s working.. Your hearing must be going, old man!” He chuckles “Old man.. uh-huh.. wanna go out back and spar a bit? I’ll show you old man!

I love Ernie.. and his mate, Everly.. they are turned wolves..and so choose to live in town.. This lovely little burg known as Haven Falls. Turned wolves are any shifters not born that way. When Ernie was eleven, he and his parents were camping in the mountains of Colorado. Wolves attacked..leaving everyone for dead. The rogue who attacked Ernie had inadvertently released venom when he sliced into Ernie’s femoral artery. Werewolf healing kicked in.. and he shifted.

The Alpha of Silver Steele Pack found Ernie..after his first shift.. Easily identifiable by that “New Wolf Smell”? Who the hell knows? Anyway, because Ernie was a child.. the Alpha more or less adopted him.. raised him with his young children.. and taught him the way of the wolf.

Everly and Ernie met, his senior year of high school. She was still human.. but he recognized her as his mate. Once he explained to her that she had a fifty/fifty chance of turning, she explained she wanted to try! That she was ready to spend her life with him. He brought her to Alpha Steele and asked for permission and they marked and mated that night! She’s a beautiful russet toned wolf named Oriole.. and I just love her!

I’m still just an ordinary, run of the mill Elf! But.. who knows? Maybe I will have a wolfy mate, too! I mean, have you seen these guys?! Sculpted by the Goddess herself! There I go.. daydreaming again!

I looked at Ernie.. “After work, can you come to mine and help me? Two more assassins showed up in the night. They’re heftier than the last ones, and I need help getting them in the incinerator.” He nods and asks “The alarms we set seem to be working, yeah?”

Ernie and Everly have been my salvation. He found me, the third night I was here in this realm. I was wet and cold.. hungry.. recovering from the beating I took when I tried to see Lord Corellan to report and provide proof my father had murdered my mother! They more or less adopted me as their own! Clothed me.. fed me.. saw me through my last two years of high school! I owe my life to these people.. and I would gladly give it, to protect them!

My salad bar is prepped… and I have rolled one hundred sets of silverware. Now, I am preparing racks of lamb, for Lamb Ala’ Orange as our special tonight. Two soup choices.. french onion and cheddar broccoli.. with their choices of sides. The cooks are setting up the line.. for the cheeseburger and chicken eating customers. I do specialties…and tend bar.

Everly asks about dessert and I say “I made Orange Crème Broule for the Lamb.. and there’s cheesecake and apple pies.” She grins happily.. “We will be back after date night for some crème broule! Put some aside, yeah?”

I went to the schedule and saw my servers tonight are Mandy and Amy “Ohhh Everlyyy? Why is Amy on my service? Seriously… y’all are going to get me arrested for murder!” She laughed and said “Alpha Aaron Steele is coming in.. with seven gentlemen. An eight top is too much for Mandy yet! And Amy was the only other server who agreed to come in on such short notice. I think it has more to do with the young Alpha.. than actually wanting to work!”

Shaking my head, I shouted over my shoulder “Don’t blame me if you come back to find an Amy sized popsicle in the walk-in! I will not tolerate her bullying Mandy again! I have Such an aversion to mean girls!”

Ernie suggests we only let her serve the Alpha’s party then go home.. I remark “That’s all well and good.. unless we get busy! Even so… she is mean by nature and loves to berate Mandy. I have warned her twice… third time, and I drop her like a stone! Just sayin’ “