But, as she glanced back down the hallway at the closed door, Andi wasn’t so sure it was a promise she could keep. As a matter of fact, she knew it wasn’t. There was no way she’d be able to fight her panther on this. Destiny was destiny, after all.
He will be good for us. Have faith.
I… I don’t know…
Andi’s heart still hurt. She might not have loved Bruce, but the betrayal was enough to leave her a bit gun-shy.
“Don’t get too enamored now, you hear,” Slim said in a thick southern drawl. “That man ain’t nobody to be messing with.”
“I’m not looking to be messing with anyone,” Andi said out loud.
“Sure,” said another biker. “Keep telling yourself that.”
“I plan on it,” she replied.
With one last glance down the hall, Andi turned away and went on about her duties. She still needed to finish stocking the trough, and then bring more beer in from the storage room for backstock. Then she needed to clean up, shoo all the guys out, mop the floor, take out the trash, and then she would finally be able to head back to her tiny little studio apartment.
Until then, she pushed all thoughts of the past, and her apparent mate, out of her mind and enjoyed her job and the company it offered. Andi slung out beer and whiskey shots, and occasionally a sarcastic remark as the guys joked with each other and played various games of pool.
However, as the night continued, the boys became rowdier than normal. Andi wasn’t sure if it was because there were so many of them together, or what. But, as the sound of another glass breaking caused the guys in the room to cheer, Andi groaned. Truly, some of the guys in the club reminded her of children.
Then, somewhere across the room, she heard shouts of cheating as even more glass broke. She tried to see what was happening, but there were too many people. So, she quickly hopped over the top of the bar and pushed her way through the crowd. There was no way she was going to let this happen tonight. Not when she was already tired and had mentally made plans with her bathtub and a bottle of her favorite wine.
Shoving through the last two people, she stopped as she stared at the mess. Beer bottles and glasses were shattered all over the floor. Two big-ass bikers were locked together in a brawl and behind her, people were jostling to get a better view.
Fucking hell, she whined to herself.
This will take forever to clean up.
Suddenly, Andi felt the wind whoosh out of her lungs as she found herself smashed between one of the fighters and the man at her back.
“Ouch!” she yelled as someone stepped on her foot.
And as the guy at her back shoved her forward, all hell broke loose. Andi was jostled this way and that as Slim and a few of the others came to her defense.
“Hey!” she shouted. “Knock it the fuck off, assholes!”
Andi pushed her way past Slim and into the thick of things. Coming up beneath the two bikers that were brawling between the pool tables, she reached out for them and tried to pull them apart. Pain exploded in her jaw as she took an elbow to her face.
“Son of a bitch!”
Before she could stop it, Andi’s panther made her presence known. In a blink of an eye, her sleek, black panther took her skin.
Its roar filled the air.
Nobody touches us, her cat growled.
It was an accident.
No, it growled. They will learn to stay in line.
Andi looked through her cat’s eyes to see the surprised stares of everyone in the room. Even the two guys that were fighting, had finally broken apart at her transformation. None of them had known about her animal, until now. Andi had the ability to hide herself in plain sight. She could mask her scent and her animal. She also had the ability to mask others, but she never really used it.
Our secret is out, Andi chided, angrily. Nobody was supposed to know!
Her panther ignored her.
Andi’s heart sank. Sadness filled her soul. She knew the rejection would come next. It always did when people found out about her animal.
They won’t reject us. Mate won’t allow it.
You don’t fucking know that! Andi screamed. I hate you!
Inside, Andi curled into a ball. This was how it always was for her. Every time she finally got comfortable her panther would ruin it. The animal always seemed to destroy her life. As tears began to slide down her face, Andi gave herself over to the panther.
She was tired of fighting. She was tired of losing.
“What the hell is going on?” a voice boomed across the room.
Mate, she heard her panther purred.
But Andi didn’t care... There was no point. Because in the end, her panther would just ruin that, too.
11
Ridge
The group parted as Ridge, Lux, and Jude walked in.
First, Ridge took in the sight of the clubhouse. Chairs were turned over, glasses and beer bottles were broken, and there in the middle of it all was a black panther.
Mate is pretty, his leopard said.
What?
Ridge looked around the room but didn’t see Andi.
Our mate is a pretty cat.
Ridge was momentarily stunned. Slowly, he approached the cat in the middle of the room. Crouching down, he looked into its eyes. Eyes that were the same vibrant green as Andi’s.
“What the fuck happened?” Lux asked.
The panther hissed.
“The fuck?” Lux took a step towards the animal.
“Stop.” Ridge raised his hand, halting Lux’s movement. Looking back