Chapter Two

Shades bustled with customers as people sought to get rid of the workweek and embrace the weekend. Arlin Landry stood by the front door, making sure the younger residents of Draven Falls didn’t try to slip past through the front doors and trick a busy bartender for drinks. The North Carolina night was cool, in drastic contrast with the sweaty atmosphere of the inside of the bar, with just enough breeze to keep it comfortable without making it too cold. Overhead, the leaves rustled in the wind as the moon continued to climb into the night sky. Outside was peaceful while inside was anything but, especially in the back of Shades where a small group was making enough of a ruckus to drown out the DJ stationed in the middle of the bar. The noise was enough to make Arlin grateful he was positioned at the front door with the door wide open.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath as another scream came from the back of the bar. Arlin understood the need to blow off steam, of having fun and getting a little out of control. However, the group that came in earlier seemed to be taking it all to the next level. The noise was enough to give Arlin a headache.

“Here, Dad said you could probably use a drink.”

Arlin turned and saw Drey Hawkins standing there, a bottle of water in his hand that he held out to Arlin. “Thanks,” Arlin said as he took the bottle. He gestured back inside Shades with his chin. “A little crazy in there tonight, isn’t it? That group in the back seems a little out of control.”

Drey ran a strong hand through his dark red hair as he turned his attention back inside the bar, nodding. “Parker Evans and his group. They rarely come to town, which makes the residents of Draven Falls quite content as well as the Paranormal Council. Hyenas,” Drey said with a sneer. “Nothing ever good comes from hyenas.”

Arlin nodded. “Almost as bad as coyotes.” He glanced back into Shades where the group of hyena shifters hollered, playing grab ass with any female who walked by and making a general nuisance of themselves. He could feel his tiger wrestling inside to deal with the annoying group. “I wish your father would let me toss them out on their ass. I’m not sure why they’re even here. They usually stick to the woods closer to the mountains.”

Drey gave a snort of derision. “Someone must have gotten paid.” He slapped Arlin on the back and then turned to walk back inside. Arlin watched the other man leave, knowing the panther shifter drew the eyes of most of the females in the bar, and probably even a few of the guys. Arlin couldn’t say he blamed them. The other man may work the bar at night, but his day job dealing with lumber kept him in strong physical form.

Arlin turned to look at his reflection in the glass of the front door, noticing his own muscular build and dark hair. He smirked as he shook his head. The two of them were built the same, and both received the same amount of attention from the ladies who came into Shades, but Drey wasn’t interested in any of them. He was quite content with the triad relationship he was in with Gavin Covington and Caitlin Carver. That left all the female attention in Arlin’s capable hands. He considered it one of the perks of being a bouncer in a bar.

Another burst of cheers went up in the back of the bar, and Arlin watched as one of the bulkier of the hyenas grabbed a girl and twirled her around, pulling her into his lap, causing her to shriek. Arlin growled as he started to make his way toward the commotion. Now, he had a reason to toss the group out on their asses.

Drey left the bar, crossing the floor to join him, as Arlin passed the DJ and drew closer to the group of hyenas who apparently saw nothing wrong with their behavior. Scavengers, the pack of hyenas disgusted Arlin. They possessed no dignity, no respect for others. They were vermin on society’s ladder.

Arlin stepped closer to the table where the overbearing drunk held the woman, squeezing her to him and grinding her on his lap. She screamed, fighting to get off Parker’s lap, but all he did was rub his dark beard against her cheek in an attempt to steal a kiss from her. She beat at him, and Arlin worried he wouldn’t reach the man quick enough to stop anything bad from happening.

The man, thick of body as well as skull, gripped the woman’s chin and attempted to turn her mouth toward his. Arlin saw the woman open her mouth, only she didn’t scream. Instead, she bit down on the man’s hand, driving her teeth deep into his flesh. He cried out, shoving her away from him and onto the floor. The woman hit the floor, screaming, and then the goon reached down and gripped her by her shirt and jerked her to her feet, backhanding her as soon as she was within reach. “You, bitch!” he roared as he raised his hand to hit her again.

However, Arlin reached the man first, grabbing his arm and spinning him around. The tiger within Arlin struggled to break free, the orange and black striped fur oozing from his flesh as he tossed the man away from the woman.

Drey reached the woman as Arlin reached out and gripped Parker, shoving him toward the entrance. “Time for you to go,” Arlin growled. He struggled to control his anger. Men didn’t attack women. Period. He had watched his father beat his mother too many times when he was a kid to ever allow it to happen in his presence again.

Parker spun, thrusting his thick chest out at Arlin. “Keep your grubby hands off me, you circus act. Don’t think I don’t know what you are.” The man spat on the floor. “You think you’re so superior, but all you are is a doorkeeper.” Then he laughed. “And a doorkeeper for panthers at that, smaller animals.”

Arlin felt his animal growl, but he kept the tiger tamped down. They’re just words of a drunk. Calm down. He gestured to the door again. “As I said, it’s time for you to go.”

Parker looked past Arlin to the woman, a leer twisting his lips. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll be around to finish what we started.” He gave her a wink.

Arlin’s tiger refused to hold back any longer, and as Arlin swung to punch the man, his hand transformed into a tiger’s paw, fingers shifting to claws as he sliced into the man’s face, a growl ripping from him. Parker’s head snapped to the left, his body turning with the force of the blow as Arlin reached out and gripped him by the shirt, lifting him into the air and tossing him toward the back wall. Parker was hurled through the air, arms flailing as he landed hard on a table covered in bottles. Glass shattered, splintering in all directions as the man slid across the table and rolled onto the floor. Arlin didn’t slow down, ignoring the cries of those around him telling him to stop. He heard Drey’s voice, and Jed’s, but nothing would temper his anger at that point. No one—NO ONE—made comments like this hyena just did to a woman. Not in Arlin’s presence. There were lines, and the man on the floor crossed them.

As Arlin reached down to yank the drunk to his feet for another toss across the room, Drey reached him, yanking his arms away from Parker, who was on his hands and knees, panting for breath, cuts across his arms. “Stop! Arlin, enough,” Drey said as he pulled Arlin around and away from the man on the floor. “I think you made your point.” Drey shoved Arlin toward the bar as another of the bouncers approached to haul the hyena out of Shades. A couple of the serving girls surrounded the woman who had been the object of the brute’s unwanted attention.

Arlin allowed himself to be steered away from the scene he had caused, his shoulders rising and falling with his heavy breaths, his muscles still taut with his anger. He knew he shouldn’t have done what he did, should have just kept shoving the man toward the door. Parker was just running off at the mouth and probably would have forgotten what he said once he sobered up. However, Arlin had lived with a man like him before and refused to allow any other woman have to deal with the chauvinistic jackasses of the world if he could help it. Tonight, he could help it.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Drey snapped once they were in the backroom and away from the customers. “You don’t attack people in Shades. You just toss them out on their asses.” Drey shook his head, his red hair swishing across his forehead.

Arlin blew out a breath of frustration, hoping to calm his nerves. “Sorry. I can’t handle men like him who think women are their property.” He shook his head. “Watching him just brought back memories I thought I had dealt with already. I guess I was wrong.”

“You think?” Drey shook his head. Then with a deep breath, he said, “Take the rest of the night off. I’m sure Dad will call you tomorrow, but I doubt anything will come of this. Everyone knows Parker’s an ass. I doubt he’ll get much sympathy from anyone around Draven Falls. Just lay low tonight, and let it blow over.”

Arlin nodded, taking deep breaths, his nerves still raw from the encounter. “Tell your dad I’m sorry.”

“Will do. Now, go get some rest. Tomorrow’s a new day, and I’m sure he’s not going to give you two days off in a row.” Drey chuckled, doing his best to make light of the situation, Arlin knew. However, with tensions between the paranormal factions of Draven Falls and the humans who dwelt there, Arlin knew Jed wouldn’t be able to ignore what happened entirely. Arlin didn’t know what the consequences would be, but he was sure there would be some sort of fallout. Parker was ass enough to try and press his point somehow and stir up more shit just to make Arlin’s life miserable.

“Call me tomorrow,” Arlin said as he turned to the door. “And make sure to apologize to Jed for me.”

“I will. Promise.”

Arlin stepped out of Shades and into the night air of Draven Falls. The atmosphere that seemed so peaceful just a short while ago now seemed heavy with his screw up. He knew people would be talking about it if they haven’t texted all their friends already. News like this spread faster than a wildfire in dry woods. He ran a hand through his dark hair as he stood on the sidewalk staring at the gazebo across the way in Circle Park. Draven Falls had been a home to him when nowhere else felt safe, and he suddenly feared that he had screwed it up. Where else could he feel this safe? There was no other sanctuary for people like him. He was stuck now and may have just cost himself the only place he ever felt like he could be himself.

He took a deep breath. Well, nothing for it but to sit tight and see where the chips fall. He started toward his car, his fate now in Jed’s hands for better or worse.