Page 16 of Bewitched by the Werewolf (The Bewitching Hour #5)

It took me a few days but I’m finally making my way to the only bar in town Blue Moon .

Just one more uncanny name for an establishment in Snowberry, not to mention very werewolfy.

I’m surprised the town is named Snowberry and not Wolfsbane or some such nonsense.

Although according to my research werewolves don’t like wolfsbane so I guess they wouldn’t name it that.

Maybe something else like Moon Haven or something, that would be more appropriate.

Just not as incognito, then again no one’s ever heard of Snowberry either.

So, I guess it wouldn’t matter what they named the town, no one would ever know it.

It’s barely past six when I enter Blue Moon , that doesn’t seem to deter the local crowd though.

There’s plenty of people playing billiards and darts, some sitting at the bar and booths.

There’s a small stage area in the corner with a microphone perched at its center that is currently empty.

Must be where the karaoke I read about happens.

When the town is as small as a city block parking lot there’s not much to write about in the local newspaper.

Karaoke night was the headliner on yesterday’s edition.

They don’t print on weekends, so the Friday edition was a big one. All five pages, of single fold paper.

Larken wasn’t wrong, a girl can get pretty bored in a town like Snowberry.

Thankfully I have something to keep me occupied, watching the cameras I mounted in the woods.

So far, I haven’t caught anything but some deer and squirrels.

But I still have more than a week until the eclipse, plenty of time to catch something.

I make my way into the windowless bar and head straight for the polished bar top. The floor lacks the standard stickiness local watering holes like this usually possess. It also doesn’t smell like B.O. and the patrons don’t look like drunk bikers so, win-win.

Perching on a non-ripped cushioned bar stool I swivel to face the bartender, a pretty petite woman with mocha skin and bright cobalt blue hair that falls in ringlets around her face like a halo.

Her eyes are a striking frost blue that I think is natural.

Her frame may be petite, but she looks strong with curves that could kill a man.

“Hi there, what can I get ya?” she asks, tucking a small towel in her waistband and casually leaning on the bar.

I lean on my elbows and inspect the bottles lined up on the back of the bar. The shelves are glass and glow with a soft blue back light. They have everything typical of any bar.

“You got any specials here?”

“Of course, there’s our signature Blue Moon a sweet and sour mix of my own creation.

Then we have the Blood Moon a specialty for the lunar eclipse coming up next week.

It’s a bit spicier with splashes of Fireball.

Finally, there’s Fairy Lights made with pink prosecco, it’s on the lighter bubblier side. ”

I’m pretty sure my face is making a you gotta be kidding me expression, because the blue haired bartender cocks her head at me and her smile begins to drop.

“Something wrong, sugar?”

“No, sorry. Nothing’s wrong just…intrigued by your drink names. They’re very…unique.”

The woman’s smile returns, and she stands up tall beaming at me. “Thank you. I pride myself on my uniqueness when it comes to creating specialty drinks. So, which one strikes your fancy?”

I figure I might as go all in on the eclipse thing. Cinnamon Fireball sounds good. “I’ll try the Blood Moon.”

“You got it.” Plucking a tall glass from the rack, she sets it on the rubber grip drip pad and sets to pulling bottles to make the drink. “So, what brings you to town? Don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot. You all really do know everyone don’t you?”

“Hazard of a small town. But it’s also a good thing. We look out for each other, so when a new person arrives in town, we all pay attention. I’m Evelyn by the way, me and my husband, Abe, own the bar. What about you? What’s your name?”

I don’t take any offense to her inquiry. It’s common, just like she said, for a small town to notice a newcomer and be curious. It’s not like I haven’t already heard this question a dozen times over already.

“Tess. I’m here for the blood moon eclipse. Wanted to get a good clear view of it. A friend told me about Snowberry, and I thought it was a good excuse to get out of the city for a while.”

Evelyn asks a few more repetitive questions. Who’s my friend, how do I know him, have I ever been to town before? Etcetera etcetera. It’ll all very expected at this point and I’ve had ample practice with my lies. Unless this Sam guy shows up and bursts my carefully crafted bubble, I should be fine.

Evelyn finishes pouring and mixing her concoction.

It’s as blood red and I expect the moon will be during the eclipse.

She tops it with a slice of blood orange on the rim, and I chuckle at the pun.

That is pretty good, though I doubt the flavor will work well with fireball.

I’m pleasantly surprised to be wrong when I sip the drink and catch the splash of citrus in the flavor.

“Wow, that is really good.”

“Thank you.” Evelyn bows her head good-humoredly then moves on to assist another guest.

I’m settling into my spicy and relaxing drink when I hear the door open and shut behind me.

It’s opened a closed a few times since I entered but there’s something about this time that has the hair on the back of my neck standing on end, and even over the cinnamon citrus of my drink I can smell another citrus.

One that’s far more illicit and demanding.

I can’t stop myself from looking over my shoulder to spot the very person I expected to find.

Ryder strolls in all cool and commanding. When he spots me sitting at the bar and our eyes connect, I can see he was not expecting to find me here anymore than I expected him to come strolling in.

To his credit, his face doesn’t contort or smile.

He doesn’t express any change in emotion at all, but I can see his muscles tighten and his fingers twitch at his side.

I guess he’s not as unaffected by me as I thought.

I just can’t tell if it’s a good effect or a bad one.

It’s not quite attraction or repulsion. I think he’s more curious and irritated by me for some reason.

I’ll admit, I can be quite vexing. It’s a gift.

I think it comes from my inability to reign in my mouth.

I don’t like suppressing my natural instinct to argue and sass.

With Ryder though I don’t have to control myself as much, which makes for a far more entertaining conversation.

I like riling him up and watching him squirm, there’s just something about it that thrills me.

Ryder redirects his path directly to me and I swivel around to face him, sipping through my tiny straw and letting the liquor work its magic on my nerves. The warmth that settles in my gut when he gets closer is just a product of the cocktail, not my growing infatuation with the burly man.

“Didn’t expect to see you here,” I blurt out when he’s within a respectable distance that wouldn’t appear like I’m shouting at the man across the room.

“It’s Saturday night.” Is all he says, like it’s all the explanation in the world he needs. I suppose it is. Where else would any adult be on a Saturday night in a small town with only one bar?

Ryder takes a seat on a stool two over from me, putting distance between us.

Most guys would take the seat directly at my side and try to get as close as possible.

I can’t decide if I like or hate that he sat so far away.

No actually I do know, I dislike it. Plus, now I know it’ll bother him if I do sit close to him.

So just to irk him—and please myself—I butt hop from my stool to the one right next to him.

The stools are far enough apart that we don’t touch, but he still bristles at my sudden nearness, scowling at me.

I smile up at him all innocent and batting lashes.

He just ignores me but shifts uncomfortably before waving down Evelyn.

“Hey Sheriff. You want your regular?”

“Yes please.”

Evelyn turns and begins pouring a beer from a spout.

“Ooh so polite. I didn’t even know you knew the word please,” I tease.

“I know lots of words,” he bristles but then remains silent.

“So, you know words but not how to use them? You know there’s people who can help with that called teachers . And if that’s not enough and you need more one on one, there’s also speech therapists. My cousin went to one, helped him a ton. You should look into it.”

I look up at him through my lashes and pull the bar straw back to my lips, sipping as I stare up at the brooding man glaring down at me.

This is way too much fun. I could do this all night.

I won’t, because I have plans to go hunting later.

So, sadly, I will only be having the one, maybe two drinks.

That doesn’t mean I won’t milk it to last as long as possible and tease Ryder the entire time.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he grumbles.

I giggle, I can’t help it. The alcohol has me loosening up and it’s just too funny watching him squirm.

Ryder turns to watch me again but this time he’s focused on my lips, his unhappy face now slack and very intent on staring hard enough to burn a hole through steel.

“Is there something on my face?” I ask.

His eyes shoot up to mine then to the bar where Evelyn sets his dark golden beer. Caught ya.

“Nope. Nothing. Just noticing your affinity for red lipstick. It matches your hair.”

Oh, he likes my lipstick? I hadn’t worn it for him, but I also didn’t not wear it for him.

I really have no idea why I decided to put it on before leaving.

I was heading to the bar and it just seemed like the thing to do.

Same as putting on the little black dress and lace trimmed thigh high stocking I bought at Closet Carousel .

Make myself appealing so maybe a few local men would get chatty when loosened up by the liquor.

I just hadn’t anticipated that man would be Ryder. Hoped for? Maybe. I’ll never admit it.

I flip my red locks over my shoulder and pull them to one side, exposing the side of my neck.

I’m still wearing my leather jacket, but I don’t miss when Ryder steals a glance at my sliver of bared skin.

Interest or reflex? From the tight hold he has on his pint as he lift it to his lips and downs half of it in one go, I’m going to say possibly both.

“Pink isn’t really my color.” I quip. “Red’s more my style.

That and black.” I cross my legs towards him letting my foot bump against his leg.

I don’t rub it or anything. With a guy like Ryder that would only push him away.

I pull my foot back only moments after to a more appropriate position and resume stirring the ice in my drink, holding off on drinking anymore just yet.

Ryder just grunts and takes another gulp of beer.

There he goes again not using his words.

I let him have his moment of silence and wait for him to start up the conversation again.

He may be a man of few words, but I can tell he just can’t stop himself from prodding.

So, when he finally does speak, I already know what he’s going to ask before the words are even out of his mouth.

“So are you going to tell me know why you’re really in town?”

I laugh and then I do take a drink from my glass to prolong my answer just to bother him. When I set it back down on the bar I tilt my head to face him.

“I already told you. I’m here for the eclipse. That’s all. Just a city girl enjoying some countryside. Nothing exciting. Though if you’re offering to make it more exciting, I might be convinced to accept.”

His lips pinch into a thin line as he watches me. “No thanks. I think I prefer all my limbs attached and organs inside my body.”

I laugh out loud and slap the wooden bar top. “You’re a funny guy. But I don’t steal organs, unless you count all the hearts I’ve stolen and broken.”

“I think I believe you. It’s easy to see how a man could be drawn in.”

A moment of quiet passes over us as we watch each other.

Ryder’s silver eyes darken to a deep grey as he doesn’t break eye contact.

It’s kind of intense, but also enchanting.

I’ve never seen a man with such beautiful eyes and I can’t force myself to look away.

I don’t want to. They’re like two full moons trapping me in their hold.

Much how I feel a werewolf would be hypnotized by the moon.

Pulled in by its unearthly beauty and forced to reveal their true selves.

A prickle of goosebumps rolls up my spine and makes me shudder. I have a sudden desire to show myself to this man, present myself to him and let him have his way with me. What a strange sensation.

Our frozen moment of silence is broken by a pair of rowdy men cheering over their game of billiards, forcing both Ryder and myself to break that strange connection. His woodsy citrus scent washes over me again and I feel more lightheaded than half a drink should be able to accomplish.

Ryder chugs back the last of his beer and clanks the glass on the bar, slipping a bill from his pocket and placing it under the empty glass.

“Thanks Eve, I’ll be back later.” He turns to me and nods. “Tess.” Then he’s gone as quick as he came.

What a strange and sexy man.