Page 2 of Muted Voices (Broken Ashes #1)

B y the time I get to the part of the road where I was attacked before, I’m thoroughly fed up and just daring the shifter to attack me again because not only could I do with a good fight, but at least it will put work off for a bit longer. Of course, I don’t get what I want, and the only thing that happens is I get the usual mild feeling of uneasiness but no sense of something following me or wanting to run. I mean, it might be because it’s the morning, and the feeling is always so much worse at night when I have to walk home; I guess I’m not going to know for certain if there’s still a threat until I walk home later.

I have to admit that I am inordinately disappointed that the voice hasn’t come back. I would’ve liked to hear his sexy voice again, as weird as that is, but the only voices I hear is the usual hum that I find more comforting than I thought I would. Not hearing them for a short amount of time wasn’t something that I liked, which is a surprising revelation. I’ve always thought I would be glad if the voices fell silent, but they’re such a part of me that I really didn’t like it. When I finally get to Bobby’s, the breakfast shift has just finished, and we have a slight lull before the lunch rush starts.

“You’re late!” Bobby barks as soon as he sees me.

I roll my eyes and grin, “No, I’m not you grumpy old man.”

He huffs grumpily and turns away, but not before I see his lips twitch up into a smile—Bobby’s good people. I could definitely work for worse, and I have. Rushing into the back room, I peel off my raincoat, which has kind of done its job, I’ve only got a couple of wet spots so I’m calling that a win. I also place the gun into my locker since I can’t carry it around the bar, and any trouble that happens here, I can deal with it without weapons. I’m pretty good at taking care of myself. Besides, most of the people who come here are regulars, and they really are harmless. They know I won’t let them take their teasing too far.

“Now, you are late,” Bobby greets me as soon as I step out of the tiny backroom where the lockers are.

Still tying my apron around my waist, I raise my eyebrow at him, “Sure I am, Bobby.”

His chuckle follows me as I head straight over to my section and start taking orders. As usual, one of the other waitresses who is supposed to be covering the lunch and evening shift has called in sick, which means there’s only me and one other person covering the whole place. The good news is I don’t have time to stop and worry about the walk home later; it also means that it’s easier to ignore the buzz of voices in my head because I’m surrounded by the noisy patrons of the bar. The day turns into the evening, and the food service quickly turns into drinks as the after-work regulars start to stream in. I thoroughly enjoy greeting them and making small talk; most days this is the only communication with others I have.

I may, by choice, live an isolated life, and I like it that way, but I do like listening to the sounds of the restaurant as it switches into evening and bar mode, I like that my regulars smile and greet me by name, it makes me feel a part of something even if I’m not really.

“Neith!” one of my favorites calls my name, and I grin as I head over to where he’s sitting at the bar.

“Hello, Pete, how’re you today?” I ask as I move behind the bar quickly so I can get him his usual.

He shrugs, his eyes twinkling in his wrinkled face, “Same old, Neith. Not much to report.”

Placing his drink down in front of him, I reply, “That’s better than something bad happening. Yell when you need a top-up.”

He salutes me with his glass, “Will do. Be careful tonight; the wind is blowing in from the north, and change is coming.”

He is prone to saying things like this, and I never pay much mind to them. This time though, a tingle runs down my spine, and instead of dismissing him like I usually would, I nod, making him smile.

“Will do, Pete,” I reply, then head back around the bar and to my tables.

The evening gets steadily busier over the next half an hour, and I quickly find myself forgetting my interaction with Pete; he seems to as well, as he jokes with me every time I walk past him and doesn’t mention anything even remotely similar again. Because this place is such a local hang out and the town is so small, it’s just standard practice for everyone to look toward the door when it opens. I’m walking across the room and back to the bar when the door opens and I take my cursory glance and, as I usually would, dismiss the person and carry on heading toward the bar to get some new drinks.

As soon as my brain actually catches up with what I just saw though, my head whips back around to get a second look at the newcomers who definitely aren’t from around here. I’d worry that I’m being too obvious by staring at them, but I’m not the only one; everyone is, and really, who could blame them.

They are all tall, but that’s where their similarities end. The guy on the left is the tallest and the biggest; he’s fucking huge. His shoulders are broad, wide enough that I could easily perch my ass on one of them and be comfortable, which is an intriguing image that won’t leave me any time soon. His eyes are as dark as his hair, which is pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. There’s something about his eyes that intrigues me on a level that they shouldn’t. He’s covered in tattoos, and add in his beard, which’s neatly trimmed, and the general air of grumpiness he’s exuding as he stares back at everyone staring at him, and quite frankly, I want to climb him like the tree he is.

The guy in the middle is the light to his dark. His hair is a sandy blond colour with streaks of auburn here and there that give it a real depth. It’s unkept and wild, but somehow, that just adds to his overall appeal. His eyes match the amber streaks in his hair almost perfectly, and I find myself wanting him to glance in my direction fully so that I can see them properly. He’s slimmer than the first guy, although not by much, and is still intimidating in his presence, although it’s slightly negated by the fact that he’s bouncing on his toes and grinning at everyone. His smile is infectious.

I’m still smiling when my eyes drift to the last man who walked through the door with them, only to find that he’s already looking at me, his head tilted as if he’s curious. He’s the shortest of the group, although, again, that doesn’t say much, considering they all tower over most of the men in this bar. He’s wearing a burgundy knitted hat, and from the small whisps of hair that are peeking out from the edges, his hair is midnight black. His waist tapers down, and judging from the way that his, damp from the rain, shirt is clinging to his stomach, his abs have abs. All three of them are dressed similarly, in dark jeans and shirts, with boots that no doubt don’t let rain in.

Lucky fuckers.

Having looked my fill at yet another delicious man, which let me tell you are few and far between in this tiny town, I let my eyes travel back up to collide with his; he’s still looking at me.

I could look away; a normal person probably would, but I’ve never been normal, and the longer I meet his eyes, the more that hint of challenge in them grows; I have never been able to back down from a challenge. It’s actually caused me a fuck load of shit in the past.

I’m thirty though, and I’m hardly going to start learning from my mistakes now, which is proven when I simply raise my eyebrow and stare back. His bright blue eyes widen in surprise before I catch the corner of his lips twitch ever so slightly. The fact it amuses him that I’m rising to the challenge he’s giving me makes me want to win even more.

“Neith, can I have a top girly,” I hear Pete call out to me, and although I desperately want to win, I’m not going to make a fool of myself, and sometimes, knowingly giving up because of an outside distraction is a better show of power anyway.

With this in mind, I shrug my shoulders, allow my lips to tilt up into a smile, and break eye contact, turning to face the bar and Pete. I can still feel the heat of his gaze on my back as I smile and greet Pete, who is watching me closely, far too sober for the amount of drinks he’s put back this evening. If I didn’t know for absolute certain that he was human, then I would be sure that he had some kind of oracle abilities. I do know though, that’s one of those things that makes me just slightly different; I know he’s human just as strongly as I know that the three who are making their way to my section are very definitely not. They’re supernaturals, and strong ones at that.

Pete continues to watch me as I make his usual and place it in front of him, an apprehensive glint in his eye that’s not quite worry, but definitely isn’t the laid-back Pete that I have always known. I smile reassuringly, guessing that his worry for me is coming from the fact that they’re from out of town, and he automatically distrusts anyone who isn’t from around here.

As I pass him, I pause and say, “Don’t worry Pete, I’m a big girl I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”

He nods once and then downs the rest of his drink. I leave him to it as I head over to the table in my section, where the three men have just sat down. They intrigue me, which is dangerous in itself, but they’re likely to be only passing through town, so it’s not going to hurt for me to enjoy the eye candy while it’s still around. Of course, since they are all so pretty, I’m willing to bet that their personalities are somewhat lacking.

As I approach their table, I’m once again surprised to find that their attention is already on me, all three of them this time, rather than just the hat guy. That’s not really odd considering they’re most likely looking for their waitress so they can order, and the other waitress is all the way over on the other side of the bar; what is slightly odd is the way they’re looking at me, almost like they’re confused although I don’t know what could have confused them about me already.

My smile is relaxed as I approach their table despite the confusion on their faces, “Hi, I’m Neith, and I’ll be your server this evening, can I get you anything to drink?”

“Neith?” Big, dark, burly, and bearded mutters, “That’s an interesting name.”

I nod and try not to roll my eyes; this is usually the bit where people expect me to tell them the story behind how I got my name, the thing is, I have no fucking clue, so it gets awkward pretty quickly.

Hat guy must clearly sense this because he nudges bearded, giving him a look, and then turns back to me. Of course, his smile is sexy as hell and makes me want to do naughty and delicious things to him.

He gestures at bearded, “This grumpy fucker is, Griffith. Next to him and grinning like a fucking lunatic is River and I’m Ransom.”

“Nice to meet you all,” I reply, “just passing through?”

River nods, “Yeah, we won’t be here long. I get the feeling you folks aren’t too used to having outsiders to stop in.”

I chuckle, feeling oddly at ease talking to these strangers, “Is it that obvious?”

“The deafening silence when we walked in was kind of a giveaway,” Ransom replies.

I shrug, “Well, you can’t really blame people for staring. You all are the best-looking men to walk through that door in a while.”

My words make them share a surprised look as River replies a curious voice, “You think we’re good looking?”

My smile becomes cheeky as I reply, “Ah, I didn’t say that; I just said you were the best looking out of the men that are usually in here, and if you look around, that bar isn’t set that high.” I wink at him, and he lets out a surprised laugh that seems to catch him and the others off guard. I feel like I could stand here and talk to them all night but I only have a few hours of work left and really should get back to it before Bobby starts yelling just because he can. So, before any of them can reply, I ask again, “Would you like anything to drink or anything off our evening menu?”

Ransom’s smile is amused as he replies with drink and food orders for all of them. While he’s telling me, out of the corner of my eye I catch River sitting forward in his chair bringing him closer to me as he takes a deep inhale, sniffing me. I immediately turn my head to look at him and raise my eyebrow.

“You’re making it a little bit obvious that you are scenting me, aren’t you?” I ask, and he jerks back into his chair, looking shocked before his cheeks tint pink. He looks so embarrassed at being caught that I instantly soften my sharp tone, “Look, as you noticed before, these people aren’t really used to outsiders, and because of that, they are incredibly prejudiced. Just be careful.”

“Thank you,” he replies and then adds, “and sorry.”

My smile is wide as I reply, “No problem. I’ll get your food orders sorted now and I’ll be back with your drinks shortly.”

“Thank you, Neith,” Ransom replies for them all, and as I turn away, I notice that he shoots River a chastising look.

Because I’m incredibly nosey I start to clear the drinks on the tables close to them, since it needs doing and I may as well since I’m going back to the kitchen to put their orders in anyway. I keep my back to their table as I gather the empty plates and glasses from the table and listen to them.

“What on earth are you playing at? You’re lucky she doesn’t seem to have a problem with supes,” Griffith chastises him.

River’s voice is defensive as he replies, “Fuck off, she was standing right next to me, and I kept getting a hint of the most enchanting fucking scent, and I had to know if it was coming from her.”

“Well, was it?” Ransom asks, sounding curious.

“I don’t think so,” River replies, sounding almost disappointed.

“Have the others checked in yet?” Griffith asks, changing the subject.

Although the thought of more of them intrigues me greatly, I really do need to get their orders to the kitchen, and I’ve run out of hands to pick up empty glasses now anyway, so I move away from them.

Once I’ve given the orders to the chef, I find myself rushing to make their drinks so that I can get back to them, which is weird as hell considering I have just met them and I am usually extremely cautious around supernaturals. I make myself slow down and stop rushing before I then take their drinks over to them. While walking over to them, I notice that they are studying all of the other people in the bar closely. Almost as if they are looking for something, and it probably has something to do with why they are here in the first place.

The thing about our little town is that it’s not really on the way to anywhere, so it’s not one of these places where you can say you just stopped because it was getting late. This means that those three are here for a specific reason, and since it’s reasonably safe to assume that they aren’t here to meet anyone since they’ve only ordered three meals, we can also assume that they are here for another reason. Which makes me even more curious about them, even though I should probably be steering well clear of them.

“Here you go, guys,” I say, interrupting a hushed conversation as I place the tray of drinks on the table, “your food will be out shortly.”

“Thank you,” River smiles happily up at me.

I nod and turn away to tend to some of my other tables. Realising that Griffith hasn’t spoken to me again since he mentioned the uniqueness of my name and asked if I thought they were good-looking, I have no idea if he’s just usually this quiet or if he’s decided it's just safer not to talk to me, even though I wasn’t really bothered by his comment on my name in the first place. I have also yet to see him smile, and I make a small bet with myself that I will see him smile by the end of the night. Considering that’s not that far away, I have a feeling that I might end up losing that bet.

I’m so distracted by my thoughts that I don’t pay attention to whose table I’m currently clearing glasses from. Theo isn’t dangerous but he is a perv, which is why I tend to avoid having my ass in his direction. I jump slightly as he smacks my ass, and have reign in my initial reaction to gut him like a fucking fish as I paste on a smile and turn back to mildly chastise him.