Wolf's Den - A BBW Shifter Romance Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

me.
     
    “No, it’s on me but I appreciate it,” he said. It took me a moment to get his little joke. I wasn’t in a joking mood. My thoughts were just a big jumble in my head.
     
    “Thank you for sticking up for me,” I said. He nodded.
     
    “No problem,” he replied but he was clearly embarrassed at being bested like that. He and his party left while Edie and I cleaned up the mess. I apologized to the rest of the patrons but those that hadn’t been served began to leave. The line at the front door dwindled as well. By lunch, the Rusty Skillet was all but empty. It was like a typical weekday at the diner despite the thousands of bikers. One or two tables full and the rest empty. Everything was falling apart and I didn’t know how to stop it.
     
    Some big biker threatened to rape me, another had told me he was a shifter, a wolf, and that I was his mate. If all that wasn’t enough, my diner was empty and without the money this event brought in, I couldn’t afford to keep the Rusty Skillet open past the end of summer. To top it all off, without the crowds to keep me working my ass off, I had all the time in the world to think about everything that was happening and there was a lot to think about.
     
    At the forefront of my thoughts were Yeager’s claims. What if what he told me was true? What if I was his mate? What if I was made for him and he was made for me? What did that all mean? Was I fated to be his wife, his lover? That scared the living daylights out of me. I wasn’t ready for that. I wasn’t ready to be anyone’s wife much less their mate, whatever that implied. But even more frightening was the idea that it apparently wasn’t my choice. It wasn’t up to me. Whether Yeager was a good man or a creep wouldn’t matter. I was trapped if what he claimed was true.
     
    And I had little reason to doubt Yeager’s story in light of what had happened. Dolan’s growl wasn’t that of a man. It was that of an animal. And those fangs, those weren’t there before. He was a shifter too. I felt just like I did when my mom passed away. I accepted the truth but it didn’t hit me right away. I knew it was true, that she was really gone, but it took a while for it to sink in, to become real. I felt just like that again. I knew Yeager was telling the truth, I think I knew it when he told me, but it wasn’t completely real yet.
     
    “You scared?” Edie asked me as I leaned behind the lunch counter waiting for the single table I was serving to finish up. I’d already sent Jesus home. There was nothing for him to do. I’d have sent Edie home too but I didn’t want her to be alone. Maybe I didn’t want to be alone.
     
    “Yeah, I am,” I told her.
     
    “Me too. This sucks!” Edie replied. I giggled despite my mood. I could always count on Edie to distill everything down for me.
     
    “Yeah, it does suck,” I agreed.
     
    “Do you think that loser will really do what he said?” she asked. Edie hadn’t heard what Dolan whispered in my ear and she hadn’t asked. It didn’t matter. He’d said enough.
     
    “No. He’s just full of shit,” I assured Edie but I wasn’t so sure. In fact, I somehow knew he’d make good on his threat. Where was Yeager? Did I hurt him that badly? Did he just up and leave town? I knew now that he was the only man that could really stand up to Dolan. I just hoped it didn’t come to that. Maybe the big biker was just making idle threats but somehow I knew that wasn’t the case. I was going to have to face him again.
     
    The afternoon and evening passed slowly. Edie and I spoke more but I didn’t tell her anything about Yeager or Dolan that she didn’t already know. I could hardly believe any of it myself. How could I expect Edie to believe it? Besides, I didn’t want to worry her. She acted tough but she wasn’t as strong as she wanted everyone to believe. She had her own secrets even if she wouldn’t admit it.
     
    I closed the Rusty Skillet down at nine. We