Prologue - Lyra
Lyra sat by the bar, a glass of gin and tonic in her hand, her ears focused intently on the crowd around her. She could hear the men seated by the door checking her out, one of them urging his friend to come over and talk to her. She could smell the sweat coming off a young man who looked barely old enough to drink, sitting in a corner. His heart rate spiked, and he did his best to look relaxed, but Lyra could tell he was scared of something—she was willing to bet it was the fact that he was with a girl who looked a lot older and more mature than he was.
Lyra was aware of everything, everyone in the room. She could sense the slightest changes in the air—she knew when someone threw up in the bathroom or when drugs were brought into the building. Her keen senses were the reason she was able to pick up on everything, senses which had been heightened by the fact that she was a shifter.
“What’s a fine girl like you doing all alone in a place like this?”
Lyra turned her head, knowing it was one of the men by the door. She could see through his faux sense of confidence and knew he was a little uncomfortable with her silence. “Trying to avoid men like you.”
He recoiled, smiled for a moment, and then chuckled. “I’m Dan.”
“I’m not interested, thanks,” Lyra replied, turning away and taking a sip of her drink.
As much as she was very single, Lyra knew the type of man she wanted, and Dan was far from it. As the daughter of her pack’s leader, Lyra was attracted to powerful men, but as her father was the Alpha it was quite hard to find a man who could top that. So, Lyra had decided to head out, away from her father for a bit.
But so far, all Lyra had found were men who didn’t fit her bill, and she’d had just about enough. Dan reached out to grab her shoulder, but she caught his arm before he could touch her, tossing it away from her body with her back to him. “I think it would be wise of you to keep your mitts off of me, Dan. I’m really not interested, so take it somewhere else.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are, lady, to talk to me that way?” Dan asked, making Lyra turn around. She took another look at him, in the hopes that she had missed something. He had on a pair of well-worn jeans and a random t-shirt with a little bit of smut stuck to the collar. The only thing that looked classy about him was his five-dollar haircut. “I was just trying to talk to you. There’s no need to be a bitch about it.”
Lyra smiled. “You must really get off talking to your mom like that, yeah?”
A frown quickly spread across the man’s face and he darted his hand at her, attempting to slap her across the cheek. Lyra had more than enough time to get out of the way, but she knew he would only hurt himself by hitting her, so she waited. At the last moment, a palm slid between her face and Dan’s hand, and Lyra heard the subtle crack of bone.
“Fuck!” Dan yelled, pulling his hand back and cradling it, his face twisted in pain as he looked up.
Lyra turned around as well, realizing that someone had snuck up on her. That wasn’t an easy feat, as she would normally have smelled them long before she saw them. But as she turned around, she felt her heart swoon. A man began taking off his jacket and dropped into a seat behind Lyra, a smile across his face. She could hear his heartbeat—he was relaxed, almost asleep even.
“Sir, you can’t come in here and hit people, especially women. I can’t allow that in my bar,” the man began.
“Who the fuck are you?” one of Dan’s friends asked, quickly hurrying over to support his buddy.
“Levi, owner of this fine establishment, and the person who is going to be kind enough to ask you men to head back to your seats and leave this lovely woman alone.” He turned to Lyra and she caught the smile on his lips, seeing a tiny spark in his eyes. “Would you like to be left alone, miss?”
“Definitely,” Lyra replied, smiling back at him.
“Great.” Levi smiled, rubbing his hands together. “So, head back over to your table, gents.”
Dan got to his feet and moved his jacket to the side, revealing a gun in a holster. Lyra shook her head, hearing the sound of his heartbeat triple. Although he had the gun, Dan was scared beyond measure. Levi, on the other hand, remained levelheaded. He took a look at the weapon and chuckled.
“What are you going to do with that?” Levi asked.
“Why don’t you step outside and find out, middle of nowhere, you and that bitch can come see what I’m made of,” Dan replied, flexing his arm slowly, his expression telling Lyra that it still hurt.
Levi got to his feet and walked past Lyra, moving slowly and methodically. Lyra watched in anticipation, worried for a moment that Dan would pull the gun. But as he reached for the holster, Levi shoved his hand downward, sliding the gun back in place and pulling Dan so they stood face-to-face.
“Listen, I like my customers, all of them. But if one customer makes my bar unsafe for another, they’re no longer my customer. You are now an enemy of my business, and while I do mind my business, I take threats to it very seriously. I was willing to let you back in your seat, but apparently, you’re a lot more stupid than I gave you credit for.” Levi let go of the gun, locking eyes with Dan. “Get out.”
Lyra watched as the men turned and quickly walked out, both of them shaken to their core. Something about Levi had scared them, and Lyra had no idea what it was. He turned around and nodded his head at her, his jet-black hair beaming in the light of the bulb hanging over his head. Just as he began walking away, Lyra put out a hand, stopping him.
“Buy a you a drink?”
“Thought you wanted to be left alone?” he said with a smirk, rubbing his chin. Lyra noted the strong jawline and intense confidence the man emanated. She knew it was her animalistic instinct that made her seek out those qualities in a man, but with Levi, she was certain any woman would fall for that smile.
“I wantedthoseguys to leave me alone,” Lyra replied, nodding at the bartender for another drink.
“Oh, well you could have said so.” He sat down. “Levi Strauss.”
“Lyra Falls,” Lyra replied, smacking her lips as the taste of her drink lingered. She stared at his lips for a moment, smiling. “Thanks for the save.”