Howl (Monster Boyfriends #1)

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

RAEGAN

I have never been this angry at someone before. And frustrated. No matter what I say to this man, I can’t make him see reason.

“Raegan, come on,” he drones, drawing out the words. “You know we’re good together. You felt it on our first date. It’s that bitch of a best friend of yours whispering lies about me in your ear, isn’t it?”

Patrick refuses to accept the words I’ve repeated not once, not twice, but three times. And now I’m yelling it for a fourth. Because apparently, I’m in just as much denial as he is.

What is it called when you do something over and over and expect a different result? Oh yeah, insanity.

This idiot is driving me insane.

He’s obviously drunk. He’s barely keeping his balance without a hand against the brick wall of Bound and Buried. I was minding my own business, simultaneously counting inventory while making a mental note of the books I need to buy, when Ethan stomped over irritably to tell me there’s a man pacing back and forth in front of the store and giving ‘bad juju’.

My first reaction after seeing Patrick through the front window swaying from foot to foot with sweat dripping from his temples was to smack my palm flat against my forehead. Clearly he didn’t get Jamie’s message like I thought he did. I didn’t even ask myself what the hell he was thinking, because I already knew. The dipshit knew the only way to get my full attention would be to catch me at work, without Jamie.

Now I’m standing on the sidewalk, embarrassing myself in front of all the other small business owners, as I try to talk some sense into this basket case of a man. I need to coax him into the side alley between the book store and Claudia’s bakery, so we aren’t in front of so many prying eyes.

“Patrick,” I start again, taking a tentative step toward him like he’s a wild animal that’s gotten loose in the streets, “let’s talk somewhere private. Just you and me.”

I’m hoping he’ll take this as a sign he’s won me over. After all, getting me alone is what he was aiming at to begin with. Miraculously, he actually starts to follow me into the alley, though I don’t think he realizes he’s doing it. He’s so drunk I could probably steal his shoes right now and he’d have no idea.

I lace my voice with a fake dulcet tone. “I know technically I didn’t get a chance to break up with you, because, well, Jamie did it for me, but it’s the truth.” Now that the words are out, there’s no point backtracking, so I plow forward. “I just don’t see this working out. And after the way you’ve acted today, you’re only confirming my choice. Because that’s what it is: my choice. I need you to respect that.”

Patrick stares at me with busted pupils and nostrils flaring. I can see it’s taking him a second to process what I’m saying, but once he does, his veins cord under his skin. He looks enraged.

But then he reaches out as if to brush a hand across my cheek, and I quickly step away, shouting, “Don’t touch me!”

But he’s moving much faster than I thought he would be capable of in his inebriated state, and now he’s got his hands around my throat. “You belong to me!” he bellows.

I screech as he squeezes the air from my lungs. I attempt to claw at his fingers as they dig into my flesh, but it’s becoming harder and harder to take a breath. Black spots dance around the edges of my vision, but just when I think I’ve made a terrible mistake being alone with Patrick, my lungs expand and I’m breathing fresh air.

I gasp and run a hand over my already aching throat, but I have no idea how I’m standing here. Where is Patrick?

Then I see him. Jamie’s friend, Aidan, is standing above Patrick with a menacing scowl. At the speed he just moved he should be breathing heavily or sweating profusely, but he’s perfectly poised. He leans over Patrick’s confused face and slowly cocks his head.

“What do we have here?” Aidan says, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

Patrick scrambles to his feet and plants them widely with his shoulders back. He looks like he’s about to try and fight a vampire, but surely he can’t be serious.

Aidan smirks in clear amusement. “ Please ,” he pleads in a mocking tone. He holds both hands up in fake surrender. “I beg you.”

Patrick takes a swing, but it never lands. Instead, his fist comes to a screeching halt as it’s caught in Jamie’s strong hand.

Where the fuck did he come from?

Aidan is preternaturally fast, but how the hell did Jamie get here so quickly? He’s standing just over Aidan’s right shoulder, and together they look like the stars of a superhero crossover special.

Aidan hasn’t even flinched, but Patrick’s eyes are now bulging from their sockets. A harried, wild expression takes over his features, and I see the fist trapped in Jamie’s grip start to shake.

If I weren’t so shaken by almost being strangled, I’d be incredibly impressed. Aidan must have heard me shout and come straight here. But how did Jamie know something was wrong? There’s no way he could have heard me from down the street and inside his shop.

Jamie shifts his gaze over to me, assumingly to make sure I’m alright, but when his eyes drop to my throat, his pupils burst with fury. There must already be a visible mark there, because suddenly, Jamie is yanking Patrick by the back of his sweaty collar, and I swear I see the guy’s toes barely touch the ground. I knew Jamie was strong, but not superhuman strong. Yet somehow he’s holding Patrick’s entire body weight, with one arm, without straining a muscle.

“What did I tell you about contacting her ever again?” Jamie rebukes.

I would expect the question to be rhetorical, but Jamie is clearly waiting for an answer. He clutches Patrick’s shirt even tighter, slowly choking him just as Patrick had choked me.

He asks again, this time clenching his teeth. “ What did I tell you?”

Patrick wheezes. “We’d have— ah- –we’d have a…one on one.”

“Why don’t we go do that now?”

Jamie finally lets Patrick touch the ground, but then he starts shuffling him out of the alleyway and back onto the street.

“Oh, no,” I groan. Like hell are they going to handle this in front of my place of business. “Jamie, wait!”

But it’s Aidan’s hand on Jamie’s shoulder that halts him in place. “Think about what you’re doing,” Aidan suggests in a low tone. “You know the consequences. People are already curious.”

Both he and Jamie glance across the street at the handful of townspeople watching the public disruption in their morning routines. Even worse, when I step back onto the sidewalk, Claudia is standing outside the bakery, watching our every move.

I definitely don’t want this confrontation to spill out onto the street, but Aidan looks particularly concerned about Jamie’s hand still clutching the back of Patrick’s collar.

Is Aidan worried he’ll be blamed for this? Back when the laws of Shadow Hills were established, the appointed sheriff at the time knew it would be inevitable for some paranormals to fight others. Over the years, we’ve let the confrontations settle themselves, as long as they’ve been fair. But if a paranormal uses a biological advantage over a human, that is cause for punishment.

Even if someone does try to say Aidan started the fight, I’m a witness, and I’ll tell the truth about the whole incident.

So why does Jamie look afraid?

He lets go of Patrick just as someone points to Kiki’s Cafe where Mayor Musthaven is now exiting and crossing the street. One glance at the small crowd that’s formed in front of the bookstore, and the mayor is floating over to inspect the scene.

He’s a portly ghost, having gained more weight in the afterlife than his human life somehow, though I’m pretty sure it’s those sugary pancakes he eats every morning at Kiki’s. He floats through the group of people blocking his way before they have a chance to move, each person gasping from the sudden chill from feeling a ghost pass through them uninvited.

“What’s going on here?” the mayor asks with a bellowing voice. Everyone stops what they’re doing as if they’re the ones in trouble, but no one answers his question. Aidan and Jamie are still standing awkwardly on either side of a terrified Patrick who’s crumbled to his knees on the sidewalk.

Mayor Musthaven sucks in imaginary air in a dramatic gasp. “Oh my.”

The timing is comical, but I have no desire to laugh about any of this. Everyone else is still taking in the scene while I try to find the right words to explain the situation, but Aidan speaks up first.

“August,” Aidan addresses the mayor in a personal but stately manner. “You’ve arrived just in time. We were just assisting Miss Baker with a rather unfortunate incident.”

He speaks as if he is above the situation, but not the people. It’s a fine line to balance, but being over a century old, I would imagine speaking to people in the proper way becomes second nature.

“What is this human man doing on the ground?” Musthaven asks.

Jamie opens his mouth to say something, but Aidan places a steady hand on his shoulder. It’s clear Jamie is still fuming, and there’s no doubt whatever comment he planned on making would only make the situation worse.

“Well, you see,” Aidan begins, “I came upon Miss Baker here,” he gestures to me, still gaping like a floundering fish, “and she appeared to be in distress. It was clear this man was invading her personal boundaries. So, I asked if she needed help, and she informed me that this man has been stalking her for some time. Before I could confront him about this, he attacked her. You can see the bruise already starting to form on her throat.”

I’m pretty sure most of the people here know I’ve been on a few dates with Patrick. They’ve seen us together at Bones, and Mavis definitely saw me entering his apartment multiple times. I can only imagine what they’re thinking now.

Poor Raegan. Taken advantage of.

Poor Raegan. Look what mess she’s gotten herself into.

I look at Claudia who’s been leaning casually against the brick wall of her bakery since the raucous began. She gives me a pitying smile, only confirming my suspicions.

“Is this true?”

At first I don’t realize Mayor Musthaven has directed the question at me, but I quickly recover and nod my head. I can’t form words right now. I don’t trust them not to fuck up the eloquent explanation Aidan so cleverly concocted. I don’t know why, but he’s purposefully left Jamie out of the story.

“In that case,” the mayor continues, “thank you for intervening.” He then turns to Twitty Simmons, the quiet and mouse-like sheriff I hadn’t even noticed was there. “Twitty, can you please escort this man to the station?”

The sheriff steps to attention as if he’s ready to salute. His dark beard and mustache cover most of his face, but his eyes light up at the command from the mayor.

“I’ll come with you,” Aidan insists. “I’m sure you need a proper statement.”

“Thank you, Mister Ward.” The mayor nods his approval before continuing. “By the way, I wanted to chat with you about the walking trail expansion at the park. You mentioned before that you’d be interested in making a sizable donation?”

“Absolutely,” Aidan confirms as they head toward the police station side by side like old friends.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Simmons takes Patrick by the arm and pulls him to his feet.

“Y’all can’t be serious?” Patrick protests. He starts playing to the crowd, hoping one of them will speak up. “You saw what he did! He used his strength against me! He can’t do that!”

“That only applies to paranormals, son,” Twitty politely informs him.

I feel my stomach drop to my toes as Patrick passes in front of me. He looks me straight in the eye and says, “You know what he is, don’t you? You’re gonna regret this, Raegan!”

The rational part of my brain knows he’s just acting out. He’s trying to say anything he can to get out of the trouble he’s caused. But when I look at Jamie, his face isn’t all that reassuring. Instead, he looks distressed. Like he’s made a terrible mistake. And for the first time ever, I question whether or not he’s keeping something from me.

I take a step toward him in need of a simple explanation, but he’s already walking back to Double Double. He doesn’t even look at me, only strides determinedly down the sidewalk without a second glance, and I feel something inside me break a little.

It feels like we’re in a fight, only…I don’t know what either of us has done wrong.

I feel a light touch on my elbow and see Claudia beside me. “Are you alright?”

I nod without truly answering, my hand pressed to the tender skin at the base of my throat. If not for the physical mark Patrick has probably left behind, none of this would feel real.

Claudia moves to stand in front of me, forcing herself into my line of sight. “You should go get checked out at the clinic,” she says, but I’m not really listening. Instead, my entire focus remains on Jamie as he heads back to Double Double, his form slowly fading into the crowd until I can no longer see him.

I understand he has a business to run, but he couldn’t spare a few minutes to come check on me? Compared to his overprotective behavior lately, this feels extremely out of character. This on top of what Patrick just spewed at me, it makes me wonder what’s really going on.

I’m confused and angry, but most of all I’m hurt, seeing him walk away.

“Come on,” Claudia insists, taking my hand, “I’ll go with you.”

I lean into her slender frame instinctively, seeking some sort of comfort. Then I let her steer me to her car around the corner and together we drive to the clinic on the other side of town.