Fall With Me (UIC 2022)

1 - The Alpha's Grandson

"Baby! Hey, baby!" The man snapped his fingers. "Get me another beer, will ya, sweetheart?"

Sawyer sighed and lifted her eyes to the grubby ceiling. She'd pray for the man to suddenly disappear, but the goddess didn't listen to people like her.

Pasting a false smile on her face, she called over her shoulder, "One moment!" The tired refrain of some old rock song played over the bar radio as Sawyer opened the fridge and pulled out the man's third beer in half an hour. If he made it to five before the hour was out, she'd have to cut him off.

"Here you go," she said, popping the top and sliding it across the counter.

The man, a thirty-something human in trucker gear, took a long pull on the beer and then belched. "Hey, isn't this supposed to be a faerie bar?" He palmed some nuts and shoved them into the endless hole that was his mouth. Bits of shells and nut pieces fell from his thick fingers, scattering along the bar.

It used to be, but Sawyer was the only faerie employee left. Still, she was obligated to confirm, "It is." Sawyer wiped down his mess with a clean rag. Tucking the rag into the rolled-up top of her apron, she braced herself for the inevitable question.

"So, where are your wings?"

"Tucked away," she answered tiredly. Most faeries in Hecate City hid their wings and pointed ears under glamour. Sawyer was no different.

The trucker grinned and pulled a bill from his wallet, slapping it on the bar. "Fifty to see them."

Sawyer rolled her eyes and pushed it back towards him. "No." If he wanted to see faerie tits and wings, there were plenty of strip clubs on the edge of town where the goods were on full display.

"You're such a bitch," the man growled, grabbing the bill, and shoving it back into his wallet.

Sawyer ignored him. There was no use getting into an argument with a human—especially a drunk one. She only wished that Marvin was still here; the bouncer had left a few months ago for a better-paying job at that fancy new bar up the street. Still, she wasn't completely defenseless. A few zaps of her magic usually shocked the most recalcitrant patron into compliance.

She moved down the bar, cleaning goddess-knew-what, but it kept her busy and out of the man's reach. There weren't that many people in Harvey's bar tonight; almost all of their clientele had jumped ship to Graziano's Enchanted Pub. Honestly, Sawyer wasn't sure how long they were going to stay open.

The thought of finding another job made her stomach turn. There was very little work in Hecate City for a faerie such as herself without a college degree—bartending and working at one of the strip clubs were the best options.

You could always go home.

Sawyer sighed and faced the mirror that hung over the bar. That stupid voice had popped up again. It had been chanting the same line since Harvey confided to Sawyer that things weren't going well.

She snorted at her reflection: long, wavy lavender hair, blue eyes, and a heart-shaped face. With her tall, slim figure—not to mention the wings—she stuck out like a sore thumb back home. It wasn't the reason why she left, but it might as well have been.

I'm not going home and that's that, she told her subconscious firmly. Was it her imagination, or did someone laugh ironically?

You're just tired, she reasoned, grabbing glasses left on the bar and placing them in a small grey tub to wash later.

"A hundred to see your wings," the trucker called out.

"No."

But the man would not be deterred. "This is going to be the best money you'll make all night, baby. All I'm asking for is a quick peek. Two hundred for your tits."