Star Blessed

Introductions

RAFF

Raff struggled to rein back his smile when the stubborn woman turned at the sound of his voice. To his relief, she'd tossed the contacts and wig. The chatty older waitress swallowed nervously, and he wondered just how much she actually knew about him. Camden was a hotbed for supernaturals, mostly Fae and a few witches, and they knew the truth about what happened out on his land. And about who he was. What he was.

"She was my mother," he continued. "She died giving birth to me."

The woman furrowed her brows. "I'm sorry. That's sad, but it hardly seems like a reason to warn me away from them."

If he'd been in wolf form then, his ears would have gone erect at her words. As it was, something else was becoming erect, and it was going to be a serious problem if he couldn't get it under control. He couldn't help but like that he'd been the center of her attention, even if it wasn't very flattering.

"And why would you need to be warned to stay away from me? I thought you'd decided that all on your own?" A heady aroma of anger, confusion, and arousal swarmed around her and overloaded his nose and common sense.

"That's my cue to leave love. Holler if you need me," her friend said with a not so subtle wink.

"You seem like a reasonably intelligent individual," the spirited woman snapped as soon as the other woman was out of earshot.

Confused, he responded, "I'd like to think so."

"Right, but see here's where I start to doubt that line of thinking. I asked you to leave me alone, yes?" He started to speak, but she threw up a hand. "This is the complete opposite of leaving me alone. Is this a language barrier? Because if it is, I'm happy to find a translator."

His mouth worked furiously, but no sound came out. He could envision his wolf flopping down on his haunches, head turned to the side, with his tongue rolled out. Like a freaking domesticated dog. But he couldn't even be mad about it; she was so damn adorable when she was pissy, which meant she was adorable all the time because he'd yet to see her act any other way. Minus her lap dance of course...Down boy.

"But seriously," she insisted. "This is too much."

"I'm Raff," he responded, thrusting his hand out.

"Raff. I thought that was your dad's name."

"Named after him." Truth was always better than lies because lies were easy to tangle and confuse, but he'd committed himself to this charade when he'd said Meghan was his mother.

"Not that I don't appreciate the introduction-now I have a name for the police report I should be filing- but why are you here?"

"Are you not going to provide me with your name?"

The corner of her mouth lifted. An almost smile. "You seem like the type who would've run a thorough background report on me already. You should know my name, blood type, and when I lost my first tooth."

Raff had attempted to research the girl, but she didn't seem to exist. The mystery was a valid excuse to keep tabs on her. That's what he told himself. Solving the puzzle before him was just part of his duty as Alpha of the Orion pack. A way to protect his people.

"Fine. I'm Meribella. Most people call me Bella for short."

Meribella. The name conjured up indigo seas beneath dusky, star speckled skies. Bella meant beautiful, but she was so much more than that. "I'll call you Meribella."

"You shouldn't be calling me anything. Look, I don't think you're a bad guy. You would've hurt me already if you were, but I don't need a protector, or whatever it is that you're offering. I'm sure there are other women who would welcome your advances."