Fated Connection (Book 1)

Chapter 3

The following afternoon, I decided to head to my first shift at the bookstore a little bit early. I wanted to have a chance to familiarize myself with everything and hopefully make it a little easier to find my routine.

Mia, the manager that had hired me, was on the phone but greeted me with a wave as I walked in and stashed my purse in the office. After hanging up, she walked me through the store going over different aspects of my job.

"So, a few nights there are a few different groups that will meet up in the back room," she informed me as we reached the back of the store and waved a hand towards a doorway I hadn't noticed before. "A couple of books clubs and also a small gamer group will come in. Nothing too big. They usually bring their own snacks or drinks and they know not to make a huge mess."

"A gamer group?" I asked.

"Yeah, they play some RPG. I'm not sure what it's called," she replied with disinterest as she headed back to the front of the store. "You'll mostly be working the afternoon or late shift, closing I figure."

"What time do we close?"

"9pm during the week and 10pm on fridays and Saturdays."

I nodded and continued to listen as she showed me how to clock in and log into the system. Once all of that was done, she put me to work restocking books and straightening shelves. It wasn't hard work but I also enjoyed being around books so this was like a sugar addict in a candy shop.

Over the next several hours, I helped customers and ran the register. I had worked retail before at other places so luckily their system wasn't too hard to figure out quickly. A couple of hours before closing time, the bell over the door jingled to let us know someone had come in.  Making my way through the shelves towards the front, I put a polite smile on my face ready to greet them.

My smile quickly faded when I saw it was the crude shifter that had bumped into me at the bar. He was with a couple of other guys, all of them looking out of place in the clean bookstore with their leather jackets and dirt streaked ripped jeans.

"Can I help you find something?" I asked them, stopping several feet away.

The man from the bar turned his head and looked at me, his eyes flashing recognition. He smirked as he trailed his eyes up and down my body. After glancing around and found no one nearby, his smirked turned to a leer as he strutted towards me.

My fingers began to tingle as he approached, my eyes never straying from him as I watched his companions from my peripheral. I could feel my body instinctively go into defensive mode but I held it down and kept my face blank. He stopped in front me, close enough that I could smell stale cigarettes and whiskey on his breath.

"Well, if it isn't the little fae from the bar," he drawled. "You're boyfriend isn't here to stop us now."

"Sir, you're out of line and I'm going to have to ask you to leave," I informed him, keeping my voice even despite the irritation I felt at his insinuation. I couldn't afford to lose my job over this dumbass, especially not this soon after getting it.

"I'll leave if you come with me," the man replied with another cocky smirk.

"Not going to happen."

The man stepped closer to me and I involuntarily stepped away, my back hitting the book shelf behind me. He placed his arms beside my head and looked down at me, caging me in just like he had the first time we met. My body was humming with energy, aching to be unleashed but I held it in.

"I bet I could change your mind, little fae," he said quietly in my ear.

"I highly doubt that," I growled through gritted teeth. When his eyes met mine, I let just enough energy out to let my eyes flash, letting him know I was pissed.