A WOLF FOR CHRISTMAS (on hold)

NAYA

The door to the pub opened, blowing a cold gust of air inside, and the last person I wanted to see on this busy night walked in, wearing a fur coat and his hair dusted with snowflakes. Corbin took a deep breath, looked around the pub until his eyes came to rest on me. He smiled, but unlike on any other day, he didn’t approach me. Instead, he walked towards the back of the pub where a lone female wearing a blood-red dress and a white fur coat sat.

Her head perked up as he approached. She smiled at him, flashing him pearly white teeth as her braids cascaded down her back.

Corbin smiled back. A genuine smile, not the cocky ones he threw at me every time he showed up here.

He sat down in front of her, his hand shooting out to grasp hers. Her smile never faltered, and neither did his. I watched them, knowing full well I needed to focus on my business. Yet I kept my eyes glued on them like a creep.

They started talking, their smiles never tamping down. Corbin said something to her that caused her to laugh. The sound of her smile travelled through the pub. So loud and infectious as the music playing in the air.

Corbin said something else, and she leaned closer to him over the table. A sharp pang of an emotion I had no desire to examine closely shot through me. I shook my head, trying to dispel the strange feeling.

“Are you listening?” I jumped, pivoting around to face the loud, drunken voice. A man with a bushy beard and boring eyes glared at me. His eyes shot from my face to the mug of beer sitting on the counter.

I grabbed it, refilled the damn thing, and handed it to him, expecting him to leave, but he stayed still, his eyes raking over my body, from my face down to my breasts, which looked like they were about to spill out of my blouse.

“What are you looking at?” I questioned.

“You know, you will make a fine…”

“Finish that sentence, and I will have you thrown out of here in seconds.” He huffed and hurried away, raising his mug in the air and hollering as he approached a group of men so drunk they were spilling their drinks everywhere. I grimaced. Knowing the amount of work it would take to clean that up.

And as I stood behind the counter, my eyes taking in the pub my parents left to me as they went to explore the world, I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself. I had transformed this place as much as I could.

In the past, only a few people visited this place. But now, it had become so popular that it was the go-to place for everyone who wanted a good time. I had to seek help when I couldn’t handle the workload on my own anymore.

But those thoughts quickly left me when the same bell-like laughter drifted through the air. My eyes snapped back to the table only to find it empty.

I looked around the pub to find Corbin and the strange woman on the dance floor, dancing to the slow tune playing in the air. The woman swayed her hips, moving so sensually that it looked unnatural.

Corbin matched her vigor. Each of his movements complemented hers. They leaned toward each other. Their faces were so close to each other that I knew they felt each other’s breath on their skin. I knew what would come next, yet I couldn’t look away. So entranced with what my eyes saw.

Their lips brushed once, twice, and then again and again, and as I watched, it felt like I had swallowed a glass full of acid.

My throat burned. My heart ached so badly, and I finally looked away from them, but the image of him and her in such a position had already been burned into my brain.

So, I threw myself into work. Cleaning and putting everything back into place. It was close to midnight. I had to close soon instead of dwelling on what Corbin was doing with that woman.

I hated him, by the way. I hated the unwanted attention he always threw at me whenever he came around. Then why did it hurt seeing him in her arms?

Was I so used to getting his attention that seeing him throw it at another had me feeling some type of way?

No, no. That couldn’t be. I ought to feel grateful that he would leave me alone. Surprisingly, I felt… jealous? That couldn’t be. I wasn’t jealous. Stunned, yes, but not jealous.

Again, I busied myself. Moving up and down just to forget about them, but so much for wishful thinking.

Corbin walked towards the counter, his gait that of a man who knew his effect on people. He moved with precise steps. Strands of his blond hair were slightly slicked back.

His deep blue eyes were trained on me. They were burning. Burning with lust, and that made me all the more disgusted with him.

“A whiskey and a mocktail, please,” he said, his voice husky. He kept his eyes on me as I worked to give him just what he had asked for.

“What? She doesn’t drink, or is the mocktail for you?” He frowned, probably surprised at my tone. I was too. I had no right to act so… territorial around him. I had ignored his existence for so long. He was bound to move on.

“What’s wrong with you?” His deep voice washed over me. A shiver ran down my spine, heat spreading to the rest of my body despite the cold in the air.

“Forget it,” I mumbled, avoiding his gaze. I poured the drinks into their respective glasses and slid them his way. He paid and trotted away without a word.

I hated that too.

I locked the door and dropped the key into my bag. Then I stared around me, noticing that only the street lamps kept me company on the deserted streets. The town square gleamed in the distance. The shops closed, and the lights were on.

Ever since a dragon emerged in Oakvale, we had learned it wasn’t the only creature out there. Vampires, werewolves, witches and so many others existed.

Businesses had started closing early. People took refuge in their houses. I, for one, wasn’t going to let some creatures of the night stop me from making money. I closed after midnight and trotted the streets alone like a champ.

And I was still alive.

Kiana hated it. Ignis loathed my stubbornness. Nova envied my fearlessness. My parents sounded like they wanted to come back home to set me straight.

There were no other creatures in Oakvale. Just a dragon who had promised to keep the town safe.

We were safe. Life moved on, and the snow continued to fall in little flurries that settled atop my head, and Christmas approached. The same mundane things as each year.

“Do you have a death wish?” I jumped, almost dropping my bag on the snow-covered ground. I looked up to find Corbin towering over me, looking pissed.

It’s when I remembered I hadn’t seen him since Ignis turned into a dragon and battled in the skies.

“What does that mean?” I composed myself and started walking, my eyes taking in the town square. We were the only ones brave enough to walk around this late into the night.

“I thought the dragon told you to stay inside during the night.”

“I’m not stopping my life because of some creatures.”

“Creatures that can take your life.”

“None have. It’s been months and I haven’t been attacked.”

“You’re a fool.”

“I can say the same thing about you.” We were both out here. Walking in the snow, our breath forming clouds in front of us.

“Fear is an emotion I rarely feel.”

“Me too,” I said just to spite him. I felt fear. More often than not.

He chuckled under his breath, clearly not believing the words I was saying.

“Don’t walk around at these hours, Miss Smith. It’s not safe.” I would’ve asked how he knew my surname, but I had another pressing question to ask.

“What about you?”

“I’m not human, Naya. A few things scare me out here.” I stopped walking and faced him. What was he talking about? Ignis had tried his best to educate us about creatures of the night. Most of them looked human, and so did was man in front of me. But I refused to believe he was something else.

“Stop lying.” He chuckled again, and I ignored it. He liked to play with me. If I took him seriously, he would laugh in my face.

“Believe what you want. I’m out of here.” He left before I could speak, leaving me with a sense of fear. I shook it off. Believing what he said was equivalent to believing the sun could peek through the thick grey clouds covering the sky at this hour. Stupid and impossible.