Ursanthropy
4. The Mountain

A/n: Have fun!

Jack

This new girl in town, was booming news in matter of minutes. Throughout the diner I could see my men look at her, when she didn’t notice it, and whisper about her, in a volume she couldn’t hear.

It was annoying to hear and see it, but it was even more annoying that it annoyed me.

She smelled human, had no flesh on her bones, yet her attitude was sparky and cute. Her long black hair, tucked tightly in a ponytail, didn’t give her the best look, so I wondered how she would look like, when she would wear it down.

Her answers to Dennis weren’t that revealing either, and doing so, she made herself even more mysterious.

But even my wondering annoyed me, why would I be interested in a human? A tiny one even!

I know I don’t have a mate yet, but she isn’t the one either. I would have known it, the moment I caught her scent. But she was just normal. Nice, and mysterious, but still a normal human.

“So first you ran me over with your car, and now you didn’t see me, when I walked into the diner?! Don’t you have eyes?” I heard Big Max yell towards Doreen, as I could see pancakes littering the floor.

She had hit him? Shit, this wasn’t going to be good. I could hear him groan, and curse under his breath. She had chosen the wrong man to hit this morning! And he was about to shift right in front of a human! I could tell, as I saw hair growing at the back of his neck already!

I wanted to stand up, to interrupt this before all things went south, but then she made it even worse!

“Well, you seemed alright, after you drank my bottle of vodka, half empty! So, calm down, take a seat and I’ll bring you some pancakes!” I heard Doreen shout, from behind Big Max’ body.

I couldn’t see her, but I was stunned by her reaction towards him! No single woman, shifter or human, had ever spoken to him like that, as he was as huge as a mountain! He could intimidate people with one single look, and kill another by snapping one’s neck with ease.

It made me even more shocked, as I had seen him walk towards a table, sat his ass down and smiled when the honey dripped pancakes came his way.

My men looked towards me, and her as well, as they were stunned to see how Big Max and Doreen reacted to one another.

“You want some more syrup?” She asked him now.

“Yes please.” He answered, and now my jaw had dropped to the floor.

Never in my life, had I heard him say ‘please’ to anyone!

Doreen

Wow, this guy almost made me shit my pants, as he just told the complete filled diner that I had hit him with my car. Everyone that I could see, was waiting for my response towards him, or they were frightened as hell to see what this man could do to me. But no one interrupted us, or condemned me for a hit and run this morning. They just acted like it’s a normal occurrence that men get run over by cars, on a daily basis!

Also, the gash on his head, that I had caused when driving over him, was completely gone! Hmm, maybe there was more blood than appeared at first sight, I suppose.

Furthermore, as I was looking forward to that instant raise, that Bertha had mentioned, I just braced my bravery and made the mountain sit on his ass, while I offered him some pancakes.

And the moment he saw the food coming, and he licked his lips, I knew I had done the right thing. This man is just a cuddle-bug, not a mean tiger. He even said ‘please’ to me, when I hadn’t expected that from him.

I went to the kitchen to put in some more orders with Erol, but instead of him cooking, he and Bertha were looking at me with astound eyes.

“You sure you have never been here before?” Bertha asked me.

“Yes, first time here.” I replied. “Why?” I asked them both.

“Oh nothing, I guess that I’m obligated to say that you are hired.” Bertha said and I smiled gratefully.

I thanked them both and gave the orders to Erol, and he started to cook again.

“Oh, Bertha?” I asked for her attention and she turned her head to me. “Is there any place that you know of, where I could stay for a couple of nights?”

“The motel a few minutes away from here, always has some rooms. Tell Vic that I send you, and I’m sure you won’t have to pay the full price” She replied.

“I will definitely do that, thanks Bertha.” I said and took some meals from Erol, which were now done and ready to be served.

At the end of the day, everyone had left and I had received some nice tips. I was happy to have worked myself through this busy shift.

Me and Bertha had talked about the shifts, and that I could work every day, as her other employee had quit her job. I knew it was going to be a tough and exhausting job, but so far I liked the people and I needed the money, so I agreed to her terms, with an occasional day off, here and there.

I thanked her again, for hiring me and for the tips that I could keep, and headed over to my car.

When I sat behind the wheel, I tried to start the car… emphasis on ‘tried’ as it blubbered and stuttered like an old drunk man.

“Shit!”

I’m not a mechanic and I’m a total idiot when it comes to cars, so I don’t know why I even popped the hood, but I had gotten outside again. There I stood, bend over forward, looking at the parts of the engine or electronics, to see if I could reconnect something or stop something from leaking… Silently hoping for a non-existent epiphany about car technology.

“Need any he-”

Clank!

“Fuck!” I yelled, after hitting the back of my head against the bottom of the hood.

I looked up, and saw Jack standing next to me, with a big smile on his face, releasing a deep chuckle.

“It’s not funny! I’ve had the strangest day already, and without any money to get this shit fixed, as I also need the money to sleep somewhere, you decide to scare my nail polish off!” I whined and shouted.

“So, you don’t need any help?” He asked me.

“Yes, I do. Sorry for yelling at you.” I said to him, calmly.

“Alright, come, I’ll drive you to the motel, and Vic can call the garage for you to pick up your car.” He said.

I looked at him warily, I wanted to see if he was bad news for me, or if I could trust him. I mean, he had made sure that I had breakfast this morning, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t still be a psychopath, right?

Yet his eyes told me that he wasn’t, I’m not sure how I knew it for certain, but he seems like a good guy. Besides, he had mentioned that same name that Bertha had, so I guess that everyone in this little town knows each other.

“Fine, thanks. Let me grab my stuff.” I said and quickly took the cleanest clothes with me, together with my purse and bag.

I stepped into his massive truck and he started driving. It was only a few minutes to the motel, like Bertha had said, but the ride was awkward.

The truck is big, but Jack’s body is really big as well, so he sat with his legs wide, so the steering wheel wasn’t touching them, and I just sat next to him, feeling tiny.

My slender legs, knees clutched together, feeling rather cold as it was late at night and the car heater wasn’t on, it made me realise that Jack had been right.

“I am too thin.” I whispered very softly.

“Did you say anything?” Jack asked me. Was that a smile on his face?

“No, it’s nothing.” I replied and it went silent again.

Upon arriving at the motel, I had taken my stuff and jumped out of the truck.

Jack walked in and greeted the female behind the desk.

“Jack honey! What are you doing here this late?” She asked and hugged him tightly. Jack reciprocated the gesture by holding her tight as well, clearly she was his girlfriend or wife, as the way they looked at each other was so loving and caring.

I looked away, not wanting to witness any closeness or fondling, and I wanted to replace this guy Vic to get settled and take some well-deserved sleep.

“Doreen, where are you going? Meet Vic, she will get you a room.” Jack suddenly said.

The woman was Vic? I guess I looked rather confused because they both laughed.

“Victoria, or Vic for short.” She said, with her hand stretched out to shake mine. “You thought that ‘Vic’ was a male name, didn’t you?” She asked smiling, and I got red cheeks.

“You got me. Sorry about that.” I committed ashamed and shook her hand.

“Don’t worry, I get that a lot. Let me get you your key, and in the morning your car will be towed, and fixed.” She spoke.

I was confused now, had Jack told her about it already? Had he been sabotaging my car and told his girlfriend up front that I needed a garage? What was going on here?