Little Bit Dangerous | 1 | TO BE PUBLISHED

Chapter 17

"I'll put you in charge of shoplifting today," he jokingly told her.

There wasn't much that he did to open up the shop. Mostly he turned on lights and set up the kitchen area, which consisted of turning on microwaves and coffee machines. He stocked cup and condiments, while Saoirse went around fixing shelves and adjusting signs and cleaning freezer windows. By the time it was time to open, the Stop & Stock looked ready for business.

Of course, the shop resided in a place where most of the foot traffic came from the pack, and no one was awake as early as Bo or Saoirse. The only person who woke up that early, and went to the shop, was Ellis, and he strolled right past the aisles and parked his rear end in the back office.

It was a long while before Ellis ventured out of the office to grab a cup of coffee. He took his time in mixing a sizeable amount of cream and sugar. Soon, he ventured up toward the counter where Bo and Saoirse stood. He looked perplexed, but not surprised to find the both of them there.

"I thought Rich was working today?"

"Pneumonia."

"Shit." Ellis brought his coffee to the front counter to pay. "I was gonna ask Rich to challenge Saoirse at next month's Tribunal."

She watched Bo in her periphery as his jaw quickly clenched. Though she hadn't forgotten that the Tribunal was still a thing, she forgot that Ellis was doing all that he could to make sure it would happen. With Alpha Enzo creeping around with his threats, and Bo's father warning them that others were watching to see her fail, the Tribunals were the last thing on her mind.

She also neglected to mention all of it to Ellis.

"We're postponing the next one," she managed to tell him.

"What?"

"Enzo Addario threatened her last night."

Bo and Ellis exchanged looks, ones that appeared to be decipherable when it came to the both of them, but to Saoirse she had absolutely no idea what they meant. She supposed that it was a friend thing—the only ones she ever had before Bo and Ellis disappeared the moment her wildling blood began to take its toll on her. She imagined it would have been like that, though.

Out of the silence, Ellis growled, setting his cup down before his temper caused it to spill on the front of his shirt.

"I should have kicked the bastard out of the park," he grumbled beneath his breath before looking at Saoirse. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I hadn't seen either of you all day." She defended herself. "It doesn't matter now."

"Of course it fuckin' matters," Ellis countered.

"It happened." Saoirse pulled herself away from the counter.

She was positive that Ellis' stare didn't mean to scrutinize or doubt her, but it felt that way. He was right in every possible way; he should have been there. Ellis was her Beta, now. When it came to encounters like the one with Enzo he had to be by her side and support her. But, he was nowhere to be found, and Enzo came very early in the morning—she had no chance to find him.

Now she had to deal with the uncomfortable truth that somewhere, out there, Enzo Addario was planning something big and dangerous. It caused a chill to run up her side and her blood to boil just thinking about the possibilities.

"But you told Bo," Ellis said pointedly. "He's not your Beta, I am."

"Yeah, but I'm her Luna."

She watched as Ellis snorted at the title.