The Werewolf's Sabbat Ch. 06

He came into my apartment while I was sleeping. Who does that? she thought to herself, taking another sip of her water. Never mind that the man looked absolutely delectable first thing in the morning, with his hair all a mess. Never mind the fact that the smell of him sent her senses into overdrive. Never mind that the way he looked at her with those eyes of his and that smile made her heart flip in her chest. These were all moot points! Janette was bound and determined that she would not end up being just another notch on this asshole's already painfully marred bed post!

Janette chugged the rest of the water in her glass and placed it in the sink before going into the bathroom and turning on the hot water, thinking that a long hot shower was just what she needed to clear her slightly hungover mind. She slipped out of her robe and hung it back on the hook she had taken it from. A She pulled her night shirt over her head, tossing it into the laundry hamper, and stepped into the shower. While washing her hair, the memory of the disturbing dream came back to her. It all seemed so real, so familiar, she just knew it had to mean something. But what? The thing that bothered her the most was the definite arousal the dream had caused her.

Janette froze, unable to move or breathe, when she felt two arms at her sides. She quickly wiped the water from her eyes and looked down to see what appeared to be the same two arms from her dream, sliding their way across her soapy skin and wrapping themselves around her waist. She felt a hard warm body pressing firmly against her naked back and a pair of soft lips placing light kisses across her bare, wet shoulder, sending an unexpected shiver down her spine. She gasped and turned to see who was behind her only to find no one there. She was alone.

Startled, Janette wasted no time jumping out of the haunted shower, grabbing her towel from the rack as she streaked into her bedroom, shutting the bathroom door behind her with a slam. She barely dried herself before throwing on a pair of old jeans and a black tee shirt, not bothering with underclothing or socks. She didn't even take the time to fix her hair, leaving it in a wet tangled mess down her back. Thinking she'd do her hair in the car, she hurriedly grabbed her brush along with her purse and phone and ran out of her apartment. She barely noticed the white slip of paper clipped to her door as she turned the key in the lock. She plucked it from the metal clip and without taking the time to read it, stuffed it into the front pocket of her jeans.

Janette quickly got into her car and locked the door, her clothes still clinging uncomfortably to her damp skin. She sat there for several minutes with her eyes closed trying to calm herself. What the hell was that? she thought. She dared a glance at her apartment window, expecting to see someone looking out at her, but there was nothing there. Taking a long breath, her heart finally steadied and her nerves calmed. She drove a few blocks and pulled into the parking lot of her favorite coffee shop in need of a caffeine fix before heading to her grandmother's house.

"Large black coffee and a bear claw please." The cashier stated the amount she owed and Janette began rummaging through her purse looking for her wallet. She'd briefly considered asking the cashier to slip a shot of bourbon in with the coffee, but didn't think he would see the humor in it.

"Let me get that," the man behind her said. "I'll have the same, minus the danish." He slipped the cash across the counter, paying for their coffees.

Janette looked up surprised to see Jack, the bartender from the night before, standing there behind her. "Oh you don't have to do that."

"I don't mind. It's not often that I get the privilege of buying a pretty lady a cup of coffee." He smiled and handed her the steaming cup and danish, before grabbing his own cup from the counter.

"Well thank you," she said, taking the cup from him and lightly blowing on it before taking a sip. "What are you doing here? I didn't figure you night owl, club working types would be up this early in the day."

Jack laughed lightly, taking a sip from his cup. "I'm usually not. I had some early morning business to tend to. If not for that I would be in bed right now. You just missed Mitch. He was here a few minutes ago."

Janette didn't even try to hide the irritation in her voice but smiled politely. "I'm afraid I didn't miss much then, huh?"

Jack gave her an amused look. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"It's not suppose to mean anything. Just not my type, that's all."

"And just what is your type?" Jack said, smiling flirtatiously.

"What's my type?" Janette said, pausing as if to consider the question. "Definitely not the womanizing type, that's for sure."

Jack chuckled with a look of surprise. "Mitch? A womanizer? That's a hoot!"

Janette shook her head, unable to hide the grin on her face. "What's so funny about that?"

"Hell, Mitch and I have been good friends for years now and I can tell you for a fact that he is no womanizer. In fact, he rarely dates at all, always claiming he's too busy. Now his brother Liam, on the other hand..." Jack flipped open his phone when it began buzzing and read the text message that had come through. "Speaking of the devil." He took Janette's hand, bowed down and very theatrically kissed her knuckles. "M'lady. I've got to run. It was very good to see you again." He flashed her one more humorous smile before taking his coffee and heading out the door to his vehicle.

Janette stepped out the door of the coffee shop and walked to her own car. She reached into her pocket to pull her car keys out when she saw a piece of paper drop to the pavement. She remembered the note she'd found on the door and reached down to pick it up. Assuming it was from her friend Lisa, her cat sitter, she quickly scanned it.

'I need to talk to you. Last night was a misunderstanding. I'm not with Melissa. Please meet me for our date tonight at 7. Mitch.'

Fat chance. Janette shoved the paper back into her pocket, unsure what to think about the relentlessly handsome intruder. He was certainly luscious looking and he knew it. As true as it may be that she hadn't had a date in eons, she certainly didn't want to date just any schmo that came along, especially not one who seemed to have only asked her out because she happened to sport a vagina.

*

Janette pulled into her grandmother's gravel driveway thirty minutes later to find her outside watering what seemed to be a billion plants that she had brought to the porch from the greenhouse. Spring was near and everything was greening up quite nicely. This had to be Janette's favorite time of year. "Do you need any help, grandma?" Janette didn't wait for an answer and instead picked up the spare water can and began watering the countless pots of herbs and flowers overflowing the porch.

"Where have you been, Jan?" Grandma said with a smile on her face. "I've been worried about you."

"I'm sorry. I stayed at my place last night. Just needed to get away for a bit and look in on Snowball."

"Oh?" Grandma Rose turned to her granddaughter with a look of curiosity. "Something bothering you? Something you want to talk about?"

Janette set the watering can back down. She wanted to tell her grandma about the dream and about what happened in the shower but wasn't sure if that was a good idea. "No, grandma. Nothing's wrong, just stressed I guess." She turned to go inside.

"Did you get your phone back?"

Janette halted abruptly, then turned. "How did you know about that?"

"Oh, someone by the name of Mitch Evans came by last night, or should I say this morning, looking for you. He said you left your phone at a night club." Grandma continued watering, smiling. "Goodness, he had to have been here a good hour, hour and a half waiting in the driveway. What were you doing at a night club anyway, dear? That's not usually your cup of tea, is it?"

Janette stood there unmoving, her mind a frenzy. "Wait. He... he was here last night?" How did he even know where her grandma lived? And how would he have known that she would be there?

"Yes dear," her grandma replied casually. "He seemed rather desperate to talk to you. I hope you don't mind, I gave him your address and told him to stop by your place this morning. I kinda figured that was where you had gone. I just wish you would have called me. You know how I worry."

"Grandma, I couldn't call you. I didn't have my phone, remember?" Janette said absently, the gerbil in her head kicking into high gear. "What time was it when he came by?"

Her grandma looked as though she was trying to remember. "I'd say perhaps one in the morning. Somewhere around that time."

One in the morning? So he hadn't gone home with Melissa after all? Janette thought about everything that had happened. Thought about what grandma had just told her. About waking up and finding him in her bed. About the note and the things Jack had told her at the coffee shop. Then she remembered the troubled look on Mitch's face at the club when Melissa flung herself at him, like some starving orphan to a half-eaten donut. Was it possible that she jumped to the wrong conclusions about them? Had she misjudged him? If she had a talent for anything it was misjudging people or situations.

"Things aren't always the way they seem, dear," Grandma said, as though reading her granddaughter's thoughts.

Janette stood there with a perplexed expression, watching her grandma picking leaves off of a basil plant with that familiar I-Know-Something-You-Don't look on her face. She took the note from her pocket and read it once more before finally going into the cottage and to the spare room she had been occupying. She slipped off her sneakers and put on a fresh pair of socks from the dresser drawer before pulling on her boots. A bit of sunshine and hard labor in the yard would do her some good. It wasn't even noon yet but the day seemed to be getting warmer, so she pulled off her black tee and slipped on a dark blue tank top, tied her hair up and headed out the back door.

She didn't mind yard work. In fact she rather liked it. She always felt more connected to the earth after hours of tilling the garden area and pulling old brush and fallen tree limbs from around the property into a big pile. Today, however, her goal was to get as much done in as short an amount of time as possible. After all, she had to be at the Timber Wolf Steakhouse by seven. She hummed a familiar tune as she went about her work with a smile on her face, oblivious to the creature watching her from the tree line.

*

Mitch didn't carry high expectations that Janette would show up for their date. In fact, after the events that took place that morning, he rather doubted it, but he went to the steakhouse anyway, dressed in black slacks and a dark maroon dress shirt. A wolf had to eat, right? Not to mention, being the owner, he needed to check up on the place, making sure things were running smoothly. Generally, Liam was the one to take care of issues at the restaurant, but Mitch still liked to stop in and see how things were going now and then. He pulled up to the restaurant at 6:30 p.m., went inside and headed straight to his office in the back of the building where he logged onto his computer. He hadn't been there ten minutes when his brother Liam peaked his head through the door.

"Hey, bro, I'm gonna take off for awhile. Do you have a handle on everything here?"

Mitch looked up from the financial documents on his computer screen. "Yeah, I got it. I didn't even know you were here. Where are you rushing off to?"

"A pretty little blond with the longest legs you've ever seen is gonna..."

"Figures." Mitch interrupted. "When do you not have a date, Liam? Do you even know her name this time?" he said with a teasing smile.

"Oh please. You know, maybe if you'd go out and get laid more often you wouldn't be such an ass." Liam gave his brother an irritated look. "And just so you know, her name is Tiffany... or was it Patricia? That's not the point. She's beautiful, I'm beautiful and we are going to go have a beautiful time together. Not everyone is so lucky to have found their one and only, you know."

Mitch smiled at his man-whore of a brother. "Now don't go getting too jealous. My one and only doesn't want anything to do with me." He looked down at his computer screen and resumed his typing.

"She doesn't want anything to do with you? What did you do now?" Liam stepped into the office and plopped down on the over stuffed chair across from the desk. "Please don't tell me you already went and fucked things up."

Mitch clicked the mouse a couple of times sending several documents to the printer. He figured he would review them over dinner in the main dining room of the restaurant, rather than be locked away in his office. "It's nothing that can't be fixed," he said absently, still clicking away on his keyboard. "Go. Have a good time. Things are almost taken care of here. I'm going to grab a bite to eat and head out myself."

Liam stood to leave but stopped at the door. "Oh yeah. I set Thor and Mikey on the task of preparing for the full moon celebration. They're almost finished with the set up." He paused when a thought occurred to him. "You know, maybe you need to start planning your mating celebration soon."

"It's kind of early for that, don't you think? Why would I plan a celebration to mate with someone who not only doesn't know what I am, but at this very moment, can't stand the sight of me?" Mitch's heart lurched at the thought of not mating with his Janette. His wolf wanted nothing more than to drag her, kicking and screaming, to his bed and mark her, willing or not, making her his for all eternity. Yet, his human self desperately wanted her to come to him willingly and of her own accord, with the same amount of love and desire that he himself was feeling. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples trying to ease the headache that his inner turmoil was causing. " Why are you still here? Isn't there an innocent blonde that you're suppose to be defiling right now?"

"Oh yeah," Liam said with a wicked grin. "If you get bored later you should give me a call. I'm pretty sure she has a friend." Liam ignored the angry glare coming from his brother's eyes and walked out of the office. He couldn't wait until Mitch was fully mated. Maybe then the little shit wouldn't be so damned edgy all the time. He walked across the dining area to the bar where his little blonde vixen stood waiting. "Come on, let's get out of here," he said. She squealed when he leaned in and roughly nipped at her earlobe. The couple walked hand in hand out to the parking lot.

When Liam opened the car door for his date he suddenly noticed Janette parked a few stalls down from his truck. She kept walking back and forth from her car to the restaurant door and talking to herself as though she was debating whether or not to go inside. Oh for crying out loud, he thought, shaking his head and thinking she must be half crazy.

He got into his truck and started the engine with a roar and rolled down his window. "Janette." She looked up at him with a start and a deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes. "Just go in. He's not going to bite you. Well, not yet anyway." Liam gave her a wink and then drove away.

*

Mitch reached over and grabbed several papers, still warm from the printer. He logged off of his computer and turned the office lights out before stepping out and locking the door behind him. He hadn't eaten since dinner the night before and was ravenous. He sat at one of the tables at the back of the restaurant and began looking over the papers in his hand, but found that his attention span was like that of a two-year old. He couldn't concentrate on anything for longer than a minute before his mind would wander back to his mate. He took a deep, relaxing breath and tried, once more, to gain focus.

"Can I get you anything, Mitch?" the waitress asked with a flirtatious smile. Darla was born into his pack and had been working at the restaurant for three years. She had never been the modest type, making her attraction to Mitch blatantly clear. She was far from ugly, with her dark brown spiral curls, overly full lips, crystal clear blue eyes and womanly curves. Most of the men who dined at the Timber Wolf took notice of her right away, some even specifically requesting that she wait on them. She probably made three times more tips than any of the waitresses there. However, Mitch knew what kind of woman she was, hearing all the rumors about her going home with several of the cooks and some of the waiters. Sex wasn't looked down on in pack life, but the speed at which this woman went through bed partners was a turn off to him. He had tried numerous times to make it clear to her, without coming off as rude or hurtful, that he wasn't interested, but she remained persistent.

"Darla." Mitch nodded a greeting with a polite smile. "I hope you are doing well this evening."

"I am now that you're here," she said, slowly licking her bottom lip.

Mitch found it difficult to mask the annoyed look that wanted to burst forth on his face, drawing his brows together in frustration. He wasn't in the mood for her antics tonight. Or any night, for that matter. "Can you bring me a glass of chardonnay, please. Make it a full one, none of that fancy half glass stuff."

"Been one of those days, huh?" Darla said, feigning her concern.

"You could say that. I'd also like... um... the T- bone, cooked rare, roasted rosemary potatoes and steamed asparagus. I think that should do it," he said dismissively, turning his attention back to the papers in front of him and pretending to be intensely involved in what he was reading.

"You sure you don't want any company tonight? I could join you if you want."

Dear God this woman was thick headed. "Actually, now that you mention it, just bring the bottle and a second glass." Darla's eyes lit up. "My date should be here any minute now." The polite smile that he gave her before looking back towards his paperwork widened when he heard an insulted huff as she turned on her heel and walked away.

Finally giving up the fight for concentration that he was sorely losing, Mitch tossed the documents to the side just as Darla brought his wine to the table. He took a long drink from his glass and let his mind wander. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and smelling the scent of cherry blossoms and honeysuckle. He couldn't recall a time when a woman had ever possessed him to the point that Janette had. She occupied his thoughts day and night He could even smell her when she wasn't there.

"Mitch?"

Startled from his thoughts, Mitch's eyes flew open and his breath caught when he laid eyes on the woman standing before him. He'd never seen her looking so beautiful. He let his gaze slowly roam from her hair braided loosely down her back, her nervous big brown eyes, fair skin and full, glossed lips, down to the light blue dress with sheer sleeves covering three quarters of the way down her arms. He sat there unable to move, surprised that she had come.

Janette stood there for what seemed like forever, desperately fighting the urge to fidget with her watch, her necklace, her earrings... whatever her fingers could find that didn't run away from her. She had never felt so nervous in all of her life, as Mitch just sat there staring at her as though she was a zoo animal in a cage. Oh good Lord, what was I thinking, she thought. Just say something already. "Um... I'm sorry. I...I shouldn't have come here," she said in an anxious whisper. She turned and started walking away, almost stumbling in her ridiculous heels.

Mitch stood suddenly. "Wait! Janette, please don't go." He walked quickly to her and took both of her hands in his. "I'm sorry. You caught me off guard. I didn't think you would come after my behavior this morning."