Raven (Book One of the Dark Lycans Series)

I walked over to the bar, my head held high. Behind the bar, there were four male bartenders. The owner followed me, and sat on one of the bar stools. I stood in front of him, the bar counter between us.

"What do you want? I can make anything," I asked the owner. He tapped a finger on his chin as he thought.

"Panamanian Soother," he replied with a raised eyebrow, as if giving me a dare. I smirked, it was one of my favorites.

After a little bit of searching, I found a glass, muddler, and a shaker. I turned around to see a fridge. I took blueberries, sage leaves, agave nectar, and orange juice.

"My god, you have everything!" I exclaimed to the owner. He chuckled and nodded.

Using the muddler, I crushed the berries and sage together, before placing the pulp into the shaker. I added ice, orange juice, agave nectar, Ron Abuelo Añejo, and beer to the pulp in my shaker. I took the glass and placed it on the end of my shaker before holding it above my shoulder. I shook very little, more to mix than anything.

Holding the shaker so the glass was on top, I set the glass onto the counter before filling it with ice. I flipped the strainer over the open end, then pour the yellow-orange liquid over the ice. I garnished it with a fresh sage leaf and handed it to the owner.

I found a clean rag and wiped down the area I worked.

"Holy shit that's good!" I heard someone say. Looking up, I saw the owner holding up his drink with a shocked expression. He looked at me and I smiled.

"Have you had a job as a bartender before?" He asked, sipping his drink.

"At one point I worked for The Retreat, but I left to do other business." I replied casually. His eyes widened further.

"The Retreat? No wonder you are so good. You're hired by the way." He rose his glass to me and smiled.

I chuckled, The Retreat was one of the top bar and nightclubs in North America. I was assigned to kill the pack there, over a two month period. It was one of my hardest assignments, to wipe out an entire pack one by one.

"What do I need to know?" I asked, curious about my schedule. He nodded and gestured for me to follow him.

I walked behind him, and when I looked back, I saw his glass was sitting on the counter, empty. Smiling that he liked my drink, I followed him back to his office.

Inside, there were two leather chairs facing a large wooden desk. He sat behind the desk and gestured for me to sit down. I sat in one of the leather chairs and crossed my legs.

"My name is Jeffrey Douglas. You may call me Jeff." He introduced himself.

"It is nice to meet you, my name is Raven Blackwood." I shook his hand. Thankfully, he was not a werewolf so he didn't know my name.

"Would you rather work during the day, or are you willing to work at night?" He asked, flipping through some papers on his desk.

"Actually, I prefer to work at night. Much more fun," I replied with a mischevious smile.

"Okay, then you will work from 9 pm, to 3 am. Since you decided to work at night, you will get two 15 minute breaks at 11:00 and 1:00." I nodded.

"Do I have a uniform?" I asked.

"No, but you do have to dress formally. The other bartenders will be wearing suits." He explained.

"Anything else I need to know?"

"You are paid daily, and your pay, is based off how many menu items you sell. Let's take a tour, and I'll give you a copy of the menu. Which, you need to memorize." Jeff stood from his chair, and I followed him out of his office.

"Okay." Its a good thing I have a great memory, I thought.

Jeff led me towards what I can only assume is the kitchen. Inside, there were several chefs bustling about. It smelled delicious, and I noticed that they were extremely busy.

"We serve traditional bar food, and you will be responsible to take food orders at times." I nodded in understanding. We began to walk back towards the bar.

"You will put the orders into the computer, and they will print out in the kitchen if its food, and if its a drink it will print at the bar. This is your station," he said gesturing to the center of the bar.

"I assume you know how these computers work?"

"Yes, we used these at The Retreat." I replied. He nodded and handed me two laminated menus.

"Here are the drink and food menus. You start work tomorrow, have them memorized."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." I shook his hand again.

"Oh, and you get to keep tips." I grinned and nodded. After saying goodbye, I walked across the street to a small boutique.

Inside, it was filled with summer clothes. I heard a faint ring sound when I opened the door.

"Hello my dear! My name is Helen, now what can I do you for?" A cheery voice calls from the back of the store.

I watched as a middle aged woman walked up to me. She had graying hair and a kind smile.

"My names Raven, and I just need to get some clothes. I am staying in town for a little while, and I just need some things to wear." I explained with a smile.

"Well, have a look around and let me know if you need any help." She clapped her hands before shuffling to the back of the store.

I walked over to a rack filled with dresses. After grabbing a few that were my size, I headed to the back of the store and into the dressing room.

I tried on several dresses, tops, shorts, and went to the cash register. Helen was waiting with a grin, and took my clothes from me. She scanned them and told me the price.

I wasn't surprised when she said it was several hundred dollars, after all, I did get 20 different outfits.

"I left my credit card at home, is it okay if I just give you the number?" I asked.

"Of course sweetie," she said brightly. I slowly told her the number of my credit card. It was connected to the account the Hunters paid me through. They most likely stopped paying me but I had several hundred thousand dollars saved up in that account.

"Perfect, now would you like a receipt?" I shook my head and took the bags from her.

"Thank you!" I called before exiting the boutique. The three bags were very light, so it didn't take any effort to carry them.

The path back to Lilli's house was quiet like before, but it was darker this time. I was five minutes from her property when I collapsed.

I felt a huge amount of pressure in my head as I dropped to the ground. I cried out when the pressure made my head feel like it was going to explode.

Akira! Whats going on? I thought, panicking.

I'm so sorry Raven. Its the packs mind link. Something happened and all of the pack is trying to communicate at once. Blake is trying to contact you at the same time. I can't stop it I'm so sorry!

A familar voice suddenly broke through a barrier, calling my name. I could barely make out Blake's voice, as everything went black.