Grayslake: Never Kiss a Wolf (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Eliza Gayle Page A

of her life and now it was about to come crashing down on her head. Apparently her new life was about as secure as a house of cards.
    "What about water, dear? I could get you some."
    Lily shook her head. These women were already doing more than enough by letting her take their seats and interrupt their dinner. What kind of person acted like this on the job?
    A scared out of her mind one, that’s who.
    That thought made her want to throw up all over again. After spending most of her life being afraid of her own shadow the last thing she wanted to do was go back. She was an independent woman now. And she had a new clan willing to accept her.
    Oh no. Her head shot up. They would all be in danger if her family was in town. They would allow nothing or no one to stop them from getting to her. It was their way. They followed no one’s laws but their own.
    Growing up she'd heard the stories. The few people who'd dared to run away had all been tracked down. Some came back and spent years making up for their betrayal and others never came back and not because they got to keep their freedom.
    The family didn't take kindly to their kin abandoning the clan.
    This would start a war.
    "Oh look, Doris. There they are. The two hunky men looking for their missing female. It looks like they are headed this way."
    Lily's stomach cramped. This couldn't be happening. There had to be another way. She jumped from the booth and bolted for the kitchen door. Yes, she was a scared jackrabbit, but at least they were smart enough to run from danger instead of toward it.
    Steam and heat from the kitchen slammed into her already overheated body and she grabbed the edge of the nearest counter to steady herself.
    "Lily, what are you doing back here again? Do you need something?" Edward, the cook and co owner of the diner with his wife Nellie, stood several feet away with his hands wrapped around a spatula and a worried look on his face.
    She shook her head. The only thing she needed right now was an escape route. Except it was too late for that. By now they would have picked up her scent that led them right to her.
    "Then why are you standing there? We've got a bunch of customers waiting on their food." He pointed at the plates that were stacking up on the metal shelf of the servers window.
    She sighed. Considering she was the only waitress on duty tonight it was her job to take care of them.
    "I don't feel so great," she whispered.
    "Oh my God. Please tell me you are not pregnant." Nellie, Edward's wife emerged from the office and threw her hands up in the air. "Ed, honey, I don't think I can take another one so soon. Is there something in the water around here? It's one right after the other these days." She pressed her hands to her head and changed direction back to the office. "Where's the Excedrin? I'm pretty sure I feel a migraine coming on."
    "Not pregnant," she choked out.
    Nellie swung back. "You sure?"
    Lily nodded. Oh yeah, she was sure. It had been so long since anyone visited down there, there were probably cobwebs forming. And there sure as hell wasn't anything happening on the horizon. The men around here seemed to have a strict hands-off policy when it came to her.
    Not that any of that mattered anymore with her family waiting in the dining area for her to emerge. For a half a second she considered the back door before counting that out. They would be prepared for that.
    "Then please, honey, get your strange butt out there and serve this food before we have a riot on our hands. I can't deal with crazy tonight."
    Lily groaned. She could either face the music and hope some magical plan of escape struck her, or she could make another run for it and leave everything here behind. Including this job that she really did like, including Nellie and Edward who'd been nothing but kind to her.
    Yes, everyone else seemed to be wary of her half the time. But as their waitress at the only diner in town, they tolerated her and she hoped to grow on some of