Chapter 39: Something Like Reflection

Earl's Diner, Temperance, South Dakota....

By the time Brick got back to the diner, he'd managed to find where he left his clothes after the transformation during the moonlight. The rest of the crew were dutifully awaiting his arrival as they sipped their respective beers ate their meals and chatted about old times and the ones ahead. The older Weres were the first to note Brick's uneasy temperament as he downed bottle after bottle of ice cold beer in a bid to shake himself from the desire to trek over to Layla's house and finish what they started before her odd little friend walked in. She flooded his mind like nothing else as he attempted to ignore the constant throbbing sensation of his rather impressive sized cock and focus his efforts elsewhere. Still, her scent, her voice, and the soft moans that escaped her lips when they were together had only seemed to plague him all the more.

Brick gripped the slim beer bottle and tried his best to ignore the memories of the morning he had before interruption and focus on the task at hand. They still had a job to do after all and the package they were after was getting closer by the day. He attempted to put the events of the past few hours into the back of his mind. Try as he might though, he couldn't help but look for Layla among the waitresses that were on duty that afternoon.

Rooster seemed to know what might have been on the younger werewolf's mind, but didn't say a word as he watched him turn up his bottle of beer and glare at anyone whom had approached him without permission. He and Gunther observed the lad knowing all too well the same affliction of sorts that had gotten to his freedom roaming father had also been what was ailing Brick despite his protests to the contrary. It was a well known fact among the older Weres that once the imprint took hold there was no turning back no matter whom had been against it.

Brick didn't say a word as he'd already been missing Layla despite the amount of time he'd spent at her place.

"Hurts something awful doesn't it." said Gunther taking a seat beside him.

"How would you know?" growled Brick in annoyance.

Gunther sighed and placed a hand on the younger werewolf's shoulder.

"I know." he replied meeting the younger man's eyes. "I know better than anyone."

Brick was confused by this as he turned his attention to the question he had for the old man.

"You too?" he asked with an arched brow.

Gunther nodded silently.

"It was some odd number of years back...she and I were all hot for each other....some truck stop babe and me." explained Gunther. "Unfortunately there wasn't a whole lot of time for us as she was hunted down via a rival were who knew of my association with her and they tore out her throat before I could even get back down to her."

"Shit." said Brick shocked by the gruesome tragedy. "I'm sorry old man."

Gunther nodded.

"Your father helped me tear their pack limb from limb in retaliation, but that didn't make the pain any less dull...not like a few rounds of hootch and hash." continued Gunther. "It's part of the reason your old man was so gung-ho 'bout your mama, even killed the alpha to keep her safe."

Brick looked down into his beer as he thought about his situation with Layla Quinn. He had no doubt in his mind that he'd kill anyone that even attempted to harm her, were or mortal alike. From the moment they met, the pull to be with her had dominated much of his day to day, even when he'd been elsewhere his heart and mind had been consumed by her, devoured by his need to please her more and more.

He took a long slow sip from his icy beer and sighed. There was no use in denying it. The thing he had dreaded all his life had finally come for him dragging him into the deepest depths of need and dependency hook, line, and sinker. It had caught him off guard that she'd been so young and inexperienced when it came to the world, as he always thought it would be someone more his age range that finally reeled him in.

Brick smirked at the thought of it all and the absurdity just the same. He was at the beck n call of a sixteen year old girl from some backwater town whom had not even known what the rest of the world looked like outside of books and the television set but he was bound to her for life it seemed and determined to claim her as his mate whether he wished to or not. The beast inside him had not cared for much but when it came to Layla, it appeared that she meant everything to it, such was the nature of the moon born when bound.

Brick continued to drink his beer as the rest of the crew had done and slowly began to plot their next move. He was sure the sheriff had more work for them and he planned to manage his time with Layla so as not to become too dependant upon her and rush her into anything she didn't wish to do given her inexperience. He wondered if the new found attraction he had to her would affect the rest of his personal inclinations as he was always the horn dog sort even when he thought about having a serious relationship with a woman.

Once more the brute of a wolf put the slick brown glass bottle to his lips and finished off the remainder of his ice cold beer as he attempted for the first time since his association with Layla Quinn had occurred to come to terms with the inevitable. He was in love with her and it appeared that their bond was having the same sort of effect on her. Had her best friend not entered her bedroom, there was no telling how far the two of them would have gone in the heat of the moment.

Once the beer had been empty, Brick's mind had once more gone back to the place he longed to be, back with Layla despite the issues with her father popping up and the fact that she wasn't in the least aware of his true nature.