Page 1 of Anchored To You

Chapter

One

TALON

One Year Earlier

Spinning around on my stool, I look at how empty Zomb-Bar is tonight. Of course it's empty, tonight's the annual Creelin U bonfire. Which I should be at, but for some reason I'm not feeling it right now. Maybe it's because I just broke up with Jeff a couple of weeks ago and I'm not ready to see him, or maybe it’s because each time I've gone to the bonfire, I've gotten drunk and made stupid decisions. Like meeting Jeff in the first place. Some connections are simply not meant to become actual relationships. He’s one of those people who should have remained a hookup. But you live, you learn, right?

I thought coming to Zomb-Bar would take my mind off being nervous about starting my junior year at CU, but there is nothing and no one here to distract me. There’s maybe a handful of people in the bar, but even those people seem to be wrapping up their drinks and getting ready to leave. I wave goodbye to Henry, a Vampire who was in one of my classes last year. He gives me a brief signal before transforming into a bat and flying out the door.

Turning back around, I chug my shot of Vampire Vodka, raising my hand in the air trying to get the bartender's attention. He quickly fills up my small glass before taking off down the counter to go talk with the cute girl that’s sitting on one of the stools. The Vampire Vodka burns going down, and I wince, shaking my head. I am not usually one to take shots of liquor, but the nerves are running rampant tonight, and it seems to be the only thing that’s currently calming me down.

"Is this seat taken?" A gruff voice asks, causing goosebumps to rise on my arms at the shock of him being so close. The screech of the stool moving hits my ears, making me wince and hunch down. I turn to face the guy who couldn't even wait for me to answer his question, ready to ask him to find another chair.

"Actual-" my words get cut off when I see the stunning man standing in front of me. He definitely goes to CU, since he's wearing a Creelin U baseball shirt. He's way taller than me; he has to be at least six feet with dark brown hair and these gorgeous blue eyes I wouldn't mind getting lost in. "No," I shake my head, probably a little too eagerly, but whatever.

"Cool. It's pretty dead in here, huh?" He laughs, gesturing around the space.

I glance across the bar again, agreeing with him. " Yeah, it's quite empty."

"No, get it. It's dead in here. Dead at Zomb-Bar. "Oh god, if I have to explain it, then it isn't funny anymore," he grimaces, lowering his head.

"Ohhh," I drag out, finally realizing what he meant. "That was actually pretty funny." I chuckle at his joke, even if I didn’t fully understand it at first.

"It's okay, you don't have to fake laugh for my benefit. I'm Beck, by the way," he says, reaching his hand out.

I shake his hand, my gaze stuck on where our hands connect. He has rather large hands. Huge and rough, just how I like them. "I'm Talon. Are you new to CU?"

He sits up straight in his seat, a beaming smile appearing on his face. "Yep. It's my first year here. I didn't think I was going to get into CU, so I was so damn excited when I got my acceptance letter."

"Are you a human?" I ask, knowing that Creelin U officially opened its doors to humans for the first time this year.

"I am. You?" The bartender comes to us, and Beck orders a Boowery Beer before directing his attention back to me. "Well?"

"Oh, no. I'm not a human, I'm actually a mermaid."

"Holy shit, I've never met a mermaid before." He looks down at my legs, confusion etched on his face.

"I'm a shifter," I laugh, realizing he was expecting to see my fins.

"Woah, how does that work?" He scoots his stool closer to me and I don’t hate it. Hell, if I’m being honest he could scoot another inch closer if he wanted to.

"Basically, any time I touch water, I can shift into my true form. But I can also control it so I don't shift every time I come into contact with water. I can take a shower and not worry about my fins knocking down all my shampoo and soap bottles." I joke, chuckling when he laughs loudly. Most people seem to think anytime I touch liquid that my tail fins automatically come out, but that’s not true. When I was younger, it was harder for me to regulate my shifting, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to figure it out.

"Damn, I'm so fascinated by that. I grew up not too far from Creelin, so while I knew about monsters and shifters, I wasn't really around them as much. The school I went to only had humans. When I found out that CU was opening its doors to humans, I knew I had to apply. I didn't think I would get in, but holy shit, I'm so glad I'm here. Earlier today, I noticed some monsters hanging around. I have a feeling this is going to be an exceptional year."

"CU is a great school. I've had the time of my life here. Honestly, with how excited you are, I'm surprised you're not at the campfire. If you haven’t noticed," I tell him, gesturing in the vicinity of the empty bar, “most people are gathering over there right now.”

"Ah, yeah, I heard of the infamous bonfire, but I don't really know anyone here, so I thought it might be weird if I showed up to a party by myself. But I guess showing up to the Zomb-Bar by myself was just as strange."

"I can go with you if you don’t want to go alone. I was about to head that way myself," I clamp my mouth shut, chastising myself. What the fuck, Talon? You don't even want to go to the damn bonfire. And you sure as hell weren’t planning to go at all.

"Yeah? You wanna come with me? I wouldn't say no to spending some more time with you."

Is he flirting with me? He turns his body so that his knee bumps into mine. Instead of moving it, he leaves it there, tingling racing up my spine. Yep, he's definitely flirting with me.

"I uh, wouldn't mind enjoying more time with you either." I bump my leg into his, letting him know I’m just interested in him as it seems he is in me.