Lowlander Silverback (Gorilla Shifter Royalty 1) Read Online Free Page A

of Kong’s crew laughing over a game of pool in the corner. Her crush was sitting at the table near them, looking somber as he studied the label of his beer. Usually, he was happy and animated with the people around him. He seemed like one of those genuine nice guys who talked respectfully to the women in the shifter crews and was apparently good friends with some of the men. Or males? She wasn’t really up on shifter lingo, though she supposed she should be. This was the biggest gathering of registered shifters in the world, right here, at the bar she worked, and she suddenly felt as if she knew almost nothing.
    “Jake said to give this to you,” Denison murmured, slapping three ten dollar bills onto the counter next to his half eaten burger basket. He shoved the rest of the money in his hand deep into his pocket. Jake paid the Becks better than the last boss.
    “Thanks,” she murmured, tucking the money into her pocket. “Can I ask you something?”
    “Shoot,” Denison said around a bite of extra rare burger.
    Brighton ate silently beside him.
    “Do you call shifter girls women or females? And do you call them mates? And if you find your mate, do you marry them, too? Or is that just some human custom you find silly?”
    “Whoa, woman, slow down. Why the sudden interest in shifters?”
    Unable to help herself, she ghosted a glance to Kong, then made herself very busy wiping down the sink behind the bar to hide the heat in her cheeks. Thank God for dim lighting.
    When she looked back up at Denison, he was chewing slowly, staring at Kong with a slight frown. “Layla, I consider you a friend.”
    “Me, too,” Brighton whispered.
    “We’ve known you for a long time, and you were awesome to us when we came out to the public. It didn’t get by us that you were a big part of integrating us into Saratoga. You fought for us to keep playing our gigs, and you fought against the town vote to keep us out of the bar. So I’m going to give you a bit of advice.” He inhaled deeply and leveled her a look as he leaned over the bar. “That one ain’t for you or any other woman in this town. He’s already claimed.”
    Her breath caught in her throat as something green curdled her stomach. “By who?”
    “His people.” Denison leaned back on his barstool and took another bite. “If it’s a shifter you want, Layla, you’ll have to go after a Boarlander.”
    “Denison, you know me better than that. I’m not a groupie.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “It’s not his animal side I’m interested in.”
    Sadness pooled in Brighton’s green eyes, and he lifted the corner of his mouth in a sympathetic smile. “It would be different if he was like us.”
    “Brighton,” Denison warned.
    The twins went back to finishing up their food, and Layla counted down her drawer in a daze. The bar was a ghost town by the time the Beck Brothers started packing their guitars into hard cases and coiling the sound system wires neatly to prepare for next week’s show. They were much tidier than Jackson. Barney paid in cash, and just like every other night, Layla called his brother to come pick him up so he wouldn’t drive home sloshed. And when she turned from the phone on the wall, Kong was there, eyes lightened to a muddy green color and wariness etched into every facet of his face.
    His lips were set in a grim line as he leaned against the bar top. “I need to close out our tab.”
    “Oh. Right.” He wasn’t there to share another unforgettable moment like earlier. This was business. She grabbed his credit card, charged it, and printed out a receipt.
    He lifted a brief flicker of a gaze to her, then signed the receipt with a pen she’d slid toward him.
    “So,” she said nervously. “The show was good tonight.” She kicked herself for her lame conversation skills. She could talk to anyone other than Kong—the one who mattered the most.
    Kong gave her a warning glare, then slammed the pen down and turned for the