"Emojin," David said through the bars. "Thank you. We finally cornered her."
"I haven't said I'd do it," she said, and I stepped on Wayde's foot. He backed up, and I felt better. "Rachel Morgan?"
I felt trapped as her brown eyes hit me. "Uh, I'm sorry," I said, feeling like I was back in kindergarten. "I was an ass for standing you up, but I wasn't ready, and I don't like being pushed. Will you accept my apologies?"
She took a deep breath, holding it as she looked me up and down again. "Maybe. Come on in and let me hear you talk some."
Hear me talk? I mused, but she had unlocked the wrought-iron door and turned away, moving her bulk with grace as she went deeper into the store.
David opened the door for me, and feeling like I was being coddled, I went inside. Wayde came in behind me, and finally David. They shut the door with a soft thunk, sealing us inside. I took a slow breath, letting the place seep into me.
The first thing I noticed was a lack of echo. It was warm, too, almost eighty, I guess, and I immediately relaxed. The cement floor had been painted with a fantastic array of colors, mimicking a tattoo. Most of it was faded. The walls were covered in sketches, clearly several layers deep. There was a seating arrangement up front made from old bus seats and a hairdresser's chair, a huge, stained microwave and coffee urn beside it. Three separate rooms that would have been offices anywhere else took up one side of the store. They didn't have any doors, but the ceiling-to-waist-high windows had blinds, and they were closed.
Emojin had shifted her bulk behind a U-shaped, businesslike counter in the center of the store. The scratched glass cabinets held jewelry for body piercing. Behind her were deep shelves with sketchbooks of all sizes, the largest thicker than a wallpaper book.
Seeing David and me making our way to the counter, Wayde put his thumbs into his pockets and sauntered over to the young woman who'd answered the door. Mary Jo, maybe? She looked up from the invoices she was going over and smiled, and I rolled my eyes.
"So you're David's alpha?" Emojin said as I halted before her. She was eyeing me pensively as she settled herself on a high stool before a state-of-the-art monitor and keyboard. "You're nothing like the other girls."
Pulling myself straight, I extended my hand over the counter to her. "I'm Rachel," I said, feeling her smooth, unworked hand slip coolly into mine. "I don't want to be a bother," I said, looking over the clearly closed store.
Emojin's pale eyebrows rose. "Too late for that," she said sourly. "Well, you're here, but I'm not going to do this if you don't want it." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked from David to me. "I know he dragged you here. Let me hear it."
I was so embarrassed. "I want this," I said, then glanced up, seeing her tight expression of disapproval. "Really. I've been unconscionably rude to you and to David. And the rest of the pack. I was unprofessional in standing you up, and I'm sorry. I was just scared."
The big woman grunted in surprise, and her arms uncrossed. "Still scared?" she asked, the first hints of her mood softening starting to show.
I looked at David, then Wayde, who had rolled up his sleeve to show off one of his tattoos to the young woman, and then back to Emojin. "Yes," I blurted out, and David winced. "But I'm scared about a lot of things that I do. I want this more than I'm scared." The skin around my eyes tightened as I looked at Wayde. "If I had really wanted to get away, I would have."
Exhaling heavily, Emojin nodded. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but okay. I'll do it. And I accept your apology."
I sighed, not realizing until now how much this meant to me. "Thank you. I'm really sorry. I do some of the stupidest things sometimes."
Emojin glanced up. "You think this is one of them?"
"No," I said quickly. "I meant ignoring this was. I should have handled it better."
"Well, it's done," the big woman said. Beside me, David had regained his excitement, and was leaning on the glass counter until Emojin tapped a hand-lettered sign taped to the top telling him not to.
"You're a witch, right?" Emojin muttered as her fingers clicked over the keyboard. She had a beautiful voice, as soft and full as the rest of her. Her perfume was nice. Sort of a powdery coolness. "We have David's basic design on file."
David ducked his head, tugging his coat straight as he looked up eagerly again. "I'd like to add to it to show her higher status."
Emojin stared at her monitor as one finger kept tapping a key, scrolling. "Not a problem. I thought you might."
Something special? For me? "Really?" I said, then warmed at the eagerness in my voice.
David smiled, showing his teeth, taking my hand and giving it a quick squeeze before letting go. "Of course. This is important to me."
And here I'd been avoiding it. God! I was such a jerk.
Behind Emojin, Wayde was following the younger woman to one of the "offices." She flicked on the light and put her hand on the Were's chest, stopping him at the archway. Telling him to stay outside, she started to clean everything. The smell of antiseptic tickled my nose, and Emojin lit a stick of incense, waving it briefly before dropping it into a dusky bottle to smoke to nothing.
"Here's your registered design," she said as she spun the screen to David and me, and we both leaned closer, being careful to not put our weight on the glass. The basic tattoo was a simple dandelion flower gone to seed, the fluffy parachutes being black instead of white, and the green stem coming from a small cluster of leaves. The moon was behind it. It was nice, I guess, but David clearly wanted something special. To be honest, it wasn't doing anything for me. I was just happy the other ladies hadn't wanted broomsticks and bats.
"I'll do the draw myself," Emojin said, and I blinked in surprise. She had put on a pair of round-rimmed glasses, reminding me of Al as she looked over them at me. "But Mary Jo will color you in. She's my daughter and almost as good as me."
"Okay," I said, glancing at Wayde and Mary Jo. She was pushing him out of her way, firmly pointing a finger to the front waiting area. The guy didn't have a chance, but they both looked like they were enjoying the game.
"A tattoo should have meaning beyond its individual art," Emojin was saying as she tapped the design. "What can you bring to this that is entirely you?"
Wincing, I tilted my head. "I don't know. What do you think, David?" I asked, seeing that he'd clearly given this a lot more thought than I had. I was such a bad alpha.