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serious,” the woman continued, not realizing her insult. “Take that one woman. What was her name…Tina! She’s a shifter, but she doesn’t have a boyfriend. I heard some of them say that’s dangerous because the men go nuts over them. She goes down to the bar practically every night to dance and flaunt herself in front of the men, but I hear she’s got her sights set on one man.”
    Folding her arms over her chest, Deja waited for the gossipy bitch to say who the man was. Melanie didn’t appear to have the patience to wait.
    “I’ve heard gossip about her too but not about who she wants. Tell us who. I hope it’s not my Carter.”
    An expression of triumph leaped to life in the woman’s face, a superiority at knowing something neither Deja nor Melanie knew. She drew herself up to her full height, which didn’t reach much past Deja’s shoulder, and Deja considered flashing a little tiger teeth or claws at her.
    “The alpha’s son,” the woman said at last. “And if you ask me, I think she’ll get him. She’s beautiful enough, although I hate to admit it. She’s got that aggression trait the same as the rest of them.”
    Nausea rolled over Deja’s being. She had to suck in several breaths to keep from hurling the light breakfast she’d eaten that morning. Just because rumor had it that this Tina person wanted Heath, didn’t mean she’d get him or that he even wanted her. Deja’s self-esteem wasn’t so low that she’d stand by and let that skank take her man. Then again, she wasn’t sure where the two of them were or if she needed to move on. Either way, it was apparent that neither of these two ladies recognized her, which kind of stung. She began to wonder if Melanie even knew she wasn’t human. Deja and the rest of the shifters could smell a human easy, but the humans had no such capability.
    The woman, whose name Deja hadn’t caught, nodded her head and continued to run her mouth. Deja interrupted, “So the fact that Heath , the alpha’s son, has a mate makes no never mind at all?”
    “Mate?” She rolled her eyes. “They use those ridiculous terms, but I don’t believe it. After all, they were manufactured in a lab, right? How could there be this one person that’s for them, and they bond together so tightly, they never want to cheat? How unrealistic and unlikely is that?”
    Deja’s claws did come out this time, and she curled them into her palms, hoping no other evidence of what she was showed in her face. “You know you have a lot of attitude when you’re talking about the shifters. Why are you even here in a town founded and run by shifters?”
    The woman’s face turned red, and Melanie touched Deja’s arm. “Hey, she’s just frustrated like a lot of us sometimes. No big deal, Deja.”
    If the woman looked upset a second before, at the mention of Deja’s name she appeared about ready to faint. “D-Deja?”
    Yeah, bitch, Deja. “What of it?”
    “Y-you’re his mate, the alpha’s son.”
    Melanie reddened now. “You’re not human?”
    Deja peered from one face to the other and then scanned the store. “This was the closest grocery store to where I’m staying. Don’t tell me we’re down to segregating the stores because I’mma have a problem with that.”
    “Of course not,” Melanie rushed to say.
    Deja curled her fingers around her shopping cart, and both women’s gazes dropped to stare at the claws. Sighing, Deja steered her cart ready to walk away. “Whatever. Have a nice day.”
    Melanie caught up with her, leaving the other woman gaping after them. “Wait, how about we have dinner together tonight, if you’re not busy.”
    Deja stopped in surprise. “You want to be friends? You get that I’m a shifter, right?”
    “And I’m dating a shifter. So what?” Melanie shrugged. “I think you can give me some insight into dealing with Carter.”
    Deja chuckled. “Don’t count on it.”
    “And I need a friend. It’s not easy with my own kind either.”