Ch. 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

~Drake:

I was getting hammered. I couldn’t seem to stop drinking. And it took a lot to get a werewolf drunk. But I was feeling it. A lot.

I don’t know how Archer found this place or why it was so packed tonight, but the energy in the place was contagious. I came in here expecting to find a sad, dilapidated building and older regulars from the area. Instead it was full of singles and couples dancing, dark booths, and a large variety of drinks. It was more of a club than a bar.

Archer and I were honestly having a really good time. There were plenty of attractive girls on the dancefloor and we ended up hanging around a group of girls in town for a bachelorette party. Archer wasn’t as into them as I might be. But it could be lonely as an older werewolf with no mate on the horizon. One of them in particular seemed into me and we went back and forth between dancing and picking up new drinks at the bar. I bought a round of shots for the group and we gathered at their booth. 

The girls were getting ready to leave for their next stop, and Laurie, the girl I had been flirting with, gave me her number. We waved them off before sitting at some stools at the bar.

“Are you going to call her?” Archer asked me.

I thought about it for a moment before saying, “No.”

Archer looked at me and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“I might like company, but I can’t get a human involved in my world. Why hurt someone like that? Plus, she could have some guy out there for her. I couldn’t do that to either of them.”

“Wow, a big softie after all,” Archer teased me.

I shoved his shoulder lightly while sipping on my whiskey. “Yeah, yeah hotshot. Like you feel any differently.”

He gave me a look that told me he didn’t. He knew exactly what I meant.

We stopped talking for a minute when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I whipped my head back around and stood up quickly, walking over to a dirtbag I didn’t get a good look at. But I had seen it. What he had done. I grab the glass out of his right hand, startling him.

“Hey!” he said, startled.

“That’s disgusting,” I gumbled back.

The girl he was walking towards walked over to us. “Everything okay Eric?” She looked back and forth between us.

“It is now,” I said, turning to her. “He just dropped something in your glass. And I’m pretty sure he wasn’t going to tell you about it.”

Her mouth opened.

“That’s not true!” Eric the creep insisted.

“So the thing I saw you drop in here that fizzled away, that was what? Extra flavoring? A breath mint?” I asked back, gripping his wrist to the point of breaking.

“If it’s so cool, why don’t you drink it?” Archer said, coming up to my side. “We’ll wait and watch.”

Eric tried wiggling out of my grasp but I just held tighter, starting to break it. 

“Drink up,” I said, looming down at him.

We stood there and he drank it down. The poor woman standing with us called a friend to pick her up while we waited. 

We brought the c**t outside with us when it became obvious that he had indeed drugged that glass. The woman left and I reassured her we would take care of him.

By ‘take care of him’, I mean I grabbed him by the throat and waltzed him back into the woods, Archer following along, while I beat him within an inch of his life. 

I was kicking the sh*t out of him when Archer had to stop me forcefully. I was losing myself in my anger at this despicable guy, and my own stuff - to be honest.

Stopping was always a struggle. Dane always felt - stronger - once I started going for blood. He’s never told me to stop. In fact, he had been egging me on with images in my head of what he had done and what he had intended to do, over and over on repeat.

“Just leave it, it’s done,” Archer said, pushing me back with one firm hand. I knew he was right. This guy, evil as he was, was still human. I couldn’t really unleash full strength on him. Although, I never did use full strength. Partly because I knew it was dangerous for me, and partly because it would’ve usually been one kick or one punch and the game would be over. Which was no fun for me or for Dane.

Archer called an ambulance anonymously and we left him some blocks away by the road. I was still pissed, even though I knew Archer was making the right moves for us. Racking up a bunch of dead bodies in our area would be a dumb thing to do.

“Well, that was kind of a mood killer,” Archer said. “No, no. I know - I’m glad you stopped that. Seriously. That guy is disgusting. But I wanted you to have fun tonight.”

“I did. I am,” I insisted.

“Want to go for a quick run and reset?” Archer asked me after a second.

I agreed.

We walked off to shift and spent a good hour out there just letting loose before heading back. I had wanted to head straight home after but Archer insisted on one more drink. I relented and we headed inside to find the place still very much alive. We headed towards the bar again when the most amazing scent came my way before I even had the chance to sit. Like a hot chocolate, with mint in it. I opened my eyes wide and gripped onto the bar in shock.

“What is it?” Archer asked, panicked, trying to read my face.

I whipped my head around and saw her then. Walking out the side door, little black dress, shoulder-length brown hair. I couldn’t make out her face, but I knew it before Dane filled me in.

MATE.