What a Girl does for Family

Tara knew enough about the Wild Wolf. If she could get in. The club lived up to its name. There was everything from gambling to a sex dungeon. She’d seen the women enter with their rich mates or lovers. They went there to get their rocks off. While the rabble, like Tara, worked themselves into an early grave. They didn’t get the luxury to be horny, only hungry.

She didn’t have sexy clothes. Tara’s wardrobe included jeans, sweats, t-shirts, and a ratty winter coat. The money she saved would replace her coat became the money she used to buy a sexy outfit from a charity shop. She’d time to shop. The Wild Wolf opened at nine that evening.

The papers Alpha Elmwood dropped off told her everything. Eddie hadn’t said he’d been skimming off the top and he’d gambled with it. Eddie used his winnings to cover his theft. This time, there were no winnings. He’d run before they caught him.

Their daddy taught them to gamble, and Tara learned from his mistakes. Their father had died from a bullet to the head when he won at a table with the wrong people.

Shifters may heal fast, but no one healed after losing half their head. She’d learned to count cards while learning gambling was a death sentence.

Here she was trying on fancy underwear and a dress she’d wear nowhere else. Had she truly learned that lesson?

It was a miracle she’d found shoes to match the underwear in her size. This was crazy, what was she doing?

Eddie had described the club at one time.

The men often shed their suit jackets and shirts to walk about in their pants and boots. The women, he said, shed their clothes and walked about in sexy underwear or naked. It was as scandalous as it sounded.

For Tara, matching underwear was a pipe dream. She was lucky to have clean underwear sometimes. It costs so much to wash clothes, so she often washed her stuff in the bathtub and hung it to air dry in their room.

Now, she stood in the change room looking at her shapeless body in a black lacy push-up bra with matching panties and garter belt. It must have been from someone’s failed sexy getaway because the black stockings were still in their original package.

There’s a little more bad karma to heap on this effort. She needed to come out with twenty-two thousand dollars and Alpha Elmwood left her with two thousand.

She’d have to be careful. Places like this had people on the look out for people doing exactly what she’d do tonight. Counting cards, a form of cheating the house. This didn’t sit well with her, but what was she to do? Her job wouldn’t pay rent let alone this debt. Alpha Elmwood threatened to kill Eddie and abandon her.

It was after lunch and Tara hid in her room, eating little of the food she’d scavenged from the supermarket’s dumpster. It was canned food and a carton of orange juice all about to expire in two days. Here it wouldn’t last that long. She didn’t care about expiry dates beyond it was free.

She’d waited and thought about what she’d say to get into the club. The hours ticked by, and she tried calling Eddie several times. No answer his number only rang. She felt so isolated and betrayed. How could he have done this? They were family, blood. He knew this was a bad path.

Finally, at eight, Tara put on what little makeup she had, did her blonde hair up in a messy bun, and slipped into the outfit. She only knew how to put her hair into this style. Her mother hadn’t stayed around after her father’s death to teach her much more.

Tara had been fourteen and Eddie, twelve. She became his mom and raised Eddie the best way she could. Missing both her parents terribly, knowing there was no way to go back to what their lives were. She assumed her mother left and faded from life like some wolves did after their mates die.

Tara used public transit to get to the Wild Wolf. It was an enormous square building with a neon sign of the wall of a Wolf with wild eyes gnashing its teeth. The sign read Wild Wolf Private Members Club.

Basically, anyone old enough to drink could enter the first bar, but members and guests could go deeper into the bowls of depravity.

She entered the bar easily enough. With only one odd encounter, a bouncer at the door leaned toward her and sniffed her. Then he said, “Go on through, little lady, but mind your manners, you never know when a wild wolf will pounce on a tasty treat like you.” His grin told her he was enjoying himself far too much.

Tara was ready to turn tail and run, but where would she run to? The Elmwood Pack wouldn’t keep her if she didn’t come back with twenty-four thousand dollars.

So, she entered the bar while she nervously smiled at the bouncer. A quick look around, she could see a few people drifting off through a doorway where two more bouncers lounged on barstools. One or two people were stopped and not allowed any further.

Tara chickened out on her first pass and entered the ladies’ room. She looked at herself in the mirror and tried to psych herself up.

It would be easier if she knew more about getting in. She was there alone. Did she need a man to take her through?

The night was young, she’d get a drink and study the people entering the backrooms.

She walked out of the bathroom and to the bar. There she waited to get the attention of the bartender. A huge burly wolf shifter by his eyes golden wolf-eyes, even in his human skin. Tara was always jealous of that. She had pale green eyes and her only wolf tell was the slight red in her blonde hair. No wolf she knew had green eyes, even her parents.

“What will you have, little lady?”

“Oh, uh, rum and coke, please.”

“ID please Miss.”

“Yeah, sure.” People assumed she was young because of her lack of curves. So this was something she’d expected. “Here you go.” She gave him her ID and a twenty-dollar bill to pay for the drink.

“Thank you. I’ll be right back with your drink.” The place was filling fast, and she was too short to see the door to the backrooms or the bouncers sitting on either side of it.

Tara accepted the drink. “Thanks.” She turned away from the bar, but not before she saw a curious look pass from the bartender to someone in the crowd behind her. She didn’t think much of it as she searched for a seat. Which appeared impossible to find.

There was a hand suddenly on her elbow. Tara gasped in surprise as she looked up into the face of the bouncer from the front door. “My dear, you’re late for the party. What are you doing out here?” He ushered her towards the back rooms. “Gentlemen, if you’d call Rachel, we have a new member who needs a friendly wild wolf welcome.”

He’d skipped the line of shifters waiting to enter and left her with the bouncers. Tara saw a bouncer use an earpiece to contact someone. While they leered at her. She couldn’t keep eye contact with either bouncer after one licked his lips.

“Rachel will be here in a moment. If you’ll step through, you can wait there.”

“Yes, of course, thank you.” Tara blushed and gave the others in line a sheepish look of apology as she entered. On the other side of the door was a room with four more doors leading from it. The doors each had a silhouette on them. Two female, and two male silhouettes. One male and one female were kneeling, while the others stood with whips in their hands.

Tara expected a gambling den, not a game of which door to choose.

“Welcome, I’m Rachel. You must be new here. Normally we give a tour to new members during the day, but every member is welcome.” She winked every time she said member like it was the funniest thing. “Now, what are your interests, my dear?”

“I, uh… came looking to relax, maybe gamble a little, and have a drink or two.”

“Well, my dear. I think we can interest you in so much more.” Tara could barely look Rachel in her blue eyes. She had too much personality, and Tara was too nervous. Again, she wanted to run.

“Let’s get you out of your street wear and then you’ll more comfortable. Then we can find something interesting for you to do-.”

“What?”

Rachel ushered Tara through the door with the kneeling woman silhouette. Now, Tara understood these were locker rooms. “Now, available lockers have keys in their locks. Just slip out of your dress and let’s see what we have.”

Tara was about to protest when Rachel stopped her. “This is how we dress; you’ll look and feel out of place. Come on, let’s see what you have. We’re all shifters. You can walk around naked under the full moon, then you can walk around in fancy underwear.” Tara couldn’t argue with that. It was true. Even though she knew this might happen, Tara was self-conscious of her appearance. “Keep your purse. You’ll need to setup an account.” Tara nodded and avoided looking directly at Rachel. Instead, she watched the floor and her hands as she removed her dress.

“Not bad. You’ll fit in. Now, lock up, and follow me. I’ll take you to the cashier.” Rachel ushered Tara from the room. “What’s your name, dear?”

“My name? It’s Tara.”

“Well, Tara, I’m glad you’re here. Bill, we need an account. Tara, I need to look in on someone. Bill will help you set up your account. By the time that’s done, I’ll show you around.”

“Thank you, yes, of course.” Tara wasn’t sure what was going on or what to say. It was all so fast. She knew she was trapped playing along. She’d made it this far, maybe she could do this..

“If you’ll fill this in and sign the highlighted areas, we’ll get you some chips.” Bill, too, seemed nice when he handed her a clipboard with documents. There were several and Tara was sure she wouldn’t understand them if she read them.

Bill was an older shifter with streaks of white at his temples. He kept his eyes off her breasts, but she could tell that it was an effort. Tara filled in the card and signed documents on the clipboard. It wasn’t any information she’d ever had given out before and finally signed her name in a few places. Nothing would trace back to the old motel or her pack. She knew once tonight was over, she’d never need it again.

“That’s perfect, though I’m not sure how a little mouse like you will play with the big boys. Well, maybe one of them will take pity on you when you lose and let you work off any debts.”

“Work off debts?” Tara wasn’t sure she liked that.

“Oh, it’s not a hardship. It’s all about pleasure and service.” As if on cue, Tara heard the crack of a whip and the sound a woman’s cry of ecstasy. Tara froze surprised and felt exposed as her body responded to the sounds.

“Ah, the floor show has started. This is done. Here’s your chips. Good luck. If you stand there while you wait for Rachel, you’ll see the floor show.”