Eight

Chloe adjusted the neckline of the sheer black body for what felt like the umpteenth time since putting it on and let out a shaky breath in an attempt to settle her nerves. The dressing room was empty of life except for her but she could not only hear but feel the heavy bass of music thumping and vibrating through the walls from the club. She had only caught a glimpse of what was going on out on the main floor but it seemed busier than usual for a Monday night. It was almost as if every male wolf from this pack and the next had crowded in and was now taking up as much space as possible leaving little room for the girls to move around. Unsurprisingly, Alpha Nathaniel was in his usual booth, surrounded by his personal guards while glowering like a child who had just had their favourite toy taken from them. Even Beta Kevin wasn’t getting through to him as the Alpha’s steel blue eyes remained locked on the table a few rows in front where all of the guests were seated. 

All nearly all of them. Lucas Wolfe was nowhere to be seen. 

Chloe felt her heart jump as the thought of the mysterious werewolf crossed her mind and she took another deep breath and tried to calm her rattled nerves. 

She knew exactly why she hadn’t seen Lucas Wolfe with his friends. He had claimed the VIP suite as his own for the evening and Chloe was to be his sole entertainment. That was why she was still sat in the dressing room trying to will the tremble out of her hands while her friends were outside either dancing, serving drinks or being groped by lecherous men. She ought to have been relieved. She wasn’t being accosted and she was certainly not gaining Nathaniel’s attention but something about Lucas Wolfe made her nervous and confused. He was dangerous and it scared her and excited her all at the same time. 

“Chloe?” Omar’s voice was becoming familiar and there was compassion in his eyes that the other males lacked. “It’s time.” 

She gave a nod, casting one more look at her appearance in the vanity mirror before following Omar out of the dressing room and through the back hallway. She was grateful she wouldn’t have to cross the wolves’ den tonight as she wasn’t prepared to deal with the crowd or her Alpha’s hungry eyes. The walls still vibrated from the sound of the music but the click of Chloe’s heels on the concrete floor now joined in as she hurried to follow Omar. 

“The Alpha isn’t happy about Mr. Wolfe’s request.” Omar muttered as they walked, eyes darting around to make sure they were alone. “He plans to have you come to his room tonight. I’m supposed to escort you there after your show.” 

Chloe’s face went pale and her heart sank into her stomach. Omar didn’t need to spell it out for her. She knew what Nathaniel intended to do to her once he got her alone. Another Alpha male paying her any attention was enough to trigger the jealousy and possessiveness in him. Of course Lucas Wolfe probably didn’t care but then again, he wouldn’t become the target of all that rage. The blonde felt her stomach turn as she tried desperately not to think of all the things he might do to her. 

“You need to convince Mr. Wolfe to keep you for the whole evening.” Omar continued. “The Alpha has been drinking heavily since this morning. I’m sure with a bit of a push, he’ll end up too out of it to do anything but just in case, you need to keep yourself out of his sights.” 

“But Alphas can’t get blackout drunk!” Chloe whispered.

“True but even Alpha’s aren’t immune to Xanax.”

Chloe stopped in her tracks, mouth dropping open in shock. Omar didn't realise immediately that the blonde was no longer following him. He made it seven feet before realising and turned to look back with a confused look. 

"You're going to drug the Alpha?" Chloe whisper-yelled. "Are you crazy?!" 

"Keep it down!" Omar muttered, walking back to the dancer and grabbed her arm gently, tugging her towards the stairs. "But yes. We are going to drug him. But that's not your issue. Just focus on Mr. Wolfe." 

Chloe frowned as she was dragged towards the doors of the VIP suite. Two males that had shoulders as wide as the door and just as tall as it were guarding the empty hallway. They appeared to just be loitering but as she got close, Chloe could see their eyes watching everything around them. They weren't Nathaniel's men. They were too muscular to be. These were wolves that trained hard to be the ultimate apex predator. They didn't need guns to protect themselves. There was a wildness to them as well, as if they were made of petrichor, earth and rock from the unforgiving mountains. Chloe had the sudden urge to shrink back like a kitten under the gaze of a rabid dog. 

"This the girl Mr Wolfe requested." Omar spoke up once they stood in front of the pair. 

The one with dark blonde hair moved, his sharp chiselled features giving nothing away as icy blue eyes took in Omar and then Chloe. She half expected him to give her the same perverted and hungry look the men downstairs would so she was surprised and a little relieved when the man didn't so much as blink as he opened the door and stepped aside. 

Omar stepped forward to enter the room but a hand the size of a dinner plate stopped his progress, pushing him slightly. 

"Only the girl enters." The second guard spoke up, his earth brown eyes hard and challenging. 

"Right." Omar nodded, his olive skin going a couple of shades paler as he stepped back to let Chloe go in alone. 

Chloe felt like she was walking into the lion's den. Her hands which had stopped trembling briefly were at it again and her knees felt like hello. She was scared. There was no use in denying it. She was about to be alone with a mysterious man who Chloe knew just by looking at him, was dangerous. And yet he was wildly different from the men who prowled the packlands. He wasn't a pervert or abuser. She didn't fear he would try to tape her. No, this fear was basal. It was instinct. He was a predator, a supreme beast who didn't lose. 

She didn't hear the door shut as her eyes scanned the dimly lit suite until they landed on the broad back of Lucas Wolfe. He was sat on a stool at the empty bar, a tumbler filled with ice and an amber coloured liquid in front of him. The music was almost nonexistent here and from what Chloe could pick up, it was very different from the stuff they were playing in the main room. 

"Mr. Wolfe?" Chloe forced herself to speak up. 

"I was starting to think Nathaniel had changed his mind." Lucas spoke up, his voice curling around Chloe like a lover. "I guess I underestimated the old man." 

Chloe frowned in confusion, watching as Lucas turned in his seat to look at her. The sight of him was enough to knock the air from her lungs. He was wearing a black Henley shirt that was stretched over his broad shoulder and muscled arms. He was muscled like two mountains guarding the door but Chloe could tell there was strength and agility packed into that hard body that only a well-trained Alpha could possess. It was too dark to see those hazel eyes that were the colour of the wilderness but Chloe thought she saw something akin to desire flash through them making her heart flutter like an excited bird. 

"Would you like me to start?" Chloe managed to get out, squirming in the males presence. 

"How about a drink first?" Lucas offered. "I was hoping we could talk." 

"Oh," The blonde shifted awkwardly, eyes refusing to look at the adonis-like creature before her. "Alpha doesn't like it when we talk to the clientele. He just wants us to dance." 

"Well it can be our little secret." Lucas’ lips formed a crooked smile that was as dangerous as it was delicious. “Unless of course you want to dance?” 

Chloe looked to the small stage that was bathed in red and purple light, the pole shining like a mirror. She had only been to this room to entertain a few times and it had always been with other girls. While she wasn’t ugly or fat, the men that usually hired the suite liked the girls who could fake being into them. They liked feeling like they had a shot with the sexy pole dance, stripper or lap dancer they were drooling over. They didn’t like having to work on a girl to get her to respond to them and Chloe was much too reserved to fill that fantasy. How she hadn’t been relegated to cleaning or worse, the ranch, was beyond her. What she did know was that she didn’t like this room. She didn’t like anything about the club actually but she certainly didn’t like this room. 

No, she decided she didn’t want to dance so looked back at the dark-haired male, biting her lips. She didn’t have to say anything, Lucas’s smile broadened as if he had read Chloe’s mind and motioned for her to follow him to the bar. 

“What would you like?” He asked as he rounded the bar, the pale light that lit up the bar surface almost washing the colour out of his skin. 

“Just a club soda.” Chloe replied as she took a seat. “Please?” 

Lucas raised his scarred eyebrow at Chloe and she was certain that it would have been less suspicious if she had asked for a glass of the club’s most expensive champagne but after that night where her Alpha had tried to rape her, Chloe didn’t want to be drunk ever again especially around men. 

“So do you like it here?” Lucas asked, settling a tall glass with ice and soda in front of Chloe before topping up his own drink. 

“Alpha Nathaniel took us all in when we were orphaned.” Chloe replied, trying to be vague and yet answer the male’s questions in a way that would not draw suspicion. “He saved our lives.” 

“Uh-huh.” Lucas didn’t sound especially convinced and Chloe cursed inwardly. “But he has basically turned you into slaves.” 

Chloe’s eyes widened, her heart leaping into her throat. She didn’t know what to say to that so all she could do was try to overcome the shock while Lucas carefully watched her, observing her reaction to his bombshell. 

“Relax,” The male chuckled, hazel eyes flashing in amusement. “I know what’s going on here. Why do you think we’re here? Nathaniel wants to do business with us and in order to do that he has to be honest with us.” 

Right. Of course. Lucas and his friends weren’t here for a vacation. They were here for business. Nathaniel and Kevin had made it very clear to the girls that a lot was riding on this visit and that they were to do anything they could to make these people happy. If Nathaniel didn’t get the deal he wanted then the girls would suffer the consequences. 

“Sorry,” Chloe blushed and grabbed her drink. “The Alpha said we should do what we can to impress you. I just forgot why you are here.” 

“That’s okay.” Lucas was smiling again. It was soft and kind but there was something dark in his eyes. For a moment Chloe thought he was angry and fought the urge to shrink back. “Do you know what would make me happy, Chloe?” 

She shook her head, too scared to rely on her voice to answer. 

“If you told me what life is like here for you.” Lucas replied. 

It seemed an odd request and Chloe wasn’t sure what to make of it first. It wasn’t her place to question such things though, and from what she had gathered, Lucas was the leader of this group so the one to impress was him. Perhaps if she managed that then Nathaniel would be happy and leave her alone. 

“It’s hard.” Chloe replied quietly. “Alpha Nathaniel looks after us. He feeds us and gives us shelter. He’s very strict though. We are only allowed to eat what he says we can eat. All of us girls lived in the den. We call it that but it’s just a basement which is guarded. We have to exercise four times a week. On the other days we clean the club and the pack house. We aren’t allowed in the kitchen though.” 

“It seems he runs a tight ship.” 

“Oh Alpha does,” Chloe smiled despite herself, feeling a little nervous. “But he does it because he wants us to look our best. He protects us and in return we dance at the club.” 

“Does he…do you have sex with any of the clientele?” Lucas’s face darkened as he asked the question and it was almost as if he couldn’t get the words out, his jaw twitching. 

Chloe shook her head. “Oh no. We aren’t allowed to have any relationships and we aren’t prostitutes. But there is… there’s the ranch.” 

“The ranch?” Lucas tilted his head as his expression brightened. 

“Yeah. It’s where the sex-workers stay.” Chloe replied.

“Ah.” Lucas tilted his head back a bit, his eyebrows raising as he twigged what Chloe was saying. “I must say, I’m impressed. Alpha Nathaniel certainly has a big operation going on here.” 

“He gets a lot of help from his business partners.” Chloe shrugged. “They’re the alphas of two packs near us.” 

“Well that’s been interesting to hear.” Lucas smiled, taking a sip of his drink. “Thank you for sharing that with me. I think I have a much better understanding of what’s going on and how that could work for us.” 

“Did that really help?” Chloe's eyes widened with curiosity. 

“Oh yes,” Lucas grinned, showing off his sharp fangs and pearly white teeth. “You have been a very big help.”