Chapter 2

Once our food was delivered, Kirk, Oliver, and I were quiet as we listened to the boys talk. They hopped from different fights they saw at the conference to deciding whether or not that wanted to hit up the strip club.

Oliver and Kirk were shaking their heads. One because their sons were in on the conversation, and two because the both of them were happily mated. That kind of place did nothing for them.

Kirk and Oliver were both thirty-six. They started under my dad to help make the transition for me a little smoother. Their mates were both in the pack when they turned eighteen. The both of them mated immediately and they didn’t wait very long to have pups.

Curtis was seventeen and then Kirk had another three pups at home. Oliver was the one who didn’t know when to quit. Jake was also seventeen and the eldest of eight. I wouldn’t put it past him to tell me he was expecting more in the coming months. His mate, Belle, was reserved and quiet and I didn’t know how she handled that many kids.

I was a little jealous. There was no way I couldn’t be. I wanted it. A family with a mate and kids. I didn’t care how late or even if we only had one pup. I wanted the connection and the opportunity to love someone. Someone who the Moon Goddess had picked out for me. Apparently, that wasn’t going to be my fate.

“One of us is going to have to go with them, you realize that, right?” Oliver pointed to Kirk.

Kirk, in turn, wrinkled his nose. “Rock, paper, scissor?”

I rolled my eyes. “I will go. It’s not like I sleep anyways. Plus, I’m not mated. I don’t want you two getting sick on me if some random girl rubs up on you.”

A side effect of the mate bond was that even if you wanted to be sexual with someone else, it would make you sick. It would start with a headache but it could get as bad as landing you in the hospital. Then, if you did have sex with others, you would put your mate in intense pain.

The last thing I wanted was both my Beta and Gamma out of it because they got sick. It could stick with you and even if they weren’t interested in the women, their wolves would fight back. We had a long drive, almost two full days, and I needed their heads on straight since I was running on fumes.

“Are you sure? You need sleep Zayle…”

I raised an eyebrow at Kirk. “Do you want to go?” He wrinkled his nose. “Exactly. I’ll make sure they don’t stay up late. I’d like to get out of here as early as possible.”

“Alright.”

We finished up eating and drove to the sole motel on the far west side of town. With all of us, we took four rooms and headed up to check them. The scent of old smoke seemed to be the worst of it though. Oliver still did check every room for bedbugs and an unmentionable slew of things before clearing us to sleep in them.

I’d have Geoff with me sharing the room since he was in training to be one of the head warriors. None of the kids were thinking about being on duty as they dressed up a little for the strip club.

Rolling up my sleeves, I let my tattoos show as I dressed down for what I was about to walk into. I never had the unfortunate opportunity to walk into this strip club but I could only imagine, considering what the town looked like, what the strip club was hiding. This would not be my idea of fun even on a good night.

Walking down the sidewalk, the entire town was only about five blocks from East to West but it did expand a little further in the other directions. I followed the boys as they laughed, pushing each other like children.

I realized I absolutely looked like the parent in this scenario. It didn’t help that Geoff, who was the tallest at six-one, was still six inches shorter than I was. The dark circles digging under my eyes weren’t helping de-age me either.

We made it to the other side of town where the only sign left was ‘XXX’ lit up in neon red but the middle X was flickering. The whole building had been painted black with someone spray painting three X’s in white over the blacked out entrance. Yeah, this was definitely not where I wanted to be.

Opening up the door, I looked at every one of our boys. “You are not taking anyone back. You are not going to sleep with anyone. You can drink but I’m cutting you off at four drinks. We are leaving at one. I don’t care how much fun you are having, I will Alpha Command you. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Dad.” All of them chimed in at the same time and I was a little taken aback.

They all laughed like it was the funniest thing as they walked past me into the club. Stepping in, I expected it to smell awful but it didn’t. It was dark, with a main stage and a woman spinning around the pole to music. Four human men were sitting at the edge of the stage talking to themselves rather than watching.

There were also a surprising amount of people drinking in the booths and tables scattered around the room. I followed the boys who spied the biggest booth that allowed all of us to sit comfortably. Somehow, I ended up in the center. Getting flanked by three boys on either side of me.

There was something in the air though. Something that smelled off; like it didn’t belong. I could see a few woman, scantily clad, helping serve drinks and taking orders. But nothing out of the ordinary. One of the women came over and licked her lips.

“Well, hello boys. We don’t get many cuties like you around here. Passing through?”

“Just for the night.” Jake answered, his eyes not leaving the woman’s huge breasts.

She smiled and winked. “Well, I can help you with the first round. Then you can decide which of the lovely ladies you would like to join you. I’ll have them all come by and say hi.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. “We do also have a couple Omegas. If you are interested, Alpha.”

The scent that had been throwing me off actually made me miss that she was a wolf. Rolling my shoulders, I leaned back as I tried to clear my head of the scent. I don’t know why it was bothering me but it might have been used on purpose to make everyone, human and wolf, enjoy the company no matter the race.

“I’ll take an old fashioned, if you don’t mind…”

She flipped her hair back. “Cherry.”

“I’ll also be paying for these boys, so it will be all together.”

Her eyes lit up. “Yes, sir.”

The boys ordered their drinks and sure enough, a few of the girls came over and introduced themselves. I was happy to have a drink in my hand when Michael pulled a girl into his lap.

Yeah, I really didn’t want to be here. This was not my idea of fun or relaxing. Suddenly, the scent wafted stronger. It smelled like…a grapefruit? Something citrus but the scent itself felt soured. Like it was past it was prime.

“Do you mind grabbing the rest of the drinks for me, Riley?” Our waitress asked the three working at the bar.

I thought she was speaking to the bartender, but the younger boy was the one that came around. He walked over to us and my eyes widened. To say he was skinny was an understatement. There were people who liked thin but this was going a bit far.

Not to mention the corset he was wearing cinched his waist in even more. The black pants were tight and gave him more shape than I think he really had, while his hair was braided over his shoulder. He was beautiful and I could only guess he was an Omega.

“Anything else I can get you boys?”

This boy, Riley, was the source of the scent. My heart hammered and my wolf, who had stepped back the moment that we walked into this place, came forward. I could feel the table light up as I stared at this little Omega.

‘Mate.’

My entire body started to shake. Riley’s eyes met mine and I felt like I was drowning in them. Not in the good way. They lacked any light or spark. The only way I could describe them was soulless or lifeless. They lacked anything that could possibly be misconstrued as alive. What had this little one been through? Was there even a possibility that I could save him? Had the Moon Goddess really given me this little one as my mate?