3...

NICOLAS…

I pick up my drink and take a sip as I watch Annalise continue to dance, yes I knew who she was as soon as I saw her, I automatically lean toward Inga as she says,

“She seems different tonight.”

“Really? How so?”

I turn just a little and watch as she continues to dance changing from one song to the next, I then look back at Inga as she says,

“Normally when she comes in with her friends, they are up on the dance floor dancing with anyone and everyone but she is quiet and shy. She is always at the table, always the one watching the drinks and none of her friends are able to convince her to dance, well very often anyway. Tonight she has only had the drinks I have made for her and hasn’t left the dance floor.”

“Have you been watching the drinks others are giving her?”

“Yes, Alpha. Any drink we suspect to be tampered with doesn’t make it into her hand.”

“Good.”

I don’t condone the use of drugs in my dance club. If my patrons want to do things like that willingly, well, then I have a private section where it can be done and be monitored.

However, if someone is found spiking a drink, or forcing drugs onto another, they get taught a lesson in obeying the rules and then are thrown out and banned from all my clubs for a minimum of 6 months. If they are caught doing the same thing again, then they get a repeat of the lesson and are banned for life.

For most that first lesson is enough to make sure that they never do that in any of my clubs. Inga places her hand gently on my arm, probably one of the few that could get away with touching me without my strict consent, she smiles as I look at her and she says.

“May I speak freely? Alpha.”

“Of course.”

“I don’t know what it is about her but I haven’t seen you like this for a very long time… Um, Alpha…”

“What Inga?”

“You’re not going to do what you normally do with a female you pick up from here, are you?”

“It's none of your business what I have planned for her…” I growl low at her.

I know what she means by my normal, I usually take them in the back fuck them hard and then send them on their way as they mean nothing to me but even I don’t know what I actually have planned for Annalise, and I have a feeling that once I got my hands on her and if I did get to indulge in her for the night, one night isn’t going to be enough and I am going to want more…

Inga lowers her head and whispers, “My apologies Alpha… It’s just…”

“Just what? Inga?”

I take another sip of my drink as I glance over at Annalise dancing and then stare back at Inga.

“Alpha… It’s just that she is a treasure, and she shines like a true daughter of the Moon Goddess… For you to treat and use her as her mate does… I just don’t want to see what that would do to her…”

Now the reason I have Inga working the bar is because of her heightened senses. When she says something like she just did, it usually makes me stop and think. This is exactly what she makes me do now, however, when I look back over to where Annalise is dancing and I see another male getting a little too close.

I growl as Raoul again stirs and stands up in my head. I usually don’t feel or hear from him when I am looking for a female to satisfy me. The only time he usually lifts his head and wants out is when we are fighting rogues and he wants to rip them apart.

With Raoul now pacing in my head, I just know that I will have Annalise in my arms tonight. Raoul then brings my attention to what Inga said about her mate and I return my attention to her as I say,

“Inga, what did you mean by treating her how her mate does?”

“Let's just say that if you can convince her to leave that bastard son of a bitch, then I am sure the pack wouldn’t hesitate to offer her protection…”

So my assumption of her being abused was right. I guess bar tenders do actually hear everything and Inga has a habit of hearing even more than she is supposed to. I then smile as I then know that she is right, if I could convince her to return to the pack with me, then the pack would protect her.

I then down what’s left of my drink and leave hers on the bar, wanting her hands and mine free. I slowly make my way onto the dance floor and join the other dancers. It doesn’t take me long to make my way through the dancing bodies and over to where she is dancing on her own but is surrounded by many.

As soon as I step into the inner circle around her, I let out a little more of my aura letting everyone know around us to back off, I very slowly and carefully take her into my arms as I slide my hands around her waist from behind. She only stiffens for a moment before relaxing back into me and moving once more with the music and with me.

I was expecting her to push me away as soon as I touched her and was surprised when she didn't. I smile to myself as I drop my nose into her neck and take a breath in, I am surprised when I smell vanilla, rose and an underlying strawberry scent, hidden and only scented when…

Nah, it can’t be. She is already mated and so was I…

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ANNALISE…

I am surprised at how good it tastes and put down the rest in one, maybe two, mouthfuls. The bartender comes back over and places another in front of me. I smile and pick it up, taking a smaller mouthful this time and then joining the people squashed and dancing on the dance floor. I take the drinks I was offered and let myself just enjoy the moment, forgetting everything I had just seen and what he has put me through for the last 4 years.

I don’t know when I was joined by the stranger but he smelled good however I was so lost in the music that I didn’t dwell long on his scent but I couldn’t ignore the feel of his hands when he skimmed them over my body as we danced, my body seemed to come alive. The fire spread everywhere he touched, along with a small hint of sparks. We dance to song after song, and then after a while, he pulls me in even closer, making that fire spread even more as he whispers,

“Come with me…”

I giggle, feeling a little on the tipsy side and then frown as I take a deep breath, and I'm hit in full by his scent for the first time. It is Sage, Ocean and Forest with a hidden scent of Pineapple. I giggle again as I am given another drink. I think fuck it; I haven’t had fun like this for years, and if he can have fun well, then so can I. I step back just a fraction and look up at him and nod, agreeing to join him.

He shifts and leaves one arm wrapped around my waist and leads me off of the dance floor and over to a roped-off VIP section. We pass without anyone stopping us, and I giggle as we enter one of the booths. As soon as we are inside the booth and the curtain is drawn across, he twirls me around, taking my drink and placing it on the table before twirling me back into his arms, where he surprises me by placing a kiss on my lips.

My hands go to his shoulders as I intend to push him away but as he tightens his arms around me pulling me more into his body and making the kiss much more dominant, my hands slide over his shoulders and up the sides of his neck before sliding them around the back of his neck and into his hair as I return the kiss and pull myself tighter up against him in return.