The Club

3

Trae watched his father, his Alpha, as he pushed out, one stroke after another, gliding across their back yard pool. It was his father’s daily regimen, what he did to focus, clear his mind and stay in shape. It was late on Saturday afternoon. After he’d had breakfast with Olivia and her friend, Trae had given her a soft kiss goodbye, then driven around the city for hours, attempting to get his thoughts and his life in order. Now, showered and changed from his night garb, he felt a little more mentally refreshed.

When his father finally broke the surface and paused for breath, Trae crossed the flagstone path until he stood over him. “Dad, when you’re done with your reps, I need you to meet me in the study.”

“This must be serious if you’re requesting my presence.” Romel waded around in the deep end of the pool, staring up at him.

“It is.” Trae turned to leave.

“Does this have to do with our discussion yesterday?” His father called after him.

Turning around again, he saw his dad was already hoisting himself out of the pool. “It does, but I’d prefer to talk about it when you and Mom are together.”

“Your mother already knows about the meeting?” Water ran in rivulets down Romel’s broad, hairy chest and his legs.

“I saw her in the kitchen when I came downstairs.”

Signalling his agreement with a nod, his father snatched up a towel from one of the lounge chairs scattered around the pool.

As Trae continued towards the house it amazed him how, in less than twenty-four hours, he had shifted away from the carefree lifestyle of the son of an Alpha to feeling the weight of leadership pressing down on his shoulders. He was sure his father believed he’d hung out at The Club all these years to escape responsibility. However, the truth of the matter was that there hadn’t been enough responsibility set before him.

At the ménage club, he could easily drown his feelings of uselessness in repeated, lustful acts with a willing woman—or two. But no longer. He’d soon be Alpha and he had found his mate in the very place he would never have thought to look.

“You and Trae really had a connection last night, huh?”

Olivia rubbed sleep from her eyes and stared at Kelsey, who was stretched out along the foot of her bed still dressed in her outfit from the night before. She looked at her clock and realised it was only noon—only a few hours had passed since she and her friend had got home from breakfast with two very sexy men after a night she wouldn’t soon forget. Kelsey had crashed on her couch and Olivia had showered quickly and crawled bare-ass beneath her covers. She was still tired. The energetic sound of her friend’s voice after a ‘nap’ didn’t make sense, especially since they’d both been up all night.

“How long have you been up?” Olivia tucked the pillow more comfortably under her head.

“Maybe an hour. I ate your last yoghurt. I need to get ready to head home in a few minutes—I have final rehearsal tonight.” Kelsey was a member of the local ballet company. Six weeks ago, she had auditioned for an international team that was going on a year-long tour through Europe. She might be away even longer, if things worked out well for her.

Soon, her best friend would be gone. Their impending separation had been the driving force behind them fulfilling their wildest fantasies. The last hoorah together for a while. As someone who had spent most of her youth in and out of foster homes, never being adopted, Olivia didn’t have anyone that she could call family. Just Kelsey, a girl she had met in college when she had decided to help out building sets for the spring musical in her sophomore year. Kelsey had been a background dancer, and they had conversed a few times while they sat in the theatre watching the main actors rehearse, soon becoming good friends.

“I hope you plan to get some more sleep.” Olivia snuggled deeper under her blankets. Not for modesty’s sake—over the years, Kelsey’s flamboyance and immodesty had rubbed off on her—but more to get across the point she was trying to return to la-la land.

“Hey!” Kelsey bounced the bed.

Cracking one eye open, Olivia stared at her friend. “What?” she groaned.

“I want the scoop, Liv.” Lying on her side with her head propped on her hand, Kelsey wiggled her blonde eyebrows at her.

“On what?”

Smacking her foot, Kelsey warned, “Don’t play dumb with me.”

“Ouch!” Both her eyes opened as she frowned at her friend. “All right! All right! What do you want to know?”

“Everything! How was your night with Trae and what happened to Anton? I never saw him come back down the stairs. You didn’t kill him with lovin’ did you?” Kelsey joked, now smiling broadly.

Memories of last night’s events came flooding back into Olivia’s tired brain. First, she recalled the passion and the overwhelming driving lust she had felt with Trae and Anton. Her body, aching and tender everywhere, reminded her how well she had been taken care of. She’d actually gone through with it, had a ménage a trois. Then, as a smile began to pull and curl at the corners of her mouth, other images began to rise and she remembered red-hazed eyes and fangs.

Oh, God, Anton had been a vampire. Trae a werewolf. They had both bitten her. Was she one of their servants now? Or both? What did ‘mate’ really mean? She began to shiver.

Pulling the blanket tightly around her chest, she sat up against the headboard.

“You okay? You’re looking a little pale.” Kelsey sat up, too, sitting crossed-legged at the foot of the bed, now.

“I’m f—fine.” She cleared her throat. “I’m fine. Still a little groggy.” Olivia forced a smile to her face as trepidation filled her heart. Last night, there had been no fear, not really, even after she’d discovered who and what they both were. She’d still plunged ahead, yielding her mind and body to the pleasures of the night. Did they put some kind of spell on me?

“Being with two men will do that to you.” Kelsey giggled. “Details. Details!”

How much could she tell her friend? She and Kelsey never kept secrets from each other. Would telling Kelsey place her in danger? Was she in danger? Lifting her hand, she stroked her neck where Anton had bitten her, but didn’t feel any puncture wounds—just a slight soreness, like an old bruise. However, now that she was beginning to think clearly, she could feel a small amount of heat radiating along her back, a throbbing. Trae’s bite. Sliding her hand calmly around her neck to the opposite shoulder, she curled her fingers just over the crest and felt it—a raised, sensitive area, tender to touch. The warmth of it caressed her fingers. Was it infected? She’d have to look at it in the mirror once Kelsey had left. Until she knew more, she had to keep the paranormal elements of the night to herself.

“Come on, sleepy head, give.” Kelsey bounced on the bed again.

“What do you want me to say, Kel? That it was out of this world? That I climaxed so many times last night I couldn’t even think straight?” That part was true. She had experienced a passion like never before, with both men. Except they weren’t men, apparently.

“Hot damn!” Her friend slapped her hands together and laughed. “See, Nervous Nelly, it’s a good thing I didn’t let you chicken out.” Kelsey was smiling broadly. “Trae seemed very into you. He and Diego said they’ve been regulars at The Club for years. You think you’ll do it again?”

Oh, no. She’d got a werewolf and a vampire this time. What would another round bring? There was no telling what other creatures lurked at that place. Waiting. “It was an experience that I don’t think I’ll ever be repeating.”

“Well, I’m glad you did it. Whatever happens to a dream deferred, and all…”

“I don’t think my entering into a ménage was quite what Langston Hughes was talking about.” A dry chuckle broke past her lips.

Waving her hands in the air, Kelsey said, “Maybe not. But you get my drift.”

Olivia shook her head.

“Well, I have to go, so you’ll have to leave the juicy stuff for another time.” Kelsey unfolded her body and stood up.

“Kelsey… Did you notice anything about that place?” she asked, unable to stop herself.

“Like what?” Her friend frowned.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Something strange, different. Maybe like you weren’t yourself?”

Concern crossed Kelsey’s features. “What do you mean, not yourself? Did those guys drug you? Give you a roofie?” Kelsey crossed the few steps along the carpet until she was standing over Olivia, staring into her eyes, assessing.

“No. No. Nothing like that. I wasn’t drugged.” Olivia pulled her knees up to her chest.

“Are you sure? Do remember the night and this morning?” Planting her fist on her hip, Kelsey waited.

“Trust me… I recall everything.” Olivia closed her eyes for a second as pleasure ran along her flesh and made her body shudder. Why was it that, even now, knowing what those two men were, she still could not bury the pleasure she felt? Opening her eyes, she gazed at her friend.

Kelsey must have noticed her response, because she was smiling. “Good. Well, I still have packing and things to do, and rehearsal, but I’m available if you need me.”

Reaching up, Olivia put her arms around her friend. Squeezing her tight, she said, “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Make sure you call me tomorrow before you leave.”

Stepping back, Kelsey said, “I will. Take care of yourself while I’m gone.”

Running her hand through her hair, which she was sure was a complete mess, Olivia smiled at Kelsey as she backed up towards the door. “I’m just going to go to work and bury myself in the house for a year or more, until you return.” She said it jokingly, but she was really going to miss Kelsey. Her friend had a grand opportunity, though, one she deserved, and Olivia couldn’t begrudge her that.

“Don’t you dare.” Kelsey wagged her finger at her. “Call Trae? He seemed like a nice guy. Besides, all he did was stare at you during breakfast.”

She’d noticed that, too. There was something between them. Something that pulled at her—a mate—something she didn’t want to analyse right now. “I’ll think about it. Now, go, before they give your part to Tallia McCall.”

“I’d break her legs.” Tallia was Kelsey’s rival in the dance company, a woman who’d also been selected for the tour.

“That’s supposed to be a good thing on the stage.”

“Not if it really happens.” Blowing her a kiss, Kelsey exited the bedroom as Olivia laughed in her wake.

Her laughter subsided as she heard the front door close and the sound of Kelsey’s Camaro’s engine revving and subsequently fading down the street. Dropping the covers, she got up from her bed and padded across the thick carpet to her bathroom. Once inside, she turned the light on and assessed herself in the mirror, something she had been too exhausted to do in the early morning when she had returned home.

Standing there looking at her nude reflection, she didn’t notice anything odd—nothing seemed changed. She moved her gaze from her thighs and continued up past her sex, over her breasts and paused at her neck. There, she saw the small, red marks at the base of her throat, almost completely faded but evidence of Anton’s bite. Reaching up, she touched the skin. Below it she could feel the heavy thumping of her pulse, her carotid artery pushing her life’s blood to her brain. When she stared at her face, everything appeared as it should be, as she had looked all her adult life. Opening her mouth, she checked her teeth, making sure she hadn’t sprouted fangs. Nope—her teeth were not elongated and there were no points at the ends.

She let out a sigh of relief—she really didn’t want to become a vampire.

What about a wolf?

Twisting her upper body at the waist, she gazed at the other bite. Right there, in the muscle above her right shoulder blade, were two half-circles, top and bottom row of teeth. Unlike the bite on her neck, this one was barely healed—it appeared swollen, with red and purple bruising around it. Her brows furrowed. Remarkable, Anton’s mark was practically gone, appearing like two mosquito bites, and Trae’s remained, bold and vivid. Why was that?

Trae’s mark.

He had spoken to her, in her mind.

Trae’s mate. That’s what he had told her.

“What does that mean?” she questioned herself. Pacing the bathroom, she tried to think of every horror movie she’d ever seen, but her archive was small. She wasn’t a big horror fan. Didn’t like scary things, or things that went bump in the night.

Oh, God, when was the next full moon? Would she change? Glancing at her arms, she didn’t notice any additional layers of hair sprouting, of course, and her nails were still trimmed and blunt-cut as she always kept them.

“Olivia, you need to keep calm.” Talking to herself out loud helped her get control of her emotions. Being shuffled from place to place most of her life had left her with only one voice of reason, her own. Taking a deep breath, she filled her lungs with air and held it there until her chest began to burn. Slowly, she let it out. Feeling slightly better, she tried to remember if Trae had said anything else to her.

But the only thing that she could recall was after breakfast, when he had helped her into the passenger seat of Kelsey’s car and told her he’d see her soon. What was soon? Still riding on her euphoric high, she had given him her address and number. Now that she had a moment to think clearly, she regretted her decision.

What was I thinking?

However, she knew she had not been thinking, but feeling. No more. She needed to make sense of all that had happened, including the joy, peace and passion she had felt around Trae.

Some things didn’t make sense. She had never felt that type of connection with previous boyfriends. She could easily blame it on the fact that Trae was not really human, but that would not explain why she hadn’t had the same response to Anton.

“Ahh!” Frustrated by all her musing, she exited the bathroom and put on sweat pants and a T-shirt. Still wanting to sleep, but not believing it was possible at the moment, she went to the living room, where she grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the couch and lay down on the sofa. Maybe Trae would not call or come to see her. Then she could just chalk the night up to a once-in-a-lifetime experience. She didn’t want to think about Trae, Anton or last night’s events anymore. Overdosing on television would help her blot out her actions and just maybe she could fall back to sleep until tomorrow.

The bite on her back pulsed, a reminder that Trae would be hard to forget.

“We’re here, son.” Ziona Wulfene walked into the study beside her husband. His mother was always elegant. As the head female in their pack, she kept herself looking meticulous and sharp in slacks and a blouse. As sophisticated and demure as she appeared, Trae had been witness to her taking down a few female weres who had thought they could steal his father away. She wasn’t weak and could bare her teeth in a flash if provoked.

Trae crossed to his mother and bestowed a kiss on her cheek.

“What’s this all about?” His father waited until his mother had taken a seat on the short couch, then sat beside her.

Trae dragged over a chair from the antique writing desk in the corner of the room and sat across from his parents. “I’ve found my mate.”

His mother’s lips parted in shock as she pressed a hand to her chest.

His father studied him with hazel eyes that matched his own. “Is this some type of game you’re playing, Trae?”

The growl slipped from Trae’s mouth before he could stop it. He hated having his words or actions questioned.

“Romel, what would be his reasons for such a joke?” Ziona found her voice and glanced from her son to her husband.

“Because of the ultimatum I presented Trae with just yesterday.”

“It’s not a joke, Dad.”

“See, darling?” His mother placed her hand over his father’s and squeezed, trying to keep the peace. Something passed between his parents and Trae was sure they were communicating mentally.

He doubted he and his father had made things easy for his mother over the years, both being Alphas. Good thing all his siblings were Betas, otherwise there would have been even more confrontations in their household for her to referee.

“Tell us about her, Trae.”

“Yeah, son. Who is this mate? Where’d you find her? Especially since you spent most of your night at that club.”

Pulling in a large gulp of air to keep him focused and calm, Trae leant back in the small chair. “Amazingly enough, Dad, that’s exactly where she was.”

“So, you’re trying to tell me that despite all the time you’ve spent frolicking about down there, you’ve just now realised this girl is the one? Your mate.”

“She’d never been there before, but if she had, I’m sure I would have noticed her right off.”

“Hmm.” The non-word slipped from his father.

“This is wonderful.” His mother’s greyish-blue gaze lit up with excitement. “When do we get to meet her?”

“It will have to be soon, with the induction ceremony happening at the end of the week,” Romel declared.

Trae briefly cut his gaze to his father, then looked back at his mother. “As is customary, she will be at the ceremony. There just isn’t time to bring her to you before then. Besides, I need to explain to her what to expect and get her consent to join me.”

“Her consent?” his father questioned.

His mother frowned. “Explain things to her? She should understand how things are done, even if she is from a distant pack.”

Taking a moment to stare down at the carpet, Trae gathered his thoughts and formulated his words with care. “She has no understanding of our ways. Olivia is a human.”

“A human?” his father leant forward, placing his forearms on his knees.

It wasn’t as if it was unheard of. There were a few weres in their pack who had found human mates. But it was rare that an Alpha’s mate wasn’t pure-blooded.

Ziona placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Does she know who and what you are?”

“What I am, yes.” He shifted his gaze towards his father. “Not that I am the son of our Alpha and will soon take his place.”

“It is no matter.” His father waved a hand in the air as if he could brush the issue away. “With the second mark, she will not be able to resist the pull between you.”

“She doesn’t have the second mark yet.”

“What?” Romel roared, launching his bulk to his feet.

Trae knew his parents were from a different time, when a wolf found his mate and claimed her twice, within hours, to keep all other wolves away, then provided the third mark before the pack soon afterwards.

“Tell us that you have at least marked her once,” his mother said. In their pack, this would be a risky time. If others discovered the mate of an Alpha, another male might attempt to mate with and mark her, stealing her away from the leader and possibly weakening any future offspring. It was hard to get an Alpha male cub from a non-mated pair.

“I’m not a fool. She bears my mark.” Rising, he confirmed, “Soon she will receive my second mark. Prepare the full induction ceremony. By the end of the week I will present her to our pack.”

He began to stroll out of the study, when his father’s voice stopped him. “I pray the Great Spirit grants you favour with her. Or another will still be provided for you that night.”

Without turning around, Trae gave a curt nod and exited the room. Olivia had better be ready, because he had every intention of claiming his mate.