Chapter 2
(Five years later)
Valencia
The silence in my office was deafening. I could even hear the occasional owl hooting outside.
So, I turned on the laptop and put on some random video to serve as white noise.
It was 2.45 am after all. On a Friday night.
Of course, everybody was busy partying and having fun.
I, on the other hand, was content burying my head in the files and papers littered all over my
My phone rang, and it brought a smile to my face to see Sophia’s name flash on the screen.
At least she cared about me.
“Are you really going to spend yet another Friday night buried in legal work?” She asked.
desk.
“I thought you were going on a blind date,” I argued and she chirped back, “Just wanted to see if you would cave in tonight.”
“I have to finish these files, Soph,” I said with a heavy sigh and she replied, “I know. But I think I found just the place you might want to shop around. No pressure.”
She sent me something right away. But I shook my head and ignored the buzzing of my phone.
I was that infamous first-year law associate who somehow managed to avoid crying or passing out under the pressure of working at the Agency of Non-Human Affairs.
Yeah, that place-the one handling all the chaos between non-human beings and humans. Our law department? Pretty solid, if I do say so myself.
Sure, werewolves and vampires get all the attention, but trust me, there are way more strange and mysterious types out
there that humans have no clue about.
And as for werewolf-related issues with humans? Well, let’s just say those problems are usually too messy or, frankly, beneath most of the higher-ups to bother with.
I couldn’t care less.
Not that I could complain. People were more than happy to dump their files on my desk. After all, I was the dedicated, star associate who practically lived in the office, had aced the only job interview that mattered and earned decent.
Past me would definitely be proud of the future me. I had managed to build a life for myself in an unknown city, far away from home.
I owned a small apartment, knew what restaurant served what type of food in the entire city, and no pressure of wanting to please a future alpha heir.
My phone buzzed again.
-Just check it-
1/4
I opened the earlier messages and found the name and address of a place.
Wolves & Whiskey
What was that? A hookah joint? A call for seance? What did she want me to buy?
Half an hour later, curiosity got the better of me and I found myself standing outside the huge neon sign.
The music was not loud and trashy. The place looked like anything but a bar or pub on the outside.
And truth be told, occasionally, I did feel like I needed some company. While reading through the files, I would accidentally come across something that would remind me of my family, of the laughs, of the carefree living, and I would feel a pang in
the chest:
At least, I would have tried something new tonight.
The moment I entered the place, it felt like an alien world. People were not dancing in a frenzy and neither was the DJ blasting loud music.
Instead, there were tables arranged in neat rows, some enclosed in glass walls partially covered with curtains.
I ignored the swift glances and wondered if my friend had really sent me to a sketchy place where they sold illegal drugs.
But then I let my gaze wander. Women were seated mostly, and they were observing the men passing by, serving drinks, and minding their own business.
A woman rang a bell, and the man passing by her table stopped. She invited him to sit on the chair opposite her and they began chatting.
Weird.
What was going on?
Until I saw the girls’ tuck several bucks into their shirts, and start to lick their apples. Boom, I finally knew what this place was for!
It was ‘that place’ -‘The Pleasure house’ but only for females’ pleasure
I spun on my heel, ready to run.
This wasn’t a place for good girls.
It wasn’t a place for me.
But I stopped.
No! I wasn’t that little princess anymore.
The one who sat around, waiting to be chosen.
So I spotted an empty table and sat by myself as well. I kept my hair pulled up in a bun and immediately put on a bright red shade of lipstick.
Bold. Sassy. Intimidating.
That was the look I was going for.
2/4
Sarah had sent me to shop, so I was going to be a picky buyer.
Holding my chin up and accepting the tall glass of drink one of the servers offered me, I sat back and let my gaze roam around the place.
And then my eyes fell on him. The man was tall, had a broad frame and a jawline that could rival blades. He was as intimidating as he was alluring.
A sea of beautiful faces was around me, but he stood out in the crowd. He was not even looking at me but standing beside a trembling woman while he stared down at a blonde guy.
Blondie had probably done something to annoy the woman. And the stranger said just one word.
“Leave”
Blondie didn’t do as asked, so the stranger plucked him off the chair and dragged him away like a rag
doll.
I watched that altercation with mild interest.
Everybody returned to their business, but my eyes were locked on the door the stranger had walked through.
Was he the staff manager here? He did walk around with authority, but I noticed he was not wearing the staff uniform like the others.
I took a sip of the drink and then noticed him step out of the door, and our eyes met.
And he didn’t look away.
Not when he crossed the row of tables to order a drink, and neither when the bartender offered him one.
He cocked his head to the side just a little and raised the glass he was holding. I did the same, and we both took a sip of our drinks.
Suddenly, I couldn’t look at anything else.
The sounds around me muted. People around me faded into the background.
But he stood at the center of my attention. So effortlessly graceful.
We didn’t take our eyes off each other. Then I saw a hint of a smirk.
Was this going to be a staring match?
I had nowhere else to be.
So, we took one sip after another, slow and deliberate.
A few other women seemed to have noticed him suddenly because 2 of them walked up to him, instead of staying seated by their tables.
Those ladies were both beautiful and had already advanced ahead to strike a conversation with him.
However, he ignored them, ordered two drinks and began walking right towards me.
My breath hitched.
3/4
Chapter 2
My gaze trailed to the other women, who seemed clearly offended by his move.
Lacing my fingers together, I muttered, “Not very gentlemanly of you to walk away from them.”
The stranger didn’t bother looking back at them as he offered the glass to me and replied, “You saw me first. They can’t skip
the line.”
I got straight to the point before I would chicken out.
“Do you work here?”
He took a brief pause and then answered, “Kind of”
“What services do you offer?” I asked bluntly, and he was taken aback by the question.
“I serve the entire kingdom,” He answered and my gaze narrowed.
What did that even mean?
“Excuse me!” I blurted out, and he studied me as if I was not the one who was supposed to ask questions but him.
No, I was not going to let this turn into another one of those playdates.
“I apologize for not answering that correctly. Perhaps you could tell me what services you are looking for, exactly?”
He said, his voice deep and husky.
I wanted company. I wanted… not to return to my empty home.
But instead of saying that, I heard myself saying, “Sex”
