Probably not the best plan, but life had to go on.
I stood, groaning. I could easily take some pain medication and make all of this go away for a while, but they left me groggy, and tonight I wanted to go to the one place that could give me some kind of release.
I’d discovered Crowned through my roommate. One evening when he had off from work, he went as a guest of an alpha and came back with a bright smile and countless stories.
His depiction of the club was nothing compared to the real thing.
Crowned was the place I chose to escape. There, no one asked why I limped. Why I had to sit down every once in a while. Why there were times when the pain was so much that I couldn’t hear anyone else speaking or even think straight.
Many omegas in the club sought pain for different reasons. Impact play allowed me to experience release, and the different pain sometimes made my leg stop hurting or took the focus off of it.
To allow me to spend evenings at Crowned, I’d requested a morning shift at the hotel and got off early to nap and prepare. I was lucky in that respect, in more ways than one. The hotel hired me as a concierge, and while most were on their feet constantly, they made accommodations for me. Desperate for a job, since my athletic career was in the trash, and though I hated the thought of them curating a position for me, I was grateful for it now. I sat at the side of the front desk and mostly de-escalated scenarios with online bookings and overbookings. Plus, deal with VIP guests. Made sure their stay was pristine from booking to departure.
I did as much as I could, standing, and moving, but some days I remained seated on my fancy stool.
When I started, I apologized profusely to any other employee who would listen, feeling I wasn’t pulling my weight, but now, I accepted it. I worked as hard as anyone, in my way.
There were worse things to complain about.
Lots of things.
After a shower and a conversation with my roommate, who was headed out to work, I dressed for the club. My ride share arrived right on time.
In thirty minutes, I found myself at the bar of Crowned, getting a drink before finding some fun.
“Whiskey neat.” The bartender, a handsome omega, slid the drink over to me. I usually ordered from one of the servers on the floor but, tonight, the bar felt like the right place to be.
I took a sip of the dark drink and heard a laugh from the end of the bar. My wolf came to attention inside me, garnering my interest. Ever since the accident, my wolf had been dormant. No shifting. Not a lot of exchanges between us.
I lost a part of myself that night and gained a lifetime of pain.
Not a fair trade.
The man, laughing with some other people, took my breath away. He was an alpha, that much I could sense. If the crowd had been lighter, I maybe could’ve scented him.
He was handsome. Chiseled jaw. Dark, wavy hair. Eyes that crinkled gently in the corners.
Tanned skin.
My wolf sensed sadness under the smile.
The omega I’d been before the accident would have gone over there and introduced myself. Gotten his number. Maybe asked him to come home with me.
Now I was just some broken omega who sometimes had an attitude problem, mostly from the pain.
What alpha would want a broken omega like me for more than just a scene or two?
Probably no one in this club.
I polished off the drink and got up slowly. Damn it. My leg was killing me tonight.
Maybe more pain would make it quiet.
One way to find out.
Chapter Three
Wulf
