Luis and another guy exchange a look. “You know,“—Luis slips closer again, his face very close to mine now. I have to battle not to recoil at his touch. What a disgusting prick—“maybe, just maybe, Jordan would be interested to know that.”
“Know what?” I ask, pretending to be dumbfounded.
“Forest trusts you. That might become beneficial to you now.” A new round of drinks arrives, and we cheer at each other.“Truth is, the man asked me to keep an eye on you and see if you would be useful.”
I frown. “Useful, huh?”
Luis laughs and elbows me. “Don’t act all prissy now, Martin. He just wanted us to test you, but we all agree: you would be a great addition.”
I pretend to be all curious now. “An addition to what?”
Leonard and I have been wondering how Jordan keeps all these people in line. We both had various suspicions, but we can’t know for sure what’s truly going on. I am certain there are some guys who wanted to get out of Jordan’s grasp after a while, but they couldn’t. Probably because either they lost too much money or they know they are fucked.
I see one guy, who I know is from Jordan’s pack, constantly typing something on his phone. He either has Jordan on the line, keeps him updated, or is even recording me. I badmouthed Forest here. If an alpha found out that his beta did what I just did, it would be my end.
So that’s how it works, huh? I make sure to go for a devilish smile. “Anything to get away from that loser,” I say.
“Down with Forest,” Luis exclaims.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the warrior from Jordan’s pack staring at me curiously. I make sure to raise my glass towards Luis now. “Down with Forest!”
As the night goes on, more of the guys leave, most of them hooking up with girls from the bar. By the end, only Luis and the warrior from Jordan’s pack are left. By now, I know the warrior’s name is Jonah.
“Seems like we were the only unlucky ones,” Luis jokes.
“It’s fine,” Jonah says. “We can hop to another place instead.”
“Awesome that you are sticking around for so long tonight,” Luis grins.
I can see the annoyance on Jonah’s face and have to hold back a grin. The guy is obviously staying so long to check on me. I’d also bet that Luis was supposed to know that, but he is already pretty wasted.
“Clemmens will join us, too,” Jonah explains. “When the beta comes, I definitely want to hang out for a bit longer.”
Clemmens. At that name, my ears are immediately on alert. “The beta? Oh, you mean Beta Clemmens!” I slap my forehead, pretending to be slightly ditzy as well. “Awesome. Good thing I am not too drunk yet.”
Jonah looks content with my answer. “Beta Clemmens is a great guy,” he explains. “Good beta, too.”
“He has to be to serve Alpha Jordan.”
Jonah nods. “Exactly.”
Luis throws his arms around Jonah and me. “Don’t worry, Martin, we’ll get you out of this shitshow. Who knows, maybe Jordan will recruit you for his own pack.”
I pretend to find his words equal parts funny and pleasing. “A guy can dream,” I joke.
Jonah smiles. “We’ll see.”
He pulls free of Luis and forces us to get up. Ten minutes later, he leads both of us further down the road to a smaller bar. “This one only just opened an hour ago, meaning it’s not as crowded as the other one yet.”
“Hopefully there will be hot chicks,” Luis grumbles.
Jonah smirks. “There will be,” he says.
The tone he uses alerts me instantly. “You know the place well, huh?”
“Yes,” Jonah says. “You could say it’s my favorite bar.”
“Cool.”
