I make a mental note to have the place checked later before following Jonah inside the bar. From outside, it looks small and shady, but inside, I am greeted by a vast area; a pretty elegant interior, with scantily dressed women serving the drinks.
They are also all shifters.
I don’t even need to pretend to be surprised. “I didn’t know such a place existed,” I whisper.
“Now you know,” Jonah says. “It’s Alpha Jordan’s bar.”
No fucking way!
Seems like in my last life, I had to be some sort of really awesome performer or actor to have played my cards so well tonight. I deserve a shiny medal for this night alone.
Jonah puts a hand on my arm and then waves at a guy who sits at one of the tables furthest away from the entrance.
That’s Clemmens.
Apparently, my night is not over, but has only just begun.
thirty-seven
The Beta
*MARTIN*
When the first girls start giving lap dances, I start to be aware of what this place truly is. “Awesome, huh?” Luis grins, drowsily waving at one of the girls. He reaches out for her and grabs her onto his lap, his hand moving somewhere under the table.
The woman looks uncomfortable and helpless. I ball my hands into fists under the table, my nails digging deep into my flesh to stop me from getting up and helping her. Is this here a place where Jordan’s favorite friends and allies can havefun?
Without any consequences?
“Not every night is hot chick night,” Luis explains.
“Man, you really are shitfaced already,” Jonah snarls.
“It’s okay, Jonah,” Clemmens says. “We brought Martin to this place; we might as well tell him what it is. Like Luis said, it’s… well… you can see what it is, on most nights. On Fridays and Mondays, however, it's a casino.”
So, that’s how Jordan is doing it.
“I have heard about a casino,” I admit. “I just wasn’t sure if it was a rumor or not.”
“Do you still think it’s a rumor?” Jonah asks with a smirk. Seems like he is starting to warm towards me, fortunately.
“Obviously, it isn’t,” I chuckle, waving at one of the girls. “The next round is on me.”
“And the next on me,” Luis exclaims, finally letting go of the girl who staggers away immediately. Seems like the potential drinks caught his attention over her.
“Then it seems like the one after is mine,” Jonah says.
“You guys will be so plastered tomorrow,” Clemmens says.
The other two just laugh while I carefully scan his face. He looks serious, more so than any of the other guys around Jordan. The luna has told us about him. He was a good friend of her cousin and her family originally, even of her, but then joined Jordan in his ranks.
He was the one who held her when Jordan cut their bond.
No matter his excuse, this guy is a backstabbing asshole. He did not fulfill his role as beta at all. It’s not his job to serve the alpha unconditionally. While it’s his job to support his alpha and to be at his side, have his back, and be the second in command. It’s his role to step up when the alpha dies, or when something happens to him, but also when he fucks up.
Clemmens did not fulfill his oath to the pack.
But my own antipathy to him is no use here. I need to get him to open up. “So, how can one join the casino?” I ask.
