Page 7 of Reformed Wolf

The moon shone down from between clouds as we headed out down the sidewalk. It was a quick walk to the club, made faster because of the pace Jude set. His legs were longer than mine, and I almost had to jog to keep up. “You swear there are only shifters?” he asked, not for the first time.

“Yeah, man, would I lie to you?” He shot me a look but didn’t argue.

At last, we approached the large brick building, its sign declaring it to be Hair of the Dog. “Inside joke,” I said, nudging Jude with my elbow. “Get it?” He clenched his jaw. He’d gone silent the last block, and it seemed he wasn’t in the mood to say anything now. “They tell the humans it’s membership only so they can control the clientele. Come on, your first drink’s on me.”

The music was loud enough to be heard through the walls, the pulsing beat beckoning. There was a bouncer at the door, some sort of bear shifter, but even with his sculpted frame, he still had to tilt his chin up to look Jude in the eye. “You members?” he asked in a deep baritone.

Jude glanced at me in question, and I flashed my wolf’s eyes at the bouncer. Jude followed suit. The bouncer nodded and pulled open the door for us. “You gentlemen have a good time tonight. Keep it tame.” He smirked at his own joke.

My wolf rolled his eyes. Not funny, he said.

As we made our way through the first door, down a short hallway, then through a second set of doors, the throbbing of the music settled in my chest, almost like a heartbeat. My pulse changed its rhythm to match, and I could already feel myself descending into the club mentality. The strobing lights cutting through the darkness, the writhing dance floor. I was here to have fun, let go of any responsibilities, any stress and worry. There was nothing but my base instincts here. I gripped the back of Jude’s neck and pulled him into my side as we made our way over to the bar. “Welcome to Hair of the Dog,” I said. “Pick your poison.”

“I…” Jude blinked up at the wall of bottles, stunned by all the choices. “I’ll have whatever you’re having,” he finally settled on.

“You’re going to regret saying that,” I said with a laugh. I ordered us both two shots of tequila to start with. It normally took a lot for a shifter to get drunk. Our metabolisms burned it off too fast, but there was a local distillery who’d come up with a special brand of liquor infused with a pinch of wolfsbane to increase potency.

“Cheers,” I said, tapping my shot glass to his. He watched as I tipped the glass to my lips and downed it. The burn was smooth, warmth spreading out from my belly.

Jude followed suit, throwing back the drink, and for a second, I thought it was going to come right back up. He coughed violently, gasping. “Gods, no! Why?!” I waited a second as the liquor began to spread through his veins. “Oh…” He’d just answered his own question. He didn’t hesitate to pick up the second shot. Although he made a face, he managed to keep it down.

“And now we dance,” I said, shoving him toward the dance floor. He was shaking his head but wasn’t putting up much of a fight. His movements were sluggish, his feet dragging under the effects of the wolfsbane.

I thought he was just going to stand there in the middle of the crowd, not moving, but his eyes drifted shut and he began to sway. “Atta boy,” I said, grinning wide. Jude and I couldn’t have been more different, but I still considered him one of my closest friends. It meant something to me that I was sharing this part of my life with him and that he seemed to be enjoying it—at least a little bit.

An older woman across the dance floor locked eyes with me, and I beckoned her over with a crooked finger. Deer shifter, and her scent lit up my wolf’s predator instinct. It seemed she was in the mood to walk on the wild side tonight, and she began to grind on my thigh. A second set of hands landed on my hips, and I glanced over my shoulder to see a man giving me sultry eyes. I reached back and drew him closer, his stiff cock rubbing against my ass.

I lost all track of time. Sweat beaded on my forehead, head spinning, hands and bodies rubbing. It was glorious!

But then… my wolf alerted me to something new. A scent, crisp and bright, like the lily of the valley that bloomed in the forest undergrowth every spring. And my whole body came alive. I stood up straight, gasping, eyes searching the club. I had only a second to think, Shit. Not now, before my entire world tilted on its axis.

Mate.

Chapter 4

Dylan

The cab pulled up in front of a brick warehouse. “This is your stop,” the driver said, glancing curiously over his shoulder at me through the plastic barrier.

Sure enough, when I looked through the window, I saw the sign that said Hair of the Dog. The irony wasn’t lost on me, being a cat, but I’d overheard a few of my father’s guards talking about this place. Apparently, it was for shifters only, and considering I didn’t have a lot of experience interacting with humans, this seemed like a safe option.

“Right. Thanks.” I tried to look like I knew what I was doing, but everything was new to me. On the rare occasion I left the estate, I had a private driver and a security detail. I’d never been in a cab, and certainly never in this neighborhood. I pulled out my wallet and stared down at the credit card I’d never used.

“Just tap your card on the pin pad,” the driver suggested, opening a window in the scuffed plexiglass shield and passing me a device I’d seen on TV at least.

The machine beeped, and the driver wished me a good night, so I assumed the payment had been approved. I climbed out of the car onto the sidewalk and approached the club’s door, guarded by a large man with a neck the size of my thigh.

Before I could reach the door, however, I caught a whiff of something, and my feet ground to a halt. It was like nothing I’d ever scented before, rich and earthy and textured, like tangy pine sap right here on the sidewalk, when clearly there was nothing of the sort in these brick-and-concrete surroundings. There wasn’t even a single blade of grass in sight. I turned in a circle to look around, searching for the origin of the scent, but there was nothing and no one. My panther grew agitated, scrabbling at my insides. Even considering the moon’s pull, this was out of character for him, and I staggered a few steps as he fought to get me inside the club. The bouncer was eyeing me warily. He was probably wondering if I was having a seizure.

Calm down, would you? People are staring.

Don’t care, my beast snarked.

“Membership?” the bouncer asked when I was a few feet away.

“Uh…” I patted my pockets, pretending to look for my wallet. What membership? Was that code to slip him 50 bucks or something?

He sighed. “You must be new. I just need to see that you belong here.” He flashed his bear’s chocolate-brown eyes at me.

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