Page 12 of Toxic

"Because he’s part of our fuckgroup, at least officially. And I pretty much warned you—your chances were slim. Seriously, I didn’t think you’d run straight to him—there are much nicer guys out there."

"I'm just… attracted to him," I reluctantly admitted.

Alvin chuckled, looking amused. Archer just stared at me—I could never read that guy.

"Don is attracted to Soren too, you know. And trust me, a lot of other guys fancy him as well. Don’s shelling out just to hang around, putting up with all of Soren’s bullshit. He calls it ‘friendly support’. No other alpha would take the crap Soren dishes out; he’s always clowning on them, laughing in their faces, straight-up roasting them. But Don? He just lets it slide. Maybe that’s why Soren keeps him around."

"I could give him money too, as 'friendly support'."

"You serious? That’s… hard simping," Archer scoffed, wincing with distaste.

Even Alvin giggled. "Never took you for a paypig candidate before."

I scowled, my brow furrowing. "Back off, guys, I’m goal-oriented, that’s all."

"So, what did you ask Soren for anyway?" Alvin tilted his head.

"I didn’t even get that far. Just told him I’d pay triple for his services, and he shut me down right away."

Alvin raised his eyebrows a bit. "Triple? Damn. I agree with Archer, that’s some serious simping. But… I’m curious why he said no. Maybe… I can find out!"

He immediately grabbed his phone, and I almost flinched.

"Whoa! Are you really gonna call him? Like, right now?" My eyes widened.

"Yeah, why not? He always picks up."

I was low-key stunned by how direct he was with it. He found Soren’s name in his contacts and dialed.

"Hey, it’s me. Calling about the Kingdom of Promises."

I leaned in, trying to hear Soren’s response, and Alvin noticed, switching to speaker, so I could listen in.

"Don’t tell me this is about that new dude."

"Yeah, it is. Just curious what the deal was. If Skye’s weird, I should warn the others."

I shot Alvin a confused look, but he just smiled and winked like he knew this was the only way to get Soren to spill.

Soren cursed under his breath. "That guy’s a creep. He’s been eyeing me since day one, almost stalking me. I don't like his vibe."

"You think he’s not fit for our group? Should I kick him out?"

A moment of silence. "I'm not saying that. Maybe he’s okay with others, but he's fixated on me, and I don't like it."

"Don is fixated on you too. Kinda the same, right?"

Soren snorted in irritation. "What do you want from me, Alvin? I get to choose who I work with, don’t I?"

"Of course, I just wanna know if there’s gonna be any drama. I don’t want to piss off any patrons. Skye’s got money, and he’s reliable; I wanted to keep him in the group."

"So? What’s your point?"

"Nothing, just saying that if we treat patrons like crap, it’s not gonna—"

"Is this some kind of blackmail? Like, agree or get lost?" Soren's voice became heated.

"No, you know how we roll. I just wanna be in the loop since I vouched for him. I’d rather know what to say to him."

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