For Love of a Wolf: Alric's Story
by SpikesKat
Chapter 6
The Bentley pulled to a stop at the curb in front of the Golden Phoenix and Alric stared out the window at the exclusive Chinese nightclub, noting the crowd that had already started to form near the roped off entrance. He barely spared a glance for the group of young twenty-somethings whispering amongst themselves – a few of them pointing in his direction – as his door was opened with an exaggerated flourish by Bob and he climbed out of the car. Their excitement hit him at once – their erratic heartbeats, the faint trace of arousal. He controlled his demon easily enough, his mind already on the performance he was about to give.
His eyes passed over the scantily-clad females and well-dressed males, all waiting eagerly in the hopes of being let inside. He didn’t have to worry about such trivialities. The invitation tucked into the inside pocket of his knee-length leather coat guaranteed his entrance into the club.
Alric reached down and extended his hand to his slave and helped her from the car. Her jewelry gave a muffled clink beneath the protective wrap that covered her from neck to ankles, and his eyes filled with images of what she looked like beneath the cloak… how she’d relaxed beneath his touch as each item of jewelry was draped over her body and the clasp secured. How, when he was finished, she’d lifted her head, their gazes locking for the space of a few brief minutes – need prevalent on both of their faces. And how the moment had been broken when Bob walked in through the open bedroom door and announced that he was leaving to retrieve the car and would be waiting for them downstairs in the drive.
He’d nodded, not bothering to turn around when informing the chauffeur that they would be down momentarily. The muffled sounds of the outer door opening and closing had drifted back to his sensitive ears… then the suite had gone silent – but for the pounding of the girl’s heart.
It had taken every last bit of control he’d possessed not to bear her back to the bed and remove the jewelry he’d taken great pains to drape over her slender frame. Standing there unmoving, the devil on his shoulder whispered in his ear to take her, that she was now his. His eyes had strayed unconsciously towards the mark he’d left. Seeing it, his gums had burned, his fangs had threatening to drop.
She’d been oblivious to the silent battle he waged – the one he’d nearly lost. Especially when the smell of her arousal grew heavy in the air at his continued scrutiny.
Alric had consoled himself with a kiss. Though in hindsight, he should have probably held back and just escorted her from the suite. The taste of her, the way she gave herself over to him so completely – which he instinctively knew had nothing to do with the fact that he owned her – and he’d been ready to chuck his plans for the evening.
He’d been hard and heavy when finally pulled away. Silently cursing himself and her for nearly making him forget the mission… that he wasn’t there to dally.
He had a job to do, and getting involved with a human wasn’t part of it.
“I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave,” Alric whispered quietly to Bob, who gave a slight nod, indicating that he’d heard.
Steeling himself, he placed one hand at the small of the girl’s back and guided her towards the entrance.
~*~*~*~*~
The club was everything he expected: young women and men, predominately of Asian descent, though a few Caucasians were thrown in for good measure, all of them high on an assortment of drugs and alcohol, grinding together on the dance floor. Their bodies glistening with sweat. Waitresses wearing even less than most of the patrons served drinks, and when they weren’t doing that, they were servicing the men – in most cases, those of an advanced age – lounging on couches and chairs about the room.
Alric followed behind the man that had greeted them the moment they’d stepped through the front door. As they wended their way among the smattering of tables and chairs, he scanned the club discreetly, taking note of its security. The more obvious guards, those dressed in black with the word security emblazed in white upon their chest, stood near the exits and along the walls, content in their roles as overseers. He also picked out a few others that mingled amongst the crowd, thinking themselves anonymous. What they didn’t realize was that their body language gave them away.
They finally stopped before an elevator at the back of the building.
At a slight nod from their host, the guard inserted a key and the doors slid open. Alric ignored the hard look he got from the burly man and nudged the girl forward to follow after their guide. He stepped in after her and positioned himself so that he could easily reach his katana – if it were needed.
The elevator went down, not up, Alric noticed. And it made him curious as to just how far the underground facilities extended.
“This way, please,” the Chinaman directed them in halting English once the doors opened on the lowest level.
The tastefully decorated hallway was deserted and completely devoid of sound at first. What Adam said came back to him, and Alric shifted his duster to make it easier for him to reach for his weapon.
“You wouldn’t by chance be leading me into a trap?” he asked conversationally, one hand resting lightly on the hilt of his hand-crafted sword.
The Chinaman saw it; his eyes widened perceptively and he rushed to reassure the vampire, reverting to his native tongue in his haste to explain that the walls were soundproofed for extra privacy, and that any second now he would be able to make out trace sounds of the music blaring from within the club, noise that no amount of insulation could prevent.
They rounded a corner and Alric heard it – the low thud of bass. His hand left his sword and slipped possessively around his slave’s waist and he shrugged his shoulders to allow the coat he was wearing to shift so that it once more concealed his weapon.
“It’s okay, yes?”
Alric inclined his head and watched as the man rushed ahead to open the door for them.
They were met at the threshold by a young woman who greeted them pleasantly enough. But Alric could see the hopelessness in her eyes, that she was resigned to her fate – which was probably why she was given the duty as the official greeter for tonight’s party.
“May I take your coat?” she asked politely.
“I’m fine,” he replied.
“The girl?” The hostess inclined her head, indicating his slave, and he nodded and reached for the fastenings at her neck. He pulled it free, leaving the girl nude but for the tiny thong she wore – a new one he’d chosen from a selection Bob had picked up – and the jewelry draped strategically over her body from neck to ankles.
With the cloak now free, revealing to the room at large just what, exactly, she was, Alric wasn’t surprised when she stepped out of her shoes and dropped to her knees at his feet. The shoes were taken along with the girl’s cloak and removed to the coat closet. A glance about the room revealed a few other species of demons and their pets, as well as a smattering of businessmen dressed in suits, their every need being seen to by the young girls that circulated the room.
“This way please,” the girl announced once she’d returned.
Alric noticed that even in the exclusive underground portion of the private club there was a hierarchy as well. He was led up a winding staircase to the upper levels. Another guard – human – stood at the open doorway and nodded politely as he entered.
“Please make yourself comfortable. Our host will be joining you shortly.”
The room had its own bar and he counted maybe a handful of demons inside. A few looked up at his approach, some even nodded in greeting – to which he inclined his head slightly in return. He gave them all a wide berth and chose an empty couch that butted up against a wall, pulling his katana out and laying it within easy reach on the cushion next to him as he sat down.
“C’mere.”
He quirked his finger at his slave indicating his desire to have her sit on his lap rather than at his feet. She complied readily enough and his arms slipped around her back and pulled her up against his chest. He didn’t stop to question his need to have her close, having given up questioning his decisions as far as the girl was concerned.
“Can I get you a drink?” a girl even younger than the last asked.
Alric grinned and brushed his slave’s hair back from her neck revealing his bite marks.
“Got my own, sweets. But thanks all the same. You can be a doll and bring my pet a glass of water though.”
He ignored the way his slave stiffened slightly in his arms. Ignored too, the way her heart seemed to kick into overtime, thumping away inside her chest and drowning out the bass of the music blaring from the lower level. The rapid cadence was its own special lure and he’d fall under its spell if he were not careful.
And he needed his wits about him tonight.
If things went according to plan, the girl could be on a plane bound for home in a few days.
He brushed aside the pang the thought caused and determined to bury his emotions. For a while it seemed to work, and Alric passed the time by cataloguing the demons and sizing them up as adversaries. Then he moved on to the humans, starting with the club’s security.
Thankfully the girl was quiet, content to be ignored.
But as she continued to sit there, curled on his lap, her head resting trustingly on his shoulder… Alric found he couldn’t maintain his distance. There’d been something about her that had made him buy her, and it was that something that drove him to finally touch her.
It was her soft whimpers of pleasure, the way her body arched into his hand seeking more of the same that kept him at it… long after he sensed their hosts’ presence in the room. It was only when they began walking towards him that he reluctantly pulled away and focused his attention on the small crowd drawing near.
“Mr. Maximilian, we are pleased that you could make it,” a junior lackey greeted him. “May I introduce Wah Sing Ku, and his business associates, Li Lum Chang and Zu-Wu Qian? They are the consortium behind the trade show here in Chinatown.”
Alric filed the names away in his brain so he could give them to Adam later. Setting the girl off his lap, he smiled in greeting and rose to his feet, bowing slightly to the three men.
“Thank you for inviting me to your party. Please… would you like to sit? Join me for a drink?” He gestured to the couch.
“I’m afraid Mr. Wah and the others need to mingle and greet their other guests. But please, enjoy yourself. And if you desire someplace more… discreet… you need only ask.”
Alric plastered a smile on his face and stifled the disappointment he felt. Apparently separating demons from their ill-got gains was allowed, but actually socializing with the denizens of the underworld was where the trio drew the line. Not a bad philosophy given that at any moment any one of their guests could turn on them.
And no amount of security personnel would be able to prevent it.
It didn’t matter. He’d gotten what he came for – a name. Three, in fact.
“Thank you.” He gave another brief nod and resumed his seat on the couch as the group of Chinamen moved off.
Left to his own devices with time to kill until he could politely make his excuses, Alric turned his attention to the girl and picked up where he’d left off.