Chapter Fourteen

Drake

M usic was playing loudly through the speakers, and the place was dimly lit. Shadows crept in every corner, a fact that Drake liked because it afforded someone a sense of privacy. However, all the puffy red seats were packed for the night, which annoyed him because he’d rather be at the strip club with fewer people than be amongst the many.

Several topless women were spinning around on poles, and a couple more were fully naked while they roamed around; giving lap dances, rubbing their tits in eager faces, and passing out drink orders to the drunk. Men were hooting and hollering from their seats, throwing money up onto the stage just for an extra second of attention.

If it weren’t for all the horny-ass people and the thick smell of their arousal, this place might actually be a good place to hide out like he was currently trying to do. Hide and wallow in his problems .

Drake sat in the back, tucked into one of the many shadows with a bottle of bourbon on the black table in front of him. The bottle was already half gone. He had gone to the strip club to try to get his mind off Amara, but it wasn’t helping as he had hoped. In fact, it was only making things worse. His mind and emotions were more muddled now than they were on the drive over.

His wolf was pissed off at him for even trying to look at another woman, and it appeared as though his dick was now a useless appendage for anyone other than his supposed mate because it was completely flaccid and uninterested in his surroundings.

He was sticking to his guns though. He was doing everything he could to stay away from her. The fact that he hadn’t seen her since the other night was telling for how much he meant it when he said she was a problem they didn’t need. While it felt as though he was nearly crawling out of his own skin, he knew it was for the best.

It hadn’t gone unnoticed that he’d also been avoiding Zeke and Knox as much as possible too. They were both smitten and hard to be around. That, and he couldn’t stand smelling her on them. He knew that one of them had her in the apartment earlier that day because her scent was prominent there. It drove his wolf fucking crazy.

He was pretty sure it had been Zeke who had brought her there. He was willing to bet that he marked Amara as well. The bond between the four of them was even stronger now, which made it difficult to ignore. He felt it the moment it happened, a tug behind his navel. His wolf had snarled at him, hating that he was now the only one who hadn’t marked her.

It was obvious that they weren’t listening to him when he told them that she was trouble, and that irritated him. They may not admit it, but they knew he had their best interests at heart. He looked out for them, kept them together, made sure they had food and a roof over their heads, and this was how they thanked him for it? He didn’t know how much longer he would be able to keep them together if they kept this shit up.

He hadn’t been paying attention; his mind wandered while he stared at the bottle, so when a familiar, sultry voice said, “Hey, Drake,” he startled.

He slowly lifted his gaze to the woman standing beside him.

“Vanity,” he greeted gruffly.

He didn’t actually know Vanity’s real name. He met her a few weeks after they moved to town when he decided to try out the strip club with the boys. Out of every woman there, she quickly became his favorite, but now, as he looked at her, he felt nothing. She was the exact opposite of Amara; long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Topless, of course, but her bold neon pink thong matched her high heels. Her fake boobs and too much makeup were always a turn-off for him though, but even now more so that he’d seen Amara without clothes. Even though their body shapes were vastly different; Amara was much thicker and Vanity was almost too thin.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” she purred, smiling at him seductively.

“Been busy.” He wasn’t intentionally being short with her. It was just all he could manage to get out.

He lifted his bottle to his lips as she slid closer to him, her intent clear when she rubbed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve missed you. What’s kept you away from me?”

“Like I literally just fucking said, I’ve been busy.”

His bad mood didn’t deter her. “You seem stressed,” she cooed, now rubbing the muscles in his shoulder. “I can help you escape for a little while. ”

Inside him, his wolf snarled at the fact that she was touching him. Externally, he fought to keep his claws from extending. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm down. “Not tonight.” And at the rate things were going, probably not ever again.

She leaned down and whispered in his ear, “Come on, baby. Let me make it better.”

His claws pierced his palms, and a shudder zapped through him as he fought to maintain control of the beast within him. “Damn it, Vanity. I said not tonight. Fuck off.”

Abruptly, she stood upright as if his words had slapped her. “Asshole,” she hissed before turning and stomping off the way she came.

“Well, that’s a first. I’ve never seen you turn down Vanity before,” Zeke said, suddenly appearing at his other side.

“Jesus Christ,” Drake mumbled. He wiped a hand down his face. Will no one leave him alone? “What are you doing here?”

Zeke pulled out one of the chairs and took a seat. “I think you know why I’m here, Drake. We need to talk about what’s been going on with you lately.”

He picked up the bourbon and took a long swig, relishing the burn that trickled its way down his throat. “Do I look like I want to talk?” he growled.

“Whether you want to or not, you need to. It’s clear this shit is eating at you.”

He finally looked over at him, and his eyes instantly went to the fresh mark on Zeke’s neck. He flexed his jaw to the point where his teeth strained. “She fucking marked you.”

“Yes, she did,” he replied matter-of-factly. “And I marked her. Why does that bother you so much?”

“Because I asked you fucking not to!” His volume drew the attention of a few strippers passing them, but he didn’t give a shit anymore. He was tired of not being listened to, of having an opinion – a good fucking opinion – that was falling on deaf ears.

“Do you suddenly have something against my being happy? I thought that’s what you wanted for us.”

“I was perfectly happy with our lives before she came along.”

Zeke sighed. “No, you were surviving. That’s all any of us were doing. I don’t understand why you are fighting this so hard, man. Amara is a godsend.”

“And yet, she reminds me of everything I told myself that I’d never want.”

“She’s not your mother, you know,” Zeke stated calmly. “She’s the exact opposite, and if you just took the time to get to know her, you’d see that.”

He rolled his eyes. “You don’t even know her. It hasn’t even been a week. How could you possibly know what she’s truly like?”

For a moment, Zeke stared at him long and hard. “You’re right, it hasn’t been that long, and yet, I know her. I’ve talked to her. Spend two minutes with her, and you’ll see that she’s different. She cares about you too, you know.”

“Yeah, well.” He drank from the bottle again. “She shouldn’t.”

“And yet, she does anyway. Even though you treat her like a whore.” Zeke’s disgust at the way he was treating her was clear in his voice. He was angry with him for it. And he couldn’t blame him.

Drake scrubbed his face with both hands, the stress of the conversation getting to him. “It’s not my intention to make her feel that way, but she needs to understand that this is a fucking terrible idea. ”

“It may not be your intention, but that’s exactly what you are doing. And how else is she supposed to feel? You want nothing to do with her, but you have no problems fucking her when you need to get off.” He took the bottle from Drake and downed a swig for himself. “And for the record, she too thinks it’s a bad idea. She’s afraid of what her father is going to do to us when he finds out. Knox and I are the ones pursuing her.”

“Then she’s a smart girl,” he grunted. “We’re no good for her, and her father is no good for us. Why the hell can’t you and Knox see that?”

“Because this isn’t about her father. It’s about her,” Zeke snapped, which was shocking because Zeke was always the calm one. He hardly ever lost his cool. Out of the three of them, he was always the one who kept things from blowing up. “She is the best fucking thing to happen to us, yet you are too fucking stubborn to see that. You are letting your past experience affect you now, even though you swore you wouldn’t let it. You are so afraid of what happened in your past that you’re even willing to let your soulmate suffer at the hands of her own father.” He shook his head. “I don’t even know who the fuck you are anymore.”

In truth, he was having a hard time recognizing himself these days. Knox was the unstable one, but lately, he had felt more unstable. All over a girl. All over this fated mate thing he swore he’d never have because of what happened all those years ago. What he witnessed at such a young age. What drove him from his pack life, taking Zeke with him, was something he’d always felt guilty about, even though Zeke came of his own free will.

This all fell on him. If they got into trouble with a local pack, it all fell on his shoulders to take care of his friends, to find a way to survive through it .

“Here’s the deal, Drake,” Zeke pressed. He leaned back in his chair a little, the muscles in his chest coiled. “Knox and I already marked her. It’s done. We chose to be with her. If you keep this up, if you keep hurting her the way you are, then Knox and I are going to leave with her. You say you’re doing this to protect us and what we built, but we want to build something with her too. We’d prefer it if you were with us, but we aren’t going to force you to do something you don’t want to do. If we have to take on her father and her pack alone, we will do it, but we are not going to let her stay with that monster. And then we will leave. Where would you be then?”

Drake sighed. “How can you be so sure it will even work out between you guys?”

Zeke smirked. “We’re fated, there’s no way it won’t.”

He cursed softly under his breath and looked away. “I just need some time, Zeke.”

His long-time friend shrugged. “Then take the time you need. Just know I plan on working with Knox to get her out of her current situation. After talking to her more this morning, I can’t stand to let her stay there any longer.”

He looked at him from the corner of his eye. When Zeke didn’t explain further, he asked, “What did you learn this morning?”

“Well, it’s bad enough that she tried to kill him herself.”

He raised his eyebrows and looked at him fully. She didn’t seem like the type to kill anyone. “What stopped her?”

“She said she couldn’t bring herself to pull the trigger. But she does want him dead. My guess is it’s more than just emotional abuse. And it’s been going on for years.”

Drake swiped his tongue over his front teeth. He may not want his mate, but the thought of someone else hurting her rattled him. “What are your plans, then? ”

Zeke shook his head and tapped on the table. “Don’t know yet. I’m going to talk to Knox, but I think we both know what he’s going to say. This time though, I’m tempted to agree with him. The thought of that asshole hurting her in any way . . .” He paused and grabbed the bourbon once more. After he swallowed, he added, “All I know is that she wants him dead, and I’m tempted to give that to her.”

“You know Knox is going to make this messy, right?”

“I do, but Amara is worth it. Besides, we’ve dealt with messier shit than this. She’s too innocent and pure to do it herself, and we already have more than a little blood on our hands. I’d rather we take care of it than force her to do it herself.”

Drake slowly nodded. “And where is Knox now?” He probably wouldn’t show up with Zeke because of their earlier brawl, but for all they knew, he could be at her father’s doorstep now.

“He’s hanging out with her at the shop.” Zeke chuckled. “Probably harassing the hell out of her while she’s trying to work.”

They had only known Amara a short while, but Knox’s obsession with her knew no bounds. “He seems different . . . you know . . . with her. Less like a loose cannon.” He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but thinking about it now gave him a little hope that maybe he could get over his shit. Maybe.

Zeke nudged his arm. “Because she brings out the best in us, Drake. She’s changed me too, you know. Makes me want to be a better man.”

Drake blew out a pent-up breath but said nothing more. He’d noticed the change in Zeke too. Zeke may have always been a caring person, but he was also carefree. That had changed since he met Amara .

Zeke grabbed the bottle and stood.

“Where are you going?” Drake asked.

“Anywhere but here,” he replied. “Being here makes me feel dirty. I don’t need this place now that I have Amara.” He looked back at Drake. “You coming?”

Drake took in one last look around the place, at the girls, and knew Zeke was right. This place no longer had an appeal to it, and now that he’d talked to Zeke, he wasn’t sure he was mad about that anymore.

Nodding, he stood up, feeling better than he had before he got here, and together, they walked out. He still had a lot of shit he needed to work through, but the conversation with Zeke had been a turning point for him.