Chapter Five

My trip across the country ended up being more "across the country" than I had originally planned. When I discovered Animals and set my mind on going there to start this new chapter in my life, I hadn't realized there were three of them. That was my fault. If I had scrolled to their about page, I'd have seen at the bottom where it listed their sister clubs. But no, I drove straight to one in the desert.

It was ridiculous of me to jump straight into everything and expect it to go just as I planned, but still, that had been my assumption. And standing outside of what I thought was my final destination humbled me right quick.

The woman took one look at me through her office door and said, "I've got nothing for you. You don't belong here." I hadn't even been able to finish telling her why I was here, and suddenly this wasn't the place for me. Had she been a shifter, I'd have assumed I wasn't the "right" kind of animal. But this woman was human. For all she knew I was a unicorn.

Sugar gliders didn't really belong in all shifter spaces. That was a given. I wasn't even large enough to be a snack for most beasts. What did I have to contribute? In a way, being rejected for that would've felt less…well, less of a rejection.

"I'm Karma. Come on in."

I looked at her in confusion. She'd just told me I didn't belong here then two seconds later invited me in. Weird.

"Okay, we need to get you where you do belong." She pointed to the seat in front of her desk, and I took it. "I think you need to head to our San Diego club," she said and grabbed a pen. "Yes. That's where. Here is my brother-in-law's name. Give this to him, and tell him Karma sent you. Also, have him hook you up with a room."

I looked down at the paper, where the only thing written was a first name, and I shoved it into my pocket. "Okay."

It wasn't like I was really in a place to argue. I could simply walk out and ignore her directions, sure. But what would be the point in questioning her? She didn't know me from anyone else who came into the club.

San Diego hadn't been a place I'd ever really considered going before, but now that she mentioned it, I was intrigued. It wasn't as if I'd been actively avoiding it or anything like that. When I thought of places to travel to, San Diego just never crossed my mind as "the one."

I got in my car and decided to play it by ear. Only playing it by ear quickly turned to me driving there as if my future depended on it, and, when I arrived, my new boss was at the door waiting for me. He already had a place for me, a job, and I needed training. So much training.

I'd never really worked in my life, much less worked a service job. I hadn't spent my days playing video games or anything like that. I had responsibilities; it just was that having a boss and getting a paycheck weren't on that list. Like most people, I cooked, cleaned, did things with acquaintances, and made investments, which I supposed was a job…sort of. But this—this was a job-job, and I was in over my head.

I'd applied for work before. It never panned out. The thing with being a trust fund kid was that no one wanted to give you a chance unless it was using your nepo-status. After a while, I gave up. It wasn't like I'd ever needed the money.

But now that I was at Animals, they didn't treat me like a trust fund kid. They treated me like I was part of their family. They trained me to do all different tasks, saying I'd find the one that worked for me, and it was nice. The staff told me I would be happy with any of them, that they all had their pluses. So far, I believed that to be true. The shifts I worked were great, even though they'd been very different.

Tonight was the big anniversary celebration, and I was nervous. It was my first night that I had an entire section to myself. Everyone assured me it was manageable and not to worry if I made any mistakes. But I was so worried. I didn't want to let them down, especially not after they'd all been so kind to me.

The place was packed from the time the bouncers opened the doors. Animals always had a crowd, but this… There were so many people, and as nervous as I'd been, I found myself loving it. I was working the area like a boss and the tips were piling up. Best of all, I saw a hottie and for the first time in I couldn't remember how long, I was interested, like really really interested.

He was cute, and my sugar glider perked up the second he saw him. My beast liked him. I liked him. He flirted. I flirted. As he was getting ready to leave, I decided it was my time to shoot my shot.

"Armel, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out with me?"

In the past, I never worried when I approached an alpha, at least not in the way I was now. When people knew my name and how many zeros were in my bank account, they treated me different. Was a guy going to say no? Of course not. They'd always said yes. I was the "most eligible bachelor." When shifted with alphas, my worries were more about whether they would like me for me and not about whether or not my beast was suitable enough for them.

This? This was so much scarier. Because if he said no, it was 100 percent me. No more excuses.

And he said no. He wasn't a dick about it, but tell that to my heart. I really liked the guy—probably too much. Maybe this was for the best.