Chapter Six

Animal's anniversary party was bound to be wild and crowded, but I wanted to go anyway. Ever since I'd met that sugar glider, Clay, I'd been tempted to go back and see him again. He was not our mate, but I was definitely attracted to him, and so there'd been an argument going on inside of me ever since. I'd dated plenty at one time, but it didn't take long to recognize that while it was fun to be a bear about town, after a while it all got to be the same, and not very satisfying.

So, the cute sugar glider was off-limits; he'd find his own mate I had no doubt, even if Fate had not granted me one. And it didn't bother me at all to recognize that he'd belong to someone else…or at least not much. He'd flat out asked me out, and I said no. That kept echoing in my head. I'd done the right thing, but…

Bearing in mind what it would be like at the event, I arrived early to get a table for my friends and me. Even at this time, the line was long, but the VIP list got me in without having to deal with that. I still felt guilty as I walked past the hundreds of people in line, but not quite guilty enough not to accept the get-in-fast option I had bid on at a recent charity auction. Animals supported so many good causes, and I never minded donating to help the community. In fact, I had several pieces of art at home, had enjoyed a beachfront weekend, and other items I'd bid on since the club opened. All while getting to feel good about helping. Win-win!

Valet parking had meant I exited my car near the entrance, as well, and I got out and handed my fob to the attendant, ready to get in and start the fun. If Animals was great on any given night, the anniversary celebration trumped that. The decorations started outside with balloons and floral arrangements and a banner welcoming guests to the event. There were a number of freebies advertised in the email I'd received, which no doubt helped to make the line longer than usual.

Right by the door, I paused, picking up the faintest of scents, something spicy, maybe a little woodsy, and then it faded. My bear wanted to follow it, but we were being guided inside.

Inside, a table held party favors marked with a scannable code to a site for attendees only where they could access things like door prize entries, a schedule of entertainment, the special menu for both food and bartender-created drinks for the occasion, and more. I grabbed a party hat, which I probably would not have the guts to wear, but I wanted to use the code.

As people were beginning to trail in, I sped up my steps for the main area, where I found my favorite booth still available. I wasn't sure how many of my friends were coming tonight, but at least three had confirmed, so I didn't feel guilty taking the six-seater. If we had more, we could pull up a couple of chairs. Settling back, I closed my eyes and relaxed. It hadn't been a particularly difficult day, like the one when my client turned out to be a vicious criminal, but it had been busy with all the little glitches of an ordinary ten-hour stint.

The music wasn't loud yet, just background low-vibes played by the DJ. The voices of staff and patrons rode the notes, creating an atmosphere of anticipation that would be much more electric shortly. I was inches away from dozing, comfortable and relaxed. The scent from outside still tickled my nose, and my bear nudged me, wanting more of it.

"Armel." I opened my eyes to see my friend Sooty sliding in right next to me. "You got our seats."

"Told you I would." I yawned, rested by my brief semi-nap. "Did you notice it smelled good near the entrance?"

"No, but there were a lot of flower arrangements. Maybe one of those?"

"Maybe." Although, I hadn't thought it was very floral. "Anyway, what are we drinking?"

He held up a bottle of bubbles. "Let's scan the code and see what the specials are."

We downloaded the QR Code onto both of our phones and looked over all our options. "Wow, they went all out," I marveled. "Although I don't know why I am surprised."

"Right?" He grinned at me. "Do we want to get a pitcher of something or two kinds to share and try?"

"Since we should have more of our friends coming soon, why not get a couple of pitchers and a platter of all the assorted special apps?"

"Genius." Sooty held up a hand to high-five me. "This is why you make all the sales."

"Most of them."

The tables and booths around the dance floor were filling rapidly, but a server eventually came and asked if we had ordered yet. He pointed out, with a hint of snark, that we could have used our download for that, and I apologized because we had not realized that—and maybe would not have managed it too easily. I used required business software at work with minimal help from my assistant, but still didn't manage to order or pay at the restaurants that tried to make you do that. And to be fair, lots of shifters were completely tech incompetent.

"Well, it's lucky you came by, then," Sooty said, staring down the server with his gleaming golden stare.

The omega crumpled under his regard. "I-I, of course. Yes, it is. What can I get for you, sirs?"

"You can get us another server," I said without any forethought. "Is Clay working tonight?"

Sooty jerked his head toward me, one thick, dark brow raised in question, but he didn't say anything. At first. When the server didn't reply, my friend snapped, "Is he?"

"W-why do you want him? He's new and doesn't know anything much."

"He knows how to be courteous to patrons," I pointed out. "Maybe you should find Zevo for us, or Ben?"

"No." He paled, shaking his head. "You don't need them. I'll find Clay."

He darted off, melting into the crowd.

"Do you think he'll be back?" Sooty asked.

"Maybe we should have just given him our order, attitude or no, as busy as it is."

"I'm surprised you didn't suggest getting Karma to fly here and deal with him." He smirked. "If you were going to the top."

I did have Karma and her mate Warren, the owners of the Animals clubs, in my phone because they had various real estate investments most were unaware of. Sooty didn't actually know that though. My clients' portfolios were not common knowledge, nor should they be.

"You don't think the manager and head of security were enough name-dropping?" I felt bad about doing it anyway. He was just a server and deserved more respect than we gave him. "I guess I resented the implication we were too old to know how to use our phones to order a drink."

"Well, we probably are." He held his phone up. "We might have to try or end up dying of thirst and hunger. Who is this Clay guy anyway?"

"Just a server who was great the last time I came in." I might have carried it off if my cheeks weren't burning.

"And?"

I shrugged. "He might have hit on me or at least implied he was interested."

"Cute?"

"Yeah, but you know I'm past that. Mate or nothing now."

He snorted. "Then why did you ask for him?"

"Could we just order?" We both bent close to try, but all we succeeded in doing was downloading a copy of the menu.

"Hi again."

The scent hit me at the same time I lifted my face to see Clay standing in front of the table. It mingled with the last bit of the aroma from the doorway and clicked. Clay wasn't my mate; he was one of my mates. As three more of our friends were heading for the table, I leapt up and grabbed the sugar glider's arm. "Can you take a break?"