“You the Enforcer, right?” she called out, holding her arm up to shield her face from the rain.
“Yeah,” Raven responded. She inhaled as deeply as she could. The scent of the girl’s wolf engulfed her. She felt at ease, it was a familiar scent.
The girl with springy black curls flowing down past her shoulders, held her hand out. “They were not joking when they said you’d arrive to the minute, huh? Name’s Michy, like Peachy but with an m.”
“Raven.” She shook her hand firmly.
“Nice grip. The boys are going to like you,” she told her, licking her lips. “Come inside. Stick by me and don’t get pulled onto any elevators or through any doors.”
“What?”
Michy winked at her. “Just follow me.”
Raven did as she was told, walking into The Barstow. The walls were blood red with soft lights illuminating the lobby. There were a few people, all in formal attire, milling around. She stood out like a sore thumb in her black denim jeans, combat boots, and favorite leather vest that held an assortment of pockets containing her tools for the job. Raven ran her fingers through her wet strands, slicking the blonde hair back and out of her face just so everyone in there could get a good look at her. She wasn’t to be toyed with.
The scent of pure humans touched her, making her weary. She couldn’t see them, but flashes of killing Jordan ran rampant through her mind. He’d kept his humans in a den of atrocities. It was gory. It was disgusting. It was the primary reason he had needed to be killed. His bloodlust was worse than any other wolf she’d ever encountered. But the odors here were different. There wasn’t any blood in the air, only the aromas of amorous lovemaking. Every nerve in her body tingled as her senses were overloaded.
Michy turned around and smiled. She said something to her but Raven was fully enveloped by what was going on around her. Very few were paying attention to her as they walked across the black marble floor. There was a huge desk, where another woman stood. Raven took in how gorgeous she was. She was dressed in a bustier, a collar, and high heels as she greeted people.
“How much for her?” one of the men asked, referring to Raven.
Raven faced him with her fangs protruding and a snarl rising out of her throat until she felt the soft touch of Michy’s hand on her wrist. “Come, I’ll explain on the way up.”
Raven calmed herself down and shook away the primitive feelings surging through her body as she followed Michy around a corner, up to what seemed like a regular door. It was anything but. As Raven got closer, she noticed it was made of onyx, with a thick gold inlay and a shiny gold handle. Michy pressed her hand against the wall next to the door’s frame. The panel lit up bright blue as it scanned her palm. The door unlocked, revealing an elevator.
“Fancy security,” Raven mumbled under her breath as she stepped onto the elevator behind her tour guide.
“Fancy alpha,” Michy replied. “Alan Barstow isn’t like your good ole boys in the woods. He’s different.”
“What do you mean by different exactly?” Raven asked.
“It’s something you have to see, to feel; rather than me tell you,” she said with excitement in her eyes. Raven wondered why that was. It was as if the girl was looking forward to her reaction to meeting the alpha.
When the doors opened, the first thing Raven saw was an entire wall of windows overlooking the city. She could see the homes, twinkling with street lights along with the river that ran along the city’s perimeter. It was one of the most beautiful views she’d ever seen.
“Marvelous, isn’t it?” a slightly effeminate male voice echoed around the room.
Raven looked around to see a tall man. He was slender, slender as if the diet of his wolf didn’t contain a healthy amount of meat. This man could definitely stand to gain a few extra pounds. He wore a red velvet robe, with paisley prints indented all over it. His black satin pants graced the floor making him appear to glide across the room.
“Alan Barstow, Miss Martine,” he spoke softly as he held his hand out. He held it so delicately, Raven wondered if he wanted her to kiss it. Instead, she shook it. The moment she touched his hand, his fingers shifted, wrapping around her own and pulling her into him. His lightning speed surprised her. He breathed onto her before sniffing her wet hair, her very essence wafting into his nostrils. Raven couldn’t shake loose of his grip. Alan moved his face slowly back and forth in front of her as if he were studying her eyes, her reaction to him. He whispered to her, “Do not think for a second that because I am built the way I am that I do not possess the strength of ten wolves. Pleased to meet you.”
He let go of her hand and while it was a rare thing to surprise her, Raven didn’t let it phase her as she responded, “I understand. But what I don’t get is, why am I here, Alan? There isn’t any blood in the air. While I’m curious about the humans down in the lobby; I’m an Enforcer. What am I here to investigate exactly?”
A woman came from a door she didn’t see. Her hair was long and jet black. It shimmered in the lights along with her icy blue eyes. They appeared as if they had flecks of white woven into them. Alan’s were the same. She draped her arm around his shoulder and kissed him so delicately on the cheek, it made Raven wince.
“Oh, my dear, she doesn’t seem to be accustomed to affection. Would you like me to show you how? I promise you’ll enjoy yourself.” She winked, while running her tongue deliberately over her teeth.
“I just want to know why I’m here,” Raven said again.
“Allow me.” Alan nodded. “Raven is the Enforcer that was sent here to help us, Shana. Raven this is Shana, my sister.”
“Lovely to meet you.” Shana’s demeanor was uninterested as her eyes remained glued to the side of her brother’s face. “There was a commotion in the lobby when she walked through. Apparently, we don’t carry enough blondes and combat kink.”
“Well fix it then, Sister,” he sneered under his breath.
“Don’t hiss at me. Guest or no guest, remember who the stronger of the two is my dear brother,” she told him while running a long fingernail down his face.
“Which is why we do this together,” he told her, shaking away from her grasp. “Now, go handle it.”
“It will be done.” She mimicked a curtsy and left.
“Now, back to you,” he said to Raven. “What you saw downstairs is merely the beginning stages of our vetting process. We own a string of clubs throughout the city that facilitates the safe interaction between humans and, well, us.”
“Just wolves, or all shifters alike?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, no!” Alan scoffed. “Only wolves, my dear. I’m in no mood to deal with any other species.”
“How is this legal?”
“Money is all you need to know. Money buys my pack certain amenities and leniencies when it comes to the Council. Besides, they’re opening their minds to the idea of co-mingling species. We’re like a starter pack, to see how well it goes. If it goes up in smoke, we’re on our own, or they send a gaggle of you folks out here to take us out. But the real reason you’re here is that humans, who have been attending my clubs, have been disappearing. It’s not just a coincidental one or two. It’s two to three per night. We’re getting close to the human law enforcement breathing down my neck. And well, we all know how ugly that can get. So you’re here to hang around the clubs, and see what you can see. We’re missing something and we’d hate to be the reason a war breaks out. Many lives would be lost,” he said, almost sympathetically.
“What about your pack members? How many are there? Are they all present and accounted for when these humans disappear? Are they just missing or are their bodies popping up?” Raven asked, putting notes on her phone.
“Sometimes there’s a body or two, but we take care of that. We need to keep this thing under wraps. I bring in a lot of money, for my pack and the Council. Not to mention this city. No one wants my clubs to shut down. Even the prissy-ass politicians take their unmarked envelopes to look the ot
her way. We do have a suspicion about one of our own but it can’t be confirmed,” he admitted.
“Who’s that?”
“He’s talking about me,” spoke a voice so deep it traveled down Raven’s spine and stopped right between her thighs.
Looking up, she saw him. He was 6’2…towering over her. He wore a tank top that showed off every ripple and muscle that could flex above the waist. His linen pants reminded her of Corbin, but this one was much younger. His dark brown hair was cut short, close to his scalp. She wanted to run her hand over it as he walked into the room. The closer he got, the more anxious Raven became. She wasn’t sure what the feeling was coursing through her body when she saw him, but it felt like something far more intense than lust. He could pull his cock out right now and she’d drop to her knees and inhale every inch without batting an eyelash. Now, he was one hell of a distraction, putting the man on the street in the fancy suit to shame.
“Who are you?” she could barely force the words out.
“I’m Conan.”
Chapter Three
“Don’t believe him, he’s high,” another man stated as he walked in behind him. He was dressed in a tight black t-shirt and matching black pants. He was wide but not fat, just stocky, built out of muscle from head to toe.
“Don’t tell me what I am,” Conan snapped at him, brushing the guy’s hand away.
“Devon Barnes.” He smiled at Raven. Two others walked in behind him. Michy being one of them, Raven looked around trying to remember at what point had she even left.
Alan threw his hands up, waving them back and forth, “What the hell is going on here? Why aren’t you downstairs? Don’t we have a club to run?”
“Shana sent us up,” a woman said, sashaying past Raven. She grazed her hand slightly as she walked by.
Raven didn’t hesitate to snatch her wrist. “Don’t touch me.”
“Aye yai yai, what a strong grip you have.” She smirked but snatched her wrist back equally as strong as when Raven gripped it.
“Told you,” Michy said, with a smile.
“Don’t you all have condos of your own to occupy?” Alan sighed.
Michy and the brunette, whose wrist Raven snatched, trotted over toward the large wall of windows, plopping down onto a single seat, in each other’s lap.
“Of course we do, but we don’t have a view like this.” Michy pointed toward the cityscape.
“Again, what are you all doing up here?” Alan asked again.
Devon walked Conan over to the large sofa and eased him onto his back.
“Shana sent us up, something about blondes and combat kink, but now that we’re up here, I see what all the fuss is about.” The woman smirked.
“Someone explain to me why the sleepy one thinks he’s the reason I’m here?” Raven asked, staring at all their faces.
“That’s just it,” Michy called from her seat. “He’s sleepy. He blacks out after he smokes one of those funny cigarettes of his and he thinks his dreams are coming to life. He’s starting to slip the imaginary stuff in with real life.”
“He’s just stressed,” Alan said, immediately defending the man. “He’s had a rough start to life. He deserves to smoke a bit of those memories away. But it doesn’t hurt that you’re here, Miss Martine.”
“Call me Raven, please,” she requested.
“Raven, I would love for you and Michy to tour our clubs. Keep an eye on Conan though just to make sure he behaves,” Alan suggested.
“Can all of you account for his whereabouts throughout the night on any given day?” she asked all of them.
Just when she thought they would rally behind Conan, they shrugged, exchanging glances of worry.
Devon was the first to speak. “Listen, he takes these little naps and then he’s good for the rest of the night. He works extremely long hours, not to mention the kind of work he does is um, uh…”
“Taxing,” the brunette volunteered. “You sure she’s not here for us? We could use her in the Wolf Den. She’s got a super dominant vibe the men would enjoy breaking.”
“Enough!” Alan said to the woman grinning mischievously. “Please forgive Sadie. She never thinks before she speaks.”
“That’s fine, but I want you all to understand that I’m not here to work. I’m not here to party. I was sent here to find out what’s going on. It’s at my sole discretion that if I find anything, any little thing that needs to be dealt with…whoever is responsible will be handled accordingly,” Raven told them.
Alan touched her shoulder, motioning toward a long hallway. They stopped in the middle of it, where he pushed a button. The wall itself sunk in an inch and slid out of the way. There were two tiers of clothes hanging up. Some were folded on a shelf.
“Michy! Come help our guest find something to wear to Induction tonight. I don’t want to scare her, so please, something modest. When you’re done with that, you and Sadie get Conan back to the Den!”
“I’m not going back to work tonight,” Conan called from the couch.
“Work the cage then,” Alan told him. “But you’re not staying up here. There’s money to be made. Now, if I have to go on a scavenger hunt for new members of this pack then so be it. I will! DO NOT MAKE ME LOOK FOR NEW MEMBERS!”
Conan got up from the couch with a huff as he dropped his linen pants right in the center of Alan’s entryway. Raven swallowed hard watching his muscular, naked ass switch out of the room. The door opened and closed with a loud bang.
“Oooh, he’s mad.” Michy laughed as she finally appeared in the hallway.
“Go pick…those…up!” Alan snarled.
Michy stopped laughing, wiping the smile off her face as she trotted toward the pants. Picking them up, she dropped them into a bin near the corner of the closet.
“SADIE!” Alan called. The brunette appeared at the hall entryway. Her blunt bob cut framed her face nicely. Her dark brown eyes, lined with makeup were stunning to look at, deep enough to get lost in.
“You summoned me?” she whispered seductively.
“You get in the cage,” he commanded her. “You’re in a far better mood than he is anyway. Michy take Conan and Raven to Induction. Show her around. Put her at ease. Show her why the Council is okay with me operating the way that I do. It’s all on the up and up. Make sure she has a really good time.”
“But I hate parties,” Raven murmured, looking at the clothes hanging in front of her. None of them were modest at all. Alan stared at them intensely and then to her, from head to toe.
“Nonsense, everyone loves parties,” he said to himself more than to her. “Put her in something blue, Michy. Be quick about it. Tell Shana to get back up here. The last thing I need for her to be doing is mingling with the help.”
“It will be done,” she answered formally.
Raven stood back as Michy pulled out clothes for her to wear. After settling on a pair of blue leather Daisy Dukes and a black leather bra top, Michy took Raven to her condo. The pack lived on the top floor of the building. All of their quarters connected but those doors and halls were only to be used in emergency situations.
“You’ll be staying with me,” Michy told her. “I’m the only one with a designated guest room.”
Quite a guest room it was. She hadn’t any idea the amount of wealth circulating amongst the Barstow pack, but they were loaded and spared no expense in showing it. The room was far brighter than the ambiance everywhere else in the building. As a matter of fact, the entire place was bright with its beige walls. There were colorful furniture pieces, and the energy just rang happiness. It was surprising to Raven.
By the time they showered and got dressed, Conan was standing in front of the elevator wearing a pair of satin pants and matching shirt that remained unbuttoned. Raven eyed him cautiously as his mood was palpable. He was pissed.
“Maybe we can do this another night,” Raven suggested. She was feeling bad for the brooding fantasy standing next to her.
He tipped his head slight
ly, eyeing her up and down. He licked his lips. They glistened after his tongue retreated back into his mouth. Raven’s breathing slowed as her pulse quickened. Conan stared at her mouth and said, “No, it’s fine. Michy. If you see Ivan, tell him I’m looking for him.”
“Okay, Conan,” she said with a deflated smile.
Raven made a note to ask her about this Ivan person later. As they traveled down in the elevator, she noticed they went passed the lobby. As a matter of fact, there were another ten floors underneath the ground floor. When the doors opened, there was music booming from the end of a long hallway. Devon was standing with his arms folded across his chest, another gentleman was next to him wearing the same all-black uniform.
The aroma of the other fellow nearly knocked Raven on her ass as she scrunched her face and turned away from him.
“Now, that’s fucking insulting,” the guy sneered. “You’re acting like you’ve never smelled bear before.”
“But Alan said-,” Raven began.
Devon cut her off. “He’s working security. He’s not part of our pack. He doesn’t work for the club. He only comes in on nights where we’re a bit busy. Don’t worry about it. Okay? You guys go enjoy your night. Especially you, Michy.”
He winked at her and when she walked by, Raven watched as Devon’s meaty hand grabbed all of her backside. Pulling her in close, he stuck his tongue in her mouth and she returned the gesture. They kissed like they’d never see each other again and it made Raven’s nipples harden just watching them.
Michy pulled away, gasping for air, and right in time to see Raven shrinking away from their brazenly intimate moment. The smile on Michy’s face was contagious as she reached out for Raven, grabbed her hand and pulled her inside the club. It wasn’t too crowded and the music didn’t sound as loud as she thought it would be walking in from the elevator. With people bumping into her and brushing up against her skin, Raven kept wiping her own shoulder against her face as if that would be enough to wipe away the touch of other people on her skin.
The Wolf's Temptation Page 2
