Strange Happenings (Cole's Point of View)

The music was thumping loudly, warm bodies plastered against each other, and drinks were flowing. The club was dimly lit with flashing lights and the atmosphere filled with smoke. I jumped up and down happily, slowing to move sensually when the tempo changed.

I loved nightclubs, especially clubs like this which attracted patrons of all kinds and every sexuality was well represented. You could find every combination of couples here.

"Lion's Den" was one of the best clubs in the country and definitely my favorite of all the clubs I frequented. That was why I drove two whole hours to patronize it instead of going to any of the closer ones.

I was a regular there, and most of the people who occupied the VIP section were all regulars as well, and we were comfortable with each other due to familiarity. I had been there for two hours, and within those two hours, I had consumed several glasses of margarita and mimosa. Alcohol didn't have an effect on werewolves the way it did with humans, it just created a little buzz of happiness.

I had already posted a few pictures of me dancing with different people but I'm certain they will be several other pictures of me all over the internet on both human and werewolf blogs.

Humans enjoyed writing about socialite werewolves, and I was at the top of that chain. I trended each time I visited the club, and that was almost every Friday and Saturday. Declan hated it, but then again, Declan hated almost everything fun, in my opinion.

Speaking of Declan, I see him waving at me from my VIP couch, trying to get my attention. I ignore him, turning around to put my arms around the neck of the man I'm dancing with while I tried to stifle the laughter at the thought of how passed Declan probably was by my dismissal.

I move sensually against my current dance partner, Tim, who was one of the regulars I often danced with. He was my favorite partner because he took no for an answer after the first time and didn't keep pressuring me like some of the others.

We moved along with the beat for a while before Tim stopped abruptly, looking behind me with a wary expression. I sighed, knowing exactly what the problem was.

Looking behind me with a scowl, I demanded "What is it, Declan? It's only been two hours! You can't possibly be nagging me to leave already."

He clenched his jaw so hard that I was convinced it would break. Declan didn't like Tim or most of the people I hang out with. I don't even know what his problem was.

"I need to speak to you, it's urgent."

"Fine!" I exclaimed, throwing up my hands in surrender. "It better be urgent!"

Turning to Tim, I render an apology. "Sorry, Tim. I'll be back soon."

"Why the hell do you keep acting like my bodyguard instead of my Assistant?" I demand while I follow Declan to a quieter section of the club.

He ignored my question and simply handed me my phone. "Here. Your parents have been calling you for hours. Why don't you call them back?"

My eyes widened in bewilderment. "What? Is that why you pulled me away from the dance floor?"

"You should call them back. It might be important if they've been trying to reach you for so long."

I rolled my eyes, extremely pissed that Declan had called me over just for this.

"Are you kidding me? The only urgent reason why they would be calling me is to tell me they miss me and love me, just like the million other times they've called since they left, and honestly, I'm sick of hearing something I already know being repeated a billion times!"

Declan just stared at me, shaking his head in disappointment. "Maybe you can talk to them about sending messages sometimes and reducing the calls, but trust me, you will miss it if they stop."

I rolled my eyes again. "As if. I'll just call them in the morning. Just send them a text for me that I'm fine, and I'll contact them in the morning."

"Who is that?" Declan suddenly asked, and I looked behind me and saw a flash of pink disappearing down the stairs.

"Werewolf", Declan announced, staring at where the person had disappeared to.

I nodded my agreement. Humans could not move that fast.

"Strange," he murmured, still staring speculatively down before taking my phone back to quickly type in the message.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, rushing after me when I went in the opposite direction of the dance floor and our seat. "I'm going to the washroom. Are you going to follow me there too?" I asked with my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Actually, yes, I am. There's something weird going on tonight and I'm not comfortable leaving you on your own. I'll wait outside the door until you return."

I turned back to him in exasperation. "Declan, loosen the fuck up! This club is mainly filled with humans that I'm a lot stronger than. Stop trying to act like my damn bodyguard!"

I flounced off in annoyance while Declan followed in my wake, slamming the door unnecessarily hard when I entered the empty stall to pee.

He was leaning against one side of the wall when I returned, scrolling through his phone. He looked up when I returned, ignoring him while I washed my hands.

I was just about to leave when the bathroom door opened and someone came rushing in.

"Hey! Watch-" but Declan's warning came too late as the person slammed into me, sending the glass of whatever he had been holding splashing all over my shirt.

I cursed loudly as wetness spread across my chest, wetting my Gucci shirt. "Why the hell won't you watch where you're go - Tim?"

I looked at my dance partner in confusion as Declan rushed over to inspect the extent of damage, glaring at Tim.

"I'm so sorry, Cole! I wasn't paying attention," he apologized, looking very contrite.

He looked up nervously at Declan who was still glaring holes into him.

"Why would you enter the bathroom with a drink in hand?" he demanded, and Tim swallowed nervously. "I needed to pee badly and I didn't want to leave my unfinished drink behind."

Declan narrowed his eyes. "You needed to pee so badly, yet, here you stand without seeming too desperately in need of the urinal."

"Oh for fucks sake, Declan, leave the poor guy alone. It's okay, Tim. You can go use the bathroom. He rushed off then, casting furtive glances at Declan.

"Would you stop intimidating my friends? I'm seriously going to talk to Dad about some boundaries. I don't even know why you have to follow me everywhere even when I'm out at night!"

He stared at me with an inscrutable look while I returned to the mirror to watch the extent of the damage. "You really have no idea, do you?" he murmured, and I was about to answer when I felt a burning sensation.

"What's wrong?" Declan asked when I hurriedly started unbuttoning my shirt.

"What the fuck was in that drink?" Declan rounded on Tim, who had chosen that unfortunate time to return, washing his hands in the sink. His eyes widened at the question and he gasped when he saw the red splotches spreading across my torso.

"I - I d-don't know. Someone bought it for me," he stuttered, making Declan's eyes glow in anger.

"I'm so sorry! Cole, I didn't -"

"Get out!" Declan growled, and Tim rushed out before I could respond.

"Some humans use carlup leaves in their drink instead of mint, Declan. It was an honest mistake."

"It's weird as fuck that someone handed him a drink with the only herb you're allergic to," he said, shrugging off his shirt and handing it to me. Now he was wearing only the white Tee underneath.

I took the shirt gingerly, and he rolled his eyes at my hesitation. "Yh, it's not Designer, but it's clean and smells good. You can't go out half-dressed with those large splotches on your chest, and you can't wear your shirt anymore."

He was right. I shrugged the shirt on, pulling the collar down with the first two buttons unbuttoned and tacked it in carefully, turning the shirt that had looked too large on me just seconds ago into a stylish shirt that looked great on me.

Declan was staring at me in awe, and it was nice to see something positive on his face for once instead of the usual disapproval he sends my way. "You are good at this fashion thing," he declared, and I flashed him a proud smile. "Fashion god, at your service."

He chuckled. "Seriously though, we need to get you home and put some treatment on the burns. My wolf is uncomfortable here, and I agree. It has been a strange night."

I wouldn't know because I sent my wolf into slumber each time I came here. He hated this place. However, now that I thought about it, something else was strange.

"You're right, " I started, rolling my eyes at the shocked look he gave me for agreeing with him. "It's very strange that apart from Tim nobody else has been in here since we arrived. It's never been this empty before."

Declan nodded. "Come on, let's go." We were blinded by camera flashes when we left the bathroom, and Declan just pulled me along quickly and didn't let go until I was in the passenger seat of the car.

We both kept silent until we were about twenty minutes into our journey, both of us lost in thought.

"What the hell was that?" I ask rhetorically, finally breaking the silence.

"I mean, paps like to sneak in a picture or two sometimes, but the whole thing was so weird, and he rushed off after taking the pictures. It was a wolf, and I caught a whiff of wolf before he disappeared, " I added.

"I will feel much better when I drop you home. That guy, Tim? He's been acting suspicious all night. It's one of the reasons I interrupted your dance. I don't know what's going on but the club wasn't the same today."

We ponder a little over the night's events before I doze off.

Declan woke me up when we arrived Declan waited while I took a shower and helped me apply the ointment on my chest burns so I don't wake up one of the maids to help me with it.

After he left for his in-house suite, I dropped tiredly onto my bed, making a mental note to call my parents first thing the next morning.

For some reason, I was suddenly missing them and wanted to hear their voices.