Chapter 8 - Distraction is Key

Fen's POV

Ari stayed out on the dance floor most of the night, dancing, meeting, and mingling with men that constantly approached her. She was really sluttin' it up tonight. It looked like she was practically throwing herself at every dude she danced with. Desperate much? Gross. I needed MANY more drinks to watch this more.

As time passes, I am getting more and more bored and impatient, but I see her finally heading off the dance floor so I start moving towards her.

“FINALLY...I was wondering how long it would take you to tire of dancing.” I blurt out to her, grabbing her by the waist. “C’mon! Let’s go sit by Lane. He’s been saving us seats.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a second. I just need to grab a bottle of water first.” She says to me heading to the bar.

I smirk at her and wait for her to get her water before heading to the table I had Lane reserve for us.

“Hey Lane! Any hotties I need to make myself comfortable with?” I blurted out not caring who heard as I grabbed a chair at the table with Lane.

“Not at the moment Alpha. Am I free to mingle now or do you still need me to do anything for you?” Lane asks.

“I’m good Lane. Go get you some man!” I burst out laughing and pat Lane on the back. Lane just glares at me knowing all too well that I’m about to be wasted at this rate.

“How much has he had?” Lane asks Ari.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve been on the dance floor most of the night.” She laughed.

“He gets handsy when he is TOO drunk, so as long as he isn’t pawing at some innocent bystander, we’re okay,” Lane comments getting up to go mingle and look for his mate.

“Roger that.” Ari smiles, giving him a salute.

“So tell me Fenry, what special move got you the advantage against your dad in the challenge, I’m curious?” She spat at me. Normally, I would slap a bitch that spoke to me so brazenly but I bit my tongue.

“Like I would tell you.” I snap glaring at her.

Ari rolled her eyes, turning away from me.

“But if you must know…” I lean into her like I’m going to tell her a deep dark secret or something, “I didn’t use any special moves. Dad let me beat him.”

Her eyes grow big hearing my confession of sorts.

“Not that anyone will believe you if you say anything.” I chuckle sitting back in my seat.

“Ugh, you’re such a pig! I’m going to the bathroom.” She gets up flustered apparently.

“You never stay put very long. Can’t you just hold it?” I complain.

“I’m not a lap dog or show pony Fen. I need to pee. You can’t follow me into the bathroom either. I’m pretty sure your supervisory duties don’t extend there.” She scowls at me.

“No, but I will be waiting outside the bathrooms for you,” I tell her more to annoy her than anything as I finish another scotch.

As I walk her to the bathrooms, I realize I am starting to stumble a little and the scotches are starting to catch up to me. As I help her navigate the crowds to the nearest bathroom, I push through the people to help her pass and get to the bathroom more easily. She didn’t object or argue with my tactics for maneuvering her to the bathrooms, in fact, the more people I pushed by to make way for her, the faster she moved through the crowd to the bathroom. When we get there, she leaves me leaning against a wall near the bathrooms to wait for her. The night has gone by smoothly, for the most part, no major disruptions, confrontations, or issues have come up, and the best part - her mate hasn’t made his debut either. I bask in my current victory as I think of ways I can continue to annoy and inconvenience her.

“Hey man! What are you doing standing here?” A familiar voice from behind me calls.

“Huh?” I turn around to see my beta Lane standing next to me holding what appears to be a girl's shall, or coat or something.

“Oh! Hey Lane...I’m waiting for Arianna to get out of the bathroom.” I say dryly, clearly bored with my current predicament.

“Ahh...still playing babysitter huh?” He chuckled. “She still hasn’t found her mate?” He looks at me quizzically and surprised.

“Nope...but I haven’t really helped her with that either so...oh well.” I shrug. “What are you doing here? And WHAT ARE YOU HOLDING DUDE?”

“Oh! I almost forgot to mention! I met my mate, man!” Lane beams proudly.

“Oh really?!” I’m actually genuinely surprised at this news. “And who might the lucky man be?” I tease him.

“Haha, not funny dude.” Lane retorts, “It’s Alexia, Ari’s friend.”

“Interesting…” I say scratching my chin in thought. I may be able to use this to my advantage at some point. I’m not sure how, but I’m sure she will come in handy. I smirk, “Congrats man! I’m happy for you!”

“Thanks man! So...I’m going to retire with her for the night. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Lane declares.

“Oh, yeah! Definitely! Get you some man!” I nod in understanding.

“Nah man...she’s not like that. We are just going to spend more time together to get to know each other better before the claiming tomorrow.” Lane explains.

“MMMhhmmm….” I comment, smirking at him.

“I’m serious dude. No funny business tonight. She’s innocent.” Lane admits.

At that moment, I saw Ari walk out of the bathroom with her friend Alexia in tow. She paused outside of the restrooms, stopping dead in her tracks and it appeared as if she was smelling the air very carefully. She looked confused...or maybe distracted by something. I couldn’t tell, but I didn’t want her thinking of anything else to take up more of my time with so I quickly walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her back towards the bar.

“Good GOD you took forever! C’mon, I need another drink.” I blurt out exasperatedly, pulling Ari with me back to the bar.

“Not now Fen...I think I smell something.” She says distractedly trying to push me away from her.

“I do too...the smell of my buzz going away and the smell of more scotch at the bar with my name on it!” I chuckle, continuing to pull her along.

“Ugh! No Fen! I’m being serious!”

“I am too. C`mon, whatever it is, I’m sure it’s fine and you can deal with it later.” I am tired of her whiny shit and this nonsense ‘I smell something’ bullshit. I’m done with her crap and ready to go find me a girl or two to entertain me tonight. Ari has kept me up and moving around non-stop practically, that I haven’t had time to even shop around myself for my flavor of the night and it was really starting to get fucking annoying.

“LAST CALL AT THE BAR LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!” The DJ announces over the sound system.

“Shit! C`mon Arianna, we have to hurry or I won’t get another drink before we have to go!” I shout, grabbing Ari’s wrist and beginning to knock people out of the way more aggressively until we reach the bar.

When we reach the bar, I order a shot of whiskey and another glass of scotch to polish off the night. Once the bartender gives me my drink order, I quickly take the shot and suck down the scotch. With the bar closing, I’ve got a limited amount of time left to find what I am looking for for the night and that’s when I have had enough of Ari and this whole babysitting bullshit.

“Alright pup, it’s your bedtime and time for me to finally come out and play.” I spit as I finish my last swig of scotch and pass the empty glass back to the bartender.

“What?! It’s only 1 AM!” She shouted.

“Yeah...1 AM is late. I’m tired of playing babysitter. I’m ready to go have some fun!” I declare as I grab her arm and drag her upstairs.

“UGH! Sometimes...you are so infuriating!” She screams at me. That fuckin’ brat just can’t appreciate what I’ve already done so far for her and I’m about ready to lose my shit on her, but I bite my tongue and just try to toss her in her room as fast as possible.

“Yeah...likewise...you can sure be a pain in my ass pup and I’m in no mood for it now. I told your dad I would be your escort and watch over you until you met your mate. You didn’t meet him, and the party will be over in an hour. If your mate was here, you would have found him by now. Goodnight!” I spit out letting her know just how pissed off and irritated she is making me.

“ARRRRGGGGHHH!!!” She screams when I shut the door in her face. FUCK! FINALLY, I’m free to go get me a piece of ass and finally relax. I make my way back down the stairs grabbing two guards on the third floor and ordering them to stand post on the 6th floor and to not let the princess leave the 6th floor.

“Yes sir!” Both guards respond heading back up the stairs.

Eventually, I find myself an unsuspecting drunk she-wolf from the Mystic Hills pack that is ready to retire for the night to my room with me. The less she talks, the better, which is why I try to find girls that are at least stumbling around as they walk. They’re more focused on standing than they are on who is guiding them to the bedroom. This night isn’t turning out so bad after all.

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