Chapter Eight
Hudson
Disappointed didn’t cover how I was feeling tonight, but everyone had to work and pay bills.
Evander, according to his reply to my text, would be at the club, but wouldn’t be able to join me. In anticipation, I’d gone on the internet to research clubs of this kind. The protocols. The unspoken rules.
What to expect.
I’d taken a tour with the alpha, but there were no people around. No exhibits on display. I had a feeling when there were people there, the place took on a whole other vibe. Evander said when it was packed, it took on its own soul.
I couldn’t wait to experience that.
Evander helped me shop for club attire, although I wasn’t ready to purchase more than one or two things. I didn’t have the budget for more, and who knew what would happen? I might not even like the club.
And the forms I had to fill in online just to be vetted as a guest made me a little nervous.
The alpha walked me through the whole process.
Check in at the front door. Get my wristband, marking me as a guest, and then the rest was up to me.
There would be monitors in the public areas, people who watched to make sure the rules were followed and no one was hurt, any more than they wanted to be.
“Welcome to Crowned,” the young woman at the front desk said. “Hudson Davis?”
“Um, yes. How did you…”
“You’re in the system. Our cameras at the front picked you up through facial recognition. Wrist, please.”
I went through the process of checking in, which couldn’t be more fluid, and walked in. The check-in area was silent but as soon as the door opened, I was hit with a barrage of sights, sounds, and smells.
The music was loud but not enough to be jarring or annoying. The walls and floors were a shiny black, like marble. I didn’t envy the person who had to shine them.
To my left was the bar. The bartenders zipped from left to right, tending to their customers and the waiters at the same time.
All the employees were dressed in black, as Evander was, although not chef’s style but with the crown on the chest. I probably should’ve gotten a drink to calm my nerves but without Evander here, I didn’t want to get tipsy and stumble into something I didn’t want to experience.
All of this would’ve been way more fun with my alpha here. The alpha. My wolf was sure about him but not me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to step into another relationship at all.
I noticed, to my right, that a bunch of people were gathering around a room with all glass walls.
As I approached, I saw what was going on inside.
There was a couple moving toward the center of the room.
Another man was already strapped to an X-shaped wooden object.
Evander had told me the name of it but it eluded me now.
The other two men approached and whispered something in the bound man’s ear.
Something that made him squirm but not for long.
I wanted to watch but, at the same time, there were levels and many other displays to see.
I wished to see it all. Find out what I liked and what didn’t appeal to me.
This went on for an hour. I made my way through crowds.
My wolf picked up all kinds of sensory triggers.
People smelled differently, always, but those scents were heightened in the club.
Bodies pressed together. Sweat and lust lingered in the air.
Whispers ranging from normal, everyday talk to more naughty things.
Things that would only be murmured in the dark, between lovers.
But not here. Here, bedroom talk was regular conversation.
Plus, I was officially lost. I was sure I was on the second floor, but where the stairs or elevators were, I couldn’t decipher.
“Excuse me, Hudson?”
I turned to see an employee with his hands behind his back. My first thought was that I’d done something wrong. Gone against one of the unspoken rules of this kind of club.
“I’m Hudson,” I answered with a shaky voice.
“I was asked to escort you to the kitchen. Would you come with me, please?”
“To the kitchen?” I asked.
“Yes.”
My tummy erupted in a thousand butterflies. Evander sent someone through the club to find me and bring me to the kitchen.
Even in a busy club, he was making time for me. I couldn’t help but find it endearing. The alpha was getting under my skin, and while I promised not to fall in love again, it was happening with or without my permission.