Alexander didn't stop himself from being dragged into the middle of the sea of people.
Not when it was his sexy vixen doing the tugging.
That she was too sexy, enticing, and so different from how he had seen her yet.
Wild, and not a care in the world.
Constantly moving in the middle of the dance floor.
It was hard for the rest of the team to keep their eyes on Ayla.
"Maybe that was her plan" Phoenix shrugged as he threw his voice over to Raphael, trying to catch a glimpse of her again.
Even if someone was there watching her, it would be hard for them to keep up with her.
On top of that, finding her by scent was impossible, and Dominic told her that.
She didn't care about any of that, though.
Ayla was just enjoying her night for what seemed like the first time ever, and it was with Alexander.
Jumping, bobbing, and dancing to the techno-pop-sounding music, without a thought of what she might look like.
Briefly, she let Alexander off the dance floor long enough to get a drink with her, but that was only because she wanted to try a few drinks herself.
Julius was right, Phoenix and Raphael made good drinks.
They each picked a different person to try a drink from.
Guessing what the recipient would like, they whipped up a mix from their minds.
Ayla was in heaven with Raphael's purple candy-flavored liquid.
She had no idea what he had put in it, but she felt as if nothing that incredible had ever graced her lips or tickled her taste buds.
"Hhmmm" she let out a near moan, "this is amazing! I don't care what it is, just keep them coming all night.
Raphael was happy that she was pleased, but Alexander had a ping of jealousy in his eyes as he looked at the bartender due to the sound that 'his woman' had produced.
"Caribbean storm" Raphael nearly had to scream due to the noise and the bar between them.
She looked at him, confused.
"What"?
Raphael smiled, knowing he had to explain.
"The purple drink. It's called a Caribbean storm"!
She smiled and nodded.
When it came to Phoenix and Alexander, it was simpler, but the same outcome.
Phoenix figured a Disaronno sour would probably touch the palate of his boss nicely.
Thankfully, he was right.
Alexander nodded his head, pleased.
"Julius was right about you two. A large part of bartending is knowing what the buyer will want. I think you two will be just fine. Question, what did you make for Julius down there"?
Raphael smiled bigger, if that was even possible, "Black Russian"!
Alexander nodded his head in approval, "Good choice. I wouldn't have thought of any of those".
With that, Ayla grabbed his hand and dragged him off.
She wasn't there to hear him talk about business.
Ayla was there to have fun.
That wasn't something she ever got to experience, and she was determined to have at least one full night of fun before shit hit the fan.
She knew it was temporary.
Everything in her life had always been temporary.
Deep in her bones, she could feel everything coming to a head.
Everything would eventually come crashing so she wanted one night to just enjoy herself and Alexander.
It seemed like an endless blur of dancefloor to bar stops, but Ayla's smile seemed permanent, and she had an addictive glow about her as she carried on with her escapades from the evening.
The smile on her face told Alexander that she was truly happy as she got to finally experience the club that had escaped her for so long, the fun that had evaded her for so much time.
As they went back to the dance floor, they hadn't realized that the club had been visited once again by some unwelcome guests.
Raphael and Phoenix were suddenly on alert.
In a way, the two were placed strategically to be the first line of defense, and it appeared to be working.
They weren't the only ones on alert almost instantly.
Dominic and Mason had suddenly made their appearance known to Julius, not fully stepping out of the shadows, but making themselves known to him.
That told him something was up.
If he did anything to alert Ayla and Alexander, then it would give away not only that they were there, but who they were.
Her identity somehow still didn't seem to be widely known, so that was a blessing.
Julius was instantly regretting letting the two of them out of the apartment.
He was trying to figure out how he let her convince him to come in the first place.
That's when he realized they were starting to make their way toward him.
His eyes got big for a moment.
Unsure of what to do, he was hoping that one of these new men had a solution.
He took a deep breath and tried to assess the situation.
That was when he smelled it.
For the first time, he could pick up on a scent that was different.
Julius looked in the direction of the front door and saw two men who had just walked in, and he recognized them.
Well, he recognized one of them.
He wasn't sure who was with the man who had been called Shaw.
He was a black-haired, slim-looking guy with nothing too special about him.
His eyes were so dark they appeared black.
That was the one that was called Shaw, right?
Or was that the other one, Orion?
It didn't matter.
All he knew was that Ayla was in the middle of the club and a threat or two that had just walked in.
How could he warn the couple that they were walking toward the danger?
Just as he was about to panic, Mason grabbed Alexander's arm.
When he did... Ayla looked at Julius and realized something was up.
She obviously had some liquid courage in her, and it showed.
"They can come and get me" she yelled.
Alexander quickly threw his hand over her mouth, and she bit him.
Deja vu.
It was long enough to realize that the music might have been loud enough to hide what she said.
With his heart racing, Alexander took Ayla to the back and decided to hang out in the office for a bit.
Mason decided to go with them to make sure they weren't followed.
On the front side of the club, Julius was facing the danger again with Dominic and his team.
He was happy he wasn't alone.
Dominic didn't want to make his presence known just yet, so he waited to see what happened.
He knew that meant leaving his men to fend for themselves for just a short period.
Thankfully, none of them would have to wait long for an encounter.
Whichever man it was from the other night, whether it was Shaw or Orion, he was headed to the bar with his new friend.
Raphael was up to bat, so to speak.
"What can I get you two"?
He didn't want to make a guess and disappoint them, but he also didn't want to do anything to give himself away.
Raphael was making his best attempt at being a normal, everyday bartender that belonged behind that bar.
Some drinks were pack or werewolf specialties, he knew that he just wasn't sure which ones.
The best option was to make a mediocre drink and hope they left soon.
"I don't know, Shaw, what do you think"?
Shaw looked around suspiciously, making Raphael nervous as to whether the man was referring to being unsure about what to drink or something else.
"Just a water for now, you can get what you want, Ralph".
Julius was listening intently, and Ralph was a new name.
He couldn't help but wonder why he switched Ralph for Orion.
Where did Orion go?
There wasn't time to think about it, because he needed to pay attention to the present.
Plus, he knew that Ayla and Alexander were doing the same as him in the office.
As they interacted with Raphael, he, Phoenix, and Dominic continued to monitor the situation directly.
Without any notice, Shaw started talking to without looking.
"I know you're there. Not only can I sense you, but I can smell you. Why don't you just come and join us? I'm sure Ralph would love to hear what you have to say. He was intrigued after I told him what you had to say the other night".
Raphael was doing his best to stay emotionless and like he hadn't heard the low whispers that had just let the man's lips, but he knew one of them was busted.
Phoenix was looking down, making basic drink orders, nearly biting his lip off, in order to contain his words from leaking out.
Julius, he wasn't sure what to do, but he knew which man the words were directed at, so he nodded to Dominic, hoping that none of the other men would be noticed, himself included.
"So, the bartender is in on it too, like you thought" Ralph said.
Julius froze as he looked at the men from across the room, eyes focused just as hard as his ears.
He knew it was in his best interest to pretend like he didn't hear anything.
Phoenix looked into the crowd and acted like he was talking to another staff member through his earpiece, then Shaw noticed a handful of men doing the same, scattered around, Julius now included, as his eyes landed on him.
Shaw looked unsure, but he had an idea.
"Maybe not. We will see. I know it smells like Silver Moon heavily in this place, and it reeks".
"GGGGRRRRRR" Phoenix couldn't help himself.
"There you are" Shaw said.
"That would be one. Where's Dominic? I know he's here. It's more than just the two of you. That I'm positive" he said with a condescending tone.
Julius wasn't sure of much, but he knew this new dynamic wasn't a good one, and that it definitely smelled of trouble.
Phoenix wasn't willing to give any information up.
Dominic was more of a father to him than his own father ever was.
"I don't know what you mean. I'm just a simple bartender" he snarled back.
Dominic was walking up then, not wanting to let Phoenix fall for the clear attempt to enrage him.
"What do you want"?
Ralph looked at Shaw with a creepy smile.
"Looks like you reported truthfully. He is here. The mighty General seems to be taking some personal time. That seems rather odd, as he appears to be in a uniform. Unfortunately, that isn't his normal uniform".
It was clear now, to the whole team present, that Shaw was being used to fish out Dominic, and Phoenix fell for it, which was making his blood start to boil.
Shaw looked and noticed the man beside him was right.
"Tell me, Dominic, is this vacation now permanent. Do you like the humans better than us" he laughed.
Dominic didn't find it funny.
"What does my life and what I'm doing have to do with you"?
Ralph was looking at him with a serious face.
"Everything, when my General goes missing after being seen with you. Then there was that tip that came out of nowhere at the same time. His men left, but he didn't. My father is rather suspicious that you had something to do with all of that. Did you have anything to do with it"?
Dominic was listening, and one word hit him hard.
"What do you mean. You think I had something to do with your General missing"?
They both realized he wasn't saying much.