Chapter 208
Chapter 208
James
Water was everywhere. It seeped into the soles of my Italian leather shoes, squelching with every step I took to weave through the chaotic mess of sweaty, half or fully drunk bodies scrambling to leave the Wheel of Fortune. After last nights pathetic attempt to drown Rue’s harsh words from the other night in a bottle of something cheap and toxic, I was kicked out of the random bar I’d found. Too intoxicated to drive I stumbled around until I passed out on a park bench. Woke up to some cops staring down at me like I was something they’d scraped off their boots. Me! A man in a custom made Armani suit that cost more than their paycheck. That was a new low, especially for me. A new deep seated anger ate away at my every thought.
Ever since that humiliating moment, my mind has been consumed with the need to track Mattie down. I would find her and demand to know what kind of cosmic joke the Moon Goddess was playing. Why did she send Mattie into my life like a storm I couldn’t outrun? There had to be some sort of explanation for why this was happening to me! Why my carefully organized life was a total dumpster fire with no end in sight.
A glimpse at the crowd revealed a familiar face but he was swallowed up in the sea of bodies before I could confirm it was who I thought. I shook my head, there was no reason for him to be here. As the main floor was finally starting to be cleared of people; I saw Castor and his brother, Pollux, arguing outside the men’s bathroom door. The bouncers were all too preoccupied getting people out to notice my approach. For the second time since I started coming here I was grateful my wolf less state meant no alpha presence. I used to thrive on the attention my authority commanded but now I was relieved I could just slip in and observe the situation. The brother’s body language was sharp and heated. Their words fired back and forth loud enough for me to hear, now that I was closer. They were trying and failing to find an emergency plumber. Something I could possibly help with. I reached for my phone in my front pocket. My movements caught Castor’s eye because he turned a deeper shade of red.
“Not now, mutt!” He barked.
“I’m only here to see if I can help.” I threw up my hands with the peace sign in mock surrender, almost dropping my phone in the process.
“You can help by leaving.” Pollux grunted, not looking up from his phone. His fingers flying across the screen in a blur. We fell into a tense silence as Castor sloshed his way over to look over Pollux’s shoulder to view what was on his phone. The feel of my socks soaking further made me take a step forward and put my phone back.
“If you turn off the water line then at least the place would stop flooding.” I pointed out nodding toward the back where I figured their waterline was. Both men glared at me, like I’d just peed in their cheerios. They exchanged a silent conversation not acknowledging what i said at all. When Pollux returned to his phone, moving it up to his ear, I knew a decision was made. Castor stormed off in a similar direction to where I’d gestured toward, calling over his shoulder, “I got it.”
Left standing, awkwardly, in the cold, ankle-deep water, I shoved my hands in my slack’s front pockets, and rocked back in my ruined shoes. If they could get the water turned off soon then the booths and floor might be saved. Pollux stayed glued to his phone, calling one plumber after another by the looks of it, but not getting through to any of them. I started to wonder what the hell I was waiting for. The anger and determination from earlier had dissipated so I wasn't sure what it was was still doing here. It wasn't like these guys would give me any answers and Mattie wouldn't magically appear before me. But something kept me rooted—an invisible thread pulling me to this spot.
It wasn’t like the other night when this thread showed me Mattie in this very club. My gaze found the spot where we barely brushed past one another and it caused my heart to race. An overwhelming anxiety clogged my throat. It was like I was in danger, but it wasn’t my own.
Suddenly the sound of gushing water stopped. Pollux looked up. His eyes locked with mine, and the grey hue to it took on a dazed look. Something shifted in his expression that reminded me of the night that he read the cards for me. It was like he saw something I didn't or couldn't and I wasn't sure if it scared him or pissed him off. It was so difficult to tell. I averted my eyes, glancing around the room again. I felt like I’d been caught red-handed and it forced me to look anywhere else. I wasn’t necessarily searching for her but I couldn’t look at Pollux. I don’t know when I became so timid.
“She’s not here.” Pollux said flatly but with a stern undertone. My first instinct was to snap at him, but I knew better. You catch more flies with honey.
“I know. Castor made it clear that his woman is off limits.” I replied, shrugging like it didn’t bother me. I must’ve failed because Pollux gave me a knowing look. I returned to scanning the club to avoid his gaze. I cant let on that I knew they were cousins. It was always better to keep your cards close to the vest because information was power.
“She belongs to no-one.” Pollux’s statement brings my attention back to his features. I knew she wasn’t with one of them but she could be dating someone else. Maybe that zadok guy. He was a little older from what I could tell but that might be what Mattie liked. I needed to be as prepared as possible to defend myself or counter attack. There wasn't any signs of deception. Pollux wasn’t lying to me, yet there is that same protectiveness that was mirrored on Castor’s face previously. “She is off limits to you though.”
“I mean her no harm.” I shrug my shoulders up to my ears and slosh towards the exit. I’d bothered these men enough for tonight. I’d gotten some new information and the anger was long gone. The club was nearly empty, the few employee's left were all tending to clean up tasks the best they could in the areas not flooded. Pollux lets out a frustrated grumble behind me. I wanted to offer to call one of my pack’s on-call plumbers but i wasn't sure if they would respond. Travis had some too but after my fight with Rue I wasn't sure he would help either. It was best that I just head to a hotel for the night.
I’d made it almost all the way to the exit; when the door swung open with a loud bang. Like an angel descending from heaven, in walked Mattie.
She wore colorful rain boots, denim cutoff overalls that barely qualified as shorts and a neon swimsuit top showing through a knitted black sweater. She looked stunning. Her hair—just days ago a wildfire of reds and oranges—was now dyed a bright cobalt blue tumbling from the dark brown roots, that made her skin glow with a summer-kissed vibe. I stumbled when she hoisted up some over sized pump contraption with a giant grin on her lips like she was about to commit a felon, “It’s me, Mattie-o. Did someone call a completely unqualified plumber? I may or may not have borrowed this pool pump from the neighbors shed.”
“Mattie.” My breath caught on her name so it was barely audible. It’s only been a few days since I saw her at the shop but she still felt like a lungful of oxygen in a world filled with deadly black smoke. She stopped short when her eyes fell to me. Her smile faltered, but I was so wrapped up in how beautiful she was to even care.