Chapter 3 The Pick Me Up

Lisa's POV

I got off the floor and dusted my gown, trudging slowly in the direction of the bar.

There was no point in me returning to the pack. I had nothing left. No pack, mate, no future. Maybe, the bar wouldn't make me feel lonely.

Eventually, I found myself standing outside a high-end bar called PICK ME UP.

I stared at the door, feeling a pang of hesitation. I'd never set foot in a place like this before.

With one last shaky breath, I pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The bar was dimly lit, reeking of alcohol and something else I couldn't quite place.

A few patrons sat scattered across the room, their faces shadowed. No one paid any attention to me as I walked to the bar, slipping onto a stool.

The bartender barely glanced my way. "What'll it be?"

"I don't care," I muttered, my voice barely a whisper. "Whatever's strong."

He shrugged and slid a glass in front of me.

I took a long swig, wincing as the alcohol burned down my throat. It was awful, but it worked. The numbness I craved began to settle over me, dulling the sharp edges of my thoughts.

"You look like you could use another."

I turned my head and blinked. A man sat beside me, watching me with a curious expression. His golden eyes gleamed in the low light, and there was something unsettling calm about him.

His dark hair was long and fell below his shoulder in frizzles. I had never seen a man with hair that long before. There was a tattoo of the moon in a shade of black and red on his exposed left upper arm.

"Does it show that much?" I asked, my voice laced with bitter humor.

"Just a little," he replied, leaning back casually. "Bad night?"

I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You could say that."

He didn't ask the questions I expected. Instead, he gestured to the bartender. "Another drink for the lady."

"I don't need... " I started to pretest, but he cut me off.

"Trust me. You'll want it."

I sighed, taking the fresh drink.

"What's your deal?" I asked, turning to face him. "Why are you being so...nice?"

He flashed me a grin. "Call it a bad habit. I have a thing for helping people who look like they're drowning."

I snorted, lifting my glass. "Well, cheers to drowning."

We sat in silence for a moment, the quiet hum of the bar filling this space between us.

My thoughts drifted to the ceremony, the disappointment on everyone's faces when I wasn't claimed. I could still hear the murmurs, the whispers of pity and disdain.

The stranger's voice cut through my thoughts. "You want to talk about it?"

"No," I replied quickly, taking another drink. "I just want to forget."

He nodded, not pushing any further. There was a comfort in his presence, in the fact that he wasn't boring or judging. I could just exist for a while without explaining myself to anyone. The alcohol was starting to buy my senses, and I welcomed the numbness.

Before I knew it, we were laughing about what, I wasn't even sure.

The night blurred into a haze of drinks and slurred words, and for a brief moment, I didn't feel like the failure I knew I was. I felt free.

I turned to him, probably thinking this was the worst decision I had ever made in my life, I cupped his cheeks and smacked my lips against his.

At first he was frozen, taken aback by my brazen action. Just when I was about to pull away, he pulled me closer, returning the kiss.

His kisses were raw with passion and one other emotion I couldn't give a name. When I moaned into his mouth, he growled in response. It made my senses reel.

We pulled away briefly to catch our breath, our eyes meeting each other's.

"Let's get out of here, somewhere quieter." I whispered behind his ears.

The next thing I knew, his hands were wrapped around my waist, steadying me as we stumbled out of the bar.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my words thick with drunkenness.

"Somewhere quieter like you suggested," he replied, his voice low. "Unless you'd rather stay here."

I didn't protest. It wasn't like I had anywhere else to go. Besides, I wasn't thinking clearly, not with the alcohol clouding my mind and the overwhelming need to forget everything weighing on me.

We ended up in an expensive motel nearby. The details were fuzzy, but I remembered his hands on me, his touch warm and fleeting.

It was reckless and stupid, and I knew it, but at that moment, I didn't care. I let myself get lost in the haze of it all.

His kisses trailed gently from my neck to my chest. I felt my skin was on fire from his touch. He teased and punished me with his tongue. I felt all the joys of heavens and hell all at once.

Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore, he towered over me. His golden eyes burned into mine in an intense gaze.

Suddenly, I felt embarrassed. Here, I was naked before a man I don't know.

He leaned closer, burying his face in the nook of my neck he had made. "You are simply divine."

My cheeks turned pink and I bit my lower lip. Heat pooled in my stomach and down there too.

As if reading my body, he reached his fingers down to where my panties were. "I want them off."

And just like that, he climbed over me and we rocked our way to the highest ecstasy anyone would ever experience. Pain riddled my body as he slid up and down but the pleasure numbed it all. The pleasure set me free.

I awoke the next morning with a throbbing headache. My mouth felt like cotton and the lower part of my body ached terribly.

I blinked against the harsh morning light streaming through the window, trying to piece together what had happened when I realised I was alone.

There was no one on the bed with me. The stranger from the bar was gone. No note, no trace. It was like he had never been there.

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. What have I done?