2 Chapter 2: To the Bar I Go

Hannah’ POV

I can’t go home yet. I’m still so mad at my father and disgusted by Luke.

But I also can’t head to any of my friends' houses either, because that will be the first place my father will look for me. So instead, I avoid both Bridget’s and Alexandra’s texts asking me to stop by. My father has ears and eyes everywhere, and though I know they would side with me, I can’t put Alex at odds with her pack leader— and Bridget, being human, doesn’t fully understand the way the packs work; I’d hate putting her in the middle of all this.

So if I can’t go home, can’t go to a friend’s house, where else can a distraught and pissed off girl go? A bar.

The human bars are much nicer than the poor excuse of a tavern we have on our lands. Of course, I have to be watchful of vampires, as they own most of New Orleans— especially the areas closest to the water separating my land from the mainland. Witches, too, have been taking up more space lately. They’ve always made me uneasy— even more than the vampires if that’s possible.

It’s like a whole different world coming here, despite the pack lands and the city being direct neighbors. We get along well enough, with enough tension to keep things interesting but not to alert the humans outside of New Orleans. The humans who know about all our kind are pretty cool— that’s how I met Bridget, and she gets me.

I tie off my boat, the one I keep hidden just for moments like this, and head into town.

Vampire bars are usually gloomy, with a theme of night and neon lights. Witch bars are loud, and, yes, there is often a lot of cackling coming out the doors. The human bars are usually the best— they attract all kinds and have a neutral appeal to them.

I spot my favorite one and head for it. I probably should have changed my outfit before I left, but clearly, I wasn’t planning on any of what’s happened today— especially not Luke!

Shaking off the memory, I enter and make my way to the bar. I paid my tab last time, so I don’t worry about not having cash on me now.

“Hey, girly,” says Noel, the bartender. She’s super nice and loves all the weird stuff she gets the privilege to witness. I think she told me she was a writer and uses it as inspiration— to each her own, I guess.

I bet she would eat up what is happening to me right now because it sounds like it was ripped right out of a soap opera.

“I will take a sex on the beach and a side shot of rum,” I order. She raises her brows at me.

“You never order a shot. Rough day?” she asks and pours me the shot before starting to make my drink.

I toss the shot back and order another one.

“You have no idea. I don’t know if I want to scream or cry,” I confess.

She refills my shot and pushes it towards me.

“I’d definitely take another shot,” She winks at me, then hands me my finished drink before going to help the newcomer.

I look around the bar, seeing everything but not really taking it all in. My senses seem to be off, my distress keeping my wolf at bay. Try as I might to ignore what happened, my mind keeps returning to it, replaying it, flipping it over and over.

All to no avail. I am still betrothed to him.

“Hannah Blake,” a voice says behind me. I turn and choke on my drink.

Standing way more than 6’2” is a vampire, clearly high-class, his red eyes flashing briefly before returning to their dark chocolate hue. He has shapely lips and a cut jaw, and he smiles his pearly whites at me. He brushes his thick wavy hair aside— some strands long enough to block his face but not reach his neck yet.

I remember he spoke and knew my name. I clear my throat, sipping my drink, trying to hide my obvious reaction to him.

“You know my name, and yet I don’t know yours,” I say, mimicking the sexy charm he managed to pull off just by saying my name. It sounded better coming from his lips than Luke’s.

“Everyone knows the alpha’s daughter,” he says, his smile melting my common sense. He darts his tongue over his lips, “Plus, I’ve heard your mother was unmatched in the looks department. She’s still talked about among my kind,” he adds, boldly taking the seat beside me.

I scoff at him, shaking my head in annoyance. “Well, not so much with mine.”

“Blasphemy. I say we take a shot in honor of her memory,” he says, waving to Noel.

She pours the shots, catching my eyes and widening hers in approval.

“To Dani,” he says, raising his glass. I follow his lead, and we toss it back together.

“I’m Damon, by the way,” he says.

“Hannah— oh sh*t, you already know that,” I laugh. His Adam’s apple jumps as he joins me.

“What I don’t know is if the Alpha daughter knows how to dance?” He smirks, jerking his head to the dance floor.

The floor is pretty packed, but flashes of my life in hell with Luke remind me why I’m here. I finish my drink and take his hand, leading the way my d*mn self.

We dance, the music taking control of our bodies. His hands find my hips as he moves with me. He smells like a tropical storm and trouble, and, surprise, surprise, that is exactly what I am looking for.

The songs start to blend together, a bunch of noise combined with blurry bodies all around me. I feel transfixed by his every move, our bodies one with the dancing lights, moving dance floor, and flow of our shots.

He tries to teach me how to do a trick shot of skipping the cue ball over another ball. It’s a trick I already know, but I didn’t mind him pressing up behind me, leaning us over the table so I could understand what the angle would look like.

Time is passing— or has it stopped tonight?

“Ok, so, truth or dare?” he asks me. We’ve taken over a booth in the back, our table covered with empty cups and half-eaten fries.

“I’m way too drunk for dare, so truth,” I answer.

“Is it true that wolves stay with one person for the rest of their lives after finding their mates?” he asks, pressing his lips together, almost eager to learn and understand.

I study him. I’ve felt his body next to mine almost all night, and that question should have been easy to answer, but, looking at him, I don’t know.

“So they say. Maybe this new generation will be different,” I muse.

He licks his lips and leans back on his side of the booth.

“Maybe,” he smirks, his dark eyes looking right through me. “Your turn,” he adds.

“Uh, right. Truth or dare?” I ask.

“Dare,” his smirk forms into a full smile, and my heart skips a beat.

I exhale and look around the bar. There isn’t much he can do, it’s a pretty basic venue, and I like Noel too much to do anything that would damage the place, either.

I look back at him and hone in on his sexy lips. I couldn’t dare him to kiss me. That would be presumptuous, right?

“I dare you to kiss anyone in this bar,” I finally say.

“Anyone?” He inquires.

“Yup,” I clarify.

I turn to look at the lucky lady in the bar when fingers reach for my chin, turning me back to face him. I have seconds to realize what is happening when his lips crash against mine.

Soft, tasting of sweet pineapple and vodka, he moves against my lips, and, despite my surprise, I open my mouth to him. He reaches around my face, grabbing me by the back of my neck and pressing me further on him, his scent filling my nose. I start to reach for him when he pulls back. Our breath mixes as he keeps us close, our noses nearly touching.

“You said anyone, but I don’t see anyone but you,” he pants against my gasping lips.

I shift my gaze from his lips to his eyes and suddenly know how I’m spending the rest of this awful day.

Closing the gap between us, I kiss him again, pushing the cups aside on the table at the same time. He starts to lean back, and I follow him, crawling over the table and straddling him, our lips never once parting.