Forbidden Entanglement with Mafia Alpha

In Faith's previous experience, wearing a little black dress usually got her the results she wanted. Especially since her mission tonight was to attract the attention of a certain Head Alpha. The New Order government always gave Faith all the information they had on werewolves in their Most Wanted List. The list consisted of ten alphas, all who were deemed extremely dangerous and hard to take out without a civil war happening. Magnus Lawson was number one among the Most Wanted, and he was Faith's target. But for someone who was on top of the government's hit list, the Head Alpha of the Red Flame Pack and the infamous mafia boss of the most notorious underground criminal organization in Dreadus State was in no way lying low from the feds or patrol soldiers. Spying on Faith's assigned targets usually took anywhere between two weeks to three months. It was so she could become familiar with their routines, to seek out details of the target's life that the government might have not picked up on, and to possibly identify weaknesses that could be exploited. Magnus was simply cautious about picking the establishments he visited. Faith's research had shown her that Magnus Lawson only dined out or went shopping at places in Dreadus State owned by members of the Red Flame Pack or his business partners. And, unfortunately for The New Order, there were countless of these places both in and out of the state. Nearly two weeks had passed since the day Faith had received the confidential folder with Magnus Lawson's photo. Last week, Faith had managed to get a blueprint of the Head Alpha's mansion after having one of the techs hack into the files of the architectural firm that designed Magnus Lawson's current residence. She got satellite photos, then memorized the layout through the blueprints in three days. All she needed now was a way inside that mansion, so she could try and find anything useful for the New Order before killing Magnus where he slept. The Taste of Redemption was supposed to be a high-end bar, but from the inside, one wouldn't be able to tell. Immediately, the loud thumping sounds from electronic music played by a live DJ assaulted Faith's eardrums. It was hard to get past the sea of moving bodies on the dance floor. Strobe lights moved along with the beats, and made it even harder for Faith to reach the bar counter at the other side of the large main area of the bar. On her way, she felt two large hands make attempts at grabbing her. One man seemed too drunk to follow Faith as soon as she put a good distance between them, but another had managed to block her path. The man was only slightly taller than Faith, and she only caught a glimpse of a dark mullet and handlebar mustache before she felt the man's head draw closer to her ear. "Do you know where you are, little human?" His breath reeked of hard liquor and cigarettes. Faith held herself from rolling her eyes. A werewolf, possibly an alpha. As a human, Faith stuck out more than the usual customers. The Taste of Redemption bar was owned by an alpha who was part of the Red Flame Pack, therefore its usual customers were werewolves as well. Faith knew where the security cameras in the bar were. She knew how to angle her head, using the crowd of dancers and the strobe lights to keep the cameras from getting a clear shot of her face. She only let the stranger keep touching her—possibly scenting her—for three more beats, his hot breath on her ear, before Faith used her training to speedily pull away from the werewolf and blend back into the crowd. Finally making it to the bar counter, Faith managed to snag the last stool at the very end before calling over a bartender and ordering a whiskey on the rocks. The drink was placed in front of her. Faith paid the man, took a deep breath, and sipped. She let her mind and body become at ease with each burning swallow of the liquor. She let some of it purposefully dribble past her maroon lips, feeling it slither down the length of her neck. Faith needed to smell like she'd been drinking for a while now. As she nursed her drink, Faith took a look around the place she'd only seen from photographs. There were multiple nooks and platforms in this building where different booths were reserved for the truly honored guests. Red velvet curtains hid exactly who was inside each booth, and more than half of them had guards stationed outside. The neck tattoo of a particularly burly man made it easy for Faith to identify which booth was Magnus Lawson's. As the last stage of their initiation into the group, the Red Flame Pack's members all had to be branded with a realistic tattoo of a human skull on fire. All their tattoos were identical, and done by one person. Faith remained seated at the bar counter for thirty-five minutes, peeking at the phone she'd been given for this mission. To anyone glancing her way, she'd look like she was waiting for a date who was taking their time to show. Heaving out an exaggerated sigh, Faith stood back up. On the staircase leading to the platform where Magnus' men were, Faith saw an older man with a bottle of beer, leaning against the stair railings like he'd fall to the floor if he let go. Faith took the long way going to the other side of the dance floor. Even if it was against her will, she let strange men touch her by the waist or the arms, letting their colognes and their scents leak onto her. Head Alpha Magnus Lawson would know immediately that Faith was a human, therefore making her presence in the bar more suspicious. It would help Faith's case of pretending to be a woman who got stood up on a date and began wandering around if her natural scent was covered by the smell of sweat, booze, and an amalgamation of synthetic fragrances. Once Faith finally got close enough to the staircase leading to the first level of private booths, she made sure that when she "lost her balance", it would put her directly in the drunken man's line of sight. Faith kept her head down as she sluggishly made her way up the staircase, knees quivering. If she was actually drunk, it'd be nearly impossible to go up the staircase in six-inch stilettos. She kept climbing the stairs, pretending not to notice how the stranger followed her instantly. At the top of the stairs, Faith felt a hand slide around her waist, followed by a warm body and hot breath fanning over the side of her face. "Hey, pretty lady," came out the slurred words from the stranger she'd known would try to make a move on her in his drunken stupor. His entire body was covered in the smell of beer, and while his hand glided over her abdomen in a too-friendly gesture, his stance was wobbly. Faith feared he could collapse onto the floor any moment now and bring her down with him. "Where do you think—" A hiccup. "—you're going?" Still acting drunk, Faith flimsily pushed the man away, grumbling, "Leave me alone." She continued to stumble towards the booth she had her eye on since entering the bar. Faith made sure the drunken stranger was still pathetically limping after her. The Pack member outside Magnus Lawson's booth was held up in a conversation with a woman (like the world's most incompetent guard), and it was all Faith needed to "accidentally" stumble past the velvet curtains. The inside was even dimmer than the outside, but Faith managed to set her eyes on Magnus Lawson. His photo didn't do him justice. He was even better looking in person, with dark hair pushed away from his handsome face, and a dusting of facial hair over his sharp jaw. The Head Alpha had his arms spread-out on the booth, clearly relaxed. Faith had barely straightened her posture when the five men also in Magnus' booth stood at attention, their hands automatically going to their weapons at the sight of a stranger. Faith let out a gasp, making her body appear even smaller and cowering back. She made her voice sound panicky, "I'm s-so sorry, I– there's a-a man outside and h-he's–" As if right on cue, the drunken stranger stumbled in right after Faith. Like a moron, the drunken man paid zero attention to whose private booth he'd entered, his attention solely on getting to touch Faith again. Even though Faith had staged this entire situation, she did not have to fake how uncomfortable the man's lips against her neck made her feel. Not to mention, the old man's hands were rubbing up and down her sides, pulling the hem of her skintight dress higher and higher, revealing her smooth thighs. "Now, now, we were just starting to have some fun!" The drunk said against her skin, making goosebumps appear on Faith's arms. Disgusting. The whole room seemed to freeze in anticipation, waiting for their Head Alpha's orders either to kick both strangers out or to help Faith. It took five seconds of Faith having to bear the drunken stranger's groping and kissing before Magnus let out a single word, "Justin." It turned out to be a guard's name. One Faith was familiar with from Magnus Lawson's file. Magnus Lawson's second-in-command looked completely sober as he moved out of the booth and towards Faith. The beta spared one look at Faith's repulsed expression before taking the drunken man by the collar of his white blazer, yanking him roughly off of Faith until they both exited. While Justin dragged the stranger out, Faith heard the second-in-command say, "Go wank off in the restroom, old geezer." Faith closed her eyes in relief. Some of the alphas she'd been asked to kill before lacked such kindness and decency that Magnus had just shown. But after spying on Magnus Lawson for over a month now, Faith knew the Head Alpha was not hotheaded or innately violent. He was polite to servers, spoke properly to Pack members, and only raised a hand (or a gun) when absolutely necessary. Still putting on an act, Faith attempted to make herself look more decent. She pulled down the hem of her tight dress, and also fixed her platinum blonde hair. The rest of Magnus' Pack members were still standing, looking wary (some interested) at her presence. Magnus was the only one who didn't bother to stand. The first three buttons of his dark button-down had been undone, showing a hint of his defined muscles. His dark eyes looked at Faith with only a hint of curiosity, and when their gazes met, he raised a brow at her. "Thank you so much, sir. I appreciate it... I-I thought I was–" Faith purposefully stuttered, shaking her head and clutching her forehead in feigned distress. "This is why I should have just stayed home." She waited a beat before straightening up again. She gave Magnus and the Pack members a small smile, pretending to be completely oblivious to who they all were. "I won't disturb you any longer. Have a nice evening." Faith had already pulled away the curtain when Justin reemerged. Though Faith was in heels, Magnus' second-in-command was still considerably taller than her. The beta looked at Faith, but addressed Magnus Lawson, "He's throwing his guts up in the restroom, sir." "Wasn't Bilal supposed to make sure nobody would just barge in here?" Magnus' voice was low, his tone almost disinterested. Faith was rooted in her spot when another werewolf showed up next to Justin. It was the guard who'd been distracted while Faith had made her way into the booth. "H-Head Alpha, I apologize." The guard with the neck tattoo—Bilal—cleared his throat in nervousness. "I turned my back for only a second and—" "Justin will relieve you of your duties. Since you obviously can't focus enough to do such a simple task, you should take the rest of the night off." Magnus easily cut off Bilal's excuse. Though the words were said in that same bored tone, Magnus spoke like he was threatening Bilal. "And don't bother showing up to work tomorrow either." Faith watched Bilal's eyes widen like saucers, feeling almost sorry for the werewolf. "B-But, sir, tomorrow's the day we get paid from the—" Bilal stopped himself, side-eyeing Faith like he just remembered that she was there. At a much slower pace, he continued "—that thing we just finished earlier." It nearly made Faith snort out loud. This was a werewolf who worked for Magnus Lawson? Magnus looked at Bilal in distaste. "Leave, before I lose my patience." Not given any other choice, Bilal quietly retreated from the booth with a look much like a kicked puppy. Faith rubbed a hand up and down her opposite arm in a show of awkwardness. "I... I should go too. But thank you, again." She looked directly at Magnus and Justin, once again pulling at the velvet curtains as if she wanted to be anywhere else but right here. Fortunately, things were going her way. Magnus called out, "If you're here alone, I'd like to offer you some company." Faith couldn't help but feel satisfaction. Bingo. Acting coy, Faith turned around again and shook her head. "Oh, no. I appreciate it, Head Alpha, thank you. But I wouldn't want to intrude further–" "How did you know I was a Head Alpha?" The suspicion in Magnus' voice sent a drop of nervousness into Faith's stomach. Perhaps she had celebrated too early. It was practice which kept the panic away from Faith's face. For a split second, she thought she had slipped, exposed herself early on. Then, she remembered... "Oh, the man you, uh, dismissed? He called you Head Alpha." It wasn't so obvious how Magnus Lawson's expression shifted, but Faith took notice of it nevertheless. The Head Alpha and mafia boss sighed, shaking his head. "Right. Bilal also can't keep his damn trap shut," the Head Alpha muttered the words, more to himself than to Faith. Faith gave a hesitant smile, still eyeing the other Pack members like she was uneasy, even though she'd killed more powerful, dangerous werewolves than them. "Right, so. I don't want to intrude on your evening even more than I already have." "You won't be intruding." Magnus gave a not-so-subtle look at Faith's body before making eye-contact with her again. There was a glint in his eyes now; a glint Faith had seen in most men who lusted after her. Coming from Magnus Lawson, it sent a thrum through Faith's entire body. The Head Alpha asked, "Would you like a drink?"