Alpha James: Book 1 of The Alpha Series

6. Workaholic

James

Over the next couple of months, I was finding that I was becoming a workaholic. I spent all of my time in my office going over data sheets and working my ass off for the marketing research company that I now owned. During this time, the pack saw the best revenue that it had ever seen, but Freddie got after me something fierce. He even threatened to sick my dad on me if I didn't take a break. At the thought of a lecture from my dad, I bowed out and agreed to take some time off and a night or two away from the pack here and there. I also set up days to go to the other packs to look for a Beta and my mate. I needed a break and I needed a change in scenery.

On my first night to leave the pack and go on an adventure into human territory, I was brave and decided I would take the two-hour drive into Austin. I secured a hotel room for the night so I wouldn't have to drive back late. This was about to be an adventure.

I drove into the city in my dark blue jeep wrangler and was shocked by the amount of traffic. No wonder humans are always so angry, traffic is horrible.

My GPS helped me get through the traffic and through the city to the hotel that I had booked for the night. I went into the large hotel and checked in, then went to my room. I checked the space out and sat down on the plush king-size bed to get my phone out of my pocket. I brought up my Google browser and looked at food places and bars in the area so I could enjoy myself.

I looked through the large section of places and found a place that looked interesting to go eat since I wanted to explore more food culture. I also figured I would go to the famous 6th street to see what that was all about. Survey the bar scene in the city and see if it was something I might enjoy.

I got ready to leave the hotel room, making sure that I looked decent and that I had my fake ID in my wallet. Yes, I have a fake ID that is professionally made. All Alphas get them when they are underage. It makes navigating the stupid human world so much easier.

I left the hotel and headed to a restaurant called The Russian House. I hadn’t had Russian food before, but from what uncle Sean had told me, it was good.

I stepped into the restaurant and looked around before taking a seat by the window. A young waiter came up and greeted me while giving me a menu and asking what I wanted to drink. I ordered water before he walked away to give me time to look at the menu. I looked over my options quickly and debated with myself on what to eat. By the time the waiter came back with my drink, I had my food picked out.

I sat in my chair by the window waiting for my food while observing the people in the restaurant and outside. There were no supernaturals here in this space other than me and it was a little odd. My senses were almost overwhelmed with the loud sounds and strong smells.

Soon my food came from the kitchen and was placed in front of me. I had ordered the Pirozhki, which is a type of bread that is stuffed with meat and seasonings and served with onion soup. I also got the chicken kiev. It was a piece of chicken breast stuffed with butter and crusted with bread crumbs, then baked and served with herb roasted potatoes.

I started eating and enjoyed every bite I took, even with the old couple watching me intently from the corner. I could tell that they were just humans but the way they were watching me was creepy. Other than that, this was a great idea to get away from the pack and enjoy my own time. I needed to thank Freddie for pushing me to do this.

Once I was done eating, I paid and left the restaurant to go explore 6th Street and all its possibilities. When I arrived downtown, I found a parking lot and paid to park. I then started my walk through the city filled with humans that knew nothing of my kind or that my world even existed.

I reached 6th Street after walking for four blocks. I didn’t even need to take a deep breath in to find out what this place smelled like and what it was all about. The alcohol was thick in the air along with the scent of food, piss and vomit.

“This place is nasty,” Bruno says.

“You’re probably not wrong. I still want to look around.”

He said nothing more as I started to walk down the sidewalk through the throng of people. There were bars lining the street on both sides along with a few little shops here and there. I saw college students, couples and plenty of older humans out drinking their weekend away. Almost everyone looked happy and drunk already. Humans were lightweights when it came to alcohol.

After a while, a bar caught my attention and I stopped to look at the outside of the establishment for a moment. The bouncer at the front door stood there looking at me. He seemed tough for a human but nothing compared to a wolf. I ignored him and looked back at the bar once more.

I decided to go inside and stepped up to the front door. The bouncer put his hand up to stop me and I halted while looking at him for an explanation.

“ID please," he told me.

Ah, I was getting carded. I got my wallet out and handed him my ID. He looked it over, then looked at me. He nodded his head and handed me my ID back. As I placed it back in my wallet, he opened the door for me to enter the bar. I gave him a nod and a small smile before stepping into the small space.

The music in here was loud and the blue lights were dancing off the bodies on the small dance floor. The drinks at the bar were flowing and I could hear the laughter of several women as they talked loudly. The men in the bar were all watchful and quiet.

I made my way to the bar thinking about what I wanted to drink tonight. I was just going to play it safe tonight and stick with beer until I got more comfortable in this place and being surrounded by nothing but humans.

I stepped up to the bar and saw a female bartender in her mid-twenties glance at me before smiling brightly and giving me all of her attention. She slid over to where I was on the other side of the bar and gave me a flirtatious smile.

“What can I get for you, handsome?” she asked me.

“I’ll take a Shiner,” I told her.

“Coming right up,” she said as she turned and hurried to get my beer.

She came back moments later and handed it to me and asked, “would you like to open a tab?”

“Sure,” I said as I got my credit card out of my wallet and handed it to her.

She opened my tab and placed my card in the register. I took a sip of my beer while scanning the scene. There were close to a hundred people in here partying, if not more. I felt a hand on my arm and turned to see the same little bartender smiling up at me. I smiled back and gave her my full attention.

“I’ve never seen you here before and normally we have repeat customers,” she shouted above the music.

“I’m new around here,” I shouted back.

She smiled and went to say something more when someone flagged her down for a drink. She held up a finger to me and I nodded as she scurried off to help the person. I turned my attention back to the crowd and noticed a very pretty young woman watching me intently from the other side of the bar. She had a small and delicate frame with dark colored eyes and bottle blonde hair. I could see the hunger in her eyes from where I was at and it was a little startling. Human women were just as bad as she-wolves. I guess I’m just a piece of meat.

“Don’t you dare give anyone here your piece of meat,” Bruno said in my head.

I almost spit my beer out as he said that, while I was taking a sip.

“Jackass. I wasn't going to. Don’t make me look f*****g crazy either.”

I listened to him laugh at me as I took another drink of my beer. I felt a hand on my arm again and looked to find the same bartender wanting to talk to me once more. I turned to face her and see what was up.

“What made you come in here?” she shouted over the music.

“Curiosity.”

She smiled and was flagged down again. She was cute but not my mate and, to be honest, I wasn't that interested. I looked back over to the younger woman at the other end of the bar. She had gotten up and was on the dance floor now with some of her friends. I watched intently as she stole glances my way to make sure that I was watching her. The way she moved was hypnotizing and had me fantasizing about her.

When the music changed, she left the dancefloor and walked directly up to me with a sweet smile on her face. As she got closer, I sniffed the air and got the hint of alcohol, her arousal and vanilla perfume. I wondered why she was aroused at the moment, but the look she was giving me said that she was thinking about doing dirty things to me.

She walked up to me and settled at the bar beside me. I looked at her and out of the corner of my eye saw the bartender stop and stare at me before turning and walking away. Human women were different and hard to figure out. I didn't belong to either of them, so why should anyone act jealous?

“I’m Paisley. What’s your name?” asked the girl beside me.

“James.”

“Nice to meet you. Do you go to college here?”

“No. I just came for some rest and relaxation," I told her.

“This is part of your rest and relaxation? From what?”

“Work. I own my own company.”

“You look too young to be a CEO," she said with a smile and a wink.

I laughed at her and she giggled with me. I'm surprised I could hear it over the music.

“Come hang out with me,” she insisted.

“Alright.”

We got up from the bar and headed over to where she had been sitting with her friends. We sat there and talked while drinking more beer for a while. I learned that she was a college student and loved to party. She was in a sorority that she loved and was sad to be leaving at the end of the school year because she would be graduating.

I ended up getting on the dance floor with her at one point and let her grind on me. That was a mistake. My shaft was hard as a rock and wanted more of her damn attention. About an hour later, I couldn’t take it anymore and either needed to take her back to my hotel room or go back on my own.

I closed my tab at the bar and was signing my receipt when I felt Paisley’s hands on my back before they came around to my front and settled on my abs with her chest pressed into my back. The little female bartender looked at Paisley’s hands in hatred before looking up into my eyes with a tight smile. I brushed her judgment off because I had no reason to care. No one here was my mate and none of them were my pack members. After tonight there was little chance I would ever see any of them ever again.

I left the bar with a very happy Paisley and an extremely hard shaft. Without warning, she took my hand and led me to a dark alleyway. She stopped in her tracks and turned to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and bringing my lips down to hers. I kissed her and tasted her. Her lips were coated with alcohol and strawberry lip balm.

We kissed in the dark space for a while. My hands explored her ass and breasts before tugging on her long blonde hair. Her hands traveled down from my neck to my package and started to stroke me through my blue jeans. I groaned and pulled my lips from hers. She immediately dropped to her knees in the alleyway and that's when I backed away from her, stopping what we were doing.

"You're too sexy to be holding back like you are," she teased as she stood back up.

"I'm sorry," I told her with a sigh.

"You know what, give me your phone," Paisley said while holding her hand out to me.

I reached into my pocket and pulled my phone out, then handed it to her. I watched as she went to my contacts and put her number in my phone. She handed it back to me and I looked at the screen then back up to her.

"Call me when you're finally ready to do something more than grope."

I opened my mouth to protest and explain myself and she giggled at me. I guess my expression was funny to her for some reason.

"Oh and don't worry. It will be a no-strings-attached kind of thing. I don't like attachments such as obsessive and possessive boyfriends. I just want your dick."

She grabbed my package and squeezed it lightly before turning around and walking away. I was left standing there completely stunned at what just happened. What's wrong with human women?