“You know you want to,” Lola, my coworker taunted.

She was right, I did. That didn’t mean I should. It would look desperate at the best, creeptastic at the worst.

“It’s not even Omega Night,” I scoffed. “What’s the point in going if there are no alpha there looking for their omegas.” It was as lame an excuse as they came, but the best I could do on the fly. Showing up at the club on a non-omega night was the equivalent of throwing myself at the guy. Which to be fair, I wanted to, but still.

“You never know.” She tossed back her red curls. “Maybe there will be some alphas who aren’t looking for a meat market, just a good time. Besides, the competition is less.”

“And the cover double,” I countered. Not that money mattered to me, but I knew it did for her. She had been eyeing one of the bartenders for months and knew this was her way of “bumping” into him when his work load was lighter.

“I’ve totally got you.” She yanked out a couple of papers from her uniform pocket. “See?” She waved what I now knew to be free cover coupons. Leave it to Lola to coupon every aspect of her life.

“They have coupons?” I chuckled at the idea. It was the last place that needed to encourage more customers. As it was, they often closed their doors hours before posted simply because they were already at capacity.

“Ish. They donated them to a raffle basket that some local music thing was doing and my grandmother won it and told me to take what I wanted out of it. I scored these, free pop-corn at the old movie house on fifth, and smooshy socks with elves on them.” She was like a kid at Christmas listing her loot.

“That is the weirdest basket ever.”

“You have no idea. My grandma also won a free carwash and a jump drive among other things. For the record, this means you are going. Turning down a charity raffle prize is like bad luck or something.”

“Fine.” I feigned exasperation as I agreed to her plan.

I spent the rest of my shift daydreaming about the ways I could bump into Killian, every last one of them ending with a kiss. I was a sorry case to be sure, and by the time our shift ended and we were headed to the club, I was second guessing everything.

We got to the club earlier than normal. The bus stop dropped us around the back of the club, which was my favorite because it let me see how many cars were there or whose cars were there. It didn’t take me long to spot Killian’s.

“He here?” Lola asked.

I didn’t even pretend to not know what she was talking about since she was doing the same exact thing.

“Yours?”

“Yep.” She was practically bouncing. I hoped her bartender had an eye for her. He was flirty, which was good for tips, but it made him was hard to read.

Just then a cat caught my eye. She was eating out of random containers near the dumpsters and I hoped beyond hope it was left on purpose for her and that she wasn’t eating garbage because garbage in this place—I just couldn’t.

“You go on in and get us a table. I’m gonna make sure that cat isn’t eating something toxic.” I pointed.

“You and your cats.” She punched my shoulder playfully before scampering off to find us a table. One time I had worn cat socks to work and she had never let it go. But darn it, they were adorable.

I walked slowly to the cat, not wanting to scare her away. The closer I got, the more my heart bled for her. She was skinny, far too skinny, and from the looks of it, still on the tail end of kittendom. Poor thing.

“Hey, sweet baby, I’m just making sure you’re good., I cooed as I reached the furry ball of cuteness. I looked down to see a can of tuna, an empty container, and a bowl of milk. This wasn’t random garbage. Someone was feeding her, and by the looks of the meal spread before her, no wonder she was all scrawny. Milk. Who would ever?

I picked up the plastic bowl of milk and threw the contents over the edge of the dumpster. Hopefully, she wouldn’t go after it. I was livid as I marched around the building and into the club, paying my way in since I “forgot” to snag my free admittance coupon, leaving it for Lola’s next adventure.

“Hey, you know whose cat that is around back?” I asked the bouncer, swishing my hair as I did. No need to let on how pissed I was until I found the focus of my ire.

“Not a clue. Probably a stray. You’re welcome to take him home.” He shrugged.

Yeah, that was what I was going to do, at least for the night. I could find him a good home later. If I played my cards right, the worst that would happen is losing my security deposit.

“Sounds good.” I headed straight to Lola and told her my plan. Not that she cared, she’s already found a perch at the bar in her sweetie’s section. Go, Lola.

I wasn’t sure how the hell I was going to find the person who’d been feeding the cat, but I needed a box or something to keep her home in. I scooted over to the kitchen door in the back of the club. Maybe they’d have something I could use lying around.

“Blondie, you live up to your name.” The deep voice of the focus of my entire day’s dreams caressed my ears. As vivid as my imagination was, I never expected him to catch me trying to sneak into the kitchen for a box to take home a cat I wasn’t allowed to have.

“Thanks.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “Um, can you help me find a box big enough to carry a cat?”

“Why? I thought you couldn’t have cats.” He was already leading the way.

“I can’t, but I can’t leave her here, either. There is a stray out back and some asshat is feeding them milk. Can you even believe that?”

His body froze and he turned around, guilt written all over his face. Yes. Yes, he could believe it, because he’d done it. Fuck. If I’d thought I had any chance with Killian, I’d probably just lost it by calling him an asshat.