LUCAS

 

I was in a strange dream. At least, I thought I was.

Every inch of my body ached. My muscles were sore from my head down to my toes. When I realized I wasn’t dreaming, a smile suddenly came to my lips.

It was pleasure. Pure pleasure. The night I shared with Donovan was still lingering through my bones.

I’d never met a jaguar before. If I had, I was certain I would have remembered it. I’d only heard about them. I was happy to discover that the rumors were true.

Jaguars were strong and powerful with endless stamina. As the memory of the night came back to me, it was all a blur. Just random images of him ravaging me popped into my thoughts.

I took a moment to gather myself before finally blinking my eyes open. The sun was shining bright outside but not blinding as it shined in through the double doors that connected to a balcony outside. The cool breeze brought in a waft of saltwater that filled my nostrils and cleared my lungs.

I sighed in contentment.

“This is the life…”

I whispered to myself before realizing that this was only a one-night stand. I doubted Donovan wanted anything more to do with me.

My lover from last night was nowhere to be found, not that it mattered. I grabbed my clothes and put them on as quickly as I could.

I almost got lost as I roamed the hallways of the sprawling mansion before eventually finding my way downstairs into the main hall. That’s when I saw the driver of his car standing there.

The old man was dressed in a tuxedo, his posture rigid like he hadn’t taken his jacket off the hanger.

“Good morning, Lucas,” he said to me with a bow of his head. “I’ve prepared breakfast for you.”

“Breakfast?”

My brow furrowed in confusion. But before I could question him any further, he held his hand out and led me down a corridor and toward a balcony that hung over the ocean and beach down below.

There was a table before me. Sprawled out on it was enough food to satisfy a dozen people. Every type of breakfast food you could imagine. Meats, eggs, fruits, pastries, juices. My stomach started to rumble and my mouth watered just from the sight of it.

“He would like you to help yourself,” the old man said. “He’ll be with you shortly. Please, don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything.”

“…Dirk? It’s Dirk, right?”

“That’s correct. Is there something you need?”

“You’re a Beta wolf?”

“Yes.”

“How did a Beta wolf find himself working for an Alpha jaguar?”

Dirk smiled politely, seemingly not taking any offense.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I suppose I was fortunate enough that my lineage was chosen by his ancestors.”

“What about your pack?”

“My pack? I may be a Beta but you do understand that most of us in Dirge have left that life behind us. I am merely a man living his life the best way he can.”

“Right… Of course…”

He bowed his head then excused himself, leaving me alone with the table full of food.

I took a seat then started stacking my plate. I wasn’t about to ignore Donovan’s generosity. While I satisfied my belly, I looked out into the ocean and enjoyed the view before me. For a moment, it felt like all of my troubles were gone. It was the first time I felt at peace for as long as I could remember.

“I’m sorry.”

A voice interrupted my moment alone. I turned and saw Donovan walking toward me. He was dressed in a gray suit that fit his frame perfectly. But it wasn’t just the clothes that made him so appealing.

His blond hair. His groomed facial hair. His mesmerizing blue eyes. He looked every bit the Alpha that he was. If all jaguars looked like he did, it was safe to assume that they were successful.

He took a seat in front of me then started helping himself to a plate. The way he handled his utensils was so elegant. Not at all like the men I was so used to seeing.

I kept my head down and stared at my food as he spoke to me.

“I had some business to take care of. I don’t like keeping company waiting but it couldn’t be helped. You understand, yes?”

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” I said. “You only asked my company for the evening. I was just about to leave before Dirk invited me to stay. Frankly, I don’t mind. A place like this… The view is something.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

I searched the ocean. It stretched for miles, endless toward the horizon. I was getting lost just looking at it.

“I could spend all day here,” I sighed.

“You can if you like. There’s plenty of room.”

“How many balconies do you have in this place?”

“Only three. I use the one near my bedroom the most frequent but I let guests enjoy the view as well through the main hall.

“Three balconies…” I sighed again. “Three more than I could ever dream of…”

“Yes, well, there is still something else I wish to discuss with you.”

“There is?”

“Yes. I did say that I needed your help.”

“…Okay,” I said with a nod. “For two gold pieces, I suppose I can help you out a bit. What do you need?”

Donovan took a sip of water to wash down his bite of food then coughed softly to clear his throat.

“Tell me about Pandora,” he said.

“W-what?”

“Pandora. You live there, correct?”

“Yes.”

“What’s it like?”

“Well…”

I shrugged my shoulders, trying to find the right words to say.

Pandora was a hellhole. There was no way around it. But it was my home. I suddenly felt embarrassed at admitting to him that I lived in a place so dramatically different from the place we were now.

“It’s all right,” he said. “Please.”

“What’s there to say?” I sighed. “You saw it for yourself. The Alphas run rampant. Omegas can’t walk the streets without fear of being attacked. The Betas run to the other parts of Dirge. There’s a lawlessness there unlike the rest of the city.”

“I see… And you live there. You said you worked at a bar.”

“That’s right.”

“Do you live by yourself? Are you with your pack?”

I stuffed my mouth with some meat, hungrily chewing on it as I avoided his question. I wasn’t interested in getting personal with him. He might have been an Alpha but he was still just a man I hadn’t even known for a day.

“What’s it to you?” I asked.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting you to be so… defiant.”

I suddenly realized I’d raised my voice. I shook my head and sighed.

“It’s my fault,” I said. “I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just… Pandora needs a lot of help. And when I’m in a place like this, it only makes it more apparent.”

“Indeed. That’s why I want to know more about you and Pandora. I’d like to help.”

“Help? How can you help?”

Donovan reared back. His body started to shake with laughter. He smiled at me but I wasn’t as amused as he was.

“Look around,” he said. “I have more than enough gold to share.”

“You’d need a lot more if you intend on fixing Pandora.”

“I don’t intend on fixing Pandora. I only intend on doing my part to help. That’s why you’re here.”

“Me? What can I do?”

“I don’t know where to start. The problems in Pandora are rampant. But there must be some way to help.”

The smile on his face was gone. The way he stared at me, I knew he was serious. But after everything I’d been through, it was my turn to laugh at him.

“I’m sorry,” I said, snickering. “I can’t help it.”

“You can’t help what?”

“Laughing at the thought that you can help Pandora.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t you see? The problem isn’t in any of the buildings or the roads or the pollution from the motorcycles. It’s the people themselves. It doesn’t matter how much money they have, Alphas will always be Alphas. They can’t help themselves. They’ll always give-in to their most carnal instincts. The most savage Alphas end up in a place like Pandora.”

I leaned across the table, my eyes locked on his so I could get my point across the best I could.

“The people in Pandora are hopeless,” I said. “There’s nothing you can do to help. You have to make them want to help themselves.”

“And how would I do that?”

“That’s just it. They only care about indulging themselves. They don’t care about anybody else. There’s no motivation to do any greater good for Dirge.”

“What about you? You seem open to it.”

“I’m an Omega—”

“Living in Pandora.”

He narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t smiling. No, he was looking at me like he was trying to read my thoughts.

“You’re an Omega living in the worst part of the city for an Omega to live in,” he said. “It doesn’t add up.”

“Maybe. But this isn’t about me. This is about you trying to do your part to save Pandora.”

I put my head down and stuffed some more food into my mouth. I could feel his eyes on me but I didn’t care. I was doing anything I could to distract myself from the conversation.

“I’m alone,” he said suddenly.

I looked up at him but didn’t say anything, continuing to eat like I wasn’t interested in what he was saying.

“Like most jaguars, I don’t live in a shadow anymore. I’ve gotten by on my own. Just like my parents before me and their parents before them.”

“You’re an Alpha and you’re a jaguar. You were blessed to grow up in those circumstances.”

“Maybe. But I don’t think that’s the case. I’m an Alpha the same as any other Alpha. It doesn’t matter if I’m a jaguar or a wolf or a bear. We’re all capable of so much more. If I can do it, so can the Alphas in Pandora.”

“Okay,” I said with a nod, my mouth half-full of food. “If you can convince the Alphas in Pandora to see things your way, then you can do it. But from where I’m sitting, I don’t see how any of them will change the way they live.”

“I don’t need to change all of their minds. Just one. If I can convince one of them to look at things differently, then he can convince another. Then he can convince another. And so on, and so on. That’s how Pandora will be saved.”

I should have laughed at him. I should have told him he was crazy. I should have told him to jump off his balcony and end it all to save himself the time.

But there was something about the way he looked at me. It was convincing in a way that almost made me forget how bad it was where I lived.

I couldn’t find the words to say to him. Instead, I stuffed myself with more food until my appetite had been satiated.

“Is there anything else you need from me?” I asked.

“No. I think I’ve learned all I can about you. Oh, before I forget…”

He reached into his jacket. I watched as he pulled out two pieces of gold. He put them on the table and pushed them toward me.

“…Our deal,” he said.

I took the money and stuffed it into my pocket before hopping out of my seat.

“Will I be seeing you again?” he asked.

I looked at him and shook my head.

“I don’t know who or what you think I am, but I’m not a brothel worker for hire. I’m just an Omega trying to make it in this world. That’s all.”

I turned around and started walking away. Just before I left, he called out to me.

“Lucas?”

“What is it?”

“What bar do you work at?”

I hesitated before responding. At this point, there was no reason not to trust him.

“I work for an Alpha named Sawyer. You can find me there.”

I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my sweatshirt. Without looking back at Donovan, I was escorted to the front of the mansion by Dirk. As I sat in the car, I took one last glance at Donovan’s home before heading back to the part of the city I was more familiar with.