DONOVAN

 

“Why does it seem like every other building in Pandora is a bar?”

“What do you expect? When you’re living in a place like this, the best option is to drown your sorrows. It’s a booming business.”

“I suppose that makes sense. I wonder how all of these bars manage to stay in business. There’s so much competition with each other.”

“Maybe there’s that many individuals who are just looking to get drunk.”

Andrea raised an eyebrow at me. She was a Beta, through and through. But there were times when she displayed the cunning intelligence of an Alpha.

“Okay,” I said with a nod. “A lot of people need help out here.”

“You’re just now figuring that out?”

“No. But I am having trouble parsing all of it. Just because I have a fortune doesn’t mean I can simply throw my money away. I still have to figure out how to invest my money to do my part to try and help this part of Dirge.”

“And that’s why you invited me to come along?” she said. “Because you want me to help you figure out where to put your money?”

“Bingo.”

I winked at her as we made our way down the sidewalk.

It was a seemingly average day in Pandora. I hadn’t been here much, so I could only assume the life of poverty was normal for everybody. The dreadful poverty surrounding me wasn’t so bad once you realized that it was the scenery that was the worst thing about it. The people themselves all seemed to be going about their business and making ends meet, despite being so down on life.

“I don’t know where to begin,” I said.

“Maybe you should invest in a bar itself,” she said. “It would be good business. Someone like you would be able to drive out your competitors.”

“I see what you’re saying… Then they’d be forced to go into some other business. Instead of peddling alcohol, they would have to learn a trade. Tailors. Woodworking. Agricultural industries are a growing segment in Dirge.”

“That does seem like an interesting prospect.”

“Still… I think there’s something about all of these bars that keeps them in business. And it’s not just the alcohol.”

“And what is it, exactly?”

I stopped in my tracks. I turned and looked at the bar right next to us. The place was nondescript. The windows were dirty and there was no signage. There were men standing just outside of it, eye-balling me. The stink of liquor on them was strong enough to mask their scents.

“Why don’t we find out exactly what it is?” I said to her.

“You do have such radical ideas.”

She couldn’t refuse me. Andrea had known me long enough that I liked taking risks. It wasn’t the fortune that made me act like I owned every place I walked in. I was an Alpha. I had to make that known.

As soon as we stepped into the bar, I could feel the stares of the people surrounding me. Most of them were Alphas themselves. A few Omegas wandered around the place. They were mostly minding their own business and tending to the Alphas who were in the need of companionship.

I could only imagine what they were thinking when they saw me with Andrea. A jaguar Alpha and a female Beta friend. My suit was enough to make a strange sight but even without it, I was sure they’d never seen a pair like us before.

I made my way up to the bar and the bartender begrudgingly walked up to me.

“What do you want?” he scoffed at me.

“Just a couple of drinks,” I said. “Give me your finest.”

“My finest, huh? All I’ve got is cheap beer.”

“Cheap beer it is,” I said with a friendly smile.

The bartender looked me up and down, narrowing his eyes at me. While he poured Andrea and me a glass of beer, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a piece of gold. I laid it down on the counter. The bartender quickly swiped it up and started examining it.

“I’m guessing you don’t get much gold in here very often,” Andrea said.

“Look around,” the bartender replied. “Do you think any of these guys carry gold on them? I’d be lucky to get a few pieces of copper.”

I examined the crowd. I noticed that they were all rough and rugged men. They wore dirty jeans that were tight, and boots on their feet. Leather vests with matching patches indicated that they were in some sort of gang.

Andrea stood next to me while we drank our beer. The dirty mugs made her grimace and when she took a sip, her face soured even more.

“I spend too much time around you,” she said. “All of that red wine has me spoiled.”

“Now, now,” I said. “You were the one who said I should look into helping these people. There’s no need to insult one of their few pleasures in life.”

I kept looking around the bar while I drank my bitter beer. Everyone in the bar was just as bitter.

“They have an interesting way of dressing,” I said as I observed the crowd.

“Motorcycle clubs,” Andrea replied.

“What?” I said, turning toward her.

“Motorcycle clubs,” she explained. “They wear patches to indicate what club they’re a part of. It’s a more overt way of showing their allegiances.”

“I see… You can take the beast out of the pack but you can’t take the pack out of the beast.”

“Just because they’re no longer living in the forests doesn’t mean they still don’t have that pack mentality. Motorcycle clubs give all of them a chance to remain in the comfort of a group. It gives them the best chances for survival.”

It wasn’t a surprise that even with all of the luxuries of man, some would choose to remain living in packs.

“I think that’s it,” I said.

“What is?” Andrea responded.

“That’s what places like this offer these packs, these clubs. It’s their spot. That’s how these bars manage to stay in business. All of the clubs in here are just packs who have marked their territory.”

“Are you saying there’s no hope for a place like Pandora? That things are going to be the way they are forever?”

“Not forever. I’m only saying that some will choose not to change their ways. And this is their way of keeping the old traditions.”

“Hey!”

A voice interrupted my cordial conversation with Andrea. We both turned and looked at the man who was suddenly standing next to me.

He had a shaved head, his skin tan. His eyes were white with barely visible pupils.

He was big but not so much to tower over me. He wore a leather vest with nothing underneath, the muscles of his chest and abdomen were on full display. Ink on his skin indicated this probably wasn’t the first time he confronted someone with such a forward attitude.

“What do you think you’re doing here?” he said with a glare in his eyes.

“What am I doing here?” I said, slightly confused. “I’m just standing here and enjoying my beer—”

“Don’t you know who you’re talking to?”

I blinked my eyes and shook my head.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m afraid I don’t.”

“Nah, of course you don’t. You would know better than to come into a place like this.”

I looked over the man’s shoulders and saw a group of men leaning against the wall staring right at me. There were four of them and they all had the same look in their eyes. It was as if they were just waiting to rip me apart.

The bald man leaned in close to me and sniffed.

“Jaguar,” he said with a smirk. “It’s not often your kind come around here.”

I was so distracted by his sudden interruption that I hadn’t taken a chance to examine closely for myself.

A single whiff of his scent told me what he was.

A hyena. They had a stench to them. It was pungent. It filled your nostrils so strongly you could choke on it.

I stood my ground as he moved closer to me.

“Do you know what we do to jaguars around these parts?” he said.

I stared back at the man. I wasn’t about to back down, even with his pack right behind him.

“I am an Alpha,” I said defiantly.

He scoffed then chuckled at me.

“We get plenty of Alphas in here. Not jaguars, but Alphas all the same. Look around. You think you’re gonna get some respect out of me just because you walk around in a fancy suit with your nose in the air?”

“What do you want?” I said.

I raised my voice. I was loud enough for everybody in the small tavern to turn and take notice. The conversations around me all quieted.

“Donovan…”

Andrea whispered to me as she put a hand on my arm to try and pull me away. She was a Beta and she was always trying to mediate things. I could imagine how hard it was for her to get between two Alphas.

“Shut up, bitch,” the man said to Andrea, his eyes still locked on me. “My business is with the jaguar.”

“You and I don’t have any business,” I said.

“Oh, I do. You see… This is my bar you walked in. This is Black Stone territory.”

“Black Stone?”

“That’s right. This is our clubhouse. And I don’t remember inviting you.”

“I don’t recall needing an invitation.”

Andrea tugged on my arm strongly enough to shift me. I looked at her as she pleaded with me.

“Donovan… please…”

I didn’t come to Pandora to start a fight. I came here to help. The man in front of me, this hyena, didn’t look like he was interested. I decided to cut my losses.

“My apologies,” I said. “My friend and I will be on our way.”

I turned around to leave but he stopped me.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he said. “Not so fast.”

He moved forward and blocked the path between me and the doorway.

“You already came in,” he said. “Now you have to pay the toll.”

“The toll?” I said.

“Yes. For drinking at my bar without an invitation.”

“And what is the toll?”

The man looked me up and down. A smirk came to his lips.

“Five gold pieces,” he said.

“What?” Andrea exclaimed. “Five gold—”

“It’s all right,” I said, as I put my hand up.

I reached into my jacket and felt for the gold in my pocket. The man stuck his hand out and I placed the gold in it. The grin on his face grew even wider as he closed his hand around it.

“I apologize for coming into your territory without your permission,” I said.

“Don’t make that mistake again,” he said. “Next time, it’ll be a dozen pieces.”

He cackled to himself as he made his way back to the rest of his pack. The conversations in the bar resumed and everything was back to normal.

“Can we go now?” Andrea said to me.

We made our way back to the safety of my car and sat in the backseat.

“What was that all about?” Andrea said. “You didn’t have to pay that.”

“It’s all right,” I said. “If I’m going to help Pandora, I can’t go around picking fights with the locals.”

“I don’t think giving tribute to a pack leader is going to help, either.”

“No, no it won’t.”

“Maybe you should just take some time away,” she said. “I’m sorry for suggesting you should help this place. Maybe they really are helpless.”

“No, they’re not helpless. I can’t fix Pandora overnight. This place will change. I just have to help them one individual at a time.”

“Great. Now all you have to do is find that individual.”

It was as if a light turned on in my head. I looked over at Andrea and couldn’t help but smile at her. She gave me a confused look.

“What’s on your mind?” she said.

“One person at a time. I think I know exactly who to start with.”