I couldn’t believe I was already a month into the new school year. I’d decided to give community college a second try because hey, I needed a better job than the shitty one I had. I needed to have a life, you know? Go out with my friends, spot cute alphas…

Dang, how had I forgotten? College was all about spotting cute alphas. There were several in this room at this very moment, and I tried to throw a few glances their way as I settled into my chair.

I sighed inwardly, though, because these alphas weren’t going to be what I wanted.

Despite the whole “alpha” thing, very few of them were what I wanted.

I wanted to be dominated.

Yeah, I was kinky. Like, whips and chains kinky. I had this whole psychological fascination with BDSM and it thrilled my body like nothing else. Seriously, who needed drugs and alcohol when you had kink? Rollercoasters were practically for babies in comparison.

Maybe I was exaggerating, but still. That dopamine rush was nearly enough to give me a boner right there and then.

I looked up just in time to see my friend Oliver sitting down next to me. He was a single dad, or well, at least he’d been one when he’d moved to Stell and had bonded with me like some kind of older omega brother.

I liked him a lot as a friend since he was actually here to do work, unlike some of the younger people here. I mean, maybe a little part of me was here to socialize, but I wasn’t going to squander this opportunity to get a degree like I had the first time around.

“How are you?” he asked with a warm smile.

“Good,” I said, smiling back, unsure of what else to say. Oliver still made me a bit nervous, not because he was rude or mean, but because he had his shit together in a way I could only hope to. He had a great guy, an awesome kid, a nice house… His partner was supporting him while he was getting his degree, too. He had the perfect omega life.

I knew you weren’t supposed to compare your life to what you saw of other peoples’ lives, but I couldn’t help it. I really looked up to Oliver.

I’d befriended him these past few weeks and while he wasn’t very judgy, so far, at least, I wanted to talk omega stuff with him, and that included sex. And for me, that meant kink. But some people were very weird about kink.

We were just continuing a lab today, so the professor said a few brief words and let us work. I helped Oliver set up and wondered if I should just go for it and open up to him.

“I’ve been wanting to date more,” I said, apropos of nothing, but that was how conversations worked, right?

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Yeah, like… I see these alphas around and I want to bang them, you know?” I stopped when he chuckled. It must have sounded silly to a guy who was settled, but hey, it was my life. “But I like… don’t know if they can satisfy me in bed.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow, an amused smile quirking his lip. “High standards, huh?”

“Well, it’s not just that,” I said, wondering if I should just come out and say it. “I like kinky shit, I guess. Hard to know if someone’s into that without straight up asking them, right?”

“I guess so,” he said, staring at the desk like he was pondering something. “I mean, you’d never guess I was kinky, would you?”

“No—what?” I said, caught off guard. He turned his gaze to me, a sparkle in his eye. “You’re saying you—with a kid and everything—”

“What?” He scoffed. “It’s not like you stop being a sexual being when you have a kid. I mean, my alpha runs a kink bar. You should swing by. Maybe you’ll find the right alpha there.” He grinned.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Not only did Oliver like getting freaky in the bedroom, he also was with a guy who—had I heard that correctly?—ran a kink bar.

“What’s the name of this place?” I asked.

“Black Thorn,” said Oliver casually. “I find it a little overwhelming myself, but it’s a good place, run by good people. I would know.”

I nodded slowly, still letting this revelation wash over me. “I think I’ve heard of it,” I said.

Of course, I’d researched all the kink bars in the city when I’d moved here, years ago. But it wasn’t going to be as easy as walking right in and flirting with alphas.

I was a sub with a bit of a history.

There were a lot of shitty alphas out there, and shitty doms, and shitty alpha doms. And that meant that in my wilder and more promiscuous youth I got with a lot of them. I didn’t know any better, and I’d been abused by some of them.

I was kind of done dealing with that, you know?

It was hard thought, craving kink but also feeling like it was a minefield—something to be stepped into very carefully, if I was going to step into it at all. Kink had been my life for a long time. It was still a huge part of my identity, my soul. I was a sub through and through, and I couldn’t just shut that away.

But what if I wasn’t the one who’d thrown away the key?

I didn’t want to label myself as jaded, but maybe that kind of was what I was. I was cautious, I had baggage. All that shit you get as you get older and make your way through relationship after relationship…

“Danny?”

“Oh, yeah?” I said, realizing I’d spaced out into my own thoughts.

“Check out the bar,” said Oliver. “If you want to, obviously. It’s a good community.”

“Sure,” I said, finally flipping open the lab notebook we had to take notes in. “I mean, it’s worth a try, right?”

“You’ve gotta put yourself out there,” said Oliver, with a firm nod. “I would never have found Caden if I hadn’t.”

I nodded. “You’re right. Hell, maybe I’ll even go tonight.”

* * *

I was no stranger to kink clubs, but a large part of me was still amazed that I was going to Black Thorn tonight. Of course, I’d looked it up on all the usual places. Social media sites, review sites. And the reviews had been stellar.

Of course, there had been the odd person who hadn’t felt like they’d had a good experience, but those were few and far between. It seemed like more than anything, people loved Black Thorn.

Maybe I could find an alpha there.

But not tonight. I was going to play it safe. I’d ended up in a lot of bad situations because I hadn’t taken the time to really get to know the other person and figure out if they were trustworthy or not. And when you put yourself in such a vulnerable position, it was important to get to know people first.

Yes, I would visit the bar tonight and get a feel for the place. See what kinds of people were there, how they played, how they treated each other.

The more I thought about it and realized it was happening—that I was going to the bar tonight—the more excited my cock got. It twitched under my black jeans, knowing what was to come.

I knew I had to wear something sexy but not too attention getting. I was going to show my face, not immediately get fucked.

I selected a pink silk shirt and left the top few buttons unbuttoned to show off my smooth chest. My nipples, perky already, were showing through the thin, soft fabric. But this was still a look I could take to dinner. Just a little skanky, if you looked hard enough.

I smiled to myself in the mirror and swiped my fingers through my hair. This was going to be fun!

I stepped out and headed towards the tram station. That was one of the many reasons I wanted to get this degree in IT. It was versatile and would let me get a job that would afford me a much nicer apartment in a nicer neighborhood. East End wasn’t as bad, not like the Paisley, but it was also far away from everything and boring. Not much for a young omega like myself to do out here.

Thankfully, the tram did come out that way; Stell’s public transport was amazing. I couldn’t imagine not living in the city.

I had a lot of time to think as the tram sped downtown; despite the speed, it was still a ways to my destination. I wasn’t the only one partying tonight; even though it was a Thursday, there were other brightly dressed omegas on the train, as well as revelers of all kinds.

It was nice to think I was going to enjoy a night out on the town for once. I wished I had friends to bring, but I’d lost them all when there was that break up.

Not a break up between me and an ex. Two of my best friends had broken up. Usually, it was safe to pick a side or even play the diplomat, but it had blown up so much that I’d managed to lose all my friends from that group.

Talk about a shitshow. I was too mature for them anyway. I wanted to get my degree, find an alpha, have kids. Sure, I liked partying and kinky sex, and I didn’t want to rush to settle down, but I couldn’t handle as much alcohol as they could anymore.

The glittering buildings of the skyline, glass windows reflected with the sunset, came into view as the tram’s elevator rail entered the downtown area. There were all kinds of snazzy bars and restaurants here, and driverless cars—another thing I wished I could afford—were skimming down the streets silently, the only sound a barely discernible whirr.

I stepped off the tram and navigated to the bar, which was unsurprisingly innocuous-looking. Sex bars didn’t usually advertise that they were sex bars, after all.

I got past the bouncer, who was only too happy to let a young, cute omega—it was true—in, and made my way through a trippy corridor that led out to a bar area. A larger play area connected to the bar, and I could see a chill room for aftercare nearby.

It certainly looked a lot nicer than many of the other BDSM venues I’d been to. It was well-maintained and well-lit without ruining the ambiance. No one looked sleazy, anyway, and the omegas and women here looked comfortable.

I decided to stop by the bar to get a drink as I people watched.

A blonde tattooed girl was manning the bar, and she smiled at me as she got me my rum and coke.

“You new here?” she asked, tilting her head curiously at me.

“Yeah, I’m experienced with kink but new to this scene,” I said, taking a sip of my drink.

“Lots of good people here,” she said. “You’ll like it.” And then she was whisked away to handle someone else’s order.

This seemed like an auspicious start. The bartender was super nice and the drink was strong but not overpriced. I took a seat at the bar and let my eyes flick across the room. I didn’t want to enter the main play area just yet, though it was fun to watch from where I was.

People really seemed comfortable here. Well, not comfortable exactly—that guy who was getting his ass whipped raw did not seem comfortable—but they did seem uninhibited, somehow. People were letting loose, I could tell.

The more I spent time here, the more I liked it. Of course, I was going to hold off my judgement until I talked to some doms, but hey, it was looking good so far. My cock twitched and I almost felt like I could feel precum dripping out, I was so turned on.

“Hey,” came a deep voice from behind me, and I turned to see a big slab of alpha looking down at me.

“H-hey,” I said, amazed that I’d gotten attention already. I knew the bright pink silk shirt had been the correct choice.

“You look new here,” the alpha said. “Mind if I take a seat?”

“Sure,” I said, only too happy to have this delectable man sitting right next to me. I could feel the heat emanating from him and smell his rich, spicy scent.

I wanted to fuck him right there and then, but that wasn’t exactly in keeping with my goal of being cautious tonight.

“Name’s Archer,” he said.

“Danny,” I replied.

“You new to kink, or what?”

“Nah, just never been here before,” I replied, finding it hard to talk when his attention was on me. He was just so commanding, I wanted to immediately please him and obey him and—

I was falling for him already. God, it was so good to be in the presence of a real, sexy alpha dom.

“I’m sure I’d have remembered if I saw you,” he said with a smile.

I blushed. “So uh, tell me about this place,” I said. “You been coming here a while? I heard a lot of good things.”

He smiled proudly. “I’m glad to hear it. I care a lot about the people and community here.”

Even more green flags were popping up. If I didn’t leave now I would either burst into flames or convince Archer to fuck me right here on the bar.

He reached a hand out and put it on my thigh, and I felt like his touch was so hot it was branding me.

“You want me to give you the tour?” he asked, his lips sliding sideways in a rakish smirk.

“Uh, yes,” I said, downing the rest of my drink and slapping my blue card on the counter.

The alpha stood and took my hand, and when I felt his rough, large fingers twined with mine, my legs threatened to give way, shaking like jelly.

I had never before felt this sexually attracted to someone in my life. What was happening?

Archer swiped his dark hair away from his forehead with his other hand, then he tugged me toward the play area.

“There’s lots of equipment here for any scene you can imagine,” he said, and I could see he was right. I had no idea this place was that big from the outside, but it was huge inside, and there was even what appeared to be a lofted second level where more people were playing in a more intimate environment.

I let Archer lead me through the sexy, sexy chaos, noting all the glimpses that came my way. Archer himself was clearly popular around here, as he greeted many people and exchanged words with a few—those who weren’t in the throes of pain or pleasure, at least.

And what pain and pleasure they were having. My cock was starting to throb painfully, wanting me to whip it out and stroke it more than anything. It was almost torturous to listen to the impassioned cries of the people around me while doing nothing about my own lust.

But I had only just noticed that Archer had steered me to something of an alcove, where I could see that there was no one else.

Damn, did he want to hook up with me?

Did I want to hook up with him?

My earlier resolution to stay chaste tonight seemed foolish. How was I supposed to not sleep with Mr. Dead Sexy right here? I could tell he was holding himself back from ravaging me, and fuck if being ravaged wasn’t all I wanted right now.

It was like I wasn’t even human anymore—I was an animal with animal lust coursing through my blood, wanting this dominant creature to take me and fuck me for everything I was worth.

Before I knew it, our lips were locked together, my cock was pressed against his own hardness under his jeans, and I was moaning into the kiss wantonly like it was as good as his cock sliding deep inside me over and over again.

And the amazing thing was—right now, I didn’t want to be anywhere else but here.