Chapter 46

“Sahid!” I exclaimed happily. “You’re alive!”
He grinned. “Of course, I am.”
“But… what about Dominic?” I asked, looking around. “Where is he?”
“The wolf? Well, he split.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Sahid sighed. He did not show any sign of distress and there were no marks or injuries on him. It was as if he never got into a fight earlier today.
“His pals showed up while we were fighting and they outnumbered me,” he said. “When my fellow Lycans saw what was happening, they stopped watching and joined the fight too.”
“Oh, my!” I gasped.
“Trust me, I haven’t been in such a messy fight in a very long time,” he said with a grin. “It was mad fun!”
“Are you kidding? How is that fun?”
He laughed. “Babe, this place can be insanely boring. That fight spiced things up for everyone. They liked it too.”
“So, where is Dominic now?” I asked.
“I told you already. He ran off with his pals. That old lady killed his twin and they dragged him off with them when they ran.”
“Darius is dead?”
“I don’t know what they call him, but she did a number on him. Sliced his neck off clean. The woman is a beast, I tell you. Where is she?”
“She and the others are on their way to the north as we speak,” I replied.
“And why didn’t you go with them?”
“She kicked me out of the pack. Said it was my fault that the Woods Alphas killed her son.”
“Who are the Woods Alphas?”
I sighed. “I don’t have time to explain any of this to you, Sahid. I need to get going.”
“To where?”
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “Preferably any place where I will not bring danger to anyone who tries to make friends with me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Sahid, dismissively. “They east may welcoming and safe, but we too have our own share of weirdos here. A lone she-wolf roaming the streets aimlessly is easy prey to the few degenerates among us.”
“That’s fine. I’m ready to die anyway. I’m tired of running,” I said sadly.
Sahid became sober. “It can’t be that bad…”
“Thanks for coming to my rescue earlier. I have to be on my way now.”
“Wait,” he said, stopping me. “Come with me.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to be one of whores.”
“You don’t have to be. Let me get you some fresh clothes and maybe a hot meal to warm you up. The weather is getting cold.”
He was right. The temperature was starting to drop as evening approached. Regardless, I didn’t want to be a burden on him.
“It’s ok. I’m a werewolf,” I said with a smile. “I’ve got my fur to keep me warm.”
“Seriously, Babe,” he said. “Let me help you. I don’t want anything in return.”
“First of all, my name is Jade, not Babe. And secondly, nobody does anything for anyone for free in this world. Nothing goes for nothing.”
“Try me,” he said.
He sounded sincere and I was almost convinced that he was truly trying to help me with no strings attached. However, this was a guy that ran a brothel. I’m a female. It’s a match made in heaven.
“No,” I said and began to walk away.
“What do you have to lose?” He asked me. “You were wishing for death only a few seconds ago, weren’t you?”
“So?”
“So, what would one night with a pimp matter anyway?”
“I thought you said you didn’t want anything from me?”
“That’s still true but I won’t say no if you want something from me,” he said with a mischievous wink.
I laughed. I liked his sense of humour. He was making me forget my desperate situation. Now, I was curious to see what his den looked like.
“Fine,” I said finally, accepting his dubious offer. “But I will not work for you.”
“Deal,” he said casually. “Let’s go to my crib then.”
He held out his elbow for me like a gentleman and I took it. We walked arm-in-arm to his brothel where his workers were going about the day's business.
Everyone hailed him as we passed. Some of the patrons leered at me, while others whistled and catcalled me.
“Don’t be rude, folks. She’s my guest,” said Sahid with a laugh.
His place was on the third floor, away from the boom-boom rooms on the second floor and the bar on the first floor. I could still hear the music of the live band that was entertaining the guests downstairs.
The apartment was a two-room space that was heavily furnished and smelled like perfumery. There were all kinds of knick-knacks in the place. It was like a collector’s haven.
“Not bad,” I remarked as I studied his apartment.
“This place belonged to my mother,” he replied. “After she passed away, I couldn’t bring myself to throw her stuff away. They all remind me of her and how much she liked them.”
“Wow…”
“Yeah. Every single item in this place has a story attached to it. Do you want a drink?”
“Sure,” I said with a smile. “I’d love something sweet and spicy.”
“Something sweet and spicy coming up,” he said and walked to the minibar to fix me a drink.
When he returned, I thanked him for the drink and we sat down on the same couch.
“How did you get into this business?” I asked him.
“I was born into it,” he replied plainly. “This is where I grew up.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand. Were born in the brothel?”
“Yeah. The brothel belongs to my mother.”
“Oh…”
“She was an orphaned hybrid with exotic looks. As she grew from an innocent child into a blooming adult female, men adored her and women hated her. She decided to use that prejudice to her advantage.”
“I see…”
“She built this place within a year of entertaining the richest men in the region. Some even came from faraway lands to patronize her.”
“She must have been something back in the day.”
“Oh, she was. And then, she fell in love…”
“Please, don’t tell me the guy’s name is Hazim.”
“Who?”
“Never mind,” I said and laughed. “Inside joke. You were saying?”
“She fell in love with one of her patrons,” he continued. “She had been seeing him in secret. It had started as the usual client and service provider relationship, but as time passed, it became more than that.”
“Hmm…”
“She said she told him that she was willing to stop her sex trade if he would just make their relationship public but he refused. He was the son of the Lycan Alpha and it would be an embarrassment for his family if everyone ever got wind of their affair.”
“Oh, boy. I can imagine how sad she must have been.”
“And it got worse when she found out that she was pregnant. He denied being responsible for it and threatened to have her killed if she ever told anyone that she was carrying his child.”
“Aw…”
“Yeah… She remained behind closed doors until I was born and she never told anyone who my father was. I didn’t know about it until she was on her deathbed.”
“That’s sad,” I said, feeling sorry for him.
“Even sadder when my father lives in the palace and I live in the brothel. That’s one of the ironies of life.”
“Your father is still alive?”
“Yes. He’s the Alpha of the Lycan Pack. He lounges in his grand palace while I rule in my brothel here. So, we’re even. We’re both kings!”
He laughed but I didn’t find any of this funny. If what he’s saying is true, that meant that the Alpha’s son that Hazim killed in the palace was his half-brother.
“Like father like son,” I said quietly.
Sahid laughed. “Right. How about that shower now?”
“Sure,” I smiled. “Where’s your bathroom.”
“Go straight down and turn right. I’ll go and check if one of my mother’s dresses will be ok for you to wear.”
“Thanks, Sahid,” I said gratefully.
“Sure,” he said and went into what I assumed was his mother’s bedroom. I set down my glass of wine which I didn’t drink.
Maybe he was genuinely a kind guy, or maybe he wasn’t. I have been betrayed repeatedly in the last few years, so trusting a stranger completely was not in the cards for me.
I will always be on my guard until I was sure that I had nothing to worry about. I took off my clothes and stepped under the shower. My relief was immediate and I sighed with joy.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the bathroom door. Before I could respond, it swung open and Sahid came in.