I did as he suggested then stood up. “Thank you for your patience, sir.” Because one of the things I’d just read mentioned calling doms and/or alphas sir or maybe master so and so, if you knew their name. “I appreciate your consideration.

“Would you like a guided tour, or would you prefer to wander and explore on your own?”

He wasn’t flirting. All business.

“I think I’d like to explore on my own if that’s okay.”

“Absolutely.” His smile lit up. “I hope you have a wonderful night. Please don’t hesitate to find an employee or a dungeon monitor if you have any questions or concerns.”

I nodded and moved from the foyer into the club. Subtle lighting came from fixtures on the walls, and the music was loud around the bar. I didn’t do alcohol. Wouldn’t touch the stuff with a ten-foot pole. Not only had I grown up with one alcoholic father, but I watched my other one suffer the life of a husband of a drinker. Add that to the number of babies I saw at work who were born addicted or had issues caused by drinking during pregnancy and, to me, liquor was nothing but poison.

Taking a right, I entered a large open space. There were couches and low tables, booths and other seating, but I followed the flow of people past them. The first was a fire display. Interesting, but didn’t tickle my fancy. Then there were the spanking benches. This time, I was intrigued but felt like I wanted to move around more.

I sucked in a breath when I came to the St. Andrew’s cross, but I was soon distracted by the sounds of whimpers coming from a nearby corner. I followed the sounds to an omega without a shirt, crouched down and crying.

Nurse instincts kicking in, I crouched to be eye level. “Are you okay? What’s your name?”

He squinted at me, eyes red, tears streaming down his face. “Rhys. Do you work here?”

“No, but I saw you. Do you need help?”

He shrugged. “Right now, I…” He shook his head. “I said the safe word. I swear I did. He ignored me. He promised he would stop if I said the safe word.”

Some alphas were assholes. They were few and far between, but in instances like this, I was reminded they lurked in places that were supposed to be safe.

“How about some water? Maybe there’s a healer here who can look you over.”

“What I need is another cocktail and not to be attracted to assholes.” The first wouldn’t help. The last…yeah.

“Let’s get you a water and find a healer or a first aid station.”

“Thank you. What’s your name?” he asked.

“I’m Julian. I’m a nurse. I’ve got you.” I helped him up and, after he cried for a few minutes on my shoulder, I scanned the room for an employee but couldn’t find one. I sighed. “Did you come with friends or alone?”

“With my boyfriend.”

Oh, right. The asshole.

“Come on. We’ll find someone to help.”

Chapter Seven

Andreas

I sat in my office, head buried in my arms on my desk, for a good ten minutes before Jabez’ voice cut through my pity party. “What’s going on in here?”

“Oh, hi.” I lifted my face to meet his stern healer mien. “Just feeling sorry for myself. No need for a healer’s services.”

“Really?” He stepped into the office and pointed at the guest chair in front of my desk. “May I?”

“Take a load off. How is your evening going since we last spoke?”

He sat down and crossed his leg over his knee, leaning back in a relaxed stance I envied. Although I felt great about a lot of things in my life, and I knew I’d made progress since my former partner left me, I was always just a little on edge, hoping I was doing the best for my son and building our life together. “I’m great, but you were so enthusiastic and having a great time just a little while ago. What happened?”

“Are you psychic?” Some shifters had a greater or lesser level of this ability.

“No, I saw you wandering around out there with a thundercloud over your head before you came in here.”