James drank his twentieth glass of the little bar's strongest drink, but it might as well have been water. Man, he needed to find something to drown the ache in his chest. He gulped it down and slapped some bills on the counter. His wolf was sullen but now was the time. Bradley needed his help. He shook himself and asked his wolf to use his senses to find somewhere more suitable for shifters. His wolf reculantly helped, knowing that he too wanted the pain to end. After walking around for thirty minutes, he finally picked up the scents of others like him. He suppressed his Alpha aura, just wanting to be another man trying to drown his heartache.
A few words were exchanged along with a nice tip and he was directed to The Hollow, a seedy underground bar for shifters and misfits. At the door, the bouncer looked him up and down. "Aye mate, you're not from around here are ye?" The gruff voice stopped him just like the hand on his shoulder. James looked at him. A part of him would love nothing more than a fight to burn off his frustration, but his wolf just wanted to forget. He sighed, "Listen, man, all I want is to drink myself into oblivion." The bouncer looked at him, squinting his eyes. A flash of pity and understanding appeared, "Broken heart?" James just nodded. He stepped back and allowed him entry, "Ask for Trixy, she'd set you right." James just nodded in thanks and made his way down into the darkness.
His eyes quickly adjusted, but it took his nose a bit longer. The smell of sweaty bodies, shifters in different stages of heat, and even a faint scent of sex tickled his nose, but he soon adjusted himself. He chuckled at himself, a few short months ago, he would have headed straight for the female wolf who was nearing her heat, and taken her back to her place. The scent that would have made him wild now only made his mouth taste sour and he desperately wanted a drink to wash it away. Heading to the bar, he took a seat at the end of the long curved surface. He waited, I mean there was no rush, nothing for him to run home to. He softly laughed at himself again. My, my, how things have changed. He waved over one of the guys and asked for Trixy.
A slim woman made her way across, with her pixy cut hairstyle dyed purple and green. A long purple strand hung over her right eye. She stopped in front of James, popping her gum. At a closer look, he realized that she only looked young, as most shifters do. "You Trixy? The guy at the door told me to ask for you." Trixy looked over to the doorway, her eyes flashing the way it does when shifters mindlinked. "Yeah, that's me and I got just the thing for you." She walked away, returning with a bottle filled with a clear liquid. "Do you want a glass?" she asked, her accent similar to the bouncer's. James hesitated. Did he want to look that pitiful drinking straight from the bottle? Trixy just shrugged and placed both on the counter. "If you need anything else, let me know", and with that, she sauntered off.
James poured the liquid, surprised to find it chilled. He took a whiff, but there was no smell. He questioned for a moment if he should be doing this, but the memories of today steeled him. He swallowed it down in one gulp, pleased to find that it didn't burn, but warmed you from inside. He drank another one, this time slower, and spent the rest of the night, nursing his drink. He wasn't sure how many glasses he had before he realized that he felt pretty good. His memory was hazy and they didn't hurt as much. He felt like it was slowly being filled with cotton and it helped drown out the sounds around him. He laughed at the thought of his wolf snuggling himself in a pile of cotton and thought it was the funniest thing. Even his wolf agreed with him, shaking his head and declaring that he was now Mary's little lamb.
Trixy looked over at the sad man in the corner. She watched as the drink kicked in, shaking her head at the sadness she saw in his gaze. She noticed one of the girls who liked to prey on drunk men slide up on the stool next to him. Normally she left her alone, but something made her glare at the woman. Her eyes glowed, as she stared straight at Minx, a fox shifter. "Leave him alone" she growled in her head. Minx's eyes widened and she hopped off the stool so fast that it toppled over.
James slowly opened his eyes. He didn't even know they were closed. He frowned wondering when it happened. Why did he open them? Ah yes, a noise. He slowly looked around, everything seeming to dance like the heatwaves in the desert. His eyes found the fallen stool. That's interesting, he was sure it was standing next to him. His wolf piped in, his voice slurred, "Maybe he's had too much to drink", and howled at his own joke. James laughed, slapping his hand on the counter but missing by a mile. He toppled over as well and fell with a crash unto the sticky floor. Turning his head, he laughed.
Trixy saw this and yelled for Bruno, the bouncer, and her brother to help James up. The big guy did and James pointed to the stool still lying on the floor, "You have to help my friend up too", he slurred. Bruno looked at Trixy who just shrugged and nodded. Bruno picked up the stool and placed it back. James pulled it closer and waved at Trixy. "Hey, let me get a glass for my friend and another bottle." Trixy rolled her eyes and did as he asked. James poured a drink and placed it on the stool. Pouring his own, he toasted with his new friend he named Bob and downed the drink. Trixy cleared away the five empty bottles and went back to work. A normal wolf would have been lights out at three, yet here was one who was still going, meaning he was not normal. Trixy shook her head. At least he wasn't looking sad anymore.