Neon lights glowed high into the night as misty rain spattered around us.
Unlike what we’d seen after the first trial, this part of the city wasn’t dead at night.
It was alive.
Shifters crowded the sidewalks in small glittering clothes that revealed more skin than they covered.
Club signs flashed, and high-heel-clad legs waited in long lines.
The car stopped, and Xerxes pushed us through the crowds, leading us around the side of a purple skyscraper.
As we walked further down the narrow, dark alley, open faces were replaced with dark masks, boisterous laughter turning into whispers.
Cigarette smoke was a hazy cloud.
The glittering fabrics on the main streets, as people jostled to get into the ritzy clubs, were so very different from the heavy eye makeup and leather-clad bodies that slithered through the alley.
I looked out of place in my sheer nightie, with white feathers and crystals glowing against my golden skin.
The men, however, fit in.
They wore matching black leather pants, and their torsos were bare except for black leather straps that crisscrossed over their biceps and pecs.
Black kohl was smudged around their eyes.
Jax’s nipple piercings and golden chains glinted against his glistening dark skin. Ascher’s colorful flame-and-rose tattoos glowed underneath the neon lights. Cobra’s jewels refracted specks of light across the dingy alley walls.
I shivered as Ascher pressed his hand against my lower back and led me forward.
His warm skin burned through the sheer material.
Xerxes glanced down at me, purple eyes flickering with heat. “Are you okay, baby girl?”
I nodded.
Xerxes hardened his jaw and looked away, like he could see the lie on my face and it physically pained him.
He’d purposefully left himself unconcealed, spicy cinnamon wafting off him. His long hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, highlighting the spiked leather collar wrapped around his neck.
Cobra held the silver chain attached to it, wrapped tightly around his hand, a scowl darkening his handsome face as he roughly yanked Xerxes forward.
A reminder of what we were here to do.
Muscles rippling, faces tight with tension, the men looked like demons of lore, and people stared as they stumbled out of the way.
Violence clung to them.
I breathed in dirty rain and exhaled calm.
I pushed all the messed-up things back into the deep recess of my brain. Where they couldn’t touch me.
Rain drizzled harder, and black kohl streaked down their faces like war paint.
Through the rainy haze, a symbol on a neon sign flickered—it was a black ribbon.
A long line wrapped against the wall, but unlike those in the static lines on the main street, bodies pressed against one another.
Hips gyrated in sync.
The line thrashed with pleasure.
Xerxes shook his head and pointed us forward. Then Cobra tugged him along, like he was in the lead.
Under the flickering sign, a seven-foot-tall bouncer with thick leathery skin blocked the door. The alpha scent of wet grass wafted off him.
His nostrils flared as he leaned closer to Xerxes, and he said, “No weapons allowed.”
The bouncer patted us down and narrowed his eyes at the metal in Xerxes’s pocket.
“Sex knife.” Xerxes shrugged.
The bouncer leaned closer to him, and recognition sparked in his eyes. He hurried to unhook the velvet rope and let us through.
Cobra led, roughly yanking Xerxes forward as the rest of us followed.
The bouncer’s eyes trailed across my naked body partially exposed in the sheer fabric, and bile burned the back of my throat.
I pushed my shoulders back and forced my face to harden.
Ascher’s fingers, still pressed against my lower back, curled and dug into my skin.
Pine spiked muskier. His gait faltered slightly, like he was fighting a reaction, but he quickly masked it.
It took every ounce of my willpower not to gape as we entered.
High ceilings towered above the massive open space.
Metal stairs with chain railings climbed stories into the sky and filled the middle of the room in a massive maze.
Colored lights flashed.
Darkness, then neon red; darkness, then neon orange.
Bodies filled the stairs, wrapped around one another, pumping into one another in endless positions.
Concealed in shadows, then exposed by flashing colors.
Bodies dangled off the railings from leather straps, hundreds of feet in the air, as people on other levels pushed into them, licked their bare skin, pushed into holes, and pulled at cocks.
Cigarette smoke wafted.
Lights flashed.
Techno music pumped.
Moans echoed.
Leather masks with holes over the mouths concealed faces, whips cracked against flesh, leashes tugged collars, knives dragged across skin, lighters were held over flesh, burning cigarettes pressed against partners, handcuffs constrained, and ropes tied.
Cum dripped off leather.
The burning scent of betas was overpowering, but rich alpha scents and a few hints of omega sweetness joined the crescendo of sensory overload.
In the very middle of the maze of stairs, floating by enchantment, was a round velvet platform.
White lights flickered above it, the centerpiece of the room. Everyone’s eyes were on them.
Five women fucked one man.
He was blindfolded, on his hands and knees, as strap-ons slammed into his ass and mouth and he pumped into the woman lying beneath him.
Two stood above in full leather outfits and slammed long whips across his flesh.
There were thousands of people in this club, and we needed to catch the Ortega brothers’ attention and get access to their backroom club.
The instructions had said it was invite only.
Xerxes pointed at the platform, and I nodded in agreement.
Jax’s and Ascher’s faces tightened with worry, and the fingers resting on my lower back curled until nails dug into my skin. Cobra arched his eyebrows at Xerxes and me.
“For the girls!” I yelled at Jax and Ascher.
Faces scowled.
No one said anything.
Cobra yanked Xerxes’s chain and led us forward through the writhing masses.
Climbing up the network of stairs, I bit down on the side of my mouth to distract myself from the sheer depravity.
Cocks pumped into holes.
Women and men were tied to the railings so they were completely exposed. Women with strap-ons, men with dicks, people with wild-looking toys casually walked up to the constrained bodies and entered their orifices.
Touched them like they knew them.
As we walked up the maze of narrow paths, hands roamed.
Grabbing at us, like they had the right to touch.
Jax’s hand joined Ascher’s on my lower back as they led me forward. Cobra and Xerxes walked in front of me, never more than a few inches away.
The four men surrounded me in a blockade.
A beta man grabbed Ascher’s horn. Tattooed fingers moved impossibly fast, and Ascher turned the man’s wrist until it snapped.
We walked forward.
A beta woman tugged on Jax’s gold-twined braids. He whipped his head around and roared at her. She stumbled back in fear.
Noses lifted, lips were licked, and mouths dropped as Xerxes walked past.
Men and women trailed after him, running their fingers across his olive skin, then bringing their fingers to their mouths.
I growled.
Xerxes kept his head down and did nothing as his leash tugged him forward.
“Mine,” Cobra sneered at the people touching Xerxes.
He stopped to grab the omega’s face and dragged his tongue slowly across his cheeks, like he’d done to me in the mansion.
Staking his ownership.
Xerxes arched his eyebrow at Cobra and smirked, but quickly schooled his expression.
We plowed forward.
Two men wearing nothing but leather thongs stood in the middle of the stairway and blocked our path.
Ascher and Jax pressed against me tighter, and Xerxes and Cobra bent their knees as they prepared to fight.
“Sadie, is that you?” the one man yelled with a big smile, and I recognized the green scales across his face.
It was the alpha from the ring that had introduced himself. Beside him stood the blond man that had talked to me after our fight.
We needed any advantage we could take.
I shook my head slightly and shoved past Cobra and Xerxes, ignoring the hiss behind me as I walked toward the two men.
The white feathers and diamonds of my sheer dress glowed underneath the flashing lights, contrasting wildly with the leather all around.
People stared at me.
“Dean and Logan, isn’t it? What are you guys doing here?” I asked casually and forced my arms to my side like I was comfortable standing half-naked in front of random men.
Their eyes slowly traced my body.
I stayed relaxed.
“We got an invite from our packmate. Said things would be going down here tonight, and looks like he was right.” Dean grinned, showcasing his dimples.
I leaned forward into their personal space, angling my head up so they could hear me.
Dean closed his eyes as he breathed in deep. Logan reached forward and trailed his hands down my long white hair.
They were both handsome and fit, but they seemed boyish and young compared to the men standing behind me. Too eager.
Their alpha scents were slightly sweet.
I preferred when they burned.
“I heard there was a secret club here,” I said coyly and licked my lips as I stood on tiptoe to yell. “Have you heard anything about that?”
Dean tipped his head back and laughed, green scales flashing in the shadows. “Aren’t you a wild one.”
Logan shook his head. “Everyone knows you have to be pretty depraved to get an invite. At the very least, you have to put on a show.” He gestured to the floating platform a few stories above us.
“Hm, interesting,” I said coyly and smiled up at them. Our instincts had been right.
They moved closer, licking their lips, clearly expecting a reward for the information.
I shied away from their roaming hands but leaned higher on my tiptoes and puckered my lips, aiming for Logan’s cheek.
A hand grabbed my hair and pulled me back before I could make contact. Cobra slammed his mouth into mine with such ferocity, my knees gave out.
I would have fallen if not for his other hand curling around to grab my ass.
Frost burned my lips.
Finally, he released me with a hiss and pushed me into Jax’s arm.
The big man held me still against him while Ascher trailed kisses down my jaw, his hands pushing underneath the gossamer fabric to trail across my naked body.
“Oops, sorry about that,” Cobra snarled at the two men, who were scowling at Jax and Ascher touching me. “Sometimes Kitten forgets herself.”
Snake eyes glowed in the dark.
I shivered.
Jax leaned forward to claim my mouth as Ascher slowly licked across my neck. Xerxes stared at the three of us, purple eyes on fire.
Cobra yanked Xerxes’s chain and dragged him past Logan and Dean, who were still standing in the middle of the stairs.
Jax released my mouth, but his callused hand tightened across my ass as he pushed me forward.
Ascher kept sucking on my neck.
“Sorry about that,” I mumbled to Logan as we pressed past them and followed Cobra.
Jax’s gold chains tickled my skin as he leaned forward and growled into my ear. “Oh, you’re going to be sorry.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t mask my tremble as Ascher’s teeth nipped my neck.
“It’s all about the plan,” I said through gritted teeth.
Jax tweaked my nipple through the sheer fabric, his gray eyes hard as slate as I licked warm chestnuts off my lips. “You’re playing with fire, little alpha.”
Ascher bit my neck harder. Jax’s other hand cupped both my ass cheeks as he pushed me forward through the crowd.
There was a line of bodies waiting alongside the small staircase that led to the floating platform.
Cobra pushed past them all.
People growled and yelled but stopped speaking when Cobra turned and hissed at them, eyes glowing and shadow snakes churning across his pale skin.
“Give it up for these ladies,” a man in a suit spoke into a golden microphone as he gestured to the five women holding up the limp, naked men in their arms.
Strobe lights stopped flashing, and bright light shone on them.
Music pulsed.
They bowed, and two of them cracked their whips in the air.
There was a roar as the crowd went wild.
The announcer turned to the entrance. “Who’s the next group going to perform for all of us tonight?”
Cobra punched the men who were walking forward and shoved them aside.
Cobra walked out onto the platform under the spotlight. He dragged Xerxes behind him, who tilted his head down and made a show of stumbling.
We followed behind.
Cobra spoke into the announcer’s ear, and the man’s face split into a grin.
“It’s the Black Ribbon’s lucky night. We have three alpha males, one alpha female, and an omega ready to put on a show.”
The platform rattled from the wave of cheers.
“And they’re all new to the city, so this will be particularly exciting.” The announcer paused for dramatic effect. “Except for the omega.”
The crowd hushed, and the music bounced. “Does anyone remember Cinnamon?” He paused. “Xerxes is back in Serpentine City!”
Cheers erupted, and the platform rocked from the force.
“The floor is yours.” The announcer winked and left the platform.
The white lights shut off, and everything was pitch black.
The music switched, and the beat picked up and was faster, more frenzied.
Red strobe lights pulsed overhead.
Four men turned to me, eyes glowing in the dark.
Cobra wore a cruel smile. “You think you can kiss other men, Kitten?” His eyes flashed to snake eyes.
Xerxes’s demure expression disappeared. He stared at me, his face hardening with anger.
“I warned you, little love,” Jax whispered in my ear.
“It’s just us, Princess. Ignore everyone else. They don’t matter,” Ascher whispered in my other ear.
Apparently, he was the only one concerned about my mental state.
“I was just doing it to play the part. We need all the help we can get tonight!” I said with annoyance.
This was not the time or place for one of their possessive alpha bullshit meltdowns.
Ascher dragged his teeth down my neck, tattoos jumping as his hands gripped my waist.
He bit down. Hard. “You will never touch another man, ever again.” Ascher’s amber eyes glowed as he glared up at me.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I snapped.
Cobra took another menacing step closer. “Kitten, this isn’t a negotiation.”
I was surrounded.
Cobra licked his lips. Xerxes flicked open his sex knife. Jax growled. Ascher glared.
I tried to take a step back, but Jax boxed me in.
I’d made a grave miscalculation.
