The Midnight Foxxx

Chapter 7

MADDOX

Crisp night air fills my lungs. Summer leaves dance in the gentle evening breeze to the soothing calls of frogs from the near by pond. It was peaceful and eased the turmoil that festered in my mind. The last few days have been absolute hell after banishing Imogen. The bed is cold at night and my heart aches despite the lingering hurt and anger. Five years wasted loving and adoring her when all she cared about was the status that came with being my mate. My wolf has been eerily quiet since that night, still mad and grieving. I doubt I could shift into my wolf form right now with him absent like this.

"Maddie, there you are," I audibly groan at the nickname and the man behind the voice.

"Dad? What are you doing here?"

"I can't visit my own son?" He asks, sounding hurt, though I know better.

"Course you can, Dad" I sigh as he steps closer, joining me on the balcony. The silence that sits between us is heavy and uncomfortable.

"I heard you banished Imogen," he says, finally breaking the silence.

Ah, so that's what this is about. "Yes. I did," I answer passively.

"I thought you planned to make her your mate? What happened?" Similar green eyes stare into the side of my head but refuse to meet them.

"I don't want to talk about it," I growl in warning.

"You two were together for five years, it had to of been pretty bad to end it so suddenly," my father presses on, either oblivious to the warning or simply didn't care.

"She was cheating on me," I sign in concession, knowing he wouldn't let it go until he got what he wanted. We were similar in that way. "For years apparently and only cared about becoming Luna." My father was silent for a moment, processing.

"That's unfortunate," is all he can say, and I don't bother giving a response. "When will you have another one lined up?"

I nearly choke on my own spit, "What the f**k do you mean 'another one'?"

"Another women to be your mate. I want grandkids before I die and neither of us are getting any younger," the audacity is almost comical.

"Are you f*****g kidding me dad? It hasn't even been a full week since breaking it off with Imogen," green eyes finally meet, his calm and unbothered while mine try to burn his very soul.

"I have an old friend who has a daughter about your age looking to settle down. I'll set up a date for you two," he completely ignores my death glare.

"Oh my Goddess. NO, dad. No dates. No meeting your friends' daughters. You are NOT setting me up with anyone," I groan, exasperated.

"I gave you the time you asked for with Imogen. This pack needs a Luna to thrive and succeed. You will meet who I tell you to and you will be courteous and open-minded," his tone left no room for argument, so I let it be for now. I can fight with him about it later.

When no reply is given, the older male leaves with a curt goodbye. A sigh leaves my lips and the beginnings of a headache throbs in my temples. Dad always has to stick his nose where it doesn't belong, always has to have control over everything despite stepping down as Alpha seven years ago when I turned twenty-one. When Imogen and I first got together, we had only been dating about a month when he started demanding to know when we planned to get married and have children. After a long and heated discussion, he backed off. I guess his patience has officially worn out.

"Now a bad time?" My Gamma asks from behind me. I turn my head to glare at him over my shoulder.

"Right, got it, bad time," the smaller male puts his hands up defensively. I grunt an affirmation but rather than leave, he remains standing at the door to the balcony with a stupid grin on his face.

"What to hell do you want, Wilder?" annoyance evident in my tone.

His smile grows even bigger "We're going out again tonight. Was just coming to see if you want to join us this time?"

"Not in the mood," my headache continues to throb and I grind my teeth.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. You need to get out, have some fun. You've been extra cranky since the whole thing with Imogen," Wilder crosses his arms. A warning growl rumbles in my chest.

"Come on, it's not gunna kill you to go out with us and have a little fun," he presses on, ignoring the warning.

I finally turn to face the small male, standing up straight and towering over him, "We may be friends, Wilder, but I am still your Alpha."

"And as your friend I'm telling you that you need to go out with me and the guys tonight," his stupid, big ass grin is infuriating. As annoying as he can be, he is one of my closest friends. Asher, Wilder, and I grew up together, joined at the hip since grade school. Despite both knowing how to push my buttons, they are loyal to a fault and follow my command without question, but they also know when to push back when I'm being stubborn. This must be one of those times.

"Fine. Will you leave me alone after tonight if I go?"

"f**k yeah! Come on dude," and he's bounding off like an excited child while yelling to the others that he convinced me to join them. I sigh before following him, already regretting my decision.

Loud music reverberates in the cool night air as a sea of bodies mingles out front of some night club Wilder dragged me to. The line to get in is long, snaking down the sidewalk and around the corner. As we approach the front entrance, ignoring the line, Wilder becomes suspiciously quiet, and keeps his head down as we get to the bouncer.

"I.D.," the massive man holds his hand out. His skin is tan and has long black hair pulled back in a knot. He reeks of iron and can feel the chill radiating off his skin. He's a vampire. I hand over my driver's license and a flicker of recognition goes across his face.

"Mr. Drake, it's a pleasure to have you at our establishment," his smile doesn't meet his eyes. "But not you," Wilder is grabbed by the shoulder before he can slip past.

"Oh come on! Let me in, I'm here all the time!" the Gamma whines childishly. The hold on his shoulder tightens.

"You didn't pay last time you were here. Racked up quite the bill," the bouncer says cooly.

I sigh and pull out some cash from my wallet, "How much does he owe?" The vampire studies me for a moment, then glances down a the wad of hundreds in my hand before letting go of Wilder's arm.

"Two thousand," he finally says. I have to suppress a growl and glare at Wilder as I pay what he owes. If looks could kill, he would be dead. Two thousand is chump change with how much I make with the family business, but he should know better.

The bouncer lets us all in, and I'm assaulted with loud music and pungent smells ranging from human, to vampires, with even a couple of witches in the mix. I crinkle my nose but follow Wilder to a VIP booth near the front of the stage in the center of the room. Neon lights flash and strobe to the music. Asher sits next to me in the booth followed by a few other members of the pack while the Gamma runs off to put in our drink order.

'I'm glad you decided to join us,' Asher's voice invades my mind through a mind link, rather than trying to yell over the music.

'I was practically forced,' I snort, 'you know how Wilder can be.'

Asher chuckles softly out loud, 'That I do. Why do you think I sent him to talk to you instead of myself.'

He receives a glare, but there's no heat behind it and I can't help but grin at him, 'Asshole.'

'Seriously though, you needed to get out. I think tonight will be good for you,' I roll my eyes at him. 'Plus, tonight theres a special performance by one of the dancers. I haven't seen it myself by Wilder raves about it.' Still not convinced, I grunt an acknowledgment.

"Our order is in, drinks should be delivered in a couple minutes!" Wilder yells over the music enthusiastically as he plops down beside me. He is practically vibrating with excitement.

"Whats got you all worked up?" I ask, quirking a brow.

"Vixen is performing tonight! She is f*****g HOT, like holy s**t man. Just wait and see," he answers giddily. A shrug is all I can manage, still to hurt from Imogen to care about woman.

"Drinks are here! First round is on the house, curtesy of the boss," a practically naked woman exclaims as she approaches our table. Her hair is long, red and curled. Despite being pulled up into a high pony, it still reaches to just above her waist. A red leather collar sits snuggly around her neck. Magic emanates from it and I notice this woman has an odd scent. She smells mostly human, but something indiscernible lingers underneath. Probably just a weird perfume, I decide. As she distributes the drinks, she subtly squeezes her breasts together to accentuate her cleavage. Unbothered and unimpressed, I keep eye contact with her and give a small fake smile as I thank her. Disappointment flashes across her face, but she politely thanks us and leaves.

After about an hour, everyone is a couple drinks in while I continue to nurse my first. Multiple conversations are happening all at once around me, but don’t pay too much attention to any of them. Lights suddenly dim and the music cuts, effectively silencing everyone in the room. Wilder bounces in his seat beside me. Even Asher abandons his drink to lean forward, elbows on his knees and eyes glued to the stage in front of us.

“This is it!” The Gamma practically squeals and I roll my eyes. A low hum starts to play when spotlights click on, aimed at closed stage curtains. The music slowly increases in volume, a rock song that you’d expect to hear in a biker bar instead of the pop that’s been playing all night. Finally, there’s movement in the curtains when they're thrown open dramatically, and a woman walks onto the stage. She’s dressed in all black, a stark contrast to all the other women dressed in bright neon colors. Fishnet thigh-highs, a mini skirt, a very see-through bralette, and healed boots that stop just above the knee. Around her neck sits a black leather collar adorned with chains, gems, and studs. Her hair is black and long, the bouncing curls falling down her back, stopping just shy of a perky tight ass. The way she walks down the stage is absolute sin, hips swaying perfectly in a practiced motion to the music. When she reaches the front of the stage, she starts to dance around a pole situated in the center. Her breasts bounce with every movement and teases with glimpses of her ass that’s completely bare under the mini skit, her thong covering nothing. Soon muscular thighs are gripping the stripper pole, holding all her weight as she moves in ways that seem impossible. She is absolutely gorgeous with her full lips and big ruby red eyes, but the smile she wears seems forced. It doesn’t reach her eyes. Though big and beautiful, there’s a dullness to them. Empty. Vacant. As if the lights are on, but nobody is home inside her head.

I don’t get to dwell on it for too long. Soon enough, the act is finished. Money rains down around the female on stage who clumsily picks up the cash. I get why Wilder and Asher are obsessed now. I can’t say I was disappointed. Maybe I will go out with them again, if only to see this woman again.