Rogue Disaster

CHAPTER VI

The Bar

How original.

The walls were covered with wood, and at the far bottom was a long wooden bar that faces the center, which consists of a stage with poles. It is pretty old school. It was bustling with life as people surrounded the area; some were dancing, drinking, and talking amongst themselves. It was almost perfect if it weren’t for the stench of stale beer and sweat that lingers around the place.

Currently, we are seated in a corner booth, and across from us are two grouchy-looking men who keep shooting daggers at us, which pisses me off.

“Ignore them,”

I rolled my eyes and said, “I am doing that.”

Elijah gave me a look, still unconvinced, “Don’t do anything, Alara, I swear-”

I chew on my bottom lip and say, “I won't... Well, I’m just going to ask what’s up, that’s it.”

Elijah’s eyes widened in horror, “No-”

“Totally kidding, ha!” I smirked. Meanwhile, Elijah, who is not amused, shot me a glare and muttered something under his breath, then he stood up.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

He turned back to look at me and emphasized, “Going to get myself a drink and stay clear of trouble.”

“Noted Dad,” I rolled my eyes at his back.

“He shouldn't leave a pretty girl like you here alone.”

My head snapped at the source of the voice; there stood an average-looking guy who looked to be in his mid-20s, dressed in a formal suit. With this view, it appears that we are about the same height, with green eyes and blonde hair that is perfectly styled. He grinned smugly when he saw me looking. “Liking what you see?”

No.

Not sure about what to say, I laughed awkwardly, which he took as a sign of confirmation as his wicked smile remained. He took a seat across from me and said, “It’s okay, I get it a lot. I have this effect on people, especially strangers. I can’t say I’m already used to it though,” he boasted.

This guy is so full of himself.

I was about to give this guy a real talk, but he said something that stopped me in my tracks.

“The name’s Bentwood, Max Bentwood. And you are?”

Bentwood, so this is the son, then.

I have no prior knowledge whatsoever about this guy since I never bothered to look at their file again, hence the reason why I didn’t recognize him right away.

Thank goddess, I did not open my mouth a minute early.

“Alana,” I introduced myself, fighting back words that I clearly wanted to say earlier.

“Such a beautiful name for a lovely lady like you,” he purred, “you know, I never believed in love at first sight, but that was before I saw you.”

Just then, Elijah appeared, saving me time and holding drinks in both of his hands. He slid a glass of cold beer toward me and said, “Ah, Mr. Bentwood, a pleasure to finally meet you.”

He took a glance at me, amused; he had clearly overheard our conversation earlier, and then he said, “I see you've already met Alana, such a dazzling lady, am I right?”

This bastard.

“Indeed she is,” he looked at me dreamily and then snapped, “Wait, are you two... ” he asked, worry lacing his voice as he looked at me and Elijah back and forth. I immediately got what he was talking about and decided to play along.

“Absolutely-” I started.

“-not, she is undeniably single, don’t worry.”

I widened my eyes at Elijah, discreetly kicking his foot under the table, his face forming into a grimace. I was about to smile in contentment but instead, I watched in horror as Max let out a relieved sigh, “Thank god, phew.”

Wanting this to be over with, I said. “Anyways, now that we are complete. I assume that you know why we are here, Mr. Bentwood.”

Max flashed me a full smile and said, “Well, of course, Mrs. Bentwood-oh, Alana, pardon me.”

You should have seen my face; as if on cue, I felt something shake beside me. I stole a glance towards Elijah and saw him trying hard not to let his laugh be obvious and hiding it with a cough when he saw me glare at him.

The rest of the conversation was like hell to me since I kept receiving constant flirting from Max while seeing Elijah’s amused face the entire time. Eventually, Max had to go.

“I’m afraid that we will not be able to see each other until tomorrow again, my queen,” Max uttered, looking kind of sad at that fact.

“Gladly,” I mumbled.

“What was that?”

I smiled sheepishly and said, “Oh, that was nothing.”

“Alright, my queen. Don’t be sad, okay?”

I already had enough of this guy. “I assure you, I am not. Thrilled, even.”

“Now, you are trying to deny it to hide your pain,” he furrowed his eyebrows at me, “let me drive you both, so I can at least be assured that you are safe, my queen.”

Is this guy for real?

“She would like that,” Elijah exclaimed, butting into the conversation.

“Perfect, I will just have a word with the driver; I will be back.” Max grinned and left after giving me a wink.

This just turns out to be the weirdest night of my life.

Seeing my expression, Elijah finally let out the laugh that he had been holding back earlier.

“Why the heck would you say that?” I blurted, annoyed.

He shrugged his shoulders, saying, “For practicality's sake, at least we won’t pay for an Uber anymore.”

Well, he got a point, but I will have to endure being with Max for another fifteen minutes.

A sudden change in the atmosphere made me swallow the words that I was about to say to Elijah, my eyes widened, and so did Elijah’s, confirming my suspicion.

“How did they know this quickly?”

“I don’t know, but we should go,” Elijah said, panic clear on his face, tugging me along with him toward the back of the bar. “Surely, there would be an exit here or something.”

“This is pointless; we can never outrun them,” I stated, as a matter of fact.

Not looking back, Elijah answered, “Well, at least we tried.”

We shoved past people toward the exit, and surely there was a door. We rushed and practically ripped it open; the bright light coming from the moon greeted us as soon as we stepped out, and then we bolted. We kept running until we reached the forest; everything was a blur as I dashed through hundreds of trees, trying to be as far away from here as possible. Though, in the pit of our stomachs, we know it is pointless. A werewolf can never stand against a lycan.

But how did they manage to track me down so quickly? I was so lost in my thoughts that I did not hear Elijah's warnings, and before I knew it, something jumped on me.