Run! The Black Wolf's prey.

Chapter 38 - Royale

Three stunningly beautiful women with silky hair and glossy lips, making every head turn in their way, entered the VIP section of Royale. Helen had put them on the list, apparently knowing the owner of this club as well, and she lead them into the VIP section as if they were entering her own livingroom.

Marcus and Lucas, on the other hand, who unexpectedly had showed up at Folie à Deux, were left behind in the main club. They had come with them to Royale, but since they weren't on the VIP list, the girls had left them with a giggle, teasingly waving goodbye. Helen was very determined. No c**k-blockers tonight!

“Is Marissa coming?” Isabel asked as they went to their designated table. It had a nice view over the main dance floor, and an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne was standing on it, waiting to be popped.

“Yep, she’s on her way. She had some boring dinner she had to go to first, so I’ll have to go out get her later. But now, let’s have some bubbles!” Helen poured some champagne into their glasses.

“I love your dress!” Eileen complimented Isabel's black sequin dress that was glittering in the dim light.

“Thank you,” Isabel smiled. “I bought it today actually! I realized I didn’t have any proper party dress... And I can’t keep on borrowing from my friends.”

“Oh yes, Emma’s dress looked AMAZING on you,” Helen sipped her champagne. “But this one is also nice.”

“Thank you,” Isabel winked. “And you both look fabulous.” She admired the other girls, their perfect hair and immaculate nails... Isabel always forgot to polish her nails.

She had spent the whole afternoon trying to find something to wear. The wrap dress she had been wearing the day before was way too casual, and after seeing what the other girls were wearing tonight, she was very happy she didn’t put on any of her old skater dresses. She would have looked like a little school girl compared to these two femme fatales!

Instead, she had found this little black dress, dazzling with black and dark purple sequins. It fitted her perfectly, hugging her body in all the right ways, making her look curvier than she actually was. Together with her blazer and high heels, she felt dressed up, but still in her comfort zone.

She would never be able to pull off a dress like Helen’s, she thought. Helen had that obvious self-confidence, knowing she was the queen in the room! A rich red body-hugging dress, showing off her impressive bosom, matched her personality perfectly.

Isabel, on the other hand, preferred staying on the more modest side. Not that she didn't like attention, of course she did! She was just not that used to it.

"So, how are you? I heard something about that guy who showed up last time we were out, the one you went home with... He treated you badly?" Isabel and Eileen were left alone as Helen went out to find Marissa who had just entered the club.

"I don't know what to say," Isabel smiled sadly. "We had an amazing weekend.. And everything just seemed to be too perfect to be true... And I guess it was! He was just not that into me. I guess he just thought of it as some kind of one-night-stand or something..."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Eileen nodded sympathetically. "Men are idiots! All they want is to get you into bed, and then when the chase is over, they move on! I know the feeling, I've walked into that trap a lot of times..."

"Yeah, I think I should stay single for a while," Isabel chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. "I've forgotten what it's like to be on the market, so to speak."

"Well, as long as you know the game, it can be fun!" Eileen grinned. "It may be a little superficial, but I love teasing the boys," she winked. "Show them that they can't have you, and they'll go crazy, doing everything to get your attention. You should try it!"

"I guess I could try," Isabel laughed.

Helen and Marissa showed up, walking like two catwalk models on their way to their table, their feet crossing and with swaying hips. Marissa had her shiny brown hair as usual in a high ponytail, emphasizing her doe eyes, and a silver silk dress was draping her tiny body. Just as Isabel, she was wearing stilettos, but hers were even higher! Nevertheless, she walked with ease, as if it was the most natural thing for her to walk on the tips of her toes. Marissa gave them a dazzling smile, kissing their cheeks as she reached their table.

“Hey, it’s so good to see you!” Marissa said excitedly. “What happened to Marcus and Lucas? I thought you said they came with you after all?"

“We will meet up with them later. Maybe,” Eileen smiled at her.

“…or maybe not,” Helen chuckled. “They’re not on the VIP list. So, I thought we could shake them off,” she winked.

“But I like Lucas,” Marissa objected, pouting her lip.

“Yeah, we know, honey,” Helen wrapped her arm around Marissa's shoulders. “And we do too. But we need to see what the night has to offer, we cannot just stick with those two every night.”

“As Emma use to say; there’s plenty of fish in the sea,” Isabel grinned.

“Exactly!” Helen exclaimed. “And tonight, we're gonna go fishing.”

Plenty of men approached them, offering them drinks, but they were either too old or too uptight to be of interest to the girls. When they had finished their bottle of champagne, they decided to leave the VIP room to go dancing instead.

Isabel was more than a little tipsy, but in a good way! She was finding everything amusing and wild, giggling as they left the VIP section, and was struck by amazement when they entered the grand dance floor. It was so big and beautiful! Just as Folie á Deux, Royale had massive crystal chandeliers hanging from the incredibly high ceiling, but instead of the warm ambiance at Folie, Royale’s dance floors were lit up by cool shades of dark blue, pink and purple.

The music was playing loudly, and Isabel immediately felt the pull to move to the beats, finding herself swinging her hips to the rhythm.

The girls started dancing like there was no tomorrow - there were no sorrows, no heart aches! Only delight... They exchanged glances from time to time, smiling at each other, singing along to the songs playing, but Isabel soon lost herself in the music, closing her eyes and surrendering herself to the beats.

She felt every beat all the way into her core, moving her body freely the music. She loved the way dancing was making her feel! It was as if something was breaking free inside of her – making her fel wild. Careless. Untamed.

Even though the dance floor was packed, a circle started to form around them. People were staring at them, some with admiration, some with jealousy, but Isabel didn’t care. Let them stare!

She glanced at her friends and grinned at the sight - they were owning the dance floor, tossing their hair and swaying their hips with abandon, obviously loving the attention!

Marissa had even found Lucas, and her neat little arms were wrapped around his neck as she smiled up at him with pure delight. He had a surprised and amused look on his face, but he was not bothered... Not bothered at all.

As Isabel scanned the room, her gaze suddenly meeting with Marcus’ who was standing leisurely by the bar, a few steps away from the dance floor. He was slowly drinking a whiskey on the rocks, all the time watching her.

She gave him a brief smile, but quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to encourage him to approach her. However, as she turned away, she found herself standing eye to eye with a very familiar face.

“Dave!” she gasped.

“Isabel,” he looked genuinely happy to see her. “Wow, you look…”

He eyed her from head to toe, smiling approvingly. He was wearing a pair of sandy beige chinos and a black button-down shirt, complementing his short blonde hair.

“Thank you,” Isabel shouted. She wished the conversation would end there; the music was too loud to talk anyway.

“Please, come with me to the bar,” David shouted. “So we can talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Isabel shouted back in his ear. “But it was great seeing you. You look well,” she added, and patted him on the shoulder.

“Please, Isabel,” he said pleadingly, starting to pull her arm. “I need to tell you something. It’s important.”

“OK, OK, I’m coming,” she sighed.

They walked over to the bar. She felt the gaze of Marcus burning her skin, but he didn’t move.

“Wow, you are so beautiful, I…” David started.

“So, what did you want to tell me?” she looked at him, brows arched.

“That I’m sorry. I know, I behaved like a jerk. I took you for granted. I should have been more attentive, more romantic... I…”

“Dave, stop it,” Isabel shook her head. “Actually, you weren’t so bad. It’s not your fault. We grew apart, that’s all.”

“But no, Isabel, please… I love you. Please let me show you how much I love you,” he took her hands, holding them in a firm grip.

“Dave! No, you..” Isabel said, furrowing her brows, but was interrupted by a menacing growl behind them.

They both turned to look. Marcus.

“Take your hands off her,” Marcus frowned at David, his blue eyes gleaming.

“Marcus, it’s OK,” Isabel objected, but Marcus was already pushing David away from her.

David looked from Isabel to Marcus, and then back.

“Is he..?” he said, questioningly.

“That’s none of your business,” Isabel said coolly. “Marcus, let him go.”

“Take your hands off me, Ginger,” David snapped and tried to push Marcus, who in turn threw him away over the dance floor with a growl.

“What the f**k?” David yelled, standing up and charging back at Marcus, who was easily fending him off.

Suddenly, just as the two men were fighting, one of them clearly superior to the other, Isabel felt someone grabbing her by the waist. As she spun around, she gulped as she found herself looking into a pair of steel blue eyes. The man she recognized from the weekend before was holding her tight, seemingly sniffing her hair as she tried to wriggle loose from his grip.

“Get your hands off me!” she yelled, trying to scratch his eyes, but he just caught her hand and laughed at her as he dragged her into the crowd on the dancefloor.

It was so dark, no one took notice of a woman being held against her will.

“What a feline,” he snickered in her ear. “I love it.”

“Stop it,” she tried to bite him, but it only made him hold her even tighter.

“You drive me crazy, little kitten,” he wheezed into her ear. “I want you, so bad.”

“You don’t know me,” she was trying to break free, but it was impossible, his arms as tough as if they were made of iron.

“Of course I know you,” he sounded annoyed. “And you know me too, if you only search your mind."

"All I know is that you were harassing me last weekend," she sneered. "Now let me go!"

"Harassing you? You got it all wrong. We're supposed to be together, my love. You'll see it too, eventually.”

“What?” Isabel couldn’t believe what she just heard.

Who was this maniac? She started to freak out, this was not a sane person she was dealing with.

“Uh oh,” he said, “I think we have to leave.”

He started dragging her through the crowd towards one of the emergency exits.