The Traitor Panther

Chapter Twenty-Six-Nate's POV

Cleo may have been bitching about the skirt riding up when she sat in the car, and she may have been fidgeting with her hair every few minutes because she wasn't used to having to keep it neat, but I thought it was worth it for how good she looked. Don't get me wrong, she always looked good. But there was something about seeing a girl who never dresses up finally put some effort in. It wouldn't be practical for her to dress like this all the time, since she does live in the woods, but I hope I get to see this side of her again.

"Nate?" I look over to Cleo, who is pointedly looking away from me and out the window. She was fidgeting with her fingers in her lap, too. Our mate is never bashful.

"What's up, buttercup?" I lean my elbow on the driver's armrest and put my other hand on the top of the steering wheel to steer. I nudged Cleo with my arm when she remained quiet.

"Just... don't leave me tonight? If you could. I'm not used to this... scene. And I don't know any of these people."

"Why would I leave you?" I snort. "You're the only reason I'm going tonight."

She hums, and finally looks at me. I keep my eye on the road, but can feel her gaze.

"You don't want to see how your own business is doing?" I shrug.

"It's not that. It's more..." I didn't want to sound like a cocky asshole, so I really didn't want to say why I didn't go. "There's just too many people." I finally landed. It wasn't not the truth. Besides, this was only a white lie.

We eventually pulled into downtown, which was alive with people, cars, and sounds. I smiled a little at Cleo as she stared out the window. The nightlife here was pretty dominant, and downtown was a hotspot for it. People were lined up outside clubs in tight outfits waiting to get in, running across the streets with laughs floating behind them. I cracked the window a little, and inhaled the scent of my home. Booze and cigarettes. Yum?

"Lot's of people..." Cleo muttered under her breath. I could tell she was tense. Not a fan of crowds, are we? Guess I should have considered that. Not like I loved them either.

"Have you been to a club before?" I ask as I navigate through the overstimulating streets. Our destination was a little past this, luckily. So we wouldn't have to deal with the crowd of humans.

"Uhm. Yeah. I wasn't super into it. But this is your club, so I want to see it." My heart jumps around at her words.

"Be warned, this one is different from human clubs."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" I run my hand through my hair.

"It's probably better if you just see." She hums at me, resuming her people watching.

We reach the end of the main clump of bars and clubs and pull into a parking garage. I roll my window down as we approach the gate attendee for the garage.

"It's eight dollars for every hour-" The man stops, looks at me and then shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Hale, go on through." I nod a little before rolling my window back up.

"Mr. Hale?" I sigh and look at Cleo as the gate lifts slowly for me to drive through.

"That is my last name, yes." I drive through, scanning the first floor. It was totally packed. I have a reserved spot, but it's all the way at the top and I had been hoping to snag someone leaving down here so Cleo wouldn't have to walk as much. I guess in people's heads the top floor is the more "luxurious" floor which is why they gave the owner of the garage that spot, but it just means I have to walk more to get to the ground floor. Whatever. If the bottom floor was this packed, the next six would probably be too. It was good I had a guaranteed spot.