It was hard to hear over the din of the thumping club music. The dark mood lighting mixed with the thickening layer of hookah and vape smoke also made it difficult to see even for the most advanced werewolf sight. At least those were the excuses Mateaka was allowing for the bartender who kept ignoring her. But she already knew the truth of the matter. The real cause for him pretending she wasn’t there was her best friends Asha and Marley, along with her other two slightly inebriated girlfriends Angel and Bernie. They’d caused a bit of a ruckus when they were all at the bar earlier. More than a bit. Some human guy had grabbed Angel’s butt and she was having none of it.

They had all been pre-game drinking at Asha’s house before Mateaka had gotten there, so they were already quite buzzed when they left for the club. Angel’s heightened drunken aggression sent her on a mini rampage and she nearly ripped the guy's arm off. She continued to raise hell even after security had escorted him away, for his own safety. She was fuming and the others were following her lead so much so that Mateaka had to escort her whole crew back to their VIP booth.

They were lucky security didn’t throw them out as well. If a few onlookers hadn’t pled their case and came to their defense, they most certainly would be on their way home. Club ‘Were and Tear’ was a human friendly werewolf club that had a very strict no violence policy. Anyone caught instigating a fight or involved in one was usually ejected right away. Mateaka made it a point to thank the people who’d helped them after she’d gotten her friends settled. Some of them simply nodded or waved it off like it was nothing, one guy even tried to get her number, which she politely declined and he respected. She was grateful for the laid back atmosphere the club offered and even more so for the security that came with it. No one could hurt her while she was within these walls. She was protected. She was safe.

She’d decided returning to the bar alone was the best course of action, especially since she was the only one out of her group that hadn’t consumed any alcohol as of yet. Seeing that the bar was crowded and not wanting to get too close to the other partiers, she lingered in the dance crowd until an empty space had cleared. After sidling her way in and signalling she was ready to order, she couldn’t even get the bartender to look her way. She waved her hand, waved her money, snapped her fingers, yelled a few times but still nothing. Dude, I’m literally trying to give you my money, she thought angrily.

She’d had enough when he’d served the person standing next to her and then made his way back to the other end of the bar. Alright, that’s it! You asked for it, she thought as he took another order that wasn’t hers. As the bartender walked by her for the umpteenth time she hoisted her upper body onto the bar, her belly landing on it with a light thud. She stretched out her arm and snatched him by the collar, his baby blue eyes were wide with shock as she pulled his face close to hers. Using her free hand to brush his blonde hair out of his eyes, she leaned in as if to kiss him but bypassed his lips and got just close enough to his ear that her plum lipstick rubbed off on his earlobe.

“Listen blue eyes, I’ve been standing here trying to get your attention for the last ten minutes if not more and you’ve continued to ignore me. I’m sorry for the trouble my friends caused before I really am. I sent them away and came back here to apologize and order drinks. My apology has been given, you by no rights have to accept it, however you will serve me some damn alcohol before I really lose my patience and my temper and you lose out on a generous tip!” she growled, feeling her pupils dilate.

The bartender shot a quick look to her left and then nodded at her, raising his hands in surrender. She sighed and released him slowly, allowing a forced flirty smile to play across her face. She hated showing her aggressive side, she usually kept it reserved for certain someones, but his blatant disregard had vexed her. She was a sober paying customer who had money to burn. Afraid her feisty snatch and grab with the bartender had drawn a too much attention, she went into full on flirt mode and flung her hair and giggled loudly, hoping to look like a ditsy flirt. She also realized in her haste to grab the bartender that she may have accidentally loosed her cash. She ran her hands across the middle of her breasts and her back pockets ensuring her stash was still in place. Satisfied with her findings she refocused on the bartender and ordered one too many tequila shots, three too many cocktails and one very large four hosed hookah. Little did she know, her little display had gained her an audience.