Chapter 1 Prologue

**22 years ago* “This is the dumbest idea you have come up with yet. We are going to get in so much trouble.” I laughed at one of my buddies, who was crouched behind a tree with the rest of us. There were five of us hiding in trees, looking at the football game that was currently playing. “They are the ‘Lobos’! How is this not the greatest idea ever? Plus, it’s not like we are going to get caught!” The soon to be Alpha of the New Mexico pack, Felix, chastised his friend. I smiled. “He’s right though. If your father catches us, not even the goddess could save our asses.” “Oh come on Des, he can’t do shit to you! You’re already Alpha.” Shaking my head, we watched the game. The University of New Mexico was not known for their football team, and they were living up to that reputation. However, you wouldn’t know it by how rowdy their fans were being. It was as though they were number one. This was going to top my list of the stupidest things I had ever done. “Alright. Let’s get ready. It’s almost halftime.” I took off my shirt and pants as the others did. I placed my boxers on the pile of folded clothed and stretched. “Goddess Des, you’re a fucking beast.” I raised an eyebrow at Felix, who had his hands on his hips as he stared at me. “Not all of us have time to slack off. I’ve been Alpha for three years.” “Yeah and yet here we are…” His friend Ken piped up. Laughing, I shrugged. “If we don’t get caught, it’s fine.” There was a roar from the crowd, and we watched the band come out. There were also the cheerleaders and their mascot. I rolled my eyes. Next to me, Felix winked and shifted into his wolf form. He was a brown and black wolf, much like his friends. I took a breath and let my body shift. The bones cracking and separating, readjusting and forming again. My paws hit the ground, and I looked at the boys. They were all smaller than I was, but I knew I stuck out far more because I was the only pure black wolf. Felix barked and turned around, running toward the football game. We all followed and howled in unison. As we cleared the short fence of the outdoor field, we heard hoots and hollers from the crowd. However, the band and cheerleaders knew this was not part of the halftime show. We looped around the entire field, growling at the opposing team before howling again as we ran on the Lobo’s side. They were all standing and cheering. We were only supposed to make one pass, then run back into the forest. As I passed the last set of bleachers, I caught a smell and I skidded to a halt. For the first time, I felt my wolf fight me for control. He snapped and howled, pushing against my control. I turned my head and stalked toward the bleachers. The cheerleaders screamed, but I didn’t care. I smelled my mate. The scent was flowery and sweet, my wolf’s eyes sweeping over the crowd. Felix came over to me and tried to push me away, but I snapped at him. He seemed to back away for a moment, but then pushed me harder. He growled and finally, I turned, not able to find my mate immediately in the crowd. We raced off together, the entire football field erupting in chaos. “What the fuck, dude?” Felix shifted, and so did I. “I smelled my mate. Fucking hell, I need to go.” I headed out, but Ken put a hand on me. I growled, and he lifted his hands off. “Des, you’re naked. The only place you would go is jail.” He was right, and I turned, grabbing my clothes off the ground. I threw them on and walked past all four of them. The football stadium had all but cleared out. The game cancelled for fear of an attack from wolves. I hopped the fence and stalked over to where I first smelled my mate. They had been sitting near the back of the bleachers. Following the scent, it looped around back and through the buildings. I followed it and the further I walked, the more I panicked. My wolf was pacing back and forth in my head, also starting to worry. My pace picked up as I followed the scent to the parking lot. Looking around, there were a lot of people mulling around after the game was cancelled. My eyes roamed over every car and I tried to follow the scent, but it was cut off at an empty parking spot. I stared at it, whining. A hand clasped my shoulder, and I looked up to see Felix. He had a look of pity on his face. Shaking my head, I didn’t want to believe it. They had to be somewhere, had to get out somewhere. My heart was pounding harder, every beat hurting more. “Maybe they are on the territory?” I shook my head. “I’ve been all over that territory. I’ve never smelled this before. The sweetness…” My voice hushed, trying to calm my frantic heart. “I wish I could help more.” “I’m going to be out for a while. Tell Alpha I’ll speak to him when I get back.” I strode off, not waiting for Felix’s reply. I couldn’t lose hope. Not yet. They had to be somewhere, had to stop somewhere. I didn’t even know what I was doing. Picking a direction at random, I just ran. Hoping by some miracle I would pick up any trace of the scent. Anything that would lead me to my mate. My mate had been so close that I refused to believe I would lose them simply because of our little stunt. “Alpha Desmond!” It was raining, but I didn’t care. I snapped at the men that surrounded me, my canines elongated. It had been hours. I ran for hours, circling and even expanding my search past just the city. Aamon, my wolf, was close to taking over. My gold eyes reflecting in the eyes of the surrounding werewolves. I snarled at them. They were blocking my way. I had to keep searching; I had to keep looking. My mate couldn’t just be gone. “Alpha Desmond, I can’t allow you to continue like this. People have started to report you.” The Alpha of the local pack, Alpha Rowen, stepped forward. I snapped and growled at him, my mind nearly lost to the despair I was drowning in. “Felix told me what happened. I’m sorry, but they aren’t here anymore. They are gone.” Stepping forward, I wrapped my claws around his neck, lifting him up. While I was only eighteen, I knew I could overpower him. He didn’t scare me, and neither did the growls of his pack members. His words that spewed out of his mouth couldn’t be true. The moon goddess was not so cruel to waltz my mate in front of me and then let me lose them. I refused to believe that. “I’m sorry, Desmond.” There it was again, pity. I threw the Alpha back into his pack and turned, snarling and growling at them. Closing my eyes, I smelled the rain, the desert, the sweat of my body. The scent of flowers, the sweet scent, was gone. It was gone, and I felt Aamon finally retreat. I didn’t want control back, though. It meant that even Aamon had given up. Was that it? I would never meet my mate again? That was our only chance and I let it slip through my fingers? My canines retracted and I fell to my knees. My hands dug into the ground, my eyes staring through the ground. I wouldn’t cry. I was a fucking Alpha. I was the strongest Alpha of my generation and I had the demon wolf in me. Nothing broke me. “Dad, come on…” Felix was looking from me to his Alpha father. “My hands are tied, Felix.” Alpha Rowen walked up to me, and I was well aware of what he was going to say. “Alpha Desmond, you are to leave my pack territory. You are not welcome back after attacking another Alpha.” My face screwed up in anger and pain. I pushed up off the ground and stood up, looking down at the older Alpha. “No one would want to be on this shit hole territory, anyway.”“You watch your mouth, Desmond. I’m only kicking you off because I know how much pain you must be in.” I glared at him, stepping closer. His guards were around him snarling, but not willing to get in between a fight of two Alphas. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you here with my bare hands. I can say whatever the hell I want.”“Des, come on. There is no need for that.” Felix tried to come forward, but I snapped at him. “If you wouldn’t have stopped me, I would have them in my arms. If you hadn’t pushed me away…” Felix stepped back slightly. “You were in wolf form. They would have freaked and you would have never…”“Never what? Gotten to my mate? Where the fuck am I now?” I stepped back, shaking my head. “You are the reason for this. You and this bullshit territory.” Exploding into my wolf form, I raced off toward the southwest. It was the closest direction out of this pack territory. I was done. I had lost my mate, and I knew the chances of ever finding them again. My heart broke and everything in my body shook. I was livid. Once I reached the edge of the territory, I jumped across the invisible line, but I didn’t feel any relief. It was the opposite. I felt more pain, and I howled into the night. Howled in despair at losing my one chance at a mate.

Chapter 2 Chapter 1

**Present Day** I walked out of the basement of the pack house. Scott, my Beta, was waiting for me just outside the door. Handing me a wet towel, I wiped the blood off my hands and arms. I also tried to wipe my face to remove any matter that might have splattered up. Together, we walked across the main floor and into my office. “How did it go?” Scott took the towel from me before I could toss it in the trash. “Enlightening.” I smiled. “Looks like we are going to have a mini raid headed our way.” I walked over to my desk and sat down. Pulling up my phone, I stuck my ear buds into my ears and leaned back. The phone rang once before Victor answered. “Alpha Desmond, I hope to hear good news from you.”“Victor, I’ve got good and bad news. Good news is that I broke him. Bad news is that they are planning on attacking the fey camp just north of here.” I heard a sigh on the other end of the line. “What’s the plan?” I chuckled, lacing my fingers together, and smiled. “We hit them first.”“Alright. I’ll grab everyone available and meet you just north of your territory.” The call disconnected, and I pulled the ear buds out of my ears. I called Scott back in. “Get the warriors. We are going after Alpha James. I’ve got all the proof I need to knock him down a peg or two.” Scott nodded. “I’ll grab everyone for the raid.”“Thank you.” I watched as my Beta left the office. The pack house was so quiet now. The screaming I had filtered to the back of my mind for the past few hours had actually been enough to lighten my mood. Grabbing a pen, I finished the paperwork sitting on my desk. It was rare I did work at the pack house, but since I was here, I might as well revel in the peace that was not present at home. My Luna had, early on, requested that our house be away from the pack house. Her weak stomach couldn’t handle the screams and cries coming from underneath the pack house. I sighed. I married her because her family was almost as prestigious as mine. Helena was the previous Beta’s daughter and Scott’s older sister. She was the ultimate trophy that I had paraded around when I was younger. I had never found my mate. After the momentary scent in New Mexico, I never again smelled her. I resigned myself to a life without my fated mate, thus ending our prestigious family line. Signing the document harder than I meant to, the ink in my pen blotted on the page. I took a tissue and dabbled the extra ink. My signature, Alpha Desmond Wright , scribbled neatly at the bottom of the page. Smiling at the thought, I put the page on the left side pile of the desk. In everyone else’s story, I’m sure they would depict me as the villain, a role I happily accepted. I did anything and everything to keep my pack and my territory safe. Even if that meant pulling out claws, one by one, from captured prisoners. There was no method too gruesome if there was something I wanted. I always got what I wanted. 'Alpha, Helena is waiting out here for you.' Scott mind-linked with me. Sighing, I got up and grabbed the paperwork that was left and tossed it into my briefcase. I took it out with me, looking at my Luna. Her hair was a shoulder-length style, and she was naturally a blonde, but I knew there were highlights or something that she did every few weeks. She wore a dress I had gifted her from this years’ runway that she asked for. Helena was also carrying a pink Louis Vuitton bag on her arm, the most recent gift I gave her. Her green eyes snapped to mine. “Helena, you know not to interrupt while I’m at the pack house.” I watched her roll her eyes. “Yes, well, I currently don’t hear any screaming, so I’m sure it’s fine. We have plans to discuss and I thought I would pull you from this desk to go home and work at your home desk.” I had an identical office built at our house, so I could still feel as though I was working in the same place, ensuring that I worked as optimally as possible. The only difference was the one at home was on the second floor, whereas the one at the pack house was on the first floor. Other than that, the desk, clock, filing system, and the furniture were exactly the same. I opened the front door for her and she walked out. “This better not be regarding what I think it is Helena.”“Your birthday party, of course! It’s not every day our Alpha turns forty.” I growled. “Every time we talk about it, I feel older and older. I don’t know why we need to make such a big deal about me getting closer to my death.” She laughed and took my arm. We were walking across the street, a few of the people nodding their heads to us. “Desmond, you need to relax. It’s an opportunity to allow the pack to relax and not feel you are breathing down their back.”“Who says I won’t be?”“The open bar.” I laughed and patted her arm. “So, after all these years, you do know me.”“Our eighteenth anniversary will be coming up this year as well.”“You know it means that I should get you an appliance, right? According to the handbook.” I smiled at her look of disgust. She turned away from me, her chin raised in the air. “If you give me an appliance for our anniversary, then you won’t have a nineteenth anniversary.”“Oh good, I won’t have to get you anything with jade in it.” I smirked as she hit me in the stomach. “You, Alpha, are in a world of hurt if you think any of that is okay. Don’t try me or I will throw you such a party for your fortieth that you will wish you died this year to not go through it again.” I tipped my head to her as we walked down the street. We lapsed into a comfortable silence, nodding every so often to the pack members who acknowledged us. Our little town was built for tourists. Bed and breakfast inns littered the area run by my pack, as well as tourist spots through the town. We’d kept the small-town feel but were still thriving behind the scenes. We kept it traditionally colonial with white and red brick buildings. White picket fences and hanging topiaries with a center square in town, even a gazebo in the center surrounded by a grassy park. The big draw was the lake on the west side of my territory. We built lake houses and allowed people to fish and boat. Every summer, we would sell out the houses to vacationers. “Alpha!” I turned to look at Ricky, my Gamma, leaning out of the door. He was motioning to me, and I sighed. Unhooking my arm from Helena, I walked over to him. “What is it, Gamma?”“So, we have most places booked through the next couple of months. Plus, we are completely booked for June, July and August already as well. The plan for the last 4th of July and the Summer Festival worked swimmingly.” He winked. “I hope that’s not all you stopped me for, Ricky.” Fear flashed in his eyes for a moment. “No, no. There has been an offer on the Magis house up north.” I narrowed my eyes. “An offer? By who?” Ricky shrugged. “A human. Put in an offer earlier today. They say they are willing to pay in cash for the entire lot. I know we don’t normally allow humans to purchase in territory, so I thought I would ask.”“Are they paying the asking price?” He nodded. “Yeah, I even tried to deter them with photos of the old shack that they called a house. Didn’t work.” I rubbed my chin. The property had gone unsold for over ten years now. None of the pack was going to live there, considering how crazy the Magis family was. The house itself was also so far north that by car it even took a half hour to just get to their property, not even the house itself. It was even sitting on the border. Now, it was just sitting in disrepair and uselessly costing the town money. “Go ahead. I planned on speaking with Victor about the territory lines, anyway. I am planning on pushing them more north, so the patrol wouldn’t have to worry about running so close to the house. Goddess knows that place is a shit hole. I doubt they will last a month.” Ricky nodded and dipped back into the realty office where he worked. I turned back and linked my arm with Helena, who had been waiting with an impatient look on her face. We continued our walk down the street to our home. “What was that about?”“Nothing you need to worry about. So, you said an open bar, did you?” Helena laughed. “Yes dear. In the town square with food and dancing.” I wrinkled my nose, and she hit me again. “Don’t you dare, Desmond.”“I thought this was my birthday? Shouldn’t we be doing what I want?”“If we did that, no one would have fun. You would keep us huddled in the dungeon while you extracted teeth from your most recent captive.” She shivered, but it made me smile. “You know me so well.” She sighed. “Of course I do. Now you’re going to suck it up for your pack and enjoy the open bar and food and not say shit about how unhappy you are.” I narrowed my eyes. “Are you ordering me, Luna?” Helena stopped and narrowed her eyes at me. “Are you telling me no, Alpha ?” We started each other down until we both let smirks creep onto our faces. I re-linked my arm with hers and we turned in to the yard. I opened up the gate and walked up to the white-columned house we called home. Walking into the house, the ceiling opened up into the three-story house. It was as white on the inside as it was on the outside. There were famous works of art and historical pieces littered in the room and on the antique pieces of furniture we had picked up over the years. Two staircases ran up to the second floor where you could see my office with its desk and bookshelves. “Dinner at 6 p.m. sharp, dear. Don’t work past that.”“Yes, ma’am.” I gave her a swift kiss on the cheek, and she leaned back in disgust. “Sweetheart, your villain is showing.” She pointed to her neck. Looking down, I pulled on my collar and there was blood on it. Sighing, I smiled. “I’ll take care of it before the kids get home.”

Chapter 3 Chapter 2

I took a sip of the wine in my glass. Honestly, this gathering was the most useless event I had ever sat through. The pervious Alpha King died three years ago. His son had taken over and he was just now deciding that he should meet all the Alphas? This kid was twenty-five, and if he thought he was going to get a bow out of me, he was going to be sorely disappointed. My eyes fell over Alpha James, chatting up the young pup king. I smirked and looked at my watch. It would be another hour when I’m sure he would get the call that his pack had been taught a lesson in humility toward the other races. The timing seemed too perfect and I have Scott working with Victor to take out one of the cities they had in the north. Implementing the plan that they had intended for the fey in the forest. “Alpha Desmond, it’s good to see you.” I took the hands of one of the Canadian Alphas, Alpha Luka. He and I were at least on treaty terms. Though it had taken about five years to get there. “You as well. How’s the pack?”“Thriving. My son, Claude, has been taking over for most of it now. I shall be handing the reins over to him soon.” Alpha Luka placed his hand on a young man who looked about sixteen or seventeen. I held out my hand, and he shook it. “Good to meet you, Claude. I look forward to continuing the peace your father and I built.” He nodded. I could see he felt intimidated by me and as soon as I let go of his hand, he stepped back behind his father. “What about your son, Liam? Is he not here?” I knew it was coming, and I loathed it. “Liam is only fifteen. While I have been grooming him to take over, I don’t believe he is ready yet.”“Did you not take over your own pack at fifteen?” I took a sip of my wine, forcing myself not to think about wringing this man’s neck. “I did. I also ran my first raid and killed off an entire pack at your son’s age.” I gave him a poignant look. “But not everyone is ready to do that.” Alpha Luka shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I hope to meet your son soon.” Smiling, I nodded and watched as he ushered his son away from me. Rolling my eyes, I leaned against the pillar in the ballroom. I was receiving more glares from the other Alphas. “You are as popular as ever, Des.” I looked up at the werewolf who had sauntered up to me. I clasped his arm and pulled him into a hug. “Shit, Chris, it’s been years! How are you doing?”“Still kicking. Somehow. Seriously, how the fuck do you do it?” I laughed. “Some of us keep up with our training.” Chris shook his head. “My son is around here somewhere. I don’t know why he dragged my old ass out of the basement, but now I’m glad he did. You seem to have made enemies of everyone in the room already. What else is going on?”“Nothing much to speak of. Just working, making sure that my territory is safe.” I smiled and glanced at my watch. Ten more minutes. “Oh no, I know that look. What the fuck are you planning?” I looked at Chris innocently. “Whatever could you mean?”“Good goddess, Des. We are in the castle of the Alpha King. Try not to start something here. You’re not exactly the most popular person here as it is.” With my wineglass, I motioned over to the werewolf that had three women draped over him. “If you think I’m going to acknowledge that as a king, you’ve got another thing coming. Come on Chris, it’s disgusting.”“Not all of us have a demon wolf to back us up, Des.” Chris stepped in my line of sight, looking at me seriously. “Don’t start something here. I won’t protect you. My son is the Alpha now.” I laughed. “I don’t need your protection. Just stay out of my way and all will be well. You and your son.” Chris shook his head. “Threats from you don’t work on me.”“The only threat here is Alpha Desmond to our way of life.” An Alpha walked up to me, a glass in his right hand and a tint of pink across his face. “I’m sorry, you are?” I knew exactly who he was, and I watched his lip curl into a grimace. “Alpha Tanner.” I let mock shame fall on my face. “Oh my, I apologize. I should have remembered. Forgive this old man. It must be my memory that’s going first.” Chris flashed me a warning look, but I ignored him. “Well, I guess I will have to forgive you this time.” The young Alpha was drunk as he slurred his words ever so slightly. “Run back to your father, pup. Make sure he chastises you for drinking too much.” I smirked. He growled, standing up tall, but he only came up to my chin. “I am an Alpha and I demand some respect from you.” Barking out a laugh, I leaned back and shook my head. His father, Felix, quickly came over and put his hand on the young Alpha’s shoulder. “Felix, reign your pup in. It seems like he has had a little too much to drink.” Felix glared at me and nodded. “Thank you, Alpha Desmond. I’ll take care of him.” Tanner, though, pushed out of his father’s grip. He pointed at me. “No! We’ve let this man run our pride as werewolves through the mud for years. Why the hell can’t we demand respect from him? There are more of us than him. What makes him so special that he can just waltz in here and not be punished for his actions against his own kind?” The entire room now had their attention on us, and I smiled. If this wasn’t damn perfect timing, I didn’t know what was. There was another five minutes. Felix looked like he was about to shit himself. We had never mended our relationship over the years and, while I didn’t really care for him, I no longer blamed him for losing my mate. His ideals were those of his fathers, and I would not allow that mentality in my territory. “Tanner, now would not be the time…” Felix spoke low to his son. “No dad! Everyone is so frightened of him. What makes him so fucking special? He hangs out with fairies and vampires and even witches. He’s a disgrace to being a werewolf.”“He’s not wrong.” Alpha James stepped up behind the young Alpha. Looking over, we had caught the eye of the Alpha King too. I tried to keep the smirk off my face. “Alpha James, you would know all about me, wouldn’t you?” I teased, seeing his face screw up in anger. He was one of my favorite ones to bait. The man openly hated all other races and would attack them even if they weren’t in his territory. His new agenda was trying to get within the proximity of my territory. Apparently, he thought he was powerful enough to attack innocents and not reap the consequences. He was lucky that the fey queen stayed out of it for how many fey he killed in his time as Alpha. That had stopped recently when I made sure that they could pass through my land safely and to avoid his territory at all costs. “I suggest you worry about your own pack rather than trying to start fights where you don’t belong.” I smiled at him sweetly. He came up and grabbed my shirt. He still was shorter than I was and I just looked down at him. “Is that a threat, Alpha?”“Did you do something that would constitute a threat being needed? Do you have a guilty conscience, Alpha James?” Growling, he let go of my shirt. He backed away and I straighten out my shirt. As I was adjusting my collar, I heard his phone vibrate. James gave me one last glare as he turned and pulled his phone from his pocket. As he walked toward the entrance, he answered his phone and put it to his ear. I couldn’t help it; I smirked. If there was ever a time to teach these young pups not to fuck with me, it would be now. James turned to me, his eyes ablaze with anger. “What the FUCK did you DO?” He screamed at me and I tilted my head to the side. “Whatever could you mean, Alpha ?” James stalked up to me and threw a punch, but I leaned away from it. His wolf had obviously taken over by the look of his eyes and he threw another punch at me, but I leaned away again. “You fucking bastard. You attacked my territory! Do you want a war?” My eyebrows knit together. “How could I have attacked your territory? I’m right here.” I took a sip of my wine. “I know it was you! One of my scouts went missing last week! You’ve been holding him! I know it was you!” I blinked at him, still feigning confusion. “I have no idea what you are talking about. Why would one of your scouts be up by my territory? Unless you sent them to spy on me.”“Why the fuck would I need to spy on you?” I shrugged and then looked at him seriously, my face no longer holding the smirk. “Unless you were planning on attacking and destroying the fey sanctuary that is just east of my territory. Planning on killing all of them while they slept. That would be barbaric considering that the sanctuary only has woman, children, and the dying.” I leaned down and looked at him, my nose inches from his. “Even that’s against the law and I wouldn’t think you would be stupid enough to try to pull that so near to my territory. Knowing that they are still under my protection.” The blood drained from his face and his eyes reverted to their normal color. Behind him, though, I saw a few of the younger Alpha’s trying to come to his aid. Even the Alpha King moved the women off his lap. 'Alright Aamon, let them have it.' With my control still in place, I let Aamon forward and allowed his Alpha presence to spill from me. It filled the room with a thick pressure. Washing over the room, I watched as even some of the older Alphas bared their necks to me. James in front of me, as well as Felix and his son, bore the brunt of the presence, since they were the closest. James fell to his knees, baring his neck fully. Felix stayed standing but was baring his neck to me. His son was even worse, whimpering on the floor. “I don’t think I need to advise you to stay the fuck away from my territory, James. I feel like I’ve made that clear in the past and I will make it clear again if I have to.” I squatted down and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at me, my golden eyes reflecting in his. “My patience for you runs thin though, and I have no problem deciding that your pack needs new leadership.”“Alpha Desmond, that’s enough.” The Alpha King was holding onto the armrests of his throne, fighting my presence. For a moment, I let Aamon have some fun. I watched as the Alpha King whimpered in his chair and lean against it. Satisfied with the whimper, I snapped back the presence and the entire room breathed again. Taking a drink, I placed the glass on a small table that was next to the pillar. “As much fun as this little party was, it just proves to be as useless as every other meeting we have. So if you will excuse me, I’ll be seeing myself out. Have a wonderful evening.”

Chapter 4 Chapter 3

“Was he really thinking about trying to attack with that measly group?” I looked over at the vampire sitting in my kitchen. He was frozen in time in his early thirties. The man was dressed to impress and didn’t have a wrinkle on him. Victor was head of the Northwest division of vampires and oversaw all the vampire covens in the area. It even stretched into Canada and he took a lot of the fey under his wing as well. There was a race issue between the supernatural beings. Most werewolves hated all fey and vampires. Vampires usually tolerated fey to where, as long as they didn’t get in their way, there were no issues. Too often then, packs would make a play for territory that was deemed vampire or fey protected areas. That’s where Victor and I stepped in. I was a traitor to my kind. I housed the fey in my pack, made friends with vampires, and outwardly showed my disgust for the Alpha King’s rule. “Honestly, I don’t think he puts much thought into anything.” I leaned back against the counter, drink in hand. We had attacked Alpha James’ main city center. They had some warriors waiting for us, but it was a measly amount compared to the force Victor brought and who I had sent down with Scott. “Why do they think we are easy picking? Do they think we don’t have lives? Children to protect? Families?” Victor ran a hand through his hair. I shrugged. “Frankly, I don’t give a rat’s ass what the man does in his own territory, but he can keep his territory where it is.”“Speaking of territory, the local covens want to make the vampire road through the northwest into a paved two-lane highway.” Looking at Victor with a raised eyebrow, he put his hands up in defeat. I shook my head and looked down. My legs were crossed as I stared down at my shoes. “I can’t allow that. The road goes straight through the forest.” He nodded. “That’s what I told them, but they still wanted me to ask.” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, thinking over the territory in the north. “If I push my border more north, up to the bottom of the Peak Pass, you could build the road along the rocky part just below the mountain. It’s already big enough to have a two-lane highway without needing to disturb the forest.”“Can you do that?” Shrugging, I looked at him. “I have to submit the documentation. There aren’t any contentions with the land, considering it is still within your territory. So if you also submit the documentation, we should be fine.” Victor nodded, smiling. “Sounds good, Desmond. We will do that then.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “According to my Gamma, though, there is a human moving into the territory on the north side. Just as a heads up, if you could warn your boys to stay away. I don’t really want a death of a human on my territory to deal with right now.” He nodded again, but gave me an interested look. “Thought you didn’t allow humans to buy property in your territory?”“It’s the old Magis house. None of my pack is gonna move there, and there is too much residual magic for the fey. They get antsy. So if I need to not just let the property cost us money, a human is the only one who can live there. Plus, they paid the asking price.” Victor chuckled. “Ever the business manager.” We lapsed into silence. Drinking, lost in our own thoughts over our territories. Victor had been a good friend and someone I trusted if I needed advice on how to handle a situation. One that wouldn’t be so closely tied to the pack. “The wife is throwing a birthday party. I would be remiss not to invite one of my oldest allies to attend.”“Open bar?” I nodded, and he laughed. “I wouldn’t miss it. What number will this be?” I grumbled. “Forty.” He laughed. “Getting up there Alpha. When are you turning your empire over?”“I don’t know.” I frowned. “Don’t you have a son?” I looked at Victor and his eyes went wide for a second. “Right, the whole Luna thing. Sorry. Your family drama, while fascinating, gets lost in the hundreds of years of baggage I carry.” Victor winked at me. “Speaking of baggage, where is Bianca? I thought she was attached to you at the hip?” He looked down at his glass. “Being within any pack territories are not really her scene.” I nodded this time. She had some unpleasant experiences within some packs on the east side. It made her very wary of any territories. I wished it wasn’t the story for most vampires or fey, but I would be lying to myself. “I’ll give you the details of when for the party. The wife is still deciding on the time, I think.” Victor stood, and I walked around the counter, clasping hands with him. “Thanks for the assist on this one.”“Anytime, my friend.” Scott walked into the room just as Victor was leaving. He shook hands with Victor, and then his eyes lit up. “You may know, Victor, there is apparently a hunter headed this way. Do you know if anyone hired them?” Victor shook his head. “I have heard nothing, but Marcus would be the one to speak to regarding the guild.” Scott nodded absently. “Marcus hasn’t heard anything either.” Victor shrugged and patted him on the back. “Try not to worry about it too much. Hunters come and go as they please.” He nodded back to me before leaving through the front door. I looked at Scott, my eyes narrowing. “What was that about?”“It’s just a rumor. I thought that maybe after the fiasco at the Alpha King’s castle, he would have hired someone. Or Alpha James.”“James hates the guild almost as much as he does the fey. He wouldn’t stoop so low when he feels he could just march his ass over here and try to kick my ass.” Scott shook his head. “So that leaves the Alpha King who you humiliated in front of all the Alphas.” I snorted. “I would like to see him try.”“What if they are hired to kill you? We don’t have anyone to take over as Alpha if you were…” I growled at him, cutting him off. Stalking up to him, I looked down at him. “Watch your mouth, Scott. I’m not about to die to some random hunter.” Scott looked down, not looking at me. “And if I were to kick the bucket, you would take over and help Liam step into the position.” Ricky came out of his office with a bunch of papers in his hands. He froze, seeing the tension between us. He looked from me to Scott and then back at me. I pointed to his arms. “I’m not doing any of that today.” He grinned. “Don’t worry about this. I have it, but there are some details that need to be gone over…”“No Ricky. Take the night off. I’ll handle it tomorrow. You too, Scott. Go home.”“But Alpha…” I growled. “Not up for discussion, Gamma. Get going.” They both nodded and left the pack house after mulling around for a bit. The pitfalls of having a younger Gamma and Beta. While they were go getters, they also didn’t know when enough was enough. The both of them had just turned thirty, taking over their father’s places within the past fifteen years. Whereas I had been Alpha for over twenty-five years now. My father had me start early, but was with me for the first few years of my takeover. He let me go when I did my first raid on a nearby pack for killing a dozen fey and putting their bodies on display. It was gruesome, and I repaid them in tenfold. One of the fey had been a good friend of mine. I felt more and more attacked lately over my age and handing the pack over. I didn’t know why it was such a big deal that I was turning forty and still the head of my pack. My body was still in its prime. I was lucky that my Alpha genes had been stronger than my father’s. My mother had also come from an Alpha family and they had attributed my strength to the mix. I probably could carry on for another ten or fifteen years at least. I didn’t necessarily want to, but I would do what was necessary for my pack. Once I confirmed that the two of them went home, I left the pack house, locking it up behind me. I made my way down the street to the house. I stopped at the hardware store and opened the door. My father was standing behind the counter, tinkering with a power tool. “Dad.” He looked up and smiled. “Hey son! What brings you in?”“Do you know if there has been any word of a hunter headed this way? Scott brought it up, and I thought you might know.” There was a twinkle in his eye. My father, after retiring as Alpha, opened up the hardware shop. It was his life’s dream to own a shop and help people through his curiously vast knowledge of everything that involved construction. He found out a few years in thought that he missed a bit of the old Alpha spark. So he nestled himself into the chatter of the supernatural gossip chain, ‘the weeds’ as they called it. My dad could tell you what juicy details that got a witch arrested in Russia or what the Alpha King had for breakfast the day before. It was frightening how much gossip he took in. “Yeah, there was one spotted heading west, but not for a job. I haven’t heard of a hunter being requested for a while now. Scott asked me too, but there still isn’t anything that’s come up in the weeds.” His eyes narrowed. “Why you insist on poking beehives, I will never understand.” I smiled. “Alpha James had it coming.” He shook his head at me disapprovingly. Laughing, I took the power tool out of his hand and twisted the bolt he had been working to unscrew the entire time I had been standing there. It loosened, and I handed it back to him. “Thanks Dad. I’ll come by for dinner on Thursday.”“Your mother says if you miss this one, I’ll be the one to sing you happy birthday at the party.” I grimaced. “Oh goddess, I won’t miss it then. Want me to bring the kids by?” He shook his head. “Leave those youngsters alone. No one wants to be forced to see old people.” My dad gave me an indignant look. “Don’t bring Helena either. She grates on your mother’s nerves.” Sighing, I just nodded and turned to leave. My parents were never happy with my wife. When I had lost the scent of my mate, I chose Helena when she turned eighteen. I was twenty-two at the time, and my parents were livid. They were big on the mate bond. Helena was a trophy wife in every way, and she played her part well over the years. I gave her everything she asked for and she did everything I asked. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement for both of us. My parents, though, didn’t see it that way. They saw her as a gold digger and a power-hungry wolf, which may be true, but it made her a ruthless Luna. She needed to be next to me. “Son.” I turned just before I opened the door. “The weeds are saying things are shifting. The fey queen has been spotted in the area and the fey are restless and you’re going around poking wolves. Try not to tempt fate because the goddess will not take kindly to it.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Dad, I’m not a child. I can take care of the pack and my business. Fate doesn’t scare me.” I held up my pinky. “My red string has been cut for decades.” Slamming the door behind me, I left before he could say anything else foolish.

Chapter 5 Chapter 4

The moment I walked into the house, I scowled. “Helena?” She stepped out of the kitchen, wide-eyed. “Sorry dear, I didn’t realize you would be home so early.”“Get it out of here. You know I can’t stand that smell.” Helena nodded. She took the Five Points Coffee cup and poured it down the drain. She rinsed out the drain and I took a deep breath, the smell of the hibiscus tea finally leaving my senses. I knew it was one of her and my daughter’s favorite teas. Hell, even my parents liked it. The smell of hibiscus, though, made me sick. I made sure it never was in the house while I was in the house. It was irrational, but I hated the smell. One of the few rules I put my foot down. “Where are Liam and Natalie?”“At a friend’s house. I would say studying, but you know that’s probably the last thing that’s happening.” She smiled. I nodded. “I’m going to shower and do some work in the office.” Helena came up to me and ran her hands down my chest. “Or you could not work. We could take a shower and then we could see how much torture I can endure.” I chuckled. “You aren’t any fun. You crack at the smallest touch.”“Come on, Alpha.” She put her wrists together, holding them out to me. “I broke a rule.” I spun her around and slapped her on the ass so hard she yelped. “There. Punished.” She looked back at me, tears in her eyes. “That hurt.” I cackled and walked up the stairs to our bedroom. “You say torture, but you mean playtime. Don’t tempt me or one of these days you will find yourself in my dungeon and no safe word to dig you out.” She huffed and stomped back into the kitchen. Going into the room, I stripped down and got in the shower. Leaning my head back, I felt the water rinse away the dirt and sweat from the day. I looked down at my erection and sighed. I wanted to fuck her, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Helena, after two years of our marriage and her induction as Luna, had found her destined mate. It was one rogue that I had invited to join the pack. His name was Elijah, and he was a damn good fighter. He wasn’t an Alpha, Beta or even a Gamma and would have been a disgrace in her family if they had found out. How she thought I had yet to find out just showed that there was still a strip of blonde in her otherwise calculating mind. She didn’t reject him, the opposite actually. He ended up marking her and she would buy a potion brewed by the local witches that hid the mark from me. At first, I wanted to see how long she could go without telling me. We were now sixteen years in and she still hadn’t said a word. When I turned thirty-five, I realized I didn’t care anymore. Eli was a damn good fighter, and I wasn’t about to throw him out. I had debated throwing Helena out. Especially in the early years, but she was the villainess to my villainy. Didn’t I deserve that after losing my fated mate? Plus, if anyone went after her trying to get me, they would be sorely disappointed. My parents knew about it as well. I had told them she had a mate, that she continued to see him and fuck him behind my back. I would go over and complain about her actions the first few times I found out. It was the reason they hated her so much and barely put up with her. The only time I ever let it throw me out of control was when she told me she was pregnant with Liam. I destroyed the pack house after she told me. My dad would tell me the story that, generations ago, one of our ancestries rejected his destined mate for a chosen one. The moon goddess had blessed that mate and was livid that the wolf had the audacity to reject her gift for him. So she cursed our line. Alphas would never be able to reproduce unless it was with their mate. I had tried to see if there was something medical to it and the doctor just said I was infertile, basically shooting blanks. My father said that would change when I would mark my mate, but there was no mate to check that theory. So, when Liam and Natalie came along, I knew they weren’t my biological kids. I had actually been about to tell Helena, who had been getting upset about not having children for so long, about my condition when she announced she was pregnant. Victor had said multiple times that he preferred hearing about my life than watching novellas. I turned off the shower and grabbed my towel. Rubbing down my body, I wrapped the towel around my waist and walked into the bedroom. Helena lay on the bed in some red lingerie. She was eyeing my naked chest, and she looked up at me, a smirk playing on her lips. “Come on Alpha. You know you want to.” I growled. “Helena, I said no. Not today.” I knew the mate bond. I knew having sex with someone else caused pain to the mate. It blew my mind that Helena could do that to her own mate. Sometimes I wondered who the actual monster was in our house. Eli had done a damn good job with the raid on Alpha James’ pack. Scott said he really stepped up and had nothing but glowing reviews. I wasn’t about to reward him by fucking his mate and causing him pain. Normally, I wouldn’t give a shit, but he deserved a few days off. Helena got up, and I rolled my eyes. She wasn’t stopping, and it was pissing me off. Her hands roamed my chest. “Helena, I’m going to warn you one more time. I’m not going to…” She reached down and grabbed my dick under the towel. My mouth turned into a scowl. Picking her up, I threw her onto the bed and pinned her down. Grabbing the restraints that hung off the bedposts, I clamped her wrists and ankles to the bed. She had a glint in her eyes, but I covered them with a blindfold, tying it tight so it wouldn’t come off, no matter how much she would thrash. I got off her and went into the closet. Opening up one of the many drawers we had, I grabbed a large plug and one of the larger vibrators. I first slipped the plug into her own juices to wet it before putting it in her butt. She moaned, but it only turned me off even further. Turning on the vibrator, I connected to my phone and made sure it worked through the app. Once that was determined, I shoved the vibrator into her. She gasped and strained a little against the restraints. Getting off her, I went back into the closet and got dressed. “Desmond?” She called out meekly. In reply, I adjusted the level of the vibrator to max for a few second and listened as she let out a strangled cry. I smiled and brought it back down to a more manageable level. Opening up the door to the bedroom, I left it slightly cracked as I walked into my office. Setting down my phone next to me, I pulled out the paperwork that I needed to finish before the night was up. Every few minutes, I would ramp up the vibrator through the app and would hear Helena scream or cry as she would come. My paperwork was done in about an hour and I was finishing up the request to push the territory further north when Liam walked in the front door. Quickly, I dropped the level back down and Helena quieted. He took the stairs two at a time. “Hey Dad.”“Hey Liam, you’re home early.” He nodded, but the look on his face seemed troubled. “Something you want to talk about?”“No, it’s nothing.” I nodded to him. “You know, I’m not just Alpha. I’m not going to jump down everyone’s throat. But if you say it’s nothing, then it’s nothing.” I smiled. “The guys went to go smoke in the forest. I didn’t want to come, so they kicked me out of the house.” Smiling, I knew the group he hung out with. He had been one of the younger players on the football team and, being Alpha’s son, they naturally would invite him everywhere. Making a good impression was important, but Liam was more introverted than he was extroverted. He also didn’t have an ounce of Alpha in him. He was smart and savvy, but he was not a ‘bad boy’ by any stretch of the imagination. “They will have to be careful. The Magis house sold to a human, so they will not be enjoying their smoking up there anymore.” I looked back down at the request I was filling out. “If they get caught, there will be hell to pay.” Liam chuckled. “Maybe I shouldn’t warn them. They deserve it.” I smiled at my son. “Up to you, but I’ve got more on my plate than a few teenagers being teenagers, Liam. You know you can talk to me about anything. I’m more than willing to listen.” He nodded and shifted his bag on his back. “Thanks, Dad. Do you mind if I go over to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s? She made pie.” I chuckled. “I think they would love that. Just take your homework with you. I don’t want you saying you didn’t get your work done because you were too busy shoving pie down.” Liam went to his room, dressed in something a little more casual, and took his book bag. As he made his way down the stairs, I called to him. “Back by 8 p.m. Don’t bother them too late. They are old folks. They need their rest.” He laughed. “I’m gonna tell Grandpa you said that.”“You better not.” I growled after him, but he slammed the front door. Shaking my head, I pulled out my phone again and cranked up the vibrator, hearing Helena scream after so long of just being at the lower level. I smiled and finished filling out the request. Signing my name, I put it in an envelope and placed it on the top of the pile. My back cracked as I stretched in the chair. Grimacing, I got up and walked back into the bedroom. A sheen of sweat covered Helena as she trembled. I reached in and pulled the vibrator out. Pulling out the plug too, I washed them off before putting them back in the drawer. I undid the restraints and her body collapsed against the bed. I untied her blindfold and looked at her tear-filled eyes. “Don’t fuck with me again, Helena. When I say no or next time, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that safe word and we could go until the kids come home again.” I growled at her, serious. She nodded, and I left her on the bed, this time closing the door to our room. Going down to the kitchen, I unbuttoned my cuffs and rolled up my sleeves. Taking out some ingredients from the refrigerator, I started on dinner for the night. 'Scott, please remind everyone that the north forest, specifically the Magis property, is off limits to everyone.' He chuckled before replying. ' Yes, Alpha.' 'Also, can we make sure that Ricky does his homework on this human. I don’t want to be blindsided when they move in, and it turns out to be the people who just tear down the surrounding forest for their giant mansion.' 'Will do Alpha. I can’t believe you are actually agreeing to this in the first place.' I shrugged. ' The shrewd business manager won over the werewolf in me.' I heard him chuckle again. At some point, it would probably be more trouble than it was worth, but I hoped they would just deem the house a lost cause and leave. I already had too much on my plate as it was. Watching out for a human was not high on my priority list. My priority was protecting the forest and my pack. A hunter being in the area also didn’t bode well. Chopping the vegetables up, my mind wandered, and the knife came down too hard and split the cutting board. I cursed. It did not bode well at all.

Chapter 6 Chapter 5

“What the hell is all this?” My nose wrinkled as I flipped through the paperwork that Ricky sat down. “Work, Alpha. You know, when you aren’t setting fires to cities or helping with picking out colors of balloons for your birthday.” I growled. “I am doing work. What are you doing?”“ Working , Alpha.” Ricky headed out. “Our new buyers showed up for the Magis house. I’m going to hand over the keys and show the place.” He scoffed. “Show all the holes and moldy floorboards. It should be the most fun showing I’ve ever done.”“What took them so long? It’s been weeks?” Scott looked over at Ricky. He turned, rubbing his forehead. “Get this. They don’t drive .”“What do you mean they don’t drive? Like they just walked across three states?”“Exactly! Literally walked across states.” Scott and I looked at him, our eyes narrowing. “You sure you did a background check on them?” Ricky shrugged and looked at Scott. “I tried. Nothing came up. Not a single iota of information. I even tried through Marcus. He couldn’t come up with anything in the weeds either. Nothing.” I looked at Scott, and he looked at me. My worries were resurfacing. This was a terrible idea, and it was only getting worse the more information, or lack thereof, we were getting. “Maybe they are just those hippies who live off-grid and wanted to live amongst the trees. Wouldn’t hurt anything.” Scott shrugged, and I sighed. “It’s a pain in the ass, whatever it is.”“Just finish that paperwork and we can move past all this.” Ricky stuck his tongue out and made a quick exit as I threw a crumpled up paper at the door. Scott shook his head. “I wonder if I should go with him.”“Nah, don’t bother. He gets into his realtor mode and you can’t stop him. We will deal with it later if it becomes an issue. I’ll have the patrol keep an eye out.”“Didn’t you already adjust their routes to accommodate the new border?” I nodded. “It’s not very far. Plus, I need to keep the kids from smoking in that area. They’ve been high shifting over there for years.” Scott chuckled. “Like you?”“Yes, like me, while you were still in grade school. Get the hell out of my office, Beta.” I pulled the first paper off of the pile Ricky left, picking up my pen. Scott snickered, but left the office. I heard the ‘old man’ from his mouth, but I chose to be the bigger wolf and not throw something at him. These two kids were going to be the death of me. Forget getting old or my body crumbling. No, Ricky and Scott were trying to grind me into the dust with paperwork. Sighing, I picked up my pen and stared down at the pile in front of me. I was halfway through the paperwork when Ricky mind-linked me. 'Alpha, I don’t think we need to worry about this one.' 'Worry about what?' I held up the paperwork, thinking that I maybe had linked with him over the newly requested pipes through the lake-side cabins by accident. 'The new human.' I put down the paper, slightly annoyed that it wasn’t about that. ' Oh? Why’s that?' She’s something else. It’s just a single woman, looks to be around twenty-five, maybe twenty-six. Seems completely harmless. Damn beautiful, though. What do you mean by ‘something else’? Ricky took a moment before he replied. Strong. Independent. No fear. It looks like she plans on trying to make the house at least livable. I referred her to your dad’s place for any tools or advice. She walks everywhere, though. She was carrying a single backpack and you could just tell she preferred being in the woods alone than being around people. I nodded. Maybe we were worrying about a human moving in for no reason. ' Well, since it sounds like you’re done, you can come back and we can do this paperwork together.' 'Sorry Alpha, that’s all for you. I’ve got to file the last bit of paperwork for the house transferral. Have a great night!' I growled, but Ricky cut off his link. Staring back down at the paper, it was going to cost an exorbitant amount of money for new pipes at the beachside houses, but those were our biggest sellers during the summer. Sighing, I signed off on it and made a note that the prices per night needed to be raised. We also needed it done within the next four months for all of them, otherwise we wouldn’t be ready for the summer season. Moving onto the next paper, I rubbed my eyes. “The font getting smaller on you, Alpha?” I looked up to see that Scott still hadn’t left the pack house. “The hell you still doing here?” He chuckled. “You think you’re the only one who got stuck with work to do? Apparently, the dungeon was smelling and someone had to clean up the mess. According to Ricky, of course.” I rolled my eyes. “It was not that bad.”“I think next time he said if it got that bad, he would toss an entire jug of hibiscus tea on the floor and watch you clean it up real quick.”“I’d love to see him try.” I signed the document in my hand and placed it on the “done” pile. “Go home, Scott. Your mate is probably going to skin me alive, thinking I kept you over.” He smiled and stretched. “I already told her it was Ricky. So no need to worry there.”“When you guys gonna have another pup?” I saw him grimace. “Right now, Katie is enough. She’s a ball of energy. I swear, the moon goddess gave us an Alpha in a Beta’s body. She will be the death of me.”“How old is she now?”“Six.” Scott laughed. “Six going on sixteen with her attitude.” I laughed. “Don’t say that. I promise you, it’s very different.”“Great, I’ll have that to look forward to.” Scott leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. “Speaking of Liam, how’s he doing?”“Fine. He’s a smart kid, too smart.” I tossed the paper I was looking at in the trash and continued through the pile. “Is he really going to take over the pack, Alpha?” I looked up at Scott, who was looking at me seriously. “I don’t think so, but until he tells me himself, I will continue to teach him and assume he will.”“What will you do then? It’s not like Natalie can take over. She has even less Alpha than Liam does.” I sighed and put the paper down on the desk, looking at my Beta with full attention. “Where is this coming from, Scott? This is the second time you’ve brought this up in a few weeks.”“Desmond, you’re turning forty. You’re still stirring up trouble with other packs and going against the Alpha King. You won’t always be here to protect the pack.” Lacing my fingers together and settling my chin on them, my elbows resting on the desk, I watched my Beta. “Are you saying I’m too old to be picking fights?” I watched as fear flashed over his face before his brow furrowed. “I’m saying you need to think more about the pack you’re protecting rather than everyone outside. Your dad was already retired by the time he was your age, even if he was still helping you.”“Beta, if you think you can currently take me in a fight, challenge me. Show me how old, weak, and frail I am.”“You know that’s not what I mean.” I sat up in my chair. “I will do my job and my duty to my pack for as long as I feel necessary or until I breathe my last breath, Scott. Even if that’s ten or twenty years down the line. Quit worrying about my position and focus on yours. At this point, your daughter will be the one to take over the Beta position. She will need to train sooner rather than later.” Scott growled. “My daughter will not be Beta.”“She will. Unless you provide me with a better alternative, I will train her myself alongside Liam.” He growled and threw open the door, stomping out of the pack house. I shook my head and sighed. Was my age really such a contention at this point? Plenty of Alphas ran their packs who were currently older than I am. Hell, the previous Alpha King died at seventy and not even to natural causes. He crossed someone, and a hunter took his head. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. If anything, everyone else around me was making me feel older. * 'Alpha? You awake?' I grumbled. 'I wasn’t.' 'Sorry, we just wanted to make sure that…' Frank finished Kit’s sentence. '… make sure that there was supposed to be someone at the Magis house.' Rubbing my eyes, I looked over at my watch on the nightstand. It was five-thirty in the morning and I took a deep breath. 'I’ve been saying we had a human moving into there for weeks.' 'Okay, just wanted to make sure cause currently she is showering outside the house.' I sat up and rubbed my eyes. ' So you two think it’s okay just to watch a woman shower naked outside on her own property?' 'I told you we shouldn’t have said that.' 'I mean, she’s fucking hot. She’s even got that huge scar on her back. She looks like she would be a crazy lay…' I cleared my throat. ' Human or not, you’re illegally trespassing and watching a woman shower. If you don’t want her to press charges or worse, want me to teach you a thing or two about decency, I suggest you scram.' 'Yes Alpha!' They said at the same time. I sighed and swung my legs off the bed, running my hands through my hair. “What are you doing up so early?” Helena groggily sat up next to me. “Go back to sleep. It was Frank and Kit on patrol.” She flopped back on the pillow. “Why are you getting up?”“Because I’m not going to be able to go back to sleep again. So I might as well get up and make some coffee.” I got up and stretched. Every bone in my body cracked, and I winced. Grabbing my robe, I threw it on and walked down the stairs into the kitchen. Turning on the coffeemaker, I stared down at it while it heated. The front door opened and closed quietly. I leaned out of the kitchen and looked at my father carrying a passed-out Liam in his arms, Liam’s backpack slung over his shoulder. “Dad?”“The boy passed out at like 8:30pm and I didn’t have the heart to wake him and tell him to go home. Figured I would try to sneak him back in.” He looked at me sheepishly. “Guess I failed.”“Only because Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dweeb mind-linked this early in the morning. Once I’m awake, that’s it.” I watched as my father carried Liam up to his bed and came back down just as quietly. He flexed his arms, and I chuckled. “Coffee?”“Sure.” I turned back around and poured us two mugs before handing him the black coffee. I poured some creamer in mine. You would have to pull all my toenails out to get me to confess that my stomach could no longer take the straight acid. Especially in front of my father, who still took his coffee as black as you could make it. He sat down at the breakfast bar and I sat next to him. “Happy Birthday Desmond.” He smiled and slapped me on the back. “I know we are celebrating in a couple of days, but at least today is when your mother said she would kill me if I ever tried to get her to have another pup.” I laughed. “Thanks Dad.” Taking a sip of coffee, I looked at him. “What are you doing up so early?” He laughed. “I’m delivering some supplies over to the Magis house. The woman there, Olivia, real sweet girl. She came by the shop yesterday and made a huge order. I offered to deliver it up to her, and she said anytime after six in the morning and so here I am, doing the delivery before the shop opens.” I shook my head. “Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dweeb caught her showering outside the house today.” Clamping his hand down on his mouth, he took a deep breath to hold in his laughter. “Goddess, they are lucky she didn’t catch them. She would probably have destroyed them. She’s really beautiful, but the woman can throw an axe into a tree one handed. I would not mess with her.” I raised my eyebrow. “Why does she sound less and less human the more I hear about her?” My father shrugged. “She’s definitely human, but I think she’s got a hell of a story to tell on a drunk night at the bar.” His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out. “Shit. Thanks for the coffee. I need to head off. It takes a while to get over there.” I winced as he ruffled my head and headed off. Shaking my head, sometimes he still treated me like the same kid I was thirty years ago. I swore. Maybe forty was as old as it seemed. Sipping my coffee, I enjoyed the quiet of the house. It didn’t last as long as I wished it had when I heard Natalie thunder down the stairs at 6:30am. “Morning sweetheart.” She grumbled incoherently as she grabbed the pot of coffee and poured equal parts of creamer and coffee into a thermos. Tossing about three sugars into the thermos as well, she came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I have practice this morning. See you later.”“Have a good day at school!” I called after her as she disappeared out the door. Next was Liam, who was a little more coherent as he came down the stairs. He came into the kitchen and pulled out some orange juice. “Grandpa brought you back this morning. I thought I said not to stay later than eight?” He chugged the glass of juice and sighed. “If he said I fell asleep after that, he was being nice. I think I feel asleep at seven.” I laughed. “Well, there’s no game this weekend. You can finally rest.” He rolled his eyes. “Yeah until mom ropes us into some shenanigans this weekend.”“Yes, well, I am roped into it as well. So we can suffer together.” I gave him a thumbs up and Liam shook his head. “See you.”“Have a good day at school!” I also called after him, but he slammed the door behind him. “Or not.” Helena came down last, dressed to impress her morning ladies. She came over and hugged me, kissing me on the cheek. “Happy birthday dear.” I smiled up at her. “Coffee is ready if you want it.”“If you wouldn’t mind putting it in the refrigerator, that would be lovely. I have to meet the girls and we are having breakfast. The finishing touches need to be ironed out for the party. Also, I heard there is a good bit of gossip surrounding our new human neighbor.” Rolling my eyes, I just wouldn’t stop hearing about this girl all day, apparently. She grabbed her purse and keys. Coming back over, she kissed me on the lips this time and smiled. “Have a good day. Try not to work too hard?” I nodded and waved as she walked out of the house, leaving me alone to my thoughts. Realizing that would do more harm than good, I got up and decided to actually start my day.

Chapter 7 Chapter 6

I threw on a tank top and some sweats. Going down to the indoor gym, I started through my routine. Running, weight lifting, and today’s workout was specifically abs, back, and pecks. My home gym had more equipment than you found at the local gym. I preferred to work out alone. I would even help Liam out sometimes, but I wouldn’t even work out with him. “Show no weakness.” I inhaled as I hung from the bar upside down, doing crunches while holding fifty pounds. Breathing in and out, I counted out. “One. Two. Three. Four.” My mind wandered off, thinking about the Summer Festival that we would throw this year. We brought in a lot of money last year and we were wholly unprepared for just how many people wanted to come to our little town. This year we had ramped up our preparedness, but we also were thinking about running some ad campaigns for the daily activities that people could join if they were in the area. We also set up a specific summer camping area. “Fifty one. Fifty-two. Fifty-three. Fifty-four.” I breathed on pace as I thought through the pack business. As much as I had finished the paperwork yesterday that Ricky had given me, a few of them were only half finished. There was a fey family asking for refuge in the territory after being thrown around by one of the packs to the east. They didn’t specify which pack, but I didn’t really want to throw more of a wrench into things. If they were already out of the pack, though, it didn’t matter, but I wouldn’t risk anyone by doing a rescue mission. “Ninety-nine. One hundred. One hundred and one. One hundred and two.”“Goddess Alpha, can you not even chill on your birthday?” I dropped the weight that I held to my chest and quickly flipped around. Ricky was standing in the doorway. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. I raised my eyebrow. “A little casual for work, don’t you think?” He shrugged. “I’ve got some phone calls, but nothing that requires me in person. Not all of us act like business attire is casual. Wearing some jeans would not kill you or turn you into a cowboy.” I shook my head. “Why are you here?”“May is leaving.” He gave a conflicted look, and I eyed him. Grabbing my towel, I rubbed the sweat off my face and head. “What do you mean, May is leaving ?”“She found her destined mate two days ago. She told me last night. They are leaving together, so I wanted to tell you so you knew she was going to come into the pack house to submit the documentation for it.” I growled. “Are you okay with that?” May had been Ricky’s chosen mate for the past twelve years. They had been together even longer as high school sweethearts. It broke them that they weren’t destined mates, but as soon as the two of them turned eighteen, they chose each other. They have been happily together ever since. I looked at him, surprised that he was holding it together so well. “I can’t keep her, Desmond. What kind of monster would I be if I asked her to reject him? I just have to let her go.” He leaned up against the doorway and his eyes filled with tears, but he looked up at the ceiling, refusing to show his own weakness. My heart broke for my Gamma. “I could…” He shook his head. “It’s better this way. If she leaves the pack, at least I don’t have to worry about seeing her every day with him. Seeing them happier than we would ever be.” I put a hand on his shoulder. He was fighting back a frown on his face. “I’ll take care of it. I’m sorry Ricky, really. You don’t deserve that from her. Not after twelve years.” He chuckled. “I’m just glad we didn’t have kids. That would have been a nightmare.” I shook my head. “Well, you can ask the new human on a date now.” Ricky chuckled and shook his head. “Shit, it’s so fucked up.” The tears he had been holding back fell and pulled him into a hug. “Fuck.” His shoulders shook, and I just held him tight. I had known Ricky his whole life. Same with Scott. While our age difference meant that we weren’t in school together, it didn’t mean we weren’t in each other’s lives at a young age. Our fathers were just as close and made sure that we held the same respect and, really, love as our fathers did. We were brothers and that would never change. He took a deep breath and stood away from me. “You smell Desmond, go shower.” I laughed. “That is supposed to happen when you work out. It’s why both you and Scott will never beat me.”“One day, one day we will.” I smiled and threw the towel around my neck. “That’s the day I will retire.” Ricky laughed, wiping his eyes with his palm. “Sorry, didn’t mean to break down on your birthday.”“Hey, I would have rather you told me what you wanted before. I would have absolutely denied it otherwise.” He nodded and gave me a slight smile. “Thanks.” I clapped his shoulder before heading up the stairs to shower. “I’m going to head off. Clear my head for a bit.”“Whatever you need. The east side could use a once-over if you’re looking for an excuse to kill a few hours.” He nodded. “Thanks Desmond.” I nodded. “Just stay away from the north. I don’t need any more peeping toms today.” Ricky laughed. “I heard about that. I’m a little jealous.”“Is she really that hot?” Ricky smirked and winked. “You will just have to see her to understand.” * I sat at my desk, my right foot resting on my left knee. My elbows rested on the arms of my office chair. Scott and Ricky were on my right and left respectively, holding papers they had retrieved from my desk before the interruption. I had five angry looking werewolves on the other side of my solid wood desk. A small smile played on my lips as I looked at them. Each one looked like they were fighting for control over their wolves. “Alpha James, to what do I owe this surprise visit?”“Surprise? You think this would be a surprise after what you did?” Alpha James had graced our pack with his presence personally. Frankly, I was surprised by how long it took him. His eyes were flashing between two colors. “You are in our territory, Alpha James. We do not tolerate shifting out of control here.” Scott pointed out, also noticing the flickering colors. “I’m not talking to you, Beta .” Alpha James spat out. I put my hand up and stopped Scott from stepping forward. “Not all packs are like ours, Scott. They don’t understand the meaning of working on equal terms in the pack.”“You couldn’t even call this a pack anymore. You’ve abandoned all the pack ideals!” His Beta, Luis if I remembered correctly, spoke up this time. “On the contrary, we’ve just abandoned the old idiotic ideals that were implemented by narrow-minded asshats who think a throne gives them the right to order everyone around.” I smiled wider as I saw the veins pop out on their necks. “You dare speak against our king?” I laughed. “ King ? I don’t remember ever acknowledging an Alpha who has done nothing but been bottle fed by the previous generations. A werewolf who has done nothing but sit on his throne and tell people they are wrong or right for actions he has never actually taken himself.”“Alpha Desmond, you’ve crossed the line!” Luis growled. “ I crossed the line? The only reason I crossed the line when I heard innocent blood was going to be spilled because you feel threatened by the existence of beings that might actually be stronger than you.” I looked directly at Alpha James. “How is Jude? I hope he found his way home alright.” Alpha James growled. “They are not innocent. They are a…”“…a what, James?” I stood up, towering over the man. “The fey have done nothing to you or your pack. You can’t dredge up history because if you do, they would be happy to use our own to wipe us off the planet.” I placed my hands on the desk, leaning against it and glaring at each one of them. “Get off my territory or I will do far worse next time I hear you are attacking anyone unprovoked.” Alpha James growled and went to swipe at me, but I took hold of his wrist. Everyone froze as I held onto his wrist. He growled again, and I squeezed, feeling the bones in his wrist snap. “Fuck off, James. I don’t have time to deal with your petty, unfounded prejudices.” I stood up and watched as the group stomped out of my office, Alpha James holding his wrist. I shook my head and sighed. “Kids these days.” That the man had the audacity to show up unannounced to my office with no reason other to throw a tantrum in front of me. Alpha James had rubbed me the wrong way when we first met. His father was actually quite agreeable. The man wasn’t quick to judge and knew when to keep his mouth shut. His son, however, had a fire that was misplaced and volatile. He fought everything unless he kissed the Alpha King’s feet. I growled. The Alpha King pissed me off even more. He was 25 years old and took over for his father when his father died. I wasn’t a fan of the Alpha King title. I don’t do well with authority to begin with, but I didn’t actively act against the Alpha King. When his son took over, I could smell the weakness and sense of entitlement wafting off of him from miles away. Still, I tried not to actively poke him. I just poked around everywhere else. Alpha James being one of my favorite spots to poke. I knew the history between the races. We all were to blame over the years for mistreatment and prejudices. That didn’t mean we needed to continue the cycle. I choose not to continue that cycle, just as my father taught me. I was just more…active in stopping it than my father was. Breaking a few bones on the way there didn’t bother me at all. My pack was strong and part of the reason for that was the fey, witches, and vampires, who all worked to improve our lives. We mixed our medicine using both new scientific methods and old potions. We used magic and technology to better move our town forward into a more modern society. Even the high school was mixed races, though because I didn’t allow humans to purchase land on the territory, our school lacked humans. Honestly, I had nothing against humans. They were our biggest source of income in the town, and they were the ones that really kept the whole town afloat. My worry was if the supernatural beings felt like they couldn’t be themselves in the younger years, they would grow to resent each other for one reason or another. We all knew how to act and be outside amongst humans but at school it was a safe space where a vampire could drink a bottle of blood, a fey didn’t have to disguise the color of their skin, or the new school nurse could use her potions to heal the students. It just worked better, and it was hard to find humans who already knew of our world. Babysitting newly initiated humans into our world was not something I had the time to do. Scott chuckled. “I don’t know why he bothered to come all the way over. Did he think this was going to go any differently than last time we had a meeting?”“It did.” We looked up at Ricky, who smiled. “Alpha fucked up his other wrist last time.” I chortled and Scott snorted. “He’s lucky he didn’t run into Victor. There would be more than a wrist broken. Victor has no sense of control after being alive for so many years.”“Is Victor in town?” Scott leaned against the bookshelf as Ricky headed out of the room with the pile of paperwork that was finished. I nodded. “Yeah, for the party. If anything, I was saving James the trouble.”“Well, here is my birthday present to you. No more paperwork for the rest of the weekend.” Ricky lifted his arms. “Fly free, Alpha. This is the only time I’m ever going to give you a couple of days off.”“I’m glad I have authorization from my Gamma that I get to take some time off.” I glared at him as he flashed me a smile before leaving. Scott waited for Ricky to leave before standing up and coming over to me. “May is going to stop by tomorrow before the party. She’s going to submit the documentation to leave.” I shook my head. “I should deny it, both for Ricky and because she’s trying to do it on my birthday.”“Well, that’s up to you. I just wanted to tell you. I figured you’d be angry if I’d told you they were here before the party.”“I’m pissed now.” Scott shrugged and headed out of the office. He looked back. “Try not to kill them. We would end up with the paperwork on the weekend when Ricky finally gave us a few days off.” I chuckled. “No promises.”

Chapter 8 Chapter 7

My finger was tapping on my desk. While I told Ricky I would take care of it, it didn’t mean I was happy about it. Looking at the two in front of me, you could tell they were mates. Ignoring the clear mate mark on May’s neck, one moved whenever the other did. They just sat down in the office after Scott let them in, and he was looking at me with a surprised expression. Taking a deep breath, I looked down at the paperwork in front of me. “So you’re a soldier for the Alpha King. What are you doing in my territory, pup?” The man sat up and looked away from May’s hand, which he was holding. “I was out visiting my grandmother. Ariel Stone.” I knew Ariel. I also knew she doted on Ricky, and I wondered what she would think of May’s behavior. May looked everywhere but at me, and I knew why. “Are you proceeding with a divorce then, May?” I asked her directly, and she snapped her eyes to me. Her mate looked at her, confused. “What do you mean divorce ?” May looked at him, her smile looked at little off. “It’s nothing, dear.”“It is something. May, you are legally married to my Gamma. Have been for the past twelve years. What makes you think a single paper requesting a transfer would be enough?”“You’ve been married for twelve years?” Her mate slipped his hand out of hers. I was having trouble holding back my smile. Apparently, May had not been honest with her mate. If she was going to make my brother suffer, then I was going to let her feel a little taste of pain herself. She looked from me angrily to her mate, worriedly. “I had a chosen mate since I was eighteen. We were high school sweethearts. That’s all. Nothing like you and I.” She glared at me. “You don’t know what it’s like to finally find you mate after all this time, Alpha. You would just sign the transfer papers if you did.” I stood up, my eyes blazing with anger. “May, I have changed your diapers. I watched you date my Gamma and watched the love grow between the two of you. You’re lucky I already spoke to Ricky regarding the situation. For that comment, your mate would be lucky if he headed home in one piece, and it definitely would have been without you.” I growled, and she shrunk in her seat. Even her mate looked fearful. Scott opened the door to the office and stood in the doorway, ready to intervene. “While I may not know what it’s like to find my mate after all this time , I do know what it means to have a chosen mate and how much more love it takes to decide on being with them, over the mate bond’s biological pull. So don’t you dare toss away my brother like he meant nothing to you.” My hands leaned on the desk and I was glaring at her. “Alpha.” Scott warned from behind their chairs. Both May and the Alpha King’s soldier looked back at him and then at me. I took a deep breath and stood up. I tried to control my Alpha presence as it lashed out at the two of them. “You will get off my territory.” I looked at the soldier. “I don’t want you on this territory ever again. You may say goodbye to your grandmother, but I will speak with Ariel directly regarding why you are no longer allowed in the territory anymore.” He nodded, not saying a word. “You, May, are the biggest disappointment. I will approve your transfer once you provide me with the paperwork for your divorce. Once that document is in my hands, you are free to follow your mate.”“Alpha! That could take months! My heat could come…” I growled. “You should have thought about that before you received your mark. Thought about the repercussions this has on your family and your pack. Now you will suffer the consequences of that. Welcome to the real world, May. Ricky has been kind enough to save you from most of it, but I will not.” She growled at me and I lashed out at her with my Alpha authority. “You are still part of my pack, May, and you will not bare your teeth at me unless you want to go deeper into the rabbit hole of how I truly handle punishment.” With her neck bared, she whimpered. Her mate was too scared and too shocked at me to even help her. I scoffed inwardly. Some mate bond. He wouldn’t even protect her while she was in danger. “Leave. Now .” The two of them scurried off, and I pinched the bridge of my nose. A couple of deep breaths later, and I controlled my inner wolf. He was raring to come out since this morning when Ricky told me, but it would have been bad for everyone. I always keep him on lockdown. Only a few people knew exactly how dangerous a wolf the moon goddess had gifted me. Scott was one of them, which is why he still stood in the doorway as I took controlled breaths. “That was lenient of you, Alpha.” I nodded. “Ricky asked me to let them go. He didn’t want to run into them on the territory.”“Well, I mean, you didn’t exactly let them go.” I scoffed. “He knew I wouldn’t let her off that easy. How could she just do that to him?”“Honestly, I think May had been searching for something more. He sheltered her too much and, just like a selfish child, she wanted to see if the grass was actually greener on the other side.” I shook my head. “Well, good riddance, then. He can present her to the Alpha King and they can fuck their first night and then move on.” Scott turned to me, horrified. “You’re joking, right?” I looked at him, deadpan. “When’s the last time you heard me joke, Scott?”“Shit. Whelp, there is the rude awakening to the real world. She thought it was going to be you.” Scott shook his head. “I’m suddenly in the mood for a drink.” Scott chucked. “It’s not even three yet.”“Call it a birthday drink and I can drink it whenever I want.” I walked over to the small globe I had in the room’s corner. Pulling it up, the globe opened to reveal six smaller glasses and two bottles of bourbon. I took out one of the bottles and held out the bottle for Scott. “I mean, I can’t very well let my Alpha drink alone on his birthday now, can I?” He smirked and came over, grabbing two of the glasses. Holding them up for me, I poured a half a glass into each of them. With the bottle down and the globe closed, I took the glass from Scott and sat down in my chair. Putting my feet up on the desk, I leaned back and took a drink. The smooth bourbon made me smile and closed my eyes. “Happy birthday, Desmond.”“More like happy birthday, old man.” He laughed. “I mean, like you said, until we can beat you, we can’t say shit.” I held my glass up to him and took another sip. “The only thing that would make this better would be a clove cigarette.” Scott snorted. “You gave up smoking over fifteen years ago.”“Giving up smoking doesn’t mean I don’t miss it, Scott. I would just rather not face the wrath of Helena if she found out and somehow she is as plugged into the pack gossip as much as my father.”“Marcus would definitely find out.”“Oh, how sometimes I miss the high shifts of the old days.” Scott shook his head. “Don’t get all reminiscent on me, old man. I’ll start bringing up shit you would rather not want to remember.” I rolled my eyes. “Always the buzzkill. Now and back then, too.”“Alright bad boy, finish your drink and we can leave. The pack house is closed for the weekend.” Scott took his drink out with him to his office. I laughed and sipped my glass slowly. The two of them had put such a foul taste in my mouth. 'How’s the patrol going today?' 'Sadly, missing naked human women showering, but all is good,’ Ricky replied instantly. 'Well, it’s better than going to jail as a predator.' 'Look at that, Alpha’s got jokes. What are you drinking?' I opened my mouth, mock hurt. ' Are you saying I’m not funny?' 'Not sober.' His answer was so quick that even he cracked up. I shook my head. ' You might still see May around. I told her before I would approve her transfer, she needed to go through the divorce proceedings.' 'Alpha.' Ricky whined. 'I kicked the guy off the territory, though. He’s an Alpha King soldier.' 'No!' Ricky screamed in my head, and I winced. He knew what that meant without me telling him. Scott, I guess, hadn’t gotten the memo. 'She hadn’t told him she was married either, so I don’t know how well that’s going to go. But she’s going to end up getting a taste of the real world real quick.' Ricky just whined over the link, and I scowled, taking another sip of my drink. Truthfully, I hoped her mate would be honest with her and tell her what would happen, but I knew it was not likely. Especially not after she didn’t tell him she was married. In my mind, she deserved it, but I knew Ricky loved her and my heart ached for him. Tossing the last bit of drink down my throat, I got up and grabbed my jacket. I put it on and took the glass with me into the kitchen. Rinsing it out, I put it next to the sink and with Scott’s already rinsed glass. “Ready to go, Scott?”“Yeah!” He came out of his office and closed the door. I walked out of the pack house and held the door for him. Taking out my keys, I locked the door and turned around. My nose wrinkled. “The fuck is that smell?”“What smell?”“It smells like someone just poured hibiscus tea all over the place.” Scott rolled his eyes. “Your aversion is borderline neurotic. I hope you know that.”“Oh, I know. I’m well aware. It’s only been in the last five years. I don’t gag when I smell it.” I tried to take another breath, but I grimaced. “Well, maybe you can just drink it and see if that helps.” I shook my head. “Tried that. It took a day to recover, throwing it all up.”“When did that happen?”“I don’t know. Ten years ago? I did it by accident, thinking it was the iced coffee and it was Helena’s leftover Five Points Coffee drink. I don’t think I’ve ever been so sick in my life. I nearly retired that day. I thought I wouldn’t recover.” Scott shook his head. “Of all the things to be over dramatic about. If anyone caught wind of your absurd aversion, they could literally get more information out of you by feeding you that than pulling every single one of your toenails and fingernails.” I chuckled. “Which is why I diligently worked to not throw up every time I smelled it.”“No, you just get this ridiculous look on your face and get short-tempered.” We started walking toward my house, and it lessened. I opened up the door to the hardware store, but quickly covered my nose with my hand and slammed the door. I leaned over and tried to hold back the bile that was coming up through my throat. The store reeked of it. My eyes watered as I took deep breaths of the outside air. My heart hammered in my chest as I felt my stomach clenched. A throbbing started in my head and I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to take slow breaths to settle the feeling. “What the fuck ?”