I watched as Alison walked out of the ring and entered the locker room. I saw the disappointment in her face, and I almost wanted to call her back.
But I knew I couldn’t give her what she wanted, and if I wasn’t such a coward, I would have just let her go already.
“If you want my opinion,” Nolan said, pulling me out of my thoughts, “the elders are right about her. She would be a perfect choice for your luna.”
“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” I said with a frown.
“Your time is almost up.” He sighed. “You know as well as I do that the elders were serious about their deadline. Either you claim a chosen during this Blood Moon, or they will be forced to act. And they may decide to replace you.”
As my beta, it was Nolan’s job to advise me on this. But as my childhood friend, I’d hoped he’d at least let me shower before lecturing me on choosing my next mate.
“You don’t need to remind me,” I said sharply. “I’m going to take a shower, and then you can tell me why you traveled all the way here.”
“I should ask that question,” Aaron said. “You still haven’t told me why you left your office and drove all the way to my base.”
I glared at Aaron, but he just raised his eyebrow at me.
“Unless it really was to spar with Alison.”
I turned my back to him without answering and headed to the private shower in his office.
I spent way longer in the shower than I should have. But I needed to at least try to erase the look on Alison’s face as I dismissed her. But it was useless. No matter how long I stood there with the water washing over me, I couldn’t escape her look of disappointment.
Eventually, I gave up trying.
I walked out of the shower, now changed back into my suit, to find Nolan and Aaron waiting for me. I shook my head at them. They couldn’t even leave me alone for one minute.
But hopefully they could take my mind off Alison for a bit. The way her body felt against mine as she leaned over me in the ring… That was dangerous. I hadn’t been that close to a woman in so long. And I didn’t want to feel that way about anyone ever again. Especially her. She deserved better than me.
“Where are your reports from last night’s patrol?” I asked Aaron. “I need them.”
“I already emailed you the reports. If you had stayed in your office five more minutes, you would have seen them come in.”
I ignored his comment as I pulled out my phone to check that I received the email. “Give me a summary. Were there any more sightings?”
“Alison’s team found traces that a rogue wolf crossed the southeast border. Our scouts followed the path. They believe it was a lone wolf that eventually crossed back over the border before we could catch up with him.”
I shook my head. “This is the third one this month. Things have been peaceful for five years. Why are they now taunting us?”
Aaron didn’t reply. But I didn’t expect him to. I sighed. “I’m going to have to go to the elders with this, aren’t I?”
Aaron shrugged. “I would give it a bit more time. I have plans to increase our nightly patrol numbers after the Blood Moon. If we can catch one of them, maybe we can get some answers.”
I closed out of my email, vowing to read the report once I returned to my office. “What about you, Nolan? Why did you travel over here?”
“You’ve been ignoring my emails about the Halloween Ball. You need to confirm the guest list so I can send out the invitations. And you need to call back our company’s CEO. He’s reached out twice already this morning and desperately wants to talk to you.”
The Halloween Ball was a major celebration for the neighboring packs. The event served two purposes. First, and most importantly, it was a way for our wolves to meet those outside our pack to try to find our true mates. A number of matings had been found in previous years, and I expected this year to be no different.
And second, the ball was also the way we demonstrated our alliances with our neighbors. Our pack bordered a number of other packs, and we were friendly with most of them.
But there was one neighbor I needed to keep an eye on—Alpha Joshua. He was my father’s age, and, although he had a son two years younger than me, he still didn’t feel the need to retire. Instead of passing the reins to his son, he held on to his power.
And considering he was one of the king’s advisors, Alpha Joshua had a lot of power.
“Send me the guest list again. I’ll take care of it when I get back to my office.” I sighed. “What does the human want?”
The pack used a human CEO to manage our assets in the human world. He ensured we remained autonomous, but he could be a hassle at times.
“I don’t know.” Nolan shrugged. “He didn’t want to tell me. He thinks I’m just your deputy.”
Nolan was much more than a deputy to me. He not only dealt with all the logistical aspects of the pack, but he was also the de facto leader should anything happen to me.
But we couldn’t tell the humans that. They didn’t understand the pack structure, and for our safety, we needed to keep it that way.
“I’ll deal with him,” I said. “If that’s all, I’ll see you all later. I need to get back.”
“Sure. Just promise me that you’ll think about the elder’s proposal again. I really don’t want your brother to replace you as alpha because you hate all women now,” Nolan added.
My younger brother, Conor, was many things, and I was sure he would love to replace me, but he would never be a good alpha. He was incapable of thinking of others, always putting himself first. I truly believed he wasn’t capable of being a good alpha, and I hoped the elders would see it that way as well.
“I’ll think about it,” I conceded, knowing he was right but not wanting to voice it in that moment.
I didn’t wait for them to add anything before leaving Aaron’s office and heading to my office at the pack house.
Between the phone call with our human CEO, Alaric Davis, and balancing the pack accounts against the spreadsheets he sent me, reviewing last night’s patrol reports and comparing them to all the patrol reports from the previous month, negotiating a potential trade deal with a pack on the other side of the country, and all the other little things that popped up for me to deal with, I was dead tired at the end of the day.
Night had already fallen when I finally made my way out of the office. The ten-minute drive from the pack house to my house was quiet, and I appreciated the peace after the busy day I had.
Once inside my house, I slid off my shoes and padded to the kitchen, losing the suit jacket and undoing the top buttons of my shirt on the way. I grabbed a beer from the fridge, and I opened it before walking through the kitchen’s back door to my patio.
I settled in one of the chairs and looked out. My garden was in front of me, and just beyond that, the forest. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in, forcing myself to listen to the noise of the night.
I sighed in pleasure. There. That was heaven on earth.
Of course, he couldn’t let that go. After what happened this morning with Alison, I’d wondered when he would make a comment.
He was ready to move on, and he liked the young she-wolf enough to have told me that the elders’ suggestion to take her as my chosen wasn’t a bad idea.
I wasn’t stupid. I saw the look of pure desire in her eyes. I just believed that I would only bring her misery. After losing my true mate, I couldn’t see myself loving anyone again, and Alison deserved to be loved.
I wasn’t the right person for her, and that was a fact.
He was right, of course. He knew me better than I knew myself sometimes. I avoided the other women like the plague, but it was different with Alison. She also lost her true mate, so she understood my pain, and she never made me feel like she was coming on to me because of my title.
He didn’t add anything else, and I knew he wasn’t happy with me.
But I also knew I wouldn’t change my mind.
The howling of wolves echoed in the distance, and I closed my eyes to listen to them. I desperately wished they could free my mind of the beautiful brunette delta with blue eyes, but I knew better.
