The Descendant of the Original

TREYTON

Bexley Hendrix isn’t short, by any means, and she has long black hair that falls to the middle of her back. It has a shine and a wave to it that has me wanting to sift my fingers through it to test if it’s as soft as it looks. She’s toned, not rail-thin, with tanned skin. Like someone who runs a lot or spends time in the gym. She has curves in all the right places and legs for days.

Goddamn.

And her smell. It’s the best thing I’ve ever smelled: roses and lavender.

And when I take her hand, I know.

Seiko is going haywire.

“Mate! Mate!”

“Yes, I know! Calm down! She doesn’t know about our kind. We have to take it slow. Understand?”

I feel him huff in my mind, but he ultimately agrees—as long as we have our mate under us soon.

Now, I can get on board with that, but I’m not sure how soon that will be. I rub a hand down my face to get a hold of myself and clear my throat for the thousandth time.

Bexley is my mate. After all these years, I’ve finally found my mate and I can’t seem to get it together.

She studies me with confusion. I’m pretty sure I look like a fool, trying my best to not only control myself but my wolf. Dammit, it’s taking everything I have to do both.

I get a mind-link from my beta, telling me I’m needed for the meeting scheduled with our head warrior. We have seen more rogues lately than before and I want to nip it before it gets out of hand. He’s wondering why I’m running late.

I gaze into the most gorgeous brown eyes I’ve ever seen.

“I hate to cut this short, beautiful, but I have a meeting I need to get to. How about we get together soon so I can show you around again? Everyone will love to know you’re back.”

“Umm, sure. Sounds great.”

“Good to see you, Bexley. Really.”

“You too, Treyton.”

“See you, Seb. If you need me for anything, let me know.”

“Will do, Treyton. Keep in mind our conversation earlier.”

Sebastian is smirking. I have a sinking feeling I’m going to be the one to show Bexley our way of life here.

“I won’t forget. We will discuss it soon.”

I head to my truck and as I’m pulling away, I catch her eyes once more. We stare at each other for a hot second. That pull is already there. The mate bond. It snapped in place as soon as my eyes met those beautiful deep browns, and I have no idea long I’m going to be able to stay away.

I already want to take her in my arms and have her underneath me. Since I’m certain she felt the sparks between us, I wonder what else she feels.

***

“Damn, what took you so long, Treyton? We been waiting for like twenty minutes.”

I growl and look at my beta, Sam. We’ve been best friends since elementary school and have had each other’s backs for that long. He’s the only one around here who gets away with not calling me Alpha.

“Whoa, Alpha, I was just joking. No need to get upset or defensive about it. What’s going on, man?”

I take a seat at the head of the table. On my right is Sam. On my left is Emery, my gamma. Next to him, my head warrior, Kendrick. He’s a huge man and after one glance at him, most turn and run the other way, but once they get to know him, they find out he’s just one large teddy bear underneath—unless forced to show his hand.

“Old man Hendrix’s granddaughter, Bexley, is back. Possibly for good.”

“Wow, she’s been gone for a while. Heard she’s a damn good lawyer now.”

“Yeah, but we have a couple of issues with her being back.”

“What do you mean?”

“For one, she still doesn’t know about our kind or what she is yet, so everyone is going to have to be careful until that time comes. Trust me, it’s going to take a certain finesse to break the news to her.”

“And two?”

I take a deep breath and rub my hands down my face in attempt to prepare myself. I swear it’s like Sebastian knew what was coming.

“Two… Bexley is my mate and your future luna.”

Silence. To say their expressions are shocked is an understatement. I can’t even blame them. I’ve been looking for my mate for a long time now. My beta is the one to speak up first.

“Are you sure?”

“As sure as those brown eyes of hers. I knew it the moment I saw her. She smelled of roses and lavender. Plus, my wolf went absolutely nuts. It took everything in me to hold him back.”

Kendrick smiles.

“It’s about time, my friend. It’s a situation that will have to be dealt with lightly, but remember, she’s your mate and worth the effort. We will do everything we have to in order for you to take the time you need to tell her.”

“Thanks. We will need to let everyone know of the situation with Bexley so nobody is walking around in wolf form for now. If they need to let their wolves out, make sure they are far into the forest first. Also, for now, just call me Treyton when in her presence instead of Alpha. We don’t want unnecessary confusion.”

“Will do, Alpha.”

Emery speaks for the first time in this conversation. He’s the quiet one of us all, but has a bad habit of asking the hard questions nobody wants to ask. I’m not sure if that’s what makes him the ladies’ man, or if it’s the red hair and blue eyes. Either way, he goes for the throat when his curiosity is piqued.

“I’m sure I speak for everyone, Alpha, when I say we are happy to finally have a luna for our pack. It will make us stronger. The question is, do we tell the pack members you have found your mate before your mate even knows?”

I let out a heavy breath. Shit, I have a headache coming on.

“No. I don’t need someone slipping up and calling her Luna. Just let them know of her situation with her wolf and the fact she knows nothing about what she is or where she came from yet. Let them know that soon she will be told, but it’s going to take a little bit of time. The last thing I need is for her to run. I didn’t wait all these years to lose her.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Good. Now, what can you tell me about these rogues?”