Black as the Forest (All the Hounds of Hell #1)

- Eveline -

I was lounging on an extremely comfortable chair, near by a pool, in my bikini, and taking in the sun. And the most marvellous thing about it all was that I'm paid for this.

I was quietly enjoying a scrumptious margarita, doing my best impression of bacon, sizzling under the heat of the sun.

I heard the steps before I saw him.

I tilted my head slightly in his general direction when he came into view, but I didn't rise, neither did I lowered my sunglasses.

"Enjoying this beautiful day, miss Devon?" he asked me.

"Obviously, " I answered jovially.

He was a well-looking man, in his fifties, yet with still the signs of youth not completely erased from his eyes. He was one of those men who aged well-like wine-with salt and pepper on his temples, making him appear more sophisticated than old.

He sat on a lounge chair next to mine. Not lying down but sitting on its side, looking at me, elbows resting on his knees. Not many men can pull out a white suit, but he could. The last few buttons of his shirt undone, no tie. He looked quite at ease.

He'd been a bachelor all his life and it showed. Not the type of bachelor keeping himself mostly away from relationships, but more the type who walks into a club with a gorgeous woman on each arm-a bit of a player. He had a few kids-most Alphas tend to make sure they have an heir or two-but he's never settled down.

He's been flirting with me ever since I arrived-more out of habit or amiability than with any ulterior motive-though, I'm sure if I'd shown true interest, he wouldn't have hesitated.

I'm not vain or anything, but I know I look nice-all the money I give to my beautician is not for nothing.

Then again, I know he's not pursuing me seriously. No one ever does, or at least those who do either back off when they learn of my family, or are interested only because of my family. I'm generally approached or shunned because of my brother.

There are times when this sucks.

On the other hand, people have to be ridiculously stupid or ill-informed to attempt anything nefarious towards me, which has insulated me from a lot of crap.

But I can't really be mad at my brother for how others behave. Besides, he's the one who gave me this ridiculously nice job.

"Are you still leaving us tomorrow?" Alpha Garcia asked me.

"Unless there's a last-minute surprise, then yes."

He smiled at me. "How about a little last-minute surprise then?"

"What do you have in mind?" I answered with the same mischievous tone he aimed at me.

"There is a summit on the other coast. I've been asked to come, but it would be nice to have one as pretty as yourself to accompany me."

"Are you trying to gain bragging points by having a Devon as your plus one in a political shindig?" The corner of my mouth tugged upward a bit.

"Pretty much, " he shamelessly admitted.

"Give me the details, and I'll call home. See how it goes, " I said. "I do love a good party."

My brother was up North actually, so I didn't technically called home.

He was taking care of a conflict or another up there. Quite frankly, it's pretty hard to keep up with him. He's always going somewhere-to help an ally, or offer backup, stop a dispute, make deals, conquer some territory, or fight something or other.

This time it was shutting down a troublesome coven, I think. Or maybe that was last week?

He hasn't been home in a few weeks, going from one place to another, keeping check ups with me and home via calls.

Turns out, after he asked me a few questions-like who are some of the people going to this shindig-he told me he had to meet with one or two in person, and it would probably be easier there, than doing a bigger detour to their respective homes.

So I could go and have fun, and work on some business relations at the same time, while meeting up with him to leave together with him once done. And of course, being paid for it.

There are days when I really love my life.

- Darren -

The household was in chaos.

I tried to stay out of the way, but it was quite impossible. So I did what I do best and cleaned up the messes behind everyone.

I walked from place to place, picking up the slack, or just sorting things that were falling apart.

Organizing events, it's pretty much like that-a sort of organized mayhem. One that seems to be going nowhere until you reach the finishing line and somehow, everything strangely worked out. You ask yourself along the way, 'why the hell did you get yourself involved in all this?', but when all is said and done, you begin to wonder what could have been done better, what was great and should be kept as such, and all in all, planning for the next time.

My family is not indulging in massive events like these very often, and generally keeps things down a notch or three, and indulge in smaller meet ups. But hosting the Northwest Summit, or any such summit for that matter, is generally a strong mark of prestige, and most packs fights for the privilege each year.

This year, my father won.

The fact that he's been preparing to hand things down to my older brother Michael, as been a strong factor for his decision. I think part of him wanted to leave the scene at his peak. Most Alphas tend to give up their position before they get old enough-or worst, weak enough-to be challenged. That being said, giving the power to someone unprepared or too young is very risky too. In both cases, someone could just come in and challenge them. One fight could reverse everything, make them lose all status and power. Generations of work, lost in one fell swoop.

It used to be mostly the way to become Alpha in the first place. Back before human anthropologists even decided to call leaders of your run-of-the-mill wolf packs, Alphas. A lot before that.

But having the strongest couple mating together, kinda had the side effect of breeding stronger wolf. Back in nature, for wolves, other pups tend not to survive, so only the alpha pair tend to breed, but werewolves are different. Part of us is human, and weak or strong, as long as you have everything required for survival-like shelter and food-you can survive just fine. So werewolf packs don't have just a single breeding pair.

And the pups of Alphas have a better chance at being stronger. And like in every society, political marriages have been a thing. So now, an Alpha bloodline nearly always creates stronger wolves, which as led with time to nepotism and primogeniture.

Darwin and the laws of the jungle. For us, it gets a lot more literal than most.

Nowadays, nearly all Alphas are sons of Alphas. It was easier, you know who's gonna be the next in line from the get go. The Alpha can train his heir and prepare him properly. So the son becomes far better equipped for the position than anyone else, which is why they get rarely challenged.

Unless an Alpha is abusive, or dangerous for the pack, or getting too old, it rarely even happens. Even then, generations of selective breeding has made some bloodline far too disproportionately strong compared to others.

Someone like my father, even as an 80 years old, could still be potentially more powerful than some minor wolf in our pack at their prime.

But again, like in my family, some Alphas have multiple pups and succession wars have occurred. Those are the best positioned to take power. Most find it simpler to name the oldest has heir, and not put any ideas in any other son's head, but other families choose the most capable instead. Though, it often turns up that the oldest get more experience, so he gets there first anyway.

In my family, Michael, the oldest, is the one to be the proper heir.

He has spent his entire life preparing and training to become a perfect Alpha.

I think he's gonna be fine.

Our relationship hasn't always been great, but I respect him. He's a good guy, and he has a lot on his shoulders.

I found Michael in his office, crouching numbers and tearing his hair out.

He does that often, I fear he might go bald before he hits fifty.

"Need help with that?" I asked.

He raised his head to look at me. "Please, for all that is holy, save me please."

I laughed and took a look at his laptop.

"You know, there's not that much left to do, " I said as I took the seat he gave me.

"Speak for yourself, " he said while dropping on the small couch in pure exhaustion.

I went at it.

He had made a couple of mistakes which led to things not balancing properly, but it didn't take me too long to find it. It would have been a little faster if he'd tell me it wasn't balancing right to begin with, but by the time I got things moving, he was asleep on the couch, so I let him rest and dealt with it on my own.

After an hour marked only by the sound of my typing and occasional shifting of papers, Michael broke the silence.

"So, why are you helping me exactly?" He still had an arm over his face and stayed lying down, unmoving.

"Because you apparently need my help, " I said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, because you're just altruistic."

I stopped.

"What do you accuse me of exactly?" Anger bubbling in my voice.

"Just that I think you have an ulterior motive, " he said still unmoving.

"Ulterior motive? Like what exactly? I spent all day helping whoever needed it most. You know, if you didn't want any help you could have just said so. I just spent an hour doing your job to get accused of scheming whatever. That hurts man." He got up halfway through my rant, sitting properly to look at me, his expression unreadable.

"Easy there. I'm not accusing you of anything, " he said.

"Oh! Really? Because that's not what this sounds like, " I spat.

"I just thought you were looking for a good excuse to hide from Mom and Dad, I wasn't implying anything worse, " he said apologetically.

I inhaled deeply before letting it out in a sigh.

"Aren't you hiding too?" I finally asked, then resumed my work. I saw Michael wince in my peripheral.

"Aren't we all?" he finally conceded.

"Then why accused me of it then?"

He shrugged.

I continued my work for a full ten minutes while he said nothing.

"I'm nearly done, " I finally said.

He raised his head promptly. "Yeah?" he said, hopeful.

"Yeah."

"This quick?"

"I think if you've been sleeping more these last few nights, you'd been able to clear this quicker."

"Yeah, maybe, " he conceded.

"This is stressing you out?"

"Maybe." He rubbed his face in his hands then glided his fingers through his hair all the way to the back, letting his head fall forward after, in a sign of weariness.

"Something else stressing you out?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"Things are gonna work out fine. You're gonna be fine. Mom and Dad's level of stress is gonna go down which is gonna be easier for everyone. Fred is gonna be back in time to give a hand. Kevin and Kate are like champs in the garden sorting things out. I mean, everyone is helping, even Max got this head out of his ass, which is quite an achievement." That got a smile on Michael's face. "And in a few days, it's all gonna be back to normal, we'll all return to annoying each other and a relatively normal peace. Dad would have made one of the best moves of his career, and it will open things properly for when you take over. Whenever that is. And if you're lucky, he's not gonna be on your ass too much then."

"You nearly make it sound nice."

"Isn't it? You having doubts?"

"No, just insecurities maybe. There are some preparations that are a little harder to get going."

"Like what?" I began, then it dawned on me. "Like a wife?" I asked. "And kids?"

"No one likes to put in power someone who can't have future generations."

"That's some medieval bullshit."

"That's exactly Dad's bullshit."

"True, " I conceded. "He gives you a hard time for not finding a mate?"

"Not exactly. He's not really the type to say it out loud, just very passive-aggressive about it."

"Dude, not everyone settles early. You still have plenty of time."

"What if I don't have a mate?"

"What if you don't? No one is stopping you from finding someone you like. You can make that bond with anyone. You can even find a nice daughter of Alpha somewhere. Make it political and everything. That would give Dad a massive hard on."

He grimaced.

"What?" I asked.

"Made bonds are never as strong as a natural one. I mean, it's fine and everything, but in my situation, it puts me in a weakened position. Which is not something Dad would handle well."

"Firstly, if you find someone politically acceptable, it would put you in an advantageous situation, so that would cancel out whatever weakness it could possibly cause. Secondly, you're ideally gonna spend years with that woman. You better not get someone just to please your own father. You're gonna be Alpha, so make sure your backbone is in place because he's never gonna respect you otherwise, and if he doesn't respect you, then it's gonna be hard for the pack to respect you. And thirdly, you don't have to marry to become Alpha, for that matter, you don't have to even have kids. For that matter, you could even choose a nephew as heir if you want to. You got five brothers, there's a good chance you're gonna get one or two of those eventually."

"Some could see this as validation for a challenge."

"Dude, everything can be validation for a challenge if you're motivated enough."

He laughed at that.

"How can you be so Zen about this? None of us are Zen about this."

"You're not because you have stakes in this, like our parents. Fred and Kev've been raised always on their toes to step in if anything goes to shit. So, they're always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I don't have stakes in any of it, " I explained.

"So does Tim and Max, yet..." He left the words hang as if that was self-explanatory, which kinda was.

"Tim found Anabella less than a year ago and he's barely coming to the full realization of the implications of this, and he constantly wonders where he's at. And Ana is a tornado and he can barely hang on for dear life. Max, well Max is young and stupid. If we're lucky, he's gonna grow out of it, but I'm not holding my breath or anything."

Michael snorted at that.

"I don't have a mate, " I continued. "Or expectations from anyone in my life. Not for my career, or position in the pack, or a significant other, not even from my friends, or family. It's hard to get stressed when there's no stakes."

"Maybe." There was an undecipherable emotion behind his features. He had nice features, pleasant, kind of a Joe average type face. Though, he had airs of assurances around him, his own brand of charisma I guess, without it being overwhelming. A bit like a guy next door, though, one that could step it up if needed.

"I'm sure you're gonna find your place soon, " he told me.

"Sure, " I said sarcastically.

- Darren -

The evening was going fairly well. I'd just escape the kitchen after the dishwasher broke down and I'd spent an hour fixing things, calling a last-minute repairman, and helping to organize things in the meantime. No events I've ever seen as ever gone without a hitch. That being said, if this was all that was to go awry, it wasn't too bad. It wasn't awesome in the kitchen right now, but it was under-control, and would be soon back to normal-no one the wiser.

I didn't even pass the message about the mess to my parents or Michael. They were all seriously busy, and could do without the worry. I might tell them later, but again, maybe it wasn't even necessary.

On the plus side, little things like that kept me from being bored to death.

Most of the talks with the guests were fairly superficial in nature. Especially when my interlocutor would realize I held no position, no title, I had no important job, and was here only because of birthright, and not usefulness.

Generally, in such events, either I try to find something to do, or do my best impersonation of a wallflower. I'd learn a ton of things this way. Observations are sometimes the best teacher. Nonetheless, I learned more gossip than useful skills. Which for someone in my position can be pretty useless for anything other than navigating figurative social landmines whenever exposed to the local politic of packs-of which I was not an active member to begin with.

Normally, I get pretty grumpy about those type of events, but strangely, I'd been pretty Zen about this one. I didn't even feel the need to force myself to be here, and was in a general uncharacteristically good mood.

I'd begone to think I might have suddenly grown more mature or something, until the real cause hit me in the face, or more specifically, the nose.

The first few sniffs, I didn't realize that something was even catching my attention, subconsciously-as I was too focused on my surroundings-until realization slowly dawned on me.

I'd picked up a smell. One that sidestepped my neurones all the way to my hindbrain.

That was no normal smell, and I couldn't stop myself from being drawn to it.

I'd just caught wind of my mate.

As far as these things went, finding your mate was either slowly building up, as a light pull at first until it intensified-that was generally when coming from someone you've long known and been exposed too. Or completely out of the blue-when being from a complete stranger you've never met.

Given the present situation and the fact that I'd never felt even the slightest of pull, meant I was facing the latter.

For a brief moment I froze.

I got caught in a tornado of emotions. Excitement. Worry. Fear. Wonder. Joy. It was hard to focus on any one of them.

Getting a mate meant a lot of things for a wolf. Partnership. Care. Support. There was even stories about not ever being able to reach one's own true potential without one. Though, this could have been just stories told to kids for them to accept better the facts that the whole process has always felt so random and convoluted, and out of your own control.

But there was something very enticing about the idea of having someone out there specially just for you. And the natural bond made a lot of things stronger, more intense. It wasn't necessarily a love at first sight type scenario, but it did steamroll the whole process.

However, the strong bond didn't made anything perfect, it doesn't change a person either. So an asshole, stays an asshole, with or without the mate bond. Which can make a relationship very complicated. The fact that the bond is seen as sacred culturally and blasphemous to reject, and that the rejection is physically and psychologically harmful, and leaves you permanently without the preternatural advantage that it could 'theoretically, ' give you-meant that most refused to break them regardless. Even when things weren't working out too well.

Though, usually most tend to become infatuated fairly quickly, which made it a little easier, if not scarier, in and of itself.

But getting a mate could have a lot more implications.

I could suddenly be linked to someone from abroad. Does she moves in with me, or do I leave the country? If one of us as to move, you need to start over, new job, and everything-far from your family, and friends, and support system. If I'd been in Michael's position, she'd move in and automatically become Luna. But given my situation, it could go either way.

On the other hand, only high-ranking members of packs were present. If she was the daughter of an Alpha, maybe she expected to land a title-which I can't give. Or, if her father doesn't have a son, I could land the Alpha position. That could change everything.

But again, she could be just a personal assistant or something, not of high-rank. Or maybe a woman twice my age. For that matter, she could be hardly not my type. What then? Do I roll with it? Do I back off? Can I back off? The bond is a freaking strong thing, I might not even be able to back off. She could be a massive bitch, the type I'd never go for otherwise, but I might go for it now because of the freaking bond. I'm not really sure how much agency one has against a bond-at least until it is broken. And I might be far more motivated to make it work than I would otherwise, or at least try to. Which is a little terrifying. That can be a good way to run your life into the ground.

Maybe this would change my life for the best, maybe for the worst. Or maybe I'd stay pretty much where I am, only not single, or maybe single if I'm rejected, or I reject her.

Of all those possibilities, the one that weighed the worst on me was probably maintaining my life as is.

Which is sad.

I'm not happy.

I'm not fulfilled.

And I've been stalling for change.

Finishing my degree, has been a good enough excuse. My family and pack is here. My life is here. It's hard to find, choose, and join a pack without a mate as a justifiable reason too. Especially for someone of my pedigree.

This could be the kick in the ass I've been waiting for. But if this led me nowhere in this regard, it could feel like a let down. Which is probably a lot of weight to put on someone's shoulders. Even more so, one that I've never even met.

I tried to move quietly, tracking the smell, trying to pinpoint who it comes from-and the fact that the room was brimming with people was frustrating.

It also dawned on me that meeting her in the middle of the who's who of wolf society was probably not the best idea. It could easily become a bit of a spectacle, and going right or wrong, might not do me any good either way, whilst happening in the middle of a packed room. So I tried to take a distance. Move furtively not to attract any attention.

It could have gone faster, but I took my time, I had time.

Until I found her.

I moved around some, trying to make sure I was not mistaken. That I've pinpointed the smell clearly. But it was hard to look away from her, which confirmed my assumptions better than my attempt at triangulation.

She was pretty. Tall, jet-black hair, dark eyes and the skin tone of someone who spent a lot of time under the sun. She was talking to Alpha Jenkins or Jansen, I don't really remember, and it was hard to even care about who she talked to, or anything else for that matter.

Her, on the other hand, I had no idea who she was. I'd never seen her, in person or picture, online, social media, nothing.

She was wearing an elegant midnight blue dress that fell all the way to the floor and left her shoulders bare. It was simple, yet the fabric didn't look cheap and the fit was perfect enough to suspect professional intervention ratter than off-the-rack, which most probably meant some extent of wealth. Which mainly, in these types of settings, meant rank too.

I couldn't see if she was with someone in particular. I couldn't hear what she was saying amongst the constant buzzing of conversations around me, but I saw her smile a few times. It looked like a kind smile, not forced but genuine.

When she moved, I shook myself out of my reverie, and wondered for a moment what to do.

If I kept watching, I was moving slowly into stalker-ish territory-which I was not comfortable with-but if I approached her, she would automatically know what was going on, and it would happen right in the middle of the room.

I've seen once or twice people finding their mates. It's generally not subtle, and it includes a lot of staring. I've seen once a pair jump one another in public, and barely stopping themselves from ripping their clothes off and humping like rabbits right then and there.

I was pretty sure I could contain myself, as evident by my present behaviour, but that could also change after I've gotten physically closer.

And then what if she's with someone, and he gets pissed at me for this. I've heard stories of situations escalating to jealousy and violence pretty quickly.

My father would kill me if I started a territorial challenge with some Alpha or something, right in the middle of his perfect event.

And then I noticed her body language change. Her attention sharpened, focusing on nothing in particular, moving slowly at first, then stopping short, eyes wide, searching around.

She caught my scent.

I went into a mini panic-attack and moved out of the room, heading straight for the terrace.

All in all, it was probably not my greatest moment.

For a few seconds I felt like a complete idiot, standing outside alone.

There was a few people outside, but most were standing near the fire pits or sitting on the outside sofas, chatting quietly, laughing.

I decided it might be wiser not to stand around like an idiot, and just go and sit somewhere.

There were a few empty chairs near one of the fires, free of people, quiet, where I could sit and think about the next step. As I turned around to sit, I stopped dead, motionless.

She had just rushed out, her eyes a little wild, then she spotted me. I just smiled in what I'd like to believe was a suave way, but more realistically was probably a little awkward.

She smiled back.

"Hi." I said.

"Hi." Her voice was soft, a little deep and breathy.

She beamed at me and it was like the sun just rose. Well, so far so good, I guess.

I gesture to one of the chairs, and she moved in to join me.

"Erm, hi, " she said again when she reached me, nervously pulling at her neckless.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Darren."

"Eveline, " she said as she extended her hand. "But you can call me Eva."

I took her hand. The gesture simple. We'd both done it dozens of times tonight already. But there was nothing normal about it this time. A frisson ran from my fingers to the top of my scalp the moment our skin touched and there was a tingling feeling, reminiscent of the sensual caress on an erogenous zone during sex, where the contact lingered. I guess I know now why mates have so much difficulty keeping their hands off each other. If this was what a handshake was doing to me, it was hard to imagine the intensity of full body contact, skin against skin, deep kisses, and far more delicious endeavours.

I shook myself out of my day(wet)dream, and saw her do the same kind of shivering that I did, which made me smile even more.

I reluctantly let go of her hand, now completely unsure of my self-control if I didn't-of which she seemed to be saddened by-which cheered me up.

We slowly sat in front of one another, and I realized I had no idea where to start. Playing twenty questions was probably the most anticlimactic thing I could initiate, but otherwise, what then? We didn't know anything but our first names. How not to make a blundering mess out of myself.

She rubbed her hands nervously on her legs, smoothing the inexistent wrinkles on her dress.

"What do you want to do?" I asked her. Her eyes snapped to mine and I saw her hesitations-I think she might have thought along the same lines as me.

"Ehm. Maybe you can tell me a little bit about yourself?" she said tentatively.

"Well, this is my home. Stonewillow is my father's pack. And soon my eldest brother's." I added the last sentence afraid that she might get the wrong idea, and think she was becoming Luna here or something. "I'm working on finishing my degree, and doing an internship at the family's business. I come from a large family, I stay active, travel when I can, and enjoy good beer, and suck at ping pong."

She laughed. So, casual worked. One point for me.

"I'm from Blakemore. It's my brother's pack. I'm also from a large family. I didn't go to university mostly because I've no idea what to study, so, in the meantime, I work for my brother. Mostly I'm a glorified secretary and occasional ambassador. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make this my career but I kinda enjoy it. I travel a lot. Enjoy social events and the beach. And I'm terrible at team sports. All of them."

It was a little hard to focus on the words when she could do so much better thing with those lips.

Focus Darren.

She gave me a knowing smile.

"I want to kiss you so bad right now, " I blurted. My thoughts had now bypassed my brain altogether, and gone straight to vocalization.

"Me too." That's all she said, and it short-circuited whatever reason was left in me.

I rose and pressed my lips against hers.

By the moon and nights, it was beyond anything I've ever expected. I'm pretty sure I sat next to her at some point, but I'm not too sure when it happened. But I know I put my hand on her waist and lifted her on top of me. Deepening the kiss. She let out a little squeal of surprise which I used as my way in. Moving my tongue against hers, which she answered with equal enthusiasm, and soon her hands were knotted in my hair while mine were roaming from her hair, and neck, and shoulders, to her waist, travelling up and down along her body. Whenever I touched her exposed skin, I felt the jolts, like static electricity, only pleasant. Very, very pleasant. It made her clothes suddenly very annoying, and in the way of the sensation. But even through the clothes, there was a magnetism, a pull that was impossible to resist.

The heat of her body pressed against mine made me dizzy, and I could not form any coherent thoughts other than 'More'. That's all that I wanted. More.

Judging by the way she pressed herself against me-or how her body moved in slow sinuous motions-I guess she felt pretty much the same.

Somewhere in my brain, a little voice kept me from slamming her underneath me, and start ripping her clothes off to bury myself inside her. But it was a very tiny voice, barely audible, and oh so easy to ignore.

I managed to keep things PG-13, but only barely.

I'm not sure if our make-out session lasted ten minutes or ten hours, but when we finally came out for air, our breathing was laboured, our skin feverish, and our lips tingling from the prolonged activity. We just stared in each other's eyes, lips barely apart, our chests rising and falling rapidly in unison.

We began giggling like teenage girls.

I put feather light kisses everywhere I could reach. The corner of her mouth, her nose, and cheeks, and jawline. And she did the same. I moved slowly to her neck and collarbone, and judging by her reaction, I was doing great.

I was like a blind man putting to memory a person's face and body, only I decided that hands were not enough, and mouth was far more efficient at the task. And fun. So, so much more fun.

- Eveline -

I was sitting on a stranger's laps doing things no reasonable girl would do, at the workplace, amongst the most influential people around, and I couldn't care less.

I've had friends tell me about their mates, and how it was nothing like, well, anything or anyone else. And the stories always felt surreal, exaggerated, girl fantasies at best. Oh, how wrong was I?

After high school, my brother gave me an ultimatum, school or work. Kaden was always the one to give the ultimatums. He was older than me by fifteen years and was already Alpha when I was born. When I was young, I'd been infuriated by the fact that he was always the one doing discipline, telling me no. It's only after the triplets were born, and I was a little older, than I realize how chaotic things could get at home without it. Dad has had a health scare and had become super laid back with us. Or maybe it was a gender thing, or a responsibility thing. From what I learned, he's always been really harsh on Kaden. But my sister and I, we were like little princesses and Mom was barely less indulgent than dad. They were having their second chance at a family, Dad was not Alpha anymore-giving the position away when he thought he was about to bite it-and he acted like he was on a constant holiday.

But when I began working after graduation, and saw a bit of what actually happens behind the curtain, I was blown away.

Kaden never asked me to keep up with his schedule, thanks the heavens, because I could never do 80 hours a week, seven days a week. A quiet week is maybe 60 hours, but some are even worse. On top of that, he trains and workouts whenever he can, and he's been doing it since he was a teen. Studying while working, and expending the businesses and pack. The last few generations of Alphas had done great for our pack, but none on the scale of Kaden. And that's not mentioning all the time he spends away.

No matter how many times he told me and the girls to get our shit together and do something more useful than shopping, or partying, or gossiping, or indulging in whatever. Never did I get a wake up call like actually watching him work.

It made me feel so wasteful of my time and efforts. It made most of my conversations, and activities, and hobbies suddenly sound so silly and pointless.

Transitioning to work was hard. Like really hard. And I kept messing up. He was surprisingly kind to me. I saw him bark orders all day and get angry at stupid mistakes at others. But he told me, "make the effort, and I'm gonna help you, mess around and I'll kick you out without a second thought". And I believed him.

It's been two years now, and it's kinda fun. And I really love the ambassador-like part of it. I think it plays to my strengths. I've put in the efforts, learn the faces and names, polished my appearance to something more mature, learned the parlance. And I've been rocking this ever since.

It's getting harder and harder for me to imagine doing anything else.

I was going to get myself another flute of Champagne, in a nice hall, surrounded by important people, and I was crushing this.

And then I smelled him.

It was like home, and the sun, and laughter, and the wilds bottled up in the most powerful cologne I've ever smelled. But ratter than overwhelm my senses to give me a headache-like a strong perfume would-instead it drew me in like a freaking Axe body spray commercial. Like pheromones, and hypnotism, and libido condensed in an irresistible air-current. I felt like Pepe LePew drifting in the air following behind someone I hadn't even seen.

I tried-really tried-not to make a fool out of myself. Not to start pushing people out of the way. I made a quick and polite excuse when someone tried to stop me to talk. At some point I thought I could smell him everywhere and got so confused.

Had I lost his tracks?

I was beginning to hyperventilate when a breeze from outside reached me.

I rushed out.

He was there, right there, in front of me.

I'd say a hair under six feet, so in my heels we were pretty close to the same height. Dark brown hair, brown eyes. His hair looked artfully tussled, his suit impeccable, his skin naturally tanned, and his smile contagious.

It was hard to believe that I was finally in front of my mate. I tried to recall everything people told me about mates, but it was like my thoughts were swimming in vodka-laced jello.

I tried to keep acting like a respectable woman, and was half afraid I'd do something ridiculous or stupid that would make him recoil. He was a few years older, I guessed, and was probably not into overgrown teenagers. So I kept everything in check.

Until he mentioned kissing me.

My legs became cold pastas which made the fact that I was sitting a blessing, but what followed... Whatever grace, and dignity, and maturity I was wrapping myself in tonight was gone. It took everything in me not to groan at the thoughts that crossed my mind.

"Eva!" came a familiar voice and I froze with my hands down Darren's shoulders, his lips right above my breasts. As if he could read my thoughts, he stopped and looked at me as I looked at Mads by the door.

His eyes were a little big and worried.

"Are you okay?" he asked, coming to me.

"Yes!" I said quickly.

Then I noticed Darren's hair going every which way. It looked like he had styled his hair with a lawnmower. I tried to smooth out the damages I did, then I noticed how this looked from Mads perspective. And I was still straddling Darren, my dress hiked up on my thighs. Nothing screamed respectable dignitary about me right now. And I could only imagine what he was thinking while watching the little sister of his boss getting freaky in the yard, with the son of our host at that.

He marched to us, and I quickly got up, put my dress down and tried to put my hair in place. Darren getting that something was happening, got up and took a look at Mads.

Mads looked at me suspiciously then said, "I just came to inform you that Alpha Devon is pulling in right now and would like to meet with you, before doing his meeting with Alpha Bjornson."

"Oh, crap!" I muttered. "I'll be right in."

He nodded at me, then moved back in, but I knew he was staying close. It was kinda his job to do so.

"Ehm." I turned to Darren.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes."

"Who is he?"

"My bodyguard."

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"My brother doesn't like me to travel on my own, especially for business, " I explained.

"I guess you have work to do?" He gestured at the door. He looked a little sad to cut this short. It was cute on him. And flattering.

"Yeah. I didn't think he'd be in this early."

He checked his watch. "It's pretty late actually."

I smiled sheepishly, which got his eyes to lower to my lips, which made my stomach do a backflip. But I couldn't contain the giggles at the ridiculousness of his looks.

"What?" he asked confused.

"It's your hair. I did quite a number on it."

He put his fingers through his hair, and I tried to help him tame it back while giggling, which got him smiling again. He didn't look too self-conscious and mostly let me do it, enjoying the whole thing.

I felt like I was overexerting my facial muscles in the best way so much I was smiling.

When I turned to go back in, I felt his fingers lace through mine as he joined me inside.

- Darren -

I had half a mind dragging her in a dark corner to do all sorts of things to that woman, but I guess ruining her career was not the best way to ease a woman into a relationship. So I railed everything in, and just enjoyed the feeling of her hand in mine.

Did I just think in terms of relationship?

Huh?

Once inside, her head whipped around and I checked what got her attention.

Some guy was walking in.

He was tall, like really tall, like a head above mine tall. Hair so black it was nearly blue, dark eyes, and a don't-mess-with-me expression on his face that seemed to be his default setting, or maybe he's just eaten something that wasn't fresh.

A few people got out of the way. Actually, he didn't have to waltz around people, they just parted for him. And then I heard someone close-by utter, "I was never told the bloody Hellhound was coming."

The Hellhound?

Well, fuck!

- Darren -

Not everyone has heard stories of the Hellhound, but I have. They say he was crazy strong, and dangerous, really dangerous. They say he's an Alpha. Some say with a pack, others without one. Michael says he has a pack of Alphas-whatever that is-and his pack is one of the biggest and most powerful in the world. The stories say he's also over seventy years old. Given that the man in front of me looked like he was in his thirties, either some of those stories were wrong, or he had an insane skincare regiment.

Or it wasn't him.

Although, he did look like he bench-pressed European cars every morning as a warm-up for the day, so if he wasn't strong, then at least he looked it.

I saw my father walk to the man, exchanged a couple of words, a handshake, then move on.

It's only when I felt Eva's hand leave mine that I realized she was moving towards the guy.

I felt a little uncomfortable and walked closer. I'm sure no one would do something blatant in front of everyone, but this guy's face screams dangerous.

And I stopped dead behind her as she hugged him, and kissed his cheeks.

I turned around slightly disoriented, and spotted Michael.

I went to him.

"Who is he?" I asked him.

"Alpha Kaden Devon, " he smiled. "The Hellhound."

"He was invited?"

"Nope. But one of our guests had his little sister over, and invited her along. We got word today he would join us late to pick her up and leave in the morning."

Micheal looked at the guy like a kid catching Santa in the living room on Christmas night. While I began adding things Eva had told me, to what I was seeing, and what Michael had just said.

The realization of whom Eva is just floored me.

I don't know if I should be impressed, scared, or just worried.

After a few words, Eva left with the Hellhound, and I was left staring at empty space. I saw her look around as she left. I don't know if she was looking for me, but our eyes didn't meet, and that was it, she was gone. No hand wave, no goodbyes, nothing. I didn't know how I should feel about that.

"What's up with you man?" asked Michael.

"It was a pretty eventful night, I guess."

"How so?"

We headed to the bar to grab drinks.

"Well, for one thing, I found my mate. Gin tonic, " I said to the barman then turned to watch Michael standing a few steps back with his mouth open. After maybe three seconds, he came to me.

"You sure?" Two of our brothers had found their mates, but not Michael, which had frustrated him a lot more than he let out. He was getting closer to thirty and generally, the older you get, the less likely you are to have one.

"Pretty sure."

"Who is it?"

"Eva." I racked my brain. "Eveline from Blakemore."

"Eveline Devon?" he asked carefully, his face a mask.

"She didn't tell me her last name, but her bodyguard mention meeting an Alpha Devon. She said she worked for her brother, seeing you called the guy she was kissing Kaden Devon, I suppose we could assume it's her name."

"You telling me your mate is the Hellhound's sister?"

"I guess, " I said, emptying my glass after the third sip.

Then Michael burst out laughing.

"Yeah. Right. Keep this up. Real hilarious, " he said, slapping his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm not pulling your leg, " I said to his back, as he left me there.

I don't know if he heard me, or if he even cared.

"Jerk, " I said to no one in particular, and ordered another drink.

I felt like crap. Maybe it was the revelation that my possible future brother-in-law was a guy more legend than fact, and whom terrified a lot of people. Or the fact that my brother mocked me for it. Or that my mate was not around anymore. Or even the fact that from what I heard, the Hellhound was really not from around here, and I didn't hear of a Blakemore pack in the vicinity, which meant the distance could very soon become an issue in this relationship, if relationship there was. Or that I was tired. Or drinking too much too fast. Or maybe it's just my natural disposition that was resurfacing now that Eva was not around anymore, and my Zen vibe died away.

Either way, it sucked.

And then I realized how a single woman that I barely knew could so suddenly, so thoroughly, affect my mood, which was a little unnerving-and my scowl soured some more.

I was so lost in my brooding that I didn't realize right away that bodyguard Mads was here.

"Mr Darren Thomas?"

"Yes." I brighten a little.

"Someone would like to see you. If you would follow me."

I didn't stall with questions and just went with it. If Eva was already up to seeing me again, that was good news. And it was late, really late, maybe she wanted me to join her in her room. Which cheered me up even more. It was weird that she sent her bodyguard to get me for that, but on the other hand, we didn't even take the time to exchange phone numbers, which occurred to me was a ridiculous omission on my part. Which I should correct has soon as possible.

I pulled my phone and began filling the contact page: Eveline, Devon, Blakemore pack. Then in the nickname box I wrote Eva with a little heart emoji, which I quickly erased.

What the Hell is wrong with me?

I saved the contact and raised my head as Mads was opening a door, and not to a bedroom, but to one of the drawing rooms.

On one of the big chairs in the middle sat Big Brother Hellhound, looking straight at me.

Gulp!

Is this how I'm gonna die?

I mean, I'm not too shabby myself. I learned how to fight. I'm from an Alpha bloodline, and thus my wolf was neither tiny, nor weak. But something about that guy made me reconsider my whole position regarding my own capabilities.

He gestured for me to take the seat in from of him, and I just obeyed.

I haven't always been known for my capacity at following orders, but somehow I was attached to the idea of living to a ripe old age, and this felt like a good way to achieve this goal.

I heard Mads close the doors behind us with an impermeable finality, leaving me alone with the man with the reputation of being one of the scariest wolf alive.

I mean, there's a freaking long list of nasty things' death that as been attributed to him.

The silence stretched for nearly a full minute as he looked at me. And me breaking it felt like betraying my emotions, so I just waited.

"My sister told me she found her mate, " he finally said.

"If your sister is Eva, then yes."

"You're Alpha Thomas's son?"

"Yep."

"But not his eldest?"

"Nope." Good, I think I was slowly reconnecting with my spine.

"How far down?"

"Number four..."

"That's a lot of sons."

"...Out of six. So yeah, my father doesn't lack sons."

"You have a job?"

"Nope, just an internship."

"What are you studying?"

"Accounting."

"You don't sound like someone enjoying accounting?"

"Not really, but I'm not too bad at it."

"Then why do you study in accounting?"

"Because my father said it'd be more useful for his business than a business degree, and he's the one with the check-book, and Uni is ridiculously expensive."

"So you didn't study business?"

"I did, I just didn't finish."

"And what position are you to take in the pack?"

"None."

"It sounds wasteful."

"My eldest brother got trained to become Alpha after my father, the two next in line receive some training to replace him if something happens, or if another rank position get left without someone to take over. But my father considered this enough of a contingency plan, and decided to let the other three fend for themselves. Didn't pay for the ivy league like he did my brothers, didn't offer rank or anything. I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna be thrown with the Omegas, but that's pretty much it."

"And you're okay with this?"

"Not exactly, but there is a limit to what I can do. And tantrums aren't my thing."

"So no real plan for the future?"

That didn't sound good.

"Not yet, " I corrected. "I don't just sit back and do nothing, I'm just not sure where to start. But once my internship is over, and I start bringing in money of my own, I'll get a little bit more flexibility to try my hand at options."

"You want Eva to join you here?"

I thought a few seconds before answering.

"She has a stable job. I just have an internship. And she seems to like hers. Financially and career-wise, hers seems a priority over mine, as for the rest-." I shrugged. "I don't know. We haven't talked about any of this yet. I guess she doesn't live around here."

"She doesn't."

"So we're gonna have to have this conversation sooner or later, " I said.

"Maybe."

I hesitated. What did that mean?

"Unless you called me over to force me to reject her?" I asked him.

"And why would I do that?" His tone of voice was the same throughout the entire conversation, with the same kind of enthusiasm you have while shopping for a dishwasher. But his eyes, they were glued on me, and made me feel strangely little.

I shrugged. "I don't have a title. I don't have money, or a career. I'm from an Alpha bloodline, but that's pretty much it. For some, it could be not enough."

"Is that what you're looking for? Titles, bloodlines, career and money?"

"From a mate?" I took my time to answer. "Not really. I'd be lying if I said it's not worth consideration, because it is. It can change things." I looked him straight in the eyes. "But it's no deciding factor."

"And you expect me to interfere in my sister's love-life?"

"You called me here."

He thought for a second.

"I don't like making decision uninformed, " he said.

"Wise enough."

The corner of his mouth rose in the faintest of smiles.

"What do you intend to do now?" He asked me.

"Get her phone number. I forgot to ask, " I said truthfully. "Talk. See what she wants to do. Learn about her. We haven't talked for more than a minute or two."

"So I heard, " he said dangerously.

I tried not to gulp audibly.

"I'd like to get to know her, " I said.

"What if she doesn't want to leave her home?"

I shrugged. "Maybe I'll look into somewhere closer to finish my degree. Spend time with her. See if we can make this work."

"You'd leave home?"

"It's a possibility, yes."

"Won't you miss it?"

"Probably not as much as I'd like it too."

"How come?"

"I've a pretty limited future here."

"And it would be better elsewhere?"

"Maybe, maybe not. That what it means 'not to know'. I can only try."

"Wise enough, " he mirrored. "But what if she doesn't want to?"

"What? Try?"

He gave me a single nod.

"That would suck, " I blurted. "But I can't force her now can't I?"

"For your survival, I would advise you against it, " he said. It wasn't a threat, but a fact. Like the sky his blue, the rain is wet, and you do that to her and you'll be hanged by your own entrails.

Of course I had no intentions of hurting her, but stalker-ish behaviours were not unheard of with mates. Especially when one is not as interested as the other. So I understood his reaction. If I had a little sister, I'd probably do something similar. Only, I'm pretty sure I could never speak so lightly, and make the other feel like there was a dozen little sniper red dots appearing on his chest, like I'm ready to blow his brain out, and it wouldn't even make me blink.

And this was scarier than any words he said. Those eyes were the eyes of a predator.

Wolves are natural predators, you get used to the feeling when you live in a pack. But this guy's eyes were something quieter, deeper, and more primal. What I felt was probably the kind of feeling other prisoners and criminals had felt when they brought Hannibal Lector inside the prison.

He looked like he hunted predators in his off time.

It felt like a whole new level of fear.

Given my Alpha blood, I've never scared easy, so this was a little new to me.

And again, maybe, the stories I heard were influencing me somehow, but my instincts told me not to mess with this dude.

"I would suggest you make sure of what she wants before you make any decisions. I'm not gonna push for a rejection. I wouldn't cause her that kind of harm. This is her life and her choice. But I will do everything in my power to protect her, and I will do so with extreme prejudice." He left his words hanging for a few seconds then rose up. "If you're up for it, and she wishes you too." I rose too and he pulled his wallet out. "Here." He gave me a business card. "I'm not gonna pull strings. Send your resume, if you cut it, you could transfer your internship. Or get a job. It's up to you."

Then he walked out.

I didn't know what this conversation would be, but I didn't quite expect this.

I looked at the business card.

It was of a company I didn't know. Well, I guess he just gave me options.

Cool.

Yet, I still didn't know where she lived. Could be on the other side of the Earth for all I know.