FOUR

Derek

I groaned as the sunlight hit my eyes.

“Fuck,” I cursed to the empty air, before slowly sitting up. I had been more drunk than I had wanted to last night.

After a while of trying to recall exactly how reality hit me.

Had I not come home with that girl?

Alisha, I recalled her name.

She had been a good companion for the night, more than most other girls I had been with.

Realizing  I was alone brought to mind that she had somehow gone while I was sleeping.

I rushed to stand, angry with myself.

I had met my guard down. And she had left while I was asleep.

I had to find her, I thought and suddenly my hand flew to my chest.

What was this?

There was this pain deep within me, a longing for something I couldn’t name.

My wolf side itched to come out and I growled out.

“What is it?” I asked out loud. “What are you looking for?”

The word came in a flash, echoing within me.

Mate.

Then it was over, or maybe it was just the beginning. Either way, the awareness of the presence of something that wasn’t there before grew, and with it came dread…

I had a mate bond.

I now had a mate…

And I knew the only person it could be.

Alisha.

Oh no, it began to dawn on me. I was in so much trouble. So not only had she left so quickly, she also had a mate bond with me.

Damn it.

I growled, rushing to the bathroom.

I needed to get dressed and call all my guards fast. I had to find her, to take care of this disruption in my life.

I had always wanted to live my life inmates but it seemed to me that the goddess had other ideas.

Ah hour later, dressed and waiting in my study for the guards, I still cursed my lack of discipline when it came to women. Surely I should have noticed that I had been drawn to her unlike any other girl before. I had somehow ignored that in my drunken state.

The door opened and I watched the guards troop in, all of them bowing in turn as they walked in.

“Alpha, you sent for us,” the chief of the guards said.

I nodded, clearing my throat before I started.

“There’s a girl I need you to find. She may not be in this pack but I need to know where she is,” I spoke with steel behind my words. The men nodded, seeing how serious I was. “Her name is Alisha.”

After giving my men every possible description I could of her, I dismissed them, eager to hear whatever news they would return with later on.

“Why do you need to find this girl of yours?” I heard my mother behind me and I turned to face her. She stood resplendent in golden robes at the door of my study. “You seem a little stressed my dear.”

“Mother,” I sighed, feeling knots in my chest. If I told her that I had a mate now, that this girl I slept with last night was my mate… then what would she do? Likely have a ball at hearing that. But I had no desire to have a mate.

I recalled the way that girl looked when I first met her - so sad and sullen. She looked out of place in the rowdy pub and that was why she had caught my attention.

That had been my mistake, I thought. Maybe if I had not done that she wouldn’t have ended up in my arms and in my bed that night. Maybe I would have been able to prevent this from happening.

“You haven’t answered my question,” my mother said sounding even more curious. She came up to me, peering up into my eye was. “Derek, what have you done? And why do you want to find this girl?”

“Mother, please… can you drop this?” I sighed, shaking my head. “I have to talk to Benny. Give me a bit of time, alright?”

Upon hearing Benjamin’s name, she lit up, as I had predicted she would. And luckily, became distracted as well.

“Oh, Benjamin? Tell him to come over for dinner. I haven’t seen him in so long. Since you’re always sending him out on missions,” she took on a teasing tone and I rolled my eyes at her, kissing her in the cheek before I left my study.

I found my best friend at the training grounds, shouting orders at a younger group of boys training. They had to be no older than 18.

I came up behind my friend, watching the tension in his muscles as he barked orders to them.

“You should be gentle on them,” I spoke and Benjamin whipped his head round to glare at me. “They’re just like we were when we were training for the first time.”

“Derek, we were 10, and these boys are in their late teens,” he snorted as I patted him on the back. “They’re not like we were. Their parents want them to toughen up so I agreed to help them out.”

“Well, regardless,” I shrugged. “As the Alpha I think I speak for us all when I say that you need to lighten up a bit my friend,” I chuckled.

He shook his head, but I could see the hints of a smile on his face.

“So, how did it go?” He asked after a moment of silence. “The bar party I mean.”

“I know what you mean,” I whipped back before pausing. “I found my mate.”

Immediately his eyes flew to meet mine as expected.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“I wish I was,” I groaned. “She was one of the people in the party yesterday. I… I brought her home with me.”

“You mean to tell me-“ he paused, but I knew what he was trying to say.

“She is a member of the Silver Moon Pack. I don’t know who she is though. She didn’t look happy to be there… Benny, I screwed up,” I finished, my fingers clenching and unclenching.

He was silent for a while, but then he nodded.

“We’ll figure this out, Derek. I’m your brother, and you can trust me. No word of this will go to anyone just yet. Let’s just… find the girl first.”

…