Jason POV:
(24 hours earlier)
I wake up from a blissful sleep to a mind-link. “Jason, report to Alpha’s office in 10 minutes.”
“Huh?”
“Dude, you can’t still be asleep. It’s 11 am.”“I had a long night, Man.”
“What’s her name?”
“Natalie. No, Sarah. No, Melanie. I don’t know, Man.”“Seriously? You don’t know her name and you slept with her?”
“Like you have never done that yourself.”
Silence.
“OK, fine. You’ve never done that. But you are boring as hell and need to get a life.”
“Jason, I’m not talking as your best friend. I’m talking as your future Alpha. Get your butt up and out of bed and meet me in the Alpha’s office in 10 minutes.”
“No.”
“Jason.”
“Urgh. Fine.”
I roll over and look at the naked woman beside me in the bed. I nudge her gently. “Wake up, Melanie. It’s time to get the day started.”
Melanie’s eyes open wide, like she’s startled. “Melanie? Why did you call me Melanie?”
“That’s your name, isn’t it?”
“Samantha, a—hole. The name’s Samantha.”
I shrug. “Sorry, Samantha. We drank a lot of alcohol last night. I can’t be expected to remember little details.”
“You f---d me three times last night. I think I can expect you to remember my name.”
Urgh. She’s one of those high maintenance types. I definitely have to get her out now.
“Yes, and it was fun. Thank you. But I’m needed in the Alpha’s office in 10 minutes. You need to go home.”
“Why don’t I wait here for you to get back?”
Oh, so she is high maintenance and desperate. Double turn-off. “No, Melanie. It was fun, but it was a one-time thing. I don’t want a serious relationship until I meet my mate. Let’s go.”
If looks could kill, I would be six feet under right now. But, thankfully, Melanie quickly grabs her clothing and puts it on. “You didn’t say that last night.”
“No, and you didn’t tell me that your bra was padded. We both made mistakes. Last night was fun, but let’s go.”
Melanie slapped me and quickly left my room, slamming my door on her way out.
I wish I could say that was the first time I’ve gotten slapped by a female after sleeping with her, but hey – I’m a 25 year old male werewolf with high sexual needs. The fact that I’ve only gotten slapped a few times after sex is a good thing; it means I have standards.
At 11:30, I finally walk into the Alpha’s office. Seated in the room are the Alpha, my dad Gavin, and my best friend/ Alpha’s son Aaron.
“You are late.” Aaron says curtly.
“My apologies.”
“Sit down,” Alpha Blake tells me.
“What’s going on?”
“We need you to take Josephine shopping today.”“Shopping?”
“Wedding dress shopping.”
“Um, what? Why?”
“The wedding is in two months. She doesn’t have a wedding dress yet. If she doesn’t find one soon, she is going to postpone the wedding again.”
“How is this an issue that any of us guys needs to worry about? Much less me?”
Alpha Blake growled. “That is my mate and future wife you are talking about. It an issue of concern because I say that it is, got it?”
I felt the force of Alpha Blake’s aura and immediately bowed my neck. “My apologies, Alpha Blake. I did not mean to be disrespectful. It’s just that it seems there is more to the story; why isn’t Josephine able to go shopping with the ladies?”
I heard another low growl from Alpha Blake. Before he could say anything else, and before I could dig my own grave deeper, Aaron mind-linked me. “Dude, watch what you say before my dad throws you in the dungeons for disrespect. Please just do this. Dad isn’t going to turn this pack over to you and I until he and Josephine are married. And Josephine keeps coming up with excuses to postpone the wedding. Josephine doesn’t have any female friends to go with.”
Realizing my mistake and where this was going to lead if I continued to resist, I quickly bowed my neck again. “I apologize, Alpha Blake. I didn’t get much sleep last night. Of course I am happy to take Josephine shopping today. Is there anything that I need to know before we leave?”
“You will need to leave in 30 minutes. She has an appointment at a bridal store this afternoon. It is about 2 hours away; she has already looked in all the bridal shops closer to town. I don’t like the idea of her leaving pack territory given some of the threats that have been made to the pack lately, but I don’t have a choice if I want her to marry me in the next century. That’s why I am sending you with her; her safety and happiness are to be your top priorities.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
I stood up to go get ready.
As I left the room, Aaron followed me.
“Thanks, Jason.”
“Tell me why I am going and not you?”
“Dad and I are meeting with a couple of the other alphas this afternoon. Plus, I’ve already gone wedding dress shopping with her twice. I would rather cut off my leg than do it again.”
“So instead you’d rather I cut off my leg?”
“It won’t be that bad.”
“She’s a walking cock-blocker. She’s always calling me ‘baby’ and ‘sweetheart’ and grabbing my arm. It’s a guarantee I won’t get laid tonight.”
“First of all, that’s a southern thing. She calls everyone baby and sweetheart. Second of all, you don’t need to get laid every night. I’m an alpha and I don’t even have that kind of sex drive. Third of all, even if she didn’t call you baby, I can’t imagine a bridal shop being a place you’d pick up women anyway.”
“Aaron, your Alpha sex drive has been broken since Allison. You aren’t a good example of what is normal. And you clearly have no game if you can't imagine how easy it is to pick up desperate single ladies shopping for wedding dresses with their about-to-be-married friends.”
Aaron rolled his eyes at me. “Just think of this as taking one for the team. We have to get my dad and Josephine married already so that we can take over leadership.”
I signed. “Fine, man. But you owe me one.”
Aaron patted me on the back and walked back into his dad’s office.
I sighed to myself. Wedding dresses, here I come. Every man's favorite outing. Not.
Jason’s POV: After a long drive, Josephine and I finally arrived at the wedding dress store. As we got out of the car, my wolf began to get excited. “I think our mate is in the store!” he told me excitedly. When he said that, I began to get nervous. I had joked about picking up women shopping for wedding dresses, but I never expected to pick up my own mate. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On one hand, I have dreamed of meeting my mate. Wolves can meet their mates as early as 18, and I was already 25. Seven years is a long time to wait. On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed seven years of bachelor fun. Sex with different women every night; freedom to go and do as I please. Was I ready to give all that up? Yeah, yeah I was. If I was being honest, none of the women I’d slept with had ever really satisfied me. That was why I kept trying different ones. The idea of spending the rest of my life with one woman who really, truly loved me… and with whom I could have the kind of r
(Jason’s POV): I noticed that one of the sales clerks had a mating mark on her neck, but the other one did not. She therefore became my target. I approached her at the desk, and immediately asked her name. “Candy.” “Oh, what a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” She blushed. I gestured to where Josephine is sitting. “Do you see that lovely lady over there? She is getting married to my alpha, and it is really important that I make her happy.” “Oh, so she isn’t with you?” Candy asked, expectantly. “No,” I confirmed, giving her my best charming smile. I looked Candy up and down. “I like the ladies a little bit different than Josephine. Red hair is my favorite.” Candy smiled, and gently pushed her long red hair back, so that I could see her un-marked neck. “It is?” “Yes.” Candy looked into my eyes, and blushed again. “I wish I could make plans to take you on a date tonight, but my alpha won’t let me go anywhere until I’ve made his bride happy. Is there anything you t
Chapter 8 Aaron POV: I was working in my Dad’s office when I heard Josephine and Jason return from their shopping trip. I was praying to the Moon Goddess that they had been successful. I mind-linked Jason asking him to come see me. When he came into the office, I could tell immediately that something was wrong. “How did it go?” I asked. Surely it could not have gone that poorly. “Well, Josephine found a dress she liked.” My eyes widened. “That’s amazing!” As I said that, even I realized how crazy it was for me to be this excited. I am a grown man, who likes sports, cars, and working out. I am an alpha-to-be who will soon be in charge of a pack with over 2500 wolves relying on me. I normally could care less about dresses, shoes, and anything traditionally female. Yet, due to circumstances beyond my control, I find myself highly dependent on Josephine finding a wedding dress she likes. “She didn’t get it.” “Why not???” “There was only one. It’s one of a kind. It wil
(Aaron POV) Three days later after Jason’s failed shopping trip, I found myself outside an apartment complex in a human town. I wasn’t quite sure why a wolf –much less a female wolf—would choose to live in a human town, but to each their own. I knocked on the door and waited. After a few moments –and what sounded like a woman stubbing her toe and cursing, which brought a tiny smirk to my face—a woman opened the door. Holy Goddess. I was starting to see why Jason was being so weird. This woman had the face and body of an angel; she was easily the most beautiful she-wolf I had ever seen. She had the kind of beauty that would intimidate any male wolf, even wolves with tons of game like Jason. More importantly, she had this unique energy about her. Many she-wolves have a quiet, submissive energy about them –especially when around high ranked male wolves. This she-wolf had energy that was anything but submissive. Her energy felt energized, independent,
(Jason POV) I woke up to loud, angry pounding on my door. I looked over at the alarm clock and it read 6:15 a.m.. Whoever was knocking on my door at this hour had better have a damn good reason. “Who is it?” I heard the distinct and angry growl of my best friend. “Get the f--- up, Jason.” “Aaron?” I called through the door. “What on earth? Is there an emergency?” “Open this door now, Jason, or I’m going to break it down.” “Dude, chill. I’ve got a girl in here.” I mind-linked him. “You have three seconds.” Aaron shouted back. He wasn’t using the mind-link. He only doesn’t use the mind-link when his emotions are too high to control it. Whatever he is mad about, I knew it was going to be bad. “3….2….” I scrambled out of bed and opened the door. I was immediately greeted by a punch to my face that knocked me straight to the ground. “Dude, what the ---” I exclaimed
(Jason POV) I walked into Alpha Blake’s office expecting to see Aaron. As I walked in, I was surprised to find not one, but seven pairs of angry eyes staring at me. One pair obviously belonged to Aaron. Another belonged to Josephine, who was sitting on Alpha Blake’s lap. Both of my parents were also there, as was the current Gamma (Henry) and the Gamma-heir, Ben. I walked in, and quickly made a joke to break the tension. “I didn’t rob a bank, so you all should probably look for another suspect. Perhaps the cat did it.” I laughed, but quickly realized I was the only one who did. “Sit down, Son,” my father told me. There was only one open chair, and it was right in the middle of the room with the other chairs turned to face it. I sat down. “What’s this about?” The room was silent for a moment. I could feel the tension, and I could also see the eyes of everyone glaze over as they appeared to be mi
Jason’s POV After the intense meeting with pack leadership, including my own parents, I headed to my room to continue to think about what had happened and how I would go about fixing everything. I was happy that Cassie wasn’t engaged, but I was confused as to why she was trying on wedding dresses the day that I met her. I was also confused as to why I felt the betrayal pains. Did I misunderstand what I was feeling? I have never had a mate before so maybe I don’t know what betrayal feels like. It definitely didn’t feel like I was going to die. Maybe she wasn’t with another wolf? Or maybe she was but thought better of it? Also, why was Aaron so angry? Granted, I should have told him that Cassie was my mate before he went to meet with her. But his anger this morning was another level. He didn’t tell me the second he met Allison, and it took him weeks to tell me everything that happened between them. Surely, if anyone would under
(Aaron POV) The meeting with Jason and pack leadership was tough. I never thought that I would be in that kind of heated meeting with my best friend and future Beta, but it had to be done. I had been with Cassie when she felt the first round of betrayal pains. It had been horrible to watch, and there was nothing that I could do to comfort her or make it better. I was grateful that it had been fairly quick, but I couldn’t leave her alone after that. I had to wait around with her until she fell asleep and I could confirm that she was OK. She had done OK for a while, and I had been prepared to go ahead and leave, but then the pains started up again. And again, and again, and again, and again. I called our pack doctor to come to our location stat, and he thankfully was able to get to her apartment in 90 minutes instead of the two hours that it normally took to get from our pack to this location. He confirmed that she was showing signs of betrayal