The Spirits Led Me Here

Darius stuck to his drink, despite the inviting aroma of the food that the master was serving the other man from the bar's little kitchen. He knew that the newcomer was a werewolf just from the scent he was giving off. However, there was only one small werewolf pack in this coastal city; how come another Alpha that Darius didn't know of came here?

He wondered if he should eat with the man in the guise of investigating—wait, no, he meant investigating in the guise of joining the man's late dinner. Yes, Darius's melancholy wasn't making him hungry at all.

Alas, Darius got up from the barstool. He got a straw from the master for his drink before walking to the man who had ordered quite a feast. There were meat and chicken on his table as if he was sampling all the food the master could cook in that little kitchen. Darius could order for himself, but he had to save up. That was why this kind of setup was inviting indeed.

"…do you mind?" Darius only bit the straw with his teeth lightly. He even had a hand in the pocket of his trench coat. To think about it, this man looked nothing close to Darius's shabbiness.

The man was in a designer shirt, with the sleeves rolled up halfway through the forearm. He also arrived with a jacket that protected him from the rain. The hair cut was clean at the side, aside from the long fringe that obscured his cherry eyes that kept on glistening under the soft light of the ornament lamps. It didn't help that his rose gold wristwatch looked like it was worth six digits.

At the prolonged interest, the newcomer brought his fork and knife down. He leaned on the seat and gestured at the one opposite of him. "Why not? I figured you'd join me soon."

"These are for me? Do I look like a pig?" Darius sat down and removed his trench coat for courtesy. Left in his maroon turtleneck, the Alpha rolled his sleeves up as well and feasted on the food. He watched the master prepare these, so he knew that they would all fill his stomach quite well.

"Pace yourself. We're not in a hurry." The newcomer chuckled.

He then picked up his red wine and swirled it gently, his cherry eyes watching Darius like an owl eyeing a mouse eating out there in the fields. With a slight smile, he spoke, "Would you like to talk here, or should we take our business somewhere else? After all, this is quite a conspicuous place."

Darius only glanced at the other. Since he was confident in his own strength—especially after eating; he didn't choose to be so guarded. "Sure, what are you considering?"

"My hotel room?" The newcomer took a sip of his wine. "You already noticed. I'm not from around here. Surely, you would have lots of questions for me. A little privacy shouldn't hurt at all."

"…that sounds very suspicious, but fine." Darius already chose to investigate the presence of another Alpha in the coastal city. He couldn't back out now that he had eaten plates of the newcomer's order. Thinking about it made him snort inwardly. He's a pig, all right.

"Don't worry too much. I'm not here to cause trouble." The man then brought his glass down. "Help me finish the remaining ones. The rain is going to get stronger soon. We should leave before that."

…

Darius felt like he had completely lost control of his life. He was now sitting on the passenger seat of a black seven-digit car, watching the gloomy sights turn into the nightlife pulsing in the heart of the coastal city. Even if the rain was starting to set zero visibility onto the streets, the blurred and fogged lights still fought with the darkness of the night.

The kicked-out Alpha only stared at the scenery until he felt the car move to take a turn and then enter a parking building. The hotel they entered was obscured from Darius's view, but he was so sure that this was a six-star place. He seemed to have run into a baller Alpha. Was this man from the first-class cities that had the nastiest race politics in the back alleys?

Before he knew it, the man had pulled up to park. The man then got out before opening the door for Darius. The other only lifted his eyes at the baller. "You don't have to—I'm not a woman."

"You can call it reflex…" The baller smiled at him, making Darius unhappy.

The initial awe Darius had while riding the car vanished in an instant. He had no idea how many women had sat in that seat, helped out just the way this stupid baller did for him. It's just that Darius was not someone the man picked up for entertainment. He really believed that—else, he would cave that man's face in. Who cared if his face was akin to the sculptures of the great ones?

After a few moments of walking, Darius finally arrived in front of the VIP suite that the baller rented. He was beginning to feel sickened by the fact that he found himself mirroring the actions of a hooker. It's just that… the scent of this baller was getting really strong. It was not even the offensive type; he smelled like the breeze flooding the winds of tropical rainforests.

"Please take a seat." The man took off his jacket and dealt with the buttons on his designer shirt. There were only three buttons at the top, and he had undone them all.

"Am I going to hear why you're here? This coastal city doesn't really boast anything else but the harbors and the short beach." Darius sat on the edge of the bed. He just wanted to test the quality of the bed before he found himself sleeping on asphalt.

"Of course, I came to look for someone very important. The wolf spirits had led me here." The man emptied his pockets slowly. "Have you ever wondered why sometimes… the strongest among us find no interest in others? No matter how precious they had all become, it just happened to be… not enough…"

Darius eyed the thick wallet and the custom case of the high-end phone on the nightstand. He had no idea why his eyes were being drawn to everything the newcomer owned. Moreover, the scent coming from the man was getting imprinted in his mind. Soon enough, he felt it…

The spike of lust that tainted the lazy atmosphere of the VIP suite.

"If I hear their voices correctly, then… you must be Darius, am I wrong?" The newcomer caught the seemingly horrified look on Darius's face as they met each other's eyes. "Darius, you must know… I've been searching high and low for you. I feel so lucky… running into my mate on a stormy night."