chapter 2

Ryker

Collecting my car keys and phone before exiting my office, I made a mental note to check how Dominic handled Jerica's lesson. Walking out and heading toward the first floor, I glanced at my wristwatch. I had two hours before the meeting with Alpha Lionel. Drive into the city would take about an hour, plenty of time to spare for quick lunch.

As I descended the stairs, my eyes landed on a figure standing at the bottom of the staircase, their back facing me. Hearing my approaching footsteps, the person turned around, locking eyes with me with a bright smile.

"Son," she greeted me with a melodic tone of voice, looking at me with a loving gaze.

"Mother," I returned the smile as I halted in front of her, giving an affectioned kiss on her left cheek.

She allowed me to guide her through the hallway toward the dining room as I rested my hand on the small of her back and, walking through the wide doorway, I noticed my father was already sitting at the head of the long table reading a newspaper. The omegas had already placed the food on the table and the scent of it was enough to make my mouth water.

When he heard us walking in, he immediately lifted his gaze and a warm smile formed on his face as he looked at my mother and me.

"There you are. I was worried for a minute we missed you." he chuckled deeply while folding the newspaper, putting it aside before he stood and gave me a bear hug when I came close enough.

"Oh? Any particular reason for such worry?" I lifted a brow with amusement glistening in my eyes as I pulled back, waiting for my mother to take a seat with my dad before I sat down on his right side.

"I heard what happened last night." My father's voice turned stern and internally I sighed, wetting my lips while casting a side glance to my father. Of course, he did. Although he wasn´t the pack alpha anymore, people still reported to him what was going inside our territory.

"Is this the moment where you scold me for how I handled it?" I asked, leaning back while my mother filled the plate in front of her.

"Should I?" he merely asked, raising his brow while meeting my gaze.

"No. I can handle Jerica." I huffed when my mother reached for my plate and started filling it without asking what I wanted to eat. Typical mother.

"The sooner you find your mate, the better. I´m baffled why you haven´t kicked her out. The disrespect she shows every single day is outraging and unacceptable." My mother growled, putting the plate back in front of me and giving me a pointed look.

Rolling my eyes, I weighed my words. I knew my mother hated Jerica. Every member in the pack knew that, except Jerica. For some unknown reason, she thought she could become best friends with my mother if she would reach her goal of becoming the luna of the Crimson Chimera pack. Or maybe she simply didn´t care that my mother despised her.

If someone asked me, in my opinion, she was delusional or maybe she got hit to the head ten years ago when the rogues attacked her pack. Jerica saw me as a challenge, and like any bitch in heat, she didn´t stop until she would get what she wanted.

Too bad I wasn´t going to give it to her. Not now, nor ever. When I would find my mate, I needed to think of a way how to keep Jerica in check. I knew how Jerica would react to the news and I wasn´t about to put my mate in the line of fire because Jerica had issues handling truths. Although I had given up on finding my mate almost 30 years ago, accepting the possibility of me being mateless for the rest of my very long life, Jerica and her behaviour towards me pushed me back to the game. Jerica was my solemn motivation for finding my mate.

"I know you hate her mom, but I can´t just kick her out and turn her into a rogue as other packs are refusing to take her. It's not something I want to do, no matter how disrespectful she is. For her it is a death sentence or worse, becoming a bitch to male rogues. I don´t like her but I´m not tossing her to the wild wolves to be fucked to death. You know how lonely male wolves act when they smell a rogue female?"

I have asked neighboring packs if they would be interested in taking her a couple of years ago when she had exploded on my face when I told her for the millionth time the only luna I was going to accept would be my mate. She had seen red attacking out of rage and pissing me off. But so far, no one wanted her for unnamed reasons.

For me, the most obvious reason was that they would not know how to handle her and her temperamental personality. So, I was stuck with her, for now. I have been keeping her busy ever since that attack, ordering her for night hunting and extra training to drain her so she would be too tired to chase me. It worked for a while.

"That role would suit her well." My mom hummed, filling my father's plate before giving it to him.

I merely huffed while taking the fork digging into the food. I shouldn´t be surprised hearing that remark.

"Valerie," my father chuckled as he took the first bite of his meal, earning an irritated glare from my mother.

"Kano, you know I will not hide my disgust toward that woman. I brushed her behaviour off when she first came into our pack, thinking the attack traumatized her and acted out of fear. But now? I see arrogant bitch who doesn´t respect authority."

My mother sure didn´t save any words when expressing her feelings toward someone. Not that she was wrong.

"Ryker, I think you should start acting like an alpha and show her what happens when a pack member doesn´t follow the rules and disrespect their alpha." Kano turned the conversation toward me, causing me to halt in midways, putting a piece of meat in my mouth while shifting my eyes on him.

"And I haven´t done that so far?" I lowered the fork, looking at my father, furrowing my brows. I didn´t like where this conversation was going.

"Clearly not since she keeps thinking her actions doesn´t have consequences and acts like she is the leader here, not you." my father growled his eyes flashing red for a second earning my wolf to flatten his ears, as Khan recognized my father's wolf, Cerberus as higher rank alpha.

"What you want me to do?" I asked, hating the fact that my father thought I wasn´t alpha enough to the pack, but then again, my father and I have had different ways of leading the pack.

When Kano had still been the king of the Western Continent and the leader of our pack, he expected every pack under his rule to fear and respect him. His leadership was iron tight, and he valued traditions, still does. Cross him and you would pay for it with your life.

But he wasn´t a tyrant. He listened and offered advice if someone asked for it, and taught the younger wolves to become stronger. Kano was like the strict father figure for our pack. He demanded respect, but in return; he respected his pack members too. Everyone trusted him, knowing he would stop at nothing to protect his pack and the people he loved.

In his eyes, my leadership was too soft sometimes, although I had earned the reputation of being ruthless on the battlefield. But he let me do things my way until he saw it wasn´t working. Then and only then, he stepped in, giving me a piece of his mind. Like right now.

"Since you refuse to kill her…"

"Dad!"

"Son. Interrupt me again and I will bend you across my legs and teach you not to disrespect me that way again."

I snapped my mouth close the second he said that. I may be over 200 years old but, in his eyes, I was still the wild rebellious pup who tested his patience a little too much. My mother let out a soft chuckle, making me glance in her way. She was eating her meal, but the corner of her mouth kept twitching in a manner that told me she was having a hard time controlling herself from laughing out loud.

"My apologies, father," I muttered, lowering my gaze and tilting my head to the side bearing my neck while forcing down a growl that threatened to emerge from the depth of my chest. Submitting to another alpha was humiliating, even if that said alpha was my father. I was just grateful I didn´t have to do this in front of my pack.

"Accepted." my father nodded, pleased by my attempt to pacify him.

"Now, since you don´t want to kill Jerica, the only action left to do is to strip her from her current title and make her omega. She has to work hard to earn her title back as the second hunter of this pack. If she still defies you and your position as alpha, you throw her into the cell to show her you mean business. It's time to take the white gloves off and give her some tough love."

I bit my inner cheek, mulling over his words in my head. It was the only way to show her my authority and as much I agreed to father; I knew Lucas and Hazel weren´t going to be happy about having to deal with Jerica.

They were the only omegas in my pack and although normally omegas didn't have rights in a pack; I had made the exception of allowing them to teach our pups and take care of our elderly wolves. Everyone seemed to love them and so far, I wasn´t disappointed with my decision although Hazel had a mischievous side Lucas tried desperately to control and prevent her from causing trouble.

But as long as it didn't cause any harm to my pack, I brushed it off, occasionally giving her a stern speech if she got carried away since they were still young pups. Only two times I had to ground her for a week and forbid her from seeing anyone, including Lucas, to make my point cross when she tested me a little too much. Hazel was a mischievous pup, but she reacted to my dominance and authority easier and more respectful than Jerica and that's why I never had to go through tougher punishments.

"I guess I have no choice." I sighed.

"No, son, you don´t. And I know you worry about how our omegas are going to react to the news, so my suggestion is to make Lucas and Hazel above Jerica, so she has to obey them. You will strip all rights from her while the omegas have their rights, making her even lower rank than they are. They will report to you if anything goes wrong, and she doesn´t do what she is told to do, you will punish her accordingly." Kano spoke as if reading my mind.

"She is going to be pissed. But I see your point. I'll make it happen when I return from my meeting." I nodded, watching a smile forming on my father's face.

Returning to our meals, my mother's laughter filled the dining room as my father kept teasing her while I just concentrated on my food, shaking my head, amused.

Glancing at my watch, I emptied my glass of water and wiped my mouth with a napkin before standing up.

"I´m sorry, but I have to go. It's an hour's drive, and the meeting is at four," I spoke and received smiles and nods from my parents.

"Drive safe darling," my mother called after me as I walked out of the dining room, making me chuckle.

"Don´t I always?" I shouted back, earning a huff in return and I couldn´t help but laugh at that.

No, I didn´t always drive safely as I owned a fast car. I loved to put it to the limits to see how fast I could go on an empty road. Some might say I was reckless, but I said to live a little. And let's be honest, with my werewolf senses, it was highly unlikely for me to cause an accident. Arrogant? Maybe, but I loved speed and the rush of adrenaline. Hell, I loved the feeling of danger.

Exiting the packhouse, I put on the mirroring blue sunglasses and grinned when I saw Zeke, my beta leaning against my car scrolling his phone as I descended the few stairs heading toward the dark grey ford mustang.

Gravel rustled under my boots, earning my beta's attention to shift from his phone to me, and he immediately straightened, putting his phone away.

"Let's go." I chuckled unlocking the doors and Zeke walked around the car, getting into the passenger seat while I sat behind the wheel.

Starting the engine, I shifted the gear and reversed from the parking spot turning the car around before shifting the gear again and hitting the pedal making the car's engine roar and back tires sent pebbles flying as I drove out the yard heading toward pack road that led into the main road a couple of miles from our house.

The trees flashed by as I drove down the main road toward the intersection before slowing down and pushing up the winker, glancing both ways while guiding the car to turn right. The constant sound of tapping of the winker filled my ears as I stopped the car when I saw someone driving pretty fast toward us.

"Someone's in a hurry." Zeke chuckled as he watched the car passing us within a second. I merely hummed, shifting gear and settling to drive behind the car, wondering who drove that car. Chuckle however escaped from me as I saw a black running wolf bumper sticker on the car.

Whoever was behind the wheel must have been late for something important because when I glanced at the speedometer it showed me, I was driving over the speed limit and the car in front of me was going even faster than I was.

"Clearly," I muttered, frowning, but shook it off quickly. It's not my problem and if this person causes an accident, again, not my problem. Gently lifting my foot from the peddle, I slowed down some so I wouldn't be dragged into anything if the driver would suddenly lose control.

After driving a while, houses and parks come into view as we got closer to the city, and I saw the car in front choosing another lane driving off the highway into a ramp while I kept my lane, speeding a little.

I drove another fifteen minutes until pulling into a ramp going up and slowed down when traffic lights changed red. Pushing down the winker, I waited for the lights to turn green and glanced around me absentmindedly.

Tall apartment buildings towered over the roads, people walking or cycling on the sidewalks while cars went back and forward in front of me. The city buzz has always made my skin crawl for reasons I didn´t fully understand but it might have something to do with humans. Their species was always greedy, destructive and every opportunity they got they used others for their advantage without regret.

Backstabbing bastards, that what they were.

"Ryker," Zeke´s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned my attention ahead, realizing the light was green. Shifting gear, I started driving, turning the car to the left heading deeper into the city centre.

Zigzagging through the mazelike streets, the apartment buildings stayed behind us, and expensive two to four-story-high houses with iron fences appeared on each side of the street I was driving.

This district was merely for rich people and men with successful businesses or werewolves who wanted to mingle with humans. Don´t get me wrong, I had quite a few businesses myself and contracts with humans but I rarely dealt with them directly myself. I did that only when it was absolutely necessary, usually solving problems no one else seemed to be able to solve. Luckily, problems like that didn´t occur very often.

Driving through a traffic circle, I turned the car toward a road leading toward a glass skyscraper that came into view in a couple of minutes where alpha Lionel worked.

Entering the parking lot, I search for the empty spot when I noticed on my left the same wolf bumper sticker on a cobalt blue BMW coupe I had been driving behind on the highway.

Small world.

I parked my car next to the BMW and shut the engine while Zeke unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. I got out of the car slamming the door behind me, locking the doors as I walked toward the main doors of the tall building.

The glass sliding doors opened automatically when I stepped near enough, and Zeke followed me inside into the spacious lobby. Taking off the sunglasses and putting them hanging from the collar of my shirt, I looked around, seeing spiralling staircases on the upper floors, people walking while chatting with each other. Beams of the afternoon sun illuminated the entire building, giving it a grand look.

As I walked through the lobby, I surveyed my surroundings subtly while approaching the receptionist sitting behind her desk. She lifted her gaze, locking it with mine, and a polite smile formed on her face.

"Good afternoon, Mr Barrett."

"Afternoon. I have a scheduled meeting with Lionel. Is he in his office?" I asked, watching how the lady under my steady gaze felt nervous and I could see a faint blush under her makeup. Averting her eyes from me, she turned her attention to her computer, checking if alpha Lionel was in the building. Not that she knew the man was an alpha or even a werewolf. All she knew was the man was her boss.

"Yes, he is. I let him know you are coming." She nodded, smiling at me while I merely nodded, turning to walk toward the elevator when an intoxicating scent hit my nostril with full force, causing me to halt and I nearly staggered.

Khan was going crazy in my mind and I had difficulties reigning him in and not shifting into my wolf's form, scaring the shit out of people.

"Mate!! Mate is here!!" he howled excitedly, trotting back and forward, tail held high, head low as if he was stalking her.

I had to close my eyes to balance myself and keep control, but the scent kept invading my sense of smell and my nostrils flared as I took a deep inhale. The scent of jasmine with a hint of ginger caressed my nose and I let out a quiet growl, enjoying the scent before I snapped my eyes open and started searching for the source of the smell.

"You okay alpha?" Zeke whispered next to me, but I ignored him, my gaze scanning the lobby frantically.

"She's here," I muttered, taking a step forward, my eyes landing on every person in sight before moving on to the next one.

"Who?"

"My mate," I growled lowly, hearing Zeke taking a sharp inhale at my response.

Then I saw her.

The very person Moon Goddess has paired me with.

My surroundings became blurry except for her as I took her appearance in.

She was young-looking and small, maybe a little over 5"5, with dark brown, almost black hair that extended on her shoulders. Her stride was confident, and she carried herself well. Every step screamed not to mess with her.

She wore blue jeans, dark purple sneakers, a small shoulder bag, and a red shirt under the black leather jacket. The jeans complimented her ass and legs, which caught my attention next. Her legs were long yet seemed to hold intimidating strength, the kind of strength that could deliver a bone-breaking kick and put her opponent to their knees. That image forced a smirk on my face. She looked like she was in fit condition.

When she turned her attention across the lobby as if sensing someone was watching her, our gazes locked and my breath got caught in my throat and hair at the back of my neck rose, sending chills down my spine.

That look. That predatory look in her eyes excited me, making Khan snarl playfully, wanting to come out and see what she was made of since she so boldly challenged an alpha with such an intense stare. But I wasn´t convinced she knew what kind of look she was giving me. She was alert when she saw me, eyes narrowing for a moment, and she slowed down her walk momentarily.

"Mate." I snarled, flashing a smug grin at her way, earning a raised brow from her although I knew she couldn´t hear me. My mate was a human, which surprised me a little. How did I know that?

Simple.

Underneath that intoxicating scent, I also smelled the signature scent of a human, wet soil with a faint hint of sulfur.

Werewolves, as a species, smelled more like smoke and burnt wood with a hint of wet dog. Shocker, I know, but you can´t select what you smell like. That scent, however, was overpowered by the mating scent that helped werewolves to find their mates. Just like I could smell her overpowering mate scent of jasmine and ginger telling me what she was to me. And let me tell you, it was driving me wild.

And then, just like that, she disappeared into the sea of people, much to my frustration making me huff. I wanted to chase her down, drag her into my car and claim her, but unfortunately, I couldn't do that for two reasons.

One, I didn´t want to scare her and make her scream bloody murder thinking I would rape her or kidnap her and rape her. No, I would never do that to her.

Two, I had to deal with Lionel and at this very moment; I didn´t give a fuck about alpha Lionel and his problems, but Zeke stopped me from going after her asking who she was, which made me angry.

I snapped my fiery glare toward him but the man didn´t even flinch.

"I can find out who she is while you go to your meeting. You can´t afford to piss the man off and you know it."

I hated when my beta was right. Although I was the alpha king, the last thing I needed was some bratty alpha throwing a temper tantrum because I didn't want to hold this stupid meeting.

"Fine. Make sure you have a name for me when I come back."

He nodded, turning around while I tried to calm my wolf as he was snarling and barking at me for not going after our mate.

"Calm the fuck down, Khan! Don´t forget she is human," I barked back while walking toward the elevator.

"So?"

"So, she doesn´t know werewolves exist, we can´t exactly go to her and say you are our mate, let me mark you while mating in the back seat of my car." I huffed, pushing the button waiting for the elevator to come down.

"I don´t see anything wrong with that plan." Khan tilted his head, clearly not following what I was trying to say.

"Unbelievable," I muttered when the doors of the elevator opened with a ping and I stepped inside, pushing the button on floor 25 and leaned against the cool wall.

"What I´m trying to say is something like that will scare the living shit out of her and she will run away and we don´t want our mate to fear us now do we?"

"No," Khan spoke quietly, hanging his head when he finally realized what my point was and settled down, closing the link feeling sad.

"I need a plan on how to make her fall in love with me and somehow make her accept what I am when I finally tell her. Not exactly how I imagined things to go when I would find my mate." I mumbled, leaning my head back closing my eyes, hoping Zeke would find out who she was so I could try to contact her without looking creepy.

Moon Goddess sure loved testing me with women. But I loved a challenge and wooing my mate was going to be so worth it.