HEART OVER MIND

Chapter 1

The darkness of the night sky was  giving way for the first sunrays while the air was still cold from the night before. The trees stood tall and majestic in the forest, the erring silence being disturbed by the hard thudding of paws on the ground. The small plants swayed and the wind howled at the rapid way the big wolf ran across the land maneuvering around the trees with a familiarity it gained over the years.  It ran till daybreak and stopped panting from all the exertion, it took its stance by placing its front paws on a rock and howled loud into the quiet sky. More howls joined and the wolf looked pleased as it got down the rock and strutted back.

Rafael sprinted the last few feet to his house. Even the cold morning air was not enough to cool him after his rigorous run. His chest was covered in sweat as he jogged up the steps to his magnificent home. He had been away on business for more than a week and his wolf was disgruntled for being caged for so long. He didn't like to take runs on other's land and had to wait till he got home to let his wolf loose. It felt good to have the wind in its mane and run with no thoughts in its mind.

After that long run he felt refreshed and rejuvenated again to start his day. He walked into his room and headed straight for the shower, peeling off his shorts and opening his hair from his bun and stood under the cold shower. As the water poured down his strong shoulders he mentally began making a list of things he needed to get done that day.

He was very pleased with the result of his trip. He felt his pride swell with every successful step he took towards his goal. But his wolf whined to remind him he was not successful in everything. He was 30 and still hadn't found his mate. It was not like in his grandparent's time, when an Alpha couldn't rule for long without his Luna. No. Times had changed. He had successfully been reigning over his pack for the last 8 years. He was not desperately looking for her and maybe that was the reason he was still single.

He sighed and decided to not let that dampen his mood as he switched the water off and walked out rubbing himself dry. He dried his long hair and thick beard , before combing it and tying it into a bun at the top of his head. He dressed as he strongly tried to lift his spirits by pushing his mate issues to the back of his mind and think about the new venture he was getting into.

His strong stride into his office building had everyone around him stop and bow to him respectfully. He was a big intimidating creature. At 6foot 4 and 250 pounds of pure muscle, he towered over most of the people. He had a very powerful aura around him, which made anyone cower in his presence.

He walked into his office and called for his secretary.  His intense green eyes bored into her as his raspy voice boomed with the instructions he ranted .

"Please call for a meeting with all the department heads for 3.00 clock today. Get me a copy of the current Cash flow, and the production numbers of last month....." he was interrupted by a knock on his door before it opened and Sylvia walked in with a bright smile. She put an extra sway into her hips and saw Rafael's bright green eyes darken, pleasing her.

Mrs. Vermont Rafael's 55 year old secretary, cleared her throat to break the tension in the room " Is that all Mr. Brodsky?" She asked.

"Yes " he replied without taking his eyes off Sylvia.

He looked up her long legs as they disappeared into a nice fitting formal dress. It had been long since he had her. He could celebrate this evening with his vintage scotch and her naked on his bed.

"You should consider pants suits my dear, they are more efficient for you." Mrs. Vermont said patting Sylvia's hand and walking out the room.

Sylvia gasped. " Seriously Rafael you give her way too much leniency to talk like that to me." She said glaring at the door through which Mrs. Vermont passed.

Rafael didn't reply but narrowed his eyes at her letting her know he didn't like the way she was talking. She flustered at his gaze. He got up to switch on his coffee machine and took out a mug from the cupboard above it.

"Was the trip productive?" Sylvia asked as she sat down on his table giving him a perfect view of her legs.

"Hmm hmm. How were things here?" He asked walking towards her. He ran his hand along her smooth leg and squeezed her thigh.

She leaned against her hand on the table and moaned at the feel of his rough hands on her skin.  " Same old same old. Everything was fine." She replied in a strained voice.

He moved forward kissing her neck and slowly inching his hand into her dress to feel her muscular thigh.

Sylvia was tall and had an athletic lean muscular body. They were not mates, but being werewolves they had a high libido. Sylvia and him had a mutual agreement to satisfy each other until otherwise things changed.

The finished signal from the coffee machine had Rafael stopping what he was doing and heading to make himself a much needed coffee. Sylvia sighed at his distraction and jumped off the table as she straightened her dress.

"I think you have to go talk with Mr. Clarke again. They had another wedding over this weekend and the town was flooded with humans." She said making a very distasteful face.

Rafael didn't reply but glared into his coffee.

"Roddick got into a fight with a few of the grooms men who were flirting with Maggie. It was a good thing that Eric was there to break it before their bodies ended up in the hospital." She continued.

He nodded " I will look into it" He replied frowning.

"So are we on for tonight?" She questioned in a sultry voice.

He nodded before replying " I will call you"

She turned around and strutted out his office with an extra sway in her hips.

Sylvia was his sister's best friend. He had known her all his life. He had a soft spot for her, which she wasn't aware of. She was beautiful, smart and very efficient. She hadn't taken any favors from him when she graduated and had applied for a low position in the sales department of his company. With her own hard work  she climbed the ladder and was now the manager there.

When Sylvia was 18 she felt her mate connection breaking, letting her know her mate had died or had taken another as his mate. The fact that he was the one to find her curled up like a ball from the pain of the rift at the edge of the forest, made her  even more dear to him. He thought that incident would break her but she only came out strong and confident. She worked really hard to finish her college and came back to work for him.

A couple years back they had got comfortable enough to start a no strings attached physical relationship. She was close to his family and his mother loved her. For a while now his mother had been hinting to mark her as his mate.

She would definitely make a very good Luna. She grew there in the same town and knew all the members of the pack like he did, and she would care for them and have their best interest like he would. She also showed leadership qualities by the way she led her department. He was sure she would be better than a Luna from another pack who didn't know the people here like Sylvia did. She would make a good leader. If it were up to him he would have marked her by now.

But his wolf would never agree.