"I'm going to ask one more time, Sullivan. I expect an answer. Where the hell are they?"
Nathan grits his teeth for the hundredth time, trying to keep back the beast inside. His fingers are wrapped around his phone but his whole arm is shaking, threatening to crush it into little pieces. His eyes are focused at one particular spot on his office walls, glaring at it while imagining different scenarios.
He trusted Luke Crowe to a certain extent. If he were gone tomorrow, he would trust his pack to Luke's hands if not Sullivan's although he'd rather the first. But this is his mate and that makes it an entirely different level of trust - one that Luke Crowe had not clearance for.
"I am not at any liberty to say, Moore." Melissa Sullivan answers from the other line, a hidden smirk in her voice and higher pitch tone underneath. She's trying her best to contain herself and Nathan is on the verge of destroying his entire office. "Isn't she yours before she's mine? Shouldn't you know where your mate is at?"
Nathan has never growled so much in one day. Even during the war, when enemies were constantly at his doors, he didn't growl so much. He didn't even feel this much frustration and it's starting to become unhealthy. Soon, he's sure he's going to break. And that means that someone is at risk. He just doesn't know if it's a physical risk or a sexual risk.
"Damn it Sullivan! Where the hell is Audrey Edith Hastings?!"
Melissa's lively laugh on the other end does nothing for his temper.
"Alright, alright!" She sighs and he can imagine one of her fingers wiping away a falling tear from her eyes too well. "I'll tell you but it does not give you permission to go and fetch her. She'll return when she is done."
"Where?"
Patience is never his friend. Sullivan sought out that weakness of his too much. She extorted it, taking her time on negotiations during the war, putting off diplomatics and doing aggravating things like this, putting off much needed information until he is on the edge of exploding. Each time, anger seethes out of him for hours on end and his own pack suffers the consequences. Emotions run high and tensions cloak rooms thickly. Challenges are raised and fights occur and then he has a whole new rank order to memorize. If he had his Luna, his temper would go straight to her and she, being his mate, would have the cure-all key to helping him contain it.
But that won't happen anytime soon. Soon is filled with plans of hunting down Luke Crowe, ripping him apart and then punishing Audrey for her disobedience.
He doesn't even want to think about how she reflected his alpha command.
"They were at Benito's Place - an Italian restaurant that is one of her favorites." Sullivan explains. "She and Luke probably ordered the full course meal so they'll probably were there for an hour or so. Last I heard, they had just finished a movie though."
He hangs up on her, slamming his phone down in front of him. The plastic covering cracks but he could care less.
He can still see the way she looked when she walked out of the bathroom this morning in nothing but a bra and underwear. Her curves entices him in ways he didn't think was possible. Her breasts....breathtaking. Her smooth tan skin calls out to him and her hair teased him, covering her neck and then revealing it, beckoning him to take her and mark her. He wants to pull her close and taste her skin on his teeth. He wants to run his fingers over her and inhale her scent like he lives off of it. He can still feel all of these urges even after she dressed and was gone from his sight.
Then, she teased him by pushing up her breasts with her arms and leaning forward ever so slightly. It took his all to control his wolf and if it weren't for Henrietta showing up, he didn't know what he would have done. His wolf is still angry with him, constantly whimpering for Audrey and growling whenever Nathan tried to soothe him. He can still sense her pain from when she saw him release his urge on another. It spreads through his veins making everything hurt. He can still sense her anger too.
But now he's the only one entirely aroused, entirely irritated and entirely angry. Not even Henrietta could pose as a distraction though her temptations of release often did before. He didn't want to see anyone unless it was Audrey. All he can think about is the fact that he is sitting here, craving what he couldn't have while Audrey sits in some Italian joint with Luke Crowe, enjoying herself.
The way her eyes lit up when she saw him. He would do anything if those crystal blue eyes commanded him to. Alluring and possibly the most beautiful color he has ever seen, those eyes are like poison to him. They haunt him in his sleep and are constantly in his mind for him to see every time he blinks.
And now, her darkened eyes of pain and anger are all he sees facing him.
Of course, with Luke, they were bright and light, lovely and right. But now, when they turn on him, they darken. His fist starts to shake in front of him when the thought that Luke is able to hold her right now and he can't even get a whiff of her crosses his mind.
He has to stop. This whole thing, this constant obsession with her is all his wolf's doing. Audrey isn't worth being his mate. She's weak. An omega. She's useless, like a lost puppy. She's just some silly girl that has a knack for turning him on. He doesn't need to be burdened by someone like that. He doesn't need to spend his time taking care of her when he has his pack to think of. War isn't completely out of the question. The entire system has been jacked up over years of it. There is no security that can promise his pack's safety.
Having a mate now would just complicate everything.
"Alpha?" Leon speaks from the other side of the door. Nathan takes a moment to compose himself, to look like he wasn't just fuming over the telephone with Sullivan for whereabouts on his mate. He grunts a reply when he feels ready.
Leon walks in slowly, peaking around the door cautiously before opening it all of the way and brings in Luke's beta, Benjamin. Nathan can't understand how Luke managed to get anything done with Benjamin as his beta. He's all about rumors, food, and video games. He's like a child. One moment, he's completely absorbed in something and the next, he's distracted by something different entirely.
"He doesn't have a problem with the grounds. Luke should have the same acceptance." Leon reports warily although from the looks of things, he's just as annoyed with Benjamin as Nathan is with Luke.
"Good," Nathan answers and faces Benjamin. The beta doesn't even bow his head in respect towards another alpha.
But Luke bowed his head to Audrey.
"Does your pack know about this?" He asks Benjamin.
"Yes," The beta answers with a smirk. "They are all ready to merge and accept you as their Alpha."
"What does Luke plan to do from now on that won't let him control his own pack or lands?" Leon falls into one of the seats, glancing up at the other beta.
Nathan didn't think much of the situation. He knew Luke's personality. Staying in one place for long didn't seem like something he could handle. To raise a pack and run it must've been a complete nightmare for Luke. It was going to be a nightmare for him to connect to at least 200 other wolves, map their land and rework his entire economic system to fit them into the pay grade equation.
But what finally drove Luke to give up his alpha seat? What motive did he have to leave his entire pack, his blood family, with Nathan?
"He plans on finding the monarchy again."
It takes Nathan and Leon a long moment to register Benjamin's words. They both understood what it meant but to believe it is an entirely different predicament.
"No one knows what happened to the royal family though." Leon speaks first, sitting up straighter. "Where does he even plan to search? It's been...twenty five years."
"If there's anything Luke's good at outside of the normal alpha duties, it's finding people." Benjamin smirks. "He thinks he already knows where the bloodline's ended up at. Now he has to convince them they're capable and then find support groups."
"It sounds like a waste of time." Nathan comments, leaning forward in his seat and hoping to test Benjamin's conviction. "Everyone's doing fine on their own right now. I think the age for a monarch has passed, don't you?"
"Everyone's tense with each other. It's only a matter of time before war - much like the one you were just in - will break out for control, for the throne. Everyone has someone they think should rule. Not to mention there isn't an alpha around that doesn't want that kind of power." He argues with a blank face, refusing to reveal any plan of Luke's. "If Luke can find the true monarchs before chaos happens, I'm all for them."
"Who does he think is the monarch? There has to be several choices by now with all of the noble families breeding and the mystery behind it all. The true monarchs might have just died out." Leon turns to Nathan with a meaningful look and Nathan does not miss his message. His little black book is out and ready to be filled with secrets.
"He won't say." Benjamin gives out an exasperated sigh. "He knows there will be a lot of people who will try to kill them off before they can do anything or use them for their own schemes. That's why he's going to search for support now before the secret is out. He won't even give me a hint."
"What will you do if the monarch comes back, Nate?" Nathan shrugs.
He never really thought about that being a possibility. When he set out to war to expand his lands for his pack, that was the only goal in mind: expand the lands. Before he knew it, he had a small empire of his own. 372 wolves were under his name and with Luke's pack adding to that, his numbers grow to over 500. If he includes his alliance with the Sullivan, that's around 650 wolves. He still has this annoying little group of rogues to deal with at the west territories but he imagines that would expand his lands for at least a hundred more. He'd have nearly a quarter of wolf country under his name.
He never thought about what to do after that. Rampaging around and challenging every pack he runs into wouldn't last very long. They're aren't many challengers that are quite up to his standards and running the entire wolf country wouldn't be his best option. He doesn't have the knack for all of those kinds of politics nor does he have the personality for a people's king.
Besides, he doesn't have what it takes to be wolf king. That kind of level is legendary, an unattainable myth that's beyond his bounds and his reality. Luke Crowe is chasing a lost dream.
"If the monarchy does come back, I'll support it." He sighs. Catching Leon's smirking expression, he can't help the chuckle escaping.
"A king needs a general after all." His beta tells Benjamin just as a knock comes from the door and a very smug Luke comes in.
Nathan can't help the snarl that escapes his lips but Luke only winks.
"Oh, good. We're talking." He glances around, narrowing his eyes at his beta. "What's the subject?"
"Where's Audrey?" Nathan stands up, towering over his desk towards the visit alpha. Luke's face brightens up and his lips spread out into a wide grin.
"I imagine she's getting ready for bed right now. She said she was tired."
Nathan leaves his office, burdening the duty of guest care to Leon. He practically races his way to his room, stomping his feet beneath him with blue eyes taunting him. He can smell her. Her sweet, flowery scent soothes him and ensnares him all at once. He follows the trail without a choice, his wolf pushing the barriers and forcing him forward. When he opens the door, he is surrounded by it and he feels suffocated.
He has to be closer to that scent.
Running water turns off from inside the bathroom and he has enough control to stop himself from making a possible mistake. He waits outside the door, leaning on the frame and taking deep inhales of that scent. His wolf is clawing from the inside, whimpering and whining like a pup. He can't believe it. She's reduced him to so little.
After a few moments and what seemed long enough, he opens the door. Audrey jumps in front of him with a small yelp, her hand resting on her check. Her body is covered by only a bra and matching underwear. Her sweet, fragile neck is completely vulnerable. Her hair is wrapped in a towel, sitting on top of her head.
She sighs. He hears her heartbeat slowing down but keeping up at a pace above normal for her. Her dark blue eyes narrows at him and she rests her hands on his hips. He has no idea how she can be so brave in her current situation. Can't she see how much he wants her? Doesn't she realize how dangerous she is to him like this?
"Can I help you?"
He takes a moment to compose himself.
"Sorry. I thought a sexy, midnight Henrietta was in here. I didn't mean to walk in on you, little girl." He crosses his arm over his chest, containing himself with a mental guard. His wolf growls at him as his eyes roam over her body. "Still not hitting puberty yet?"
Her mouth falls open and he inwardly groans. There are so many things he can do with that but before he can, she closes it and looks over him with her own eyes. He can see them turning lighter and he smirks. There's absolutely nothing about him that screams unattractive, he's positive. He knows it. Everyone knows it. There's just no beating around the bush.
"Huh," She shrugs and turns back to the mirror. She grabs a bottle and puts something that looks like lotion into her hands before smoothing it onto her face. "Surprisingly, you aren't as big as I thought you were."
Nathan straightens. "Trust me, sweetheart. I'm more than you can handle."
She snorts immediately, turning back to him. "Trust me, sweetheart. Luke is more than I can handle. You, well, you still have some growing up to do yourself, don't you?" Again, she looks away and pretends to do something casual in the mirror. He doesn't notice what really. He's too entranced by her beauty and her words. "Why is it that I always get stuck taking care of kids? And shouldn't you go on a diet or something? You're looking a little fatter than I remember."
He stalks into the room, edging closer to her, needing to be nearer. "I don't have a single ounce of fat on me."
He pulls his shirt off, revealing his flat abs to her. He watches as her eyes roam over him, widening briefly while straining to keep her expression blank. She swallows her nerves but it doesn't escape him and the light tint in her eyes tells him that he's just as attractive to her as she is to him.
"If you need attention, just ask." He whispers. He can almost taste her skin standing this close to him. Intoxicating, thrilling, breathtaking....he can't stop himself.
"If you think you're sexy because you have fat rolls on your stomach, you must be joking. I mean, I've seen guys topless and you're not in the top ten, babe." She gathers her clothes and walks away from him, passing him by less than an inch.
He follows her, his frustrations and his urges consuming him. His weakness is consuming him. Before he can stop himself or try to, at least, argue with himself, he grabs her by the hips and pushes her against the wall. He squeezes her between it and his body before taking her lips into a kiss.
She inhales with shock and he smirks as he nips her lips playfully, hungry for more. Her lips feel exhilarating against his. Her body is soft and warm. Her lips follow his and he pushes for more. His wolf rejoices as he groans into the kiss, losing himself in the pleasure.
It doesn't last long. It never does with Audrey. Before can show her just how frustrating she is, an immense pain covers his lower body and he breaks away with a curse before falling to his knees. Audrey stands still in front of him, panting with a fast paced heartbeat and dark, mesmerizing eyes that are her best shade yet.
"You are such an asshole!"