Chapter 1
POV: Cain
Jasmine.
The forest after it rains.
Cinnamon.
Blue eyes staring back at me.
My eyes flashed open and I stared at a pure white ceiling.
I was dreaming again.
Of her.
Of a mate that didn’t exist.
Of obligations I couldn’t fulfill.
I groaned and rolled over to my side, thinking of the many responsibilities that weighed constantly on my shoulders.
Alpha of the Colorado pack wasn’t a small duty. Neither was the CEO of Naughton Technologies.
I was 35 years old. Age is nothing in wolf years with extended healing abilities and wolves lived double the life expectancy of humans while Alpha’s and Luna’s lived triple the life expectancies of humans.
But 35 years old as an Alpha—not to mention an unmated Alpha was troubling.
The whispers started a few months ago—about my mate—about if I’d be forced to take a choice mate—and about what would happen if I remained unmated without heirs.
But everyone knew they were just more than simple whispers. They were heavy with something else. Something more.
The scent of weakness. Or at least they thought it was.
I was far from weak. I didn’t radiate weakness.
I was undefeated in sparring. I rarely got wounded in battle. No one challenged me. No one would survive if they did. Every she-wolf wanted to be my Luna or at least get a chance at being mine for a night. I was an Alpha.
I was undefeated in the human world as well. I was a CEO and the boss of a company. No one challenged me. And the human women were just as territorial as the she-wolves were.
I rarely lost—in the human world and in the werewolf world and well, frankly in anything. I never lost.
I closed my eyes again and breathed in a deep breath, trying to recreate the memories—the scents—the dream.
Jasmine.
The forest after it rains.
Cinnamon.
Blue eyes staring back at me.
And when I opened my eyes, it was the same white ceiling I was staring at. And not the mate I needed to gain in order to keep from losing.
Now I lay in my sprawling Denver condo, overlooking the city, framed by the mountains and playing the part of CEO for the next few days.
And in a few hours, I would be back in Estes Park in my packhouse playing the part of Alpha.
The duality suited me.
But the heaviness that came with both roles, did not.
I could handle war, I could handle strategizing for battle, I could handle the responsibilities of being in leadership roles, I could handle warrantless pack bickering. I could even handle the whispers about mating or lack thereof.
But what I had a hard time handling was knowing that the scent I dreamed of was out there—-and I had no way of grasping it. Not truly. I had no way of finding it without it finding me first. And in that way, I felt like I was losing.
I rolled over to my side and let out another breath.
Get your ass up, Cain and pack your bag.
Just as I was about to haul myself out of bed, my phone rang.
My beta, Xavier, was calling.
“Hey Xav,” I answered, stretching and staring out at the picturesque Denver skyline.
“Good morning Alpha, how’d you sleep?”
A pause.
“Like shit?” he chuckled.
“Yet again,” I sighed.
“Another one of your dreams?” he prodded.
I groaned, then said, “like clockwork.”
“This mate must really have a hold on you, Alph.”
I grunted in agreement. “And I haven’t even met her yet.”
“Hey look on the bright side, at least the pack will stop whispering when you do finally claim your Luna.”
That should’ve made me feel relieved but it didn’t. “That’ll be the day.”
He chuckled. “Well, I’m ready when you are to head back home.”
“Be out in 10,” I replied and clicked the end button.
The drive home was as it always was….long, uneventful, and thought-filled.
“Maybe I should just take a chosen, right?” I leaned my head against the window and stared out at the mountains.
“And risk not finding the Luna you dream about?” Xavier asked in shock.
I almost smacked my head against the window in irritation. “The whole thing’s fucked, right?” I laughed but there was zero humor to it.
Xavier shook his head and patted me on the back. “It’s fucked that the biggest topic of conversation in the pack nowadays is who you should fuck for the rest of your life.”
That one made me laugh. Xavier always had a way about him.
“Don’t do it, man. Fuck the pack and the gossipers. You know no one would challenge you.”
“Eventually they might, Xav.”
“And you’ll pulverize their ass!”
I laughed low and rough. “I know. But..”
He cocked an eyebrow. “But what? You pick some random she-wolf who your wolf barely tolerates?”
He was right.
Without the actual mating bond things would fucking suck…spending your life with someone just out of obligation and duty, without the bond connecting a pair would probably drive any Alpha insane.
“Right,” I nodded.
“That’s why I’m your Beta.”
We arrived at the packhouse and went about our days.
I sat in my office for a few hours going over paperwork, then handled a phone call about borders with the Utah pack Alpha, then I decided to go for a long run to satiate my wolf.
I shifted, breaking my bones, changing from my human skin into that of a furry large brown wolf and leapt throughout the forest.
The soil was damp from earlier spring rain but I ran onwards without stopping, my claws digging into the soil, kicking it up along with leaves and moss as I darted to my destination.
The top of the hillside, overlooking a rolling overpass. Finally, I reached my destination, and peered below.
My wolf wasn’t restless here. Not in the wilderness. Not in my true form. Here, I felt relief.
Darkness surrounded me and engulfed me and for a moment, I thought of nothing but being one with nature itself.
I caught a whiff of a scent roll through the air. Fresh air. It smelled as if it was cleansed from the earlier storm that rolled through.
The forest after it rains.
Her.
My unknown mate.
I shook away the thought and ran home.
I shifted behind the packhouse, into my human figure. A 6’4 shadow replaced that of my wolf.
I showered, trying to wash away everything from my run—the mud—the leaves—the blood from a kill—and even my incessant thoughts about finding my true mate.
But as I lay awake, staring at the plain white ceiling, yet again, this time in a different location than when I awoke, all I could smell was her.
Jasmine.
The forest after it rains.
Cinnamon.
And my wolf paced uneasily inside me, urging me to find her.
Soon, I assured him, along with myself. Soon.
