Chapter 7

Alpha Andrew's POV:

"Good morning, sir," the middle-aged man greeted me. He carried a lamp in his hand, as the power supply had blacked out.

"What do you want?" I asked him coldly. My eyes fixed on him, trying to see if he had come to spy on me. After all, humans cannot be trusted.

"Nothing, sir. I just thought to bring this lamp to you, as the hotel power supply and generator went off because of the heavy rainfall," he said, his voice quivering as he trembled under my scrutiny.

"Leave. It's not needed," I dismissed him coldly. My voice chilled him on the spot.

"Alright, sir. But how do you like the hotel? You can help us run a free review to attract more customers." He paused to ask, and I knew he was up to something.

"Next time," I dismissed him, striding away. He called after me.

"Excuse me, sir? How about the lady with you last night? She is not our woman. Did you pay her?" he asked, and I paused.

This was why he was here—to spy on me and see if I had paid the lady.

I took slow, menacing steps toward the manager, who cowered backward in fear.

"Sir, I was only just asking to be sure that she is fine. We always check in to see that both patrons are okay," he stuttered as I stood before him.

"Yes." My response was calm. "Do you have a problem with my settling her?"

"No, no, sir. I just want to be sure that she is fine and not dead. Since you are leaving, you will have to wait for me to check on her and see that she is fine," he spluttered, trembling before me.

"Fine. Come with me. I do not have much time to spare." I strode back to the door. My hand reached for it as I swung the door open.

The messy hotel room came into view. The pretty woman lay on the side of the bed. If I hadn't returned to check, she would have landed on the hard ground, which would have inevitably jolted her awake.

The thought of her weak body lying on the cold ground until morning made me dart back into the room like a flash.

I didn't spare a glance at the manager, who stammered, "How do you run so swiftly like that?"

My hand reached for the sleeping figure on the bed. Carefully, I tucked her back under the bed quilt and covered her properly.

I made sure to safeguard her with two pillows on both sides.

"Ugh! Why cover her like that? She's not a baby," Zion growled, clearly displeased at my actions of caring for the woman.

My heart couldn't bear the thought of her weak body in the cold. It made my chest tighten.

Done covering her and moving her to the middle of the bed, I turned to the manager, who had wide-open eyes now watching me.

"Don't you see that she is asleep and breathing? Do you need anything else?" I asked him coldly.

As I took long steps to meet him, he backed away.

"Not at all. I can see that she is fine. I will take my leave now. Thank you for coming to lodge in Dennis Hotel," he said, as I shut the door and turned to leave.

"Alright. You can leave. I will keep my eyes on you. If I find out you bullied the woman after I leave, you will regret it." My eyes darkened as I met his brown eyes.

Shivering, he said, "I will give her the best treatment here in our hotel. You have nothing to worry about."

"I will hold you to your words. And if she asks, tell her I am gone," I said calmly before striding off.

"Got it, sir." The manager's words came from behind, but I left the hotel to catch up with my men on the first floor. We had a four-hour trip to make to the Dark Mountain Pack.

First traveling by taxi, and second sailing on the boat to cross over to the other side of the bustling city.

"Alpha, how did it go?" my Gamma, Carlos Connor, asked me.

"Fine. Let's go," I ordered them calmly as we stepped out of the hotel to meet the rest of the five men who had accompanied us, just in case we came under attack or were outnumbered.

They were my trained warriors—more like bouncers.

As I stepped out of the Dennis Hotel, the early morning wind greeted me. The city skyline glistened like diamonds across the sky, as it wasn't yet morning.

The distant sound of bats howling in the dark caught my attention.

I could see in the dark as the moonlight bathed us and cast a silver glow around the vicinity.

The taxi Steven had ordered arrived and parked in front of us, and we hopped in. Carlos commented.

"Dennis Hotel has the most beautiful courtesan. I cannot get enough of her body. Alpha, can we bring some of these women over to the pack?" Carlos asked, shifting his gaze to peer at me as I sat in the back, going through my phone.

"No," I replied dismissively, not sparing a glance at Carlos.

"You know the rules governing our pack," I replied calmly. My eyes remained fixed on my phone as I checked the list of things I had to do.

"Alright. When next we come to this city, I would like to make a short trip to this Dennis Hotel again," Carlos murmured, but I didn't want to chime in.

Would I like to make a visit here? No. Was I hoping to cross paths with that woman again? No.

My cóck hardened with a deep, throbbing desire to claim her. My fist clenched as my mind growled that word.

"Mate!"

"No!" Zion growled behind me.

"She cannot be ours. She is a human. She cannot be our mate!" My wolf refused to accept her. The atmosphere in the car thickened because of my alpha aura.

"Alpha, are you alright?" Steven asked. He sat next to me, and even the driver was having a hard time breathing under the weight of my aura.

"Yes," I breathed out hotly, letting the car window down. My hand rested on the car armrest.

"What happened, Alpha? Your mood got dark?" Steven asked, his tone laced with concern. His eyes on me.

Looking over at Steven's face, I drew a deep breath. "Calm down, Zion. The human is not our mate!" I growled at my wolf, knowing that his mood affected mine. Couldn't we be in synchronization?

"It's nothing serious," I gritted out to Steven. "Did you get the present for Zoey?" I asked him, my eyes meeting his.

"Of course, Alpha. I selected a beautiful diamond-encrusted necklace and wristwatch for her. Do you want to see it?" Steven inquired, his tone gentle. "Though it's in the luggage."

"No need. When we get to the pack, hand it over to Zoey," I cut him off. I didn't want to be the one buying gifts for Zoey. If my mother hadn't insisted, I wouldn't even care.

"Alright, Alpha." Steven's response was calm, and a heavy silence hung in the car, save for the engine as it glided through the road, slicing through different landscapes and towering buildings until we arrived at the docking piers.