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*** Helen ***

As I wait at the side of the road in my broken-down car, panic rises in my chest. My stomach turns and churns and the tension band is back, right around my head. I just called my breakdown recovery provider to come and rescue me only to find out that my husband, Alan, has cancelled our subscription without telling me.

I have called him at least six times now and it rings and rings before going to voicemail. My texts also go unanswered, and my panic is growing because Summer, my two-year-old daughter, is waiting for me to collect her from her daycare.

I have no one else to turn to so I call my boss and close friend Halle and ask her to collect Summer for me even though I feel terrible asking yet again for her help.

I call for help from the SOS public phone box and wait the compulsory sixty minutes for them to tow my car.

The mechanic eyes me suspiciously. "How are you getting home, Miss?"

"I will call a cab now; I will be fine."

But he shakes his head. "No, no way, my mate is about the same age as you and if someone left her at the side of the road in the dark with no means of getting home, I would not be happy. I will drop you at home on the way."

"Thank you, that is very kind of you. What did you mean by ‘mate’?" Was he referring to a friend?

"Oh, it’s just a joke name I call my girlfriend," he explains, although I feel like he doesn't meet my eye.

I explain to him that I need to call my friend who is collecting my daughter because I was late, and he tells me to go ahead while he puts my address into his sat nav.

The man, Colin, seems to be nice and genuine, and I give him my thanks when we arrive safely at my house.

"This is my boss' garage. They lease cars for reasonable prices, tell them Colin sent you and they will sort you out. Good luck, Helen."

I look at the card. It’s a garage I’ve never heard of but maybe this could help me get back on my feet?

When Halle arrives with Summer, my little girl runs to me. "Mummy..."

I thank my friend while I hold my precious daughter's tiny body close to mine.

"Where is lover boy then? On the missing list again?" I know Halle means well but right now I'm too angry to even think about Alan. It's not the first time and it's looking like it won’t be the last time he has let me and our daughter down when we needed him.

Maybe I just expect too much from the man who vowed to love and cherish me and our child? Or maybe he is the inconsiderate ass my friend says he is? I suppose time will tell.

*** Manzitti ***

My meeting with my business advisor ended ten minutes ago and despite having summoned my Beta, Ivan, to my office to discuss the outcome of that meeting, he still hasn't turned up.

I summon my Gamma, Ellis, instead though mindlink and he answers straight away, appearing in my office within two minutes.

"What's up, Alpha Manzitti?" he asks as he tears into my office. He sits down in front of my desk and looks at me. He only took over as Gamma about three months ago and he's young and eager.

"I have been trying to mindlink Ivan but he is not replying. Where is he?" I notice his neck has started to turn red. This is not going to end well.

"Where is he, Ellis?" I use my Alpha aura so he has to answer me.

"I last saw him heading to your apartment. With your sister."

I am going to fucking kill him.

I storm out of my office and up to the top floor where the apartment I share with my sister is. I kick the door open and, without stopping, I barge into my sister's bedroom.

The sight before me throws me off for a fraction of a second. My Beta is completely naked and handcuffed to the headboard, my little sister stood in a patent leather Basque and with a cat-o'-nine-tails whip in her hands.

Without blinking, I jump on the bed and punch Ivan a few times. "I have told you. mutt, stay the fuck away from my little sister." When I think he’s got the message, I throw a blanket at Slayne. "Cover yourself up now!"

But Slayne is laughing her head off at me. She has always been headstrong and defiant and far too beautiful for my peace of mind.

"Get the fuck out of my room right now, Manzitti. I am 25 years old, I'm not a child and I am entitled to a full and varied sex life. Now I can do this with you right here or I can carry on doing it in the privacy of my bedroom like I was, but either way I am getting laid, Manzitti. Maybe you should try it, you look like you need it."

"Ivan, keep your hands off my sister or I'll chop them off and force you to wear them around your neck as a warning to anyone else who thinks I'm not serious."

My Beta is still sitting naked and handcuffed. I can see his nose is broken and he is bleeding profusely from a gash in his eyebrow.

"For fuck’s sake, Alpha! She's my mate, I can't help it!"

"Show me your mark? Go on, both of you show me your marks and I will never say another word about it."

I wait and I know it's only a matter of time before Slayne loses her temper, I could set my timer on her. I watch as she throws the keys to the cuffs at Ivan, and he quickly unlocks them and pulls on his pants.

"I'd run if I was you Manzitti, she's in heat and you just cock blocked her." His self-satisfied smile annoys the shit out of me, but I take what he says to heart.

I just crossed a she-wolf in heat. I might be the Alpha of this pack, but my sister will serve my balls on a platter for this infringement.

"Just stay the hell away from her Ivan. I won't warn you again," I shout as I make my way as fast as I can out of my apartment. As I reach the door, something smashes against the wall inches from my head. That was too close.

I hear Slayne shouting colourful obscenities in my direction and then I see and feel several items of my personal property smashing into smithereens as my enraged sister chases me down.

"I didn't know you were in heat, did I? For fuck’s sake, Slayne! I'm sorry, now stop destroying all my stuff!"

"Stop beating up Ivan every time you find him in my bed then. He is mine to take when I want whether I mark him or not. Or would you rather the rest of the pack take a pop at me? You know I can't control this and if I don't mate with him, it'll hurt me so stop acting like an old neanderthal and let me have my fun!"

She is right it will hurt her if she doesn't mate, but she is my little sister, and I am not happy about Ivan going behind my back yet again!

They are fated mates but up to now Slayne has refused to mark or be marked which is just typical of Slayne and her natural rebellious nature. I therefore do not feel I have to accept that they are mates, not yet at any rate.

"I want him gone by the time I return tonight, in heat or not Slayne."

That's the most I will give but I have riled her even more now.

"Fine. I will go and stay with Ivan for a while instead. You know I can't wait for you to find your mate. I hope she sends you on a merry dance, Manzitti! Then you will finally realise how hard this is."

I snort at her last remark. I will not be running about like a lovesick puppy; I don't need anyone like that, especially not some woman who the Moon Goddess deems my equal and other half.

Little did I know that just 24 hours later, my whole life would be turned on its axis by a human woman who is married to another man. Surely that has got to be a cruel trick.

I, Alpha Manzitti Goldrick of the Onyx River pack, had to wait until my 29th year to be blessed with a fated mate. I waited because I wanted my fated mate to give me sons to whom I could pass on my legacy. I knew this was the best way to get big, strong healthy pups, so despite having my pick of she-wolves whom I could have made my chosen mate, I did not.

Then the bloody Moon Goddess in her infinite wisdom pairs me with a woman who is not only human but has entered into marriage with another human!

Let me take you back to the start and maybe you can figure out where I went wrong.

*** Halle ***

I stay at Helen's for dinner, I end up ordering pizzas for us and 'nug nugs' for Summer and I try and get Helen to open up about what is going on with her and Alan. 

I have known Helen for years, we hung out in similar circles, went to the same clubs as teenagers and even went on a girl's holiday together. I was pissed off about six years ago when her husband Alan got posted to Germany and she went with him as the dutiful wife at just 19 years old. When she returned from two years living in army housing in Germany, she seemed different. 

To my surprise she came to see me about working in my new nightclub, Paloma Azul. It was a surprise because Helen was an intelligent girl, she had been at college and for a few weeks before she had hastily married Alan and moved to Germany, she had been studying medicine at university. She used to tell us all about her plans and timetable for her life and her path to becoming a doctor, and then in the blink of an eye, it just stopped. Alan had enrolled in the army and when he got posted abroad, he asked Helen to marry him so she could go with him. 

"I just need a few hours a week, Sal, so I've got some money of my own," she explained to me, but it did not really explain why this bright and clever girl was not pursuing her dream. 

I got her a job on the membership desk, knowing she would cause a stir if I put her behind the bar because despite what Helen believed about herself, she was a little beauty: 5ft 2in tall with deep, mesmerising blue eyes, lusciously thick, dark locks, and a figure to die for. She could have had a pick of the men, but she was faithful to Alan who she met at school. Yes, that old classic. 

Alan Jefferson was her childhood sweetheart, and while he is not ugly in the physical sense, there is something about him that I have never liked and although I would never say this to Helen, I do think she deserves much better than him. 

Helen had been working for me for a few weeks when there was a brawl in the bar and one of the security guards had been shot. Whatever I had thought of Helen before that incident ceased to matter; that woman kept my member of staff alive and she kept calm, which in turn calmed the rest of the staff. 

Most of all, and probably more significantly, she had kept quiet about everything that happened that night which is extremely rare and coveted in my line of work. Helen knows how to be quiet and not question things. I know she has suspicions about my family and their line of work, but she has never asked or probed, and I love that about her. The less she knows, the better, that way she won’t get hurt. 

I keep my close circle small, so while Helen and I are tight as friends and I adore little Summer, there will always be a side of me that she will never get to know simply for her own safety. The thought of my cache of guns and my ability to wield a variety of weapons would be enough to turn her hair grey. Not to mention the nature of work my father and family are entangled with has the ability to not only put her in mortal danger but in legal jeopardy too. 

After Helen has put Summer to bed, she plonks herself down on the sofa next to me and I pass her a glass of wine. “Come on Eve, tell me what’s wrong.” I’ve always called her Eve, a special name between us. For a second, I see the tears filling her eyes before she closes them and the steely determination takes over her demeanour once again. 

“I’m okay Sal, really, I am just so annoyed with him. If you had not been able to collect Summer tonight, I would have been screwed and he still hasn’t even called to make sure she is safe, never mind me.” I know she feels shame telling me this, she thinks he treats her this way because that is what she deserves when the truth of the matter is Alan Jefferson was always punching above his weight when he landed Helen. 

“You know I don’t mind helping with Summer, she is a little cherub and I love her.” I bite my tongue before I say anything else, it's not my place to get involved in her marriage and my friendship with her is worth more than my opinion of her douche of a husband and his callous treatment of her and their baby. 

We share a drink before I call it a night. My driver comes to collect me because I have had a drink and I leave my keys with Helen. “Use my car until you sort your own out, I don’t need it for a couple of days.” 

I give her a hug as I leave and watch her retreat into her home before turning to my driver. 

“Willy, take me to The Royale please, I have to pay Mr Jefferson a visit.” He nods before opening my door to allow me to climb in. 

“Yes, Ms. Morales, will you be needing your bag?” I give this some thought, after all Alan was a soldier until last year. 

“I don’t think that will be necessary this time Willy, but I am not ruling it out should he continue to be a moron.” I see my driver smile. 

The drive to The Royale is quiet, I quickly check my CCTV surveillance and call the club to ensure everything continues to run smoothly in my absence. One of my men, Karl, calls to tell me he still has eyes on Alan, and he hasn’t moved from the poker table. 

As I walk in, people scatter. My reputation precedes me and I make no effort to change their perception of me. I want them to fear me, I want them to know that I am not to be crossed. 

As I march through the room towards the poker table, Alan looks up, his eyes go wide and despite his drunken and drugged up state he tries to get away because he knows I will kill him. 

I pounce on him, squashing his head to the table, sending all the drinks set on there flying through the air. “I fucking warned you. I warned you and you did not listen to me, did you? Do you know what happens to people who take the piss out of me, Alan?” 

He starts to cry. “Please don’t hurt me, I promise I’ll go home and be nice to her. And the kid. I promise Halle, please”. 

I raise my hand and one of my men places my favourite pair of pliers in it. “Pathetic little-dicked wasters like you lose fingernails.” I place the pliers next to his index finger and he starts to scream. “For the sake of your two-year-old daughter, I won’t pull them this time. Get home, Alan, you pathetic waste of organs. Next time I will fucking kill you never mind pull your fingernails out.” 

He runs from the room and I am sure he has wet himself with fear. I tell Karl to ensure he goes directly home, hand my favourite pliers back to Willy, and smooth down my skirt. I’m in the mood for ice cream!