Chapter 4: Mate

Adan

“Sir, I urge you to consider attending the Auction tonight,” Mason said for the seventh time today. “Either that, or you could take Hailey as your Mate and be done with it.”

Hailey Sims was a member of the Pack, and I’d known her for years. In fact, everyone had expected me to marry her and take her as my Mate after my father’s death.

“For the hundredth time, I don’t love her!” I slammed down my bourbon and then rose to my feet. “I refuse to take a woman that’s not my Mate.”

Mason let out a deep breath. “Alpha Cole, just choose a Mate! It’s not like—”

“I said no!” I growled, heading back to the bar to refill my glass. Then I turned to face the fireplace, watching the orange, red, and yellow flames lap hungrily at the log on the far wall. “She’s out there. My Mate. I know she is.” I took another sip.

“Sir… Alpha Cole… you may be a Mafia Don to the humans, but I don’t have to remind you that since your father’s death, you’re now the King of the Moon Shadow Pack. The Alpha. And every King must take a Queen, or give up their Pack, according to Pack Law.”

“You’re right. I don’t need to be reminded. The Pack Council has reminded me enough.” In our world, a King must take a Queen or risk being dethroned, as Mason had said. But I refused to take just any woman as my Mate.

Mason chuckled. “Well, one good thing is that the Blood Moon is coming.”

My head snapped up as I narrowed my eyes. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? And how is that lucky?”

He shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. “If you don’t choose a Mate by the Blood Moon, then the mating instinct will take over, and you’ll be forced to choose a Mate, whether you want to or not.” He chuckled. “Your hormones will take over, and you’ll be bedding any woman who comes near you. Problem solved.”

“Shut the hell up!” I downed the rest of my drink and set down the glass. Although I hated the thought of going to a human auction, I could think of better alternatives than letting fate choose my Mate for me.

I wanted to choose my Mate myself… the one I would give my heart to and who would bear my children. But even though I had seen every female in my Pack and all the neighboring Packs, I still hadn’t found her.

“Alright! Even though I hate the thought of going to a human auction, it’s better than standing here, listening to you gripe all night!” But there was no way that I would find my Mate tonight. Not among humans. It was a virtual impossibility. Wolf-shifters didn’t associate with humans, unless it was absolutely necessary.

Years ago, our people came to upstate New York to escape the humans and form our own society. However, the more the human race grew, the more they built, and the less land we had.

Before long, we found ourselves intermingled with humans in business dealings and associating with them in much closer proximity than we wanted. So, instead of trying to explain our Packs to the humans, we posed as Mafia Families. But in truth, we were individual Packs.

Each Pack had its own Royal Family. Each Alpha is a King. His Mate is the Queen, and so forth. I hated to have to lie about who I was to anyone, but in order to survive, we didn’t have a choice.

Mason patted my shoulder and gave me a manly squeeze. “Don’t worry. I’ll go with you, and I’ll also bring your guards. At the first sign of trouble, we’re out of there.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “I never shied away from trouble with the humans before, and I don’t intend to now.” I headed toward the stairs. “Tell Douglas to get the limo ready. I’ll take care of the guards. I’ll be down in a minute.”

I headed up the stairs, not waiting for his response. I quickly showered, brushed through my shoulder-length, dark brown hair, and shaved. If I was going to meet my Mate, I wanted to look my best. But there was no way I would find her among the humans. Impossible.

No, most humans left us alone. They sensed that there was something dangerous about us when they came too close, and they stayed away. I wrapped a white towel around my waist and headed through my bedroom and into my dressing room. I picked out a tuxedo, a white dress shirt, and my black shoes that shone to perfection. Remy, my butler, always kept them polished because, and I quote, “You never know when you may have to attend a meeting at the spur of the moment.”

Tonight, he was right. It wasn’t a meeting with the human Mafia Dons or the Pack Council Leaders, but it was still a meeting, per se. If I met my Mate tonight, then it would be a meeting.

Otherwise, it was going to be an endless string of human women who had been taken from their homes and paraded before men for a price. It was disgusting. No woman should have to endure such a degrading event, which was why I rarely attended. However, Don Fletcher Reed always invited me. Obviously, he thought I needed a wife. But whether I decided to go or not was another story.

But I heard that a new sex club was coming into town, and I hoped maybe that would stop the trafficking problem.

At the last auction I attended, I was tempted to kill all the men, release the women, and let them return to their families. But it wouldn’t do for me to slaughter all the Mafia Crime Families, businessmen, politicians, movie stars, and other high-profile clients in attendance. So, Mason got me out of there. Fletcher tried to stop me from leaving, but I was so angry that I just turned in my number and left.

I was sure that tonight wouldn’t be any different… or maybe this time, I’d take everyone down. I smiled at the thought.

When I was ready, I texted Harley. “I’m going to the auction tonight. You’ll need to come with me. Also, round up Maximus and Brian. I want them with me, too. Also, bring my Maserati, just in case. But if anything happens to it, it’ll be your head.”

There was a pause, and then he texted back, “Will do, Boss.”

I tucked my phone into the inside pocket of my suit coat and headed downstairs. Mason smiled his approval, all dressed and ready to go. “The auction starts at eight o’clock.” He looked at his watch. “We don’t have much time—”

“I have plenty of time,” I growled, cutting him off. “Patience was never one of your strong suits, Mason.”

He scoffed. “Dealing with you, I have to have plenty of patience.”

My head snapped up, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t forget. I’m still your boss.”

Mason glared at me but said nothing more.

I checked my watch. “You and the boys meet me there.”

“But Boss—”

My eyes flared when I turned around, and he backed right down. That was the way it usually was. As the Alpha, just one look could stop a man in their tracks… and usually did.