Chapter 2: Intern

~Ronan's Pov~

I was here for two reasons. First: it was my son's engagement party, and as his father, I needed to be here. Second: I hadn't seen my best friend since I got back from France, and he wasn’t having any of it when he practically arranged this engagement party.

My boy, Mavis, stood beside me, nodding to the guests as they trooped into Calder's home. I wondered if he even knew what he was doing. Don’t get me wrong, the friendship between Calder and me is pretty tight, but I didn’t expect him to propose marriage to Calder’s daughter.

The girl is a bitch—even I would agree.

"The prodigal man shows himself." I turned to the voice, and my eyes met Calder. My friend approached me with a slow grin spread across his lips.

"I have to be here. It is an important occasion after all."

"It's been long, man. How long has it been? Six or seven?"

"Eleven," I corrected him. Eleven years of focus on myself. Eleven years of punishment to myself.

Calder stood beside me. "I am glad you made it," he said, his voice sounding like he wanted to say more but refrained. I wouldn't blame him, though. Everyone was worried when I left; my pack especially. While Calder is the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack in Orlando, Florida, I am the Alpha of the RedMoon Pack in New York. That is my domain, and everyone knows it. As a shifter, I rule and lead my pack.

New York bows down to me, and unlike some books one might read about the human and wolf world, it is quite different in our world. The werewolves are situated in Florida (Orlando, Tampa, Miami), while the shifters, like us, who can shift at any time regardless of the moon, are situated in New York. Both packs are united but have one enemy.

"So…where is the bride-to-be?"

Calder chuckled slightly. "She's upstairs with her mother. Mavis can go check on her if he wants to. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

I turned to my son, who stood with a smile on his face, his dimples showing on both sides. His ears reddened, and he looked down, avoiding my gaze.

"Excuse me," he said and walked out.

"I am so glad both our children are getting married. This would be perfect."

Tell me about it. I knew how much Calder wanted this marriage. In fact, from the moment Mavis was born, he wanted both our children to end up together.

I didn't, but of course, I wouldn't say that out loud. That wouldn't be nice. After we greeted the guests, we moved into the party to socialize. Because of the event, many neighboring packs attended the party. The mansion was filled with so many people. I thought this was supposed to be a small gathering with friends.

I motioned to the server when my hands froze mid-air. My eyes watched as she took slow steps down the stairs, her hair cascading down, moving alongside her.

She is beautiful—the complete epitome of that. Her eyes searched the crowd, and when they landed on me, it was like I forgot how to breathe. No one had ever evoked this kind of feeling from me in years.

Her expression turned sour instantly, and she picked up her pace, coming down the stairs. I tilted my head and studied her as she approached. What a feisty little thing.

She got closer, walking so fast her hair fell to the side of her round cheeks. It looks like she has a thing for me after all. Good.

She paused in front of me, and it was then I noticed who she was staring at, Calder, who was standing beside me this whole time.

"Father," she said, tucking her red hair behind her ear.

Father? Did I just hear that correctly?

"You came down. I thought you were going to disappoint me again," Calder said, giving her a reprimanding look.

"How would I miss the best event of the year?" Anyone could hear her sarcasm in those words.

Wait…what about the 'father' part? The only daughter I know Calder has is that bitch Ruby. Or am I missing something?

"You called, and I answered," she said, glancing at me before shifting her gaze back to Calder.

"I would like you to meet my friend, Alpha Ronan. You may have heard about him? The Alpha of RedMoon Pack."

She glanced back at me again and nodded before turning to look at her father. Why is my heart beating loudly all of a sudden?

"I didn't know there was another daughter, Calder."

He laughed. "There is. I will tell you all about it. Anyssa came to live with us some years ago. She's just a mistake from a drunken night I had with her pathetic mother some years back."

As Calder spoke, Anyssa flinched from his words, but she smiled instead. It was interesting, really. She knew how to mask her emotions, but if you looked closely, you could see how angry she was.

"She's currently in UCF, and I need her to intern in your company."

What?

"Repeat that."

Calder turned to look at me. "I want her to intern in your company in New York. At least that would keep her head straight.”