Chapter 1

Scarlet POV

“Scarlet is back!” I heard Courtney yell from inside our cabin. I laughed to myself as I walked inside of our little but cozy cabin. The three trouble makers are what we used to call ourselves but as we matured, we dropped that and just became more like sisters. My name is Scarlet. I stand at 5 '7”, deep greenish/blue eyes, deep brown hair that is waist length with a slim but toned build. My brother is the Alpha to the Red Creek Pack but due to our childhood, I would rather not live in a pack. Instead, I have built a life for myself with two great friends. He fully supports me and we still run our co-owned jewellery business.

Courtney is a fire-cracker with very wavy light red hair, light golden eyes, slim figure and stands tall at 5’5”. Her porcelain skin is decorated in freckles. She is the flirty type and loves to mingle. Courtney never backs down from a challenge and is the type to take on a group of guys in a game of pool and will take all their money, playing innocent. In reality, she was an orphan, her parents were killed when she was little and has always taken care of herself. I ran into her as she pick-pocketed my brother and caught her in the act. He let her live as I took responsibility for her life. We were both around sixteen as the time and look back at it now and laugh.

Penelope is what you would call the ‘girl next door’ type. She is from Indian descent, nose piercing, long black hair that stops at her chest with a slight wave. She is 5’7”, with a slimmer body style too. Where Courtney likes to dress up, Penelope likes jeans and a nice shirt. I happened to run into her with her family. They came to the U.S for our jewelry store. They got into an automobile accident and passed away. Peneolpe was at my house at that time. She said she didn’t have any other family so we kept her. I was seventeen and she was sixteen. Courtney and I adopted her as our sister. My brother accepted them both into our pack as members so they didn’t smell like rouges.

Over the years, we have developed a skill set that has fit us well. Courtney taught us the trade of pick-pocketing and we taught her how to use that for good. It started as a simple thing. An Alpha and Luna had visited our store and purchased a beautiful blue diamond earring set. I had to hand deliver it to them in South Dakota. Right before we left from dropping it off, someone had stolen it from Luna and almost killed her in the process. We managed to track it down and return it to the Alpha. The Luna survived and they were in our debt for returning the jewellery. Word spread that that and now we are like a ’hire to steal’. A wolf version of Robin Hood I guess. Not really to give to the needy but give back to who it belonged in the first place. As of right now, our clientele list is grown and now we have quite a few big named clients. Between us three, we can adapt and blend in, flirting our way to where we need to go and steal back what was stolen in the first place.  

Since we travel for “work”, we live life freely. Don’t stay in one place too long or get attached to anything. We do have this cottage as a home base. It is deep in the mountains in Montana. We made it out of the same trees and shrubs that surround it so no one would expect any different looking at it from above. It isn’t till you and standing in front of it, does it look like a home. We have a small front porch with a swing and a small sitting area off to the side. Since it is at the bottom of a valley, most people don’t venture this far down so all they see is the roof and it looks like a large shrub.

Men have never really been a large importance in our lives. We used them to get the job done and occasionally to satisfy our needs. We will go to the club every now and then to let the stress out but that is about it. None of us have really had an interest in finding our mates. We are all now in our late 20’s and that childish dream of our mates sweeping us off our feet, taking us to a grand house and spoiling us has gone out the window. We rely on each other and that’s it.

I was currently swinging on my porch, just watching the beautiful animals scurry around and play. This is my favorite place to be. No worries, no cares. Nothing can hurt me here. This felt like my safe place. My phone ringing brought me out of my trans. I didn’t recognize the number but I hit accept anyway. You never know who might need help.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Sandra?”

“Who is asking?”

He began to chuckle, “I need your services. Apparently, you are the person to call when you need something…found”

“Oh?”

“My apologies, Alpha Steven referred me to you” the unknown caller said

Alpha Steven is the alpha from South Dakota I helped. “And”

“He told me to tell you, Blue bird? Whatever that means”

That was our code word so I knew this was a ligament call. “What can I help you with?”

“I prefer to do business in person. I am aware this new restaurant has opened, Midnight Palace, meet me there at 8pm tonight. I will be in the VIP portion of the restaurant.”

I looked at my clock, it was 3pm now. That will be enough time to shower, get ready and drive to the restaurant. “And whom am I meeting” I asked

“My name is Johnathan Adams' ' he said and I heard a click of the phone. Puzzled, I looked at the screen and the call ended. Did he just say Johnathan Adams? Like the vice president Johnathan Adams? Holy shit! I hopped off the swing and ran inside.

“GIRLS!!!!” I yelled as I ran into the kitchen. They were sitting around the table eating cookies. “Guess who I just got a call from?” I grabbed a cookie and took a bite. Warm chocolate chip cookies are my favorite.

“Are you going to tell us or keep us waiting while you moan for a cookie?” Courtney mouthed off.

I gave her the finger but finished my bite, “Johnathan Adams”

“Like Visa President, Johnathan Adams?” Penelope asked

“I think so. I am meeting him at this new club/restaurant about two hours from here. I need to shower and get ready. I think this is more of an upscale place so I need you guys to pick me out a dress.”

“Oh, how about the blue one?” Courtney said looked at Penelope

“No, the red looks better on her, make her tits look bigger!”

“She has enough tits without them spilling out!”  Courtney said

I left them to bicker and made my way to the bathroom. There I showered, got out and did my hair and makeup. I kept it simple and put my hair into a signature side braid and kept the makeup light. I walked out of the bathroom and the girls had a shimmering red dress. It was a one shoulder dress that went to the floor with a slit that came to my upper thigh. It hugged every curve of my body but kept my cleavage covered. Once I was dressed, I needed to get going. I grabbed my black red bottom heels and headed for the door.

“Be careful! Don’t get hurt and let us know if you need help!”  Penelope said

“Thanks ladies! Don’t wait up!” I said as I made my way to the garage. We had a small four-wheeler that we had to use to even access this place. A garage is built about 10 miles from here that has our vehicles.

I made my way to the garage and traded my four-wheeler for my 2021 Jaguar F-type. It was solid black, inside and out. She purred as I started her and took off. I loved the roof down but since I needed my hair to not look like a rat’s nest, I decided to leave it up. It was a warm fall evening. I hated dressing up so I might raid the to-go bag in the back and change into something more comfy and let the top down on the way home!

Before I knew it, I was pulling up to the restaurant. The valet opened the door for me and helped me out. I grabbed my clutch and put it under my arm and walked inside. Since it was a nice evening, I didn’t bring a coat. Plus, being a werewolf has it perks, like never getting cold. This place was swinging with cameras and people were lined up waiting to get in. I saw a sign that said grand opening that covered the glass windows. They stretched the front with Edison lighting making it look romantic and mysterious at the same time.

As I waited for the hostess to finish with the guest in front of me, I looked around and examined the restaurant. It was beautiful! Elegant but simple. My eye was drawn to this sexy god-like man walking around. He screamed danger but was holding a conversation with the mayor. It was like my body started walking forward on its own and took a few steps before I was bumped from the side and brought out of my trans. What the hell was that? 

“Good Evening and welcome to Midnight Palace, Your name miss?” The hostess asked, bring my attention to her.

“Sandra Jones” I use an alliance when dealing with clients in public places.

“Ah, yes. Right this way please?” She said and I followed her up the stairs and to a private room that held exactly one table. My heart pulled me to go back to the man god. It felt like the further I walked away, the harder it was to breathe.

 There was already a gentleman sitting at the table. The hostess extended her arm, allowing me to pass and enter the room. Once I was in, she shut the door and gave us our privacy.

“Miss Sandra. Is that what you would like to go by? My name is Johnathan Adams. Yes, I am the Vice President so yes I am aware of your real identity.” He said as he came up to me and shook my hand.

“In public, I would prefer Sandra but in private, Scarlet is okay.” I said as I sat down and Johnathan pushed in my chair like a gentleman. He was an older man, mid- sixties of Asian descent with graying hair. “Excuse me sir, I wasn’t aware you were a wolf” I said bluntly as I could smell it on him.

He laughed, “Call me John. Yes, most people don’t know that and I ask people that do, to keep that information to themselves. I work closely with companies to help out our kind and preserve our forests. I hope you don’t mind, I ordered for you already as I am in a hurry tonight.”

I grabbed the glass of red wine and took a sip. “That is fine, I am not a picky eater” I answered honestly. Mainly, I was intrigued by what he could possibly want from me.

Right then our food was brought in. The waitress places a bowl of chicken alfredo with garlic bread in front of me and a plate of shrimp beside me. They placed a steak and potatoes in front of John. After Johnathan dismissed them, he said “I wasn’t sure if you wanted shrimp or not as an add on so I went ahead and ordered that for you.”

“Thank you.” I said and put the shrimp in my pasta and started eating. This food was amazing! Best chicken alfredo I have ever had!

“So, like I was saying, I am in a hurry so I will get right down to it. This is a sensitive matter. We can’t prove anything and I don’t know who did it. It gets tricky with human governments and pack laws.” I nodded in understanding. “So, I would like you to retrieve an item for me and return it to the Museum of National Treasure.”

I paused before taking a drink of wine. I looked right into the eyes of the VP looking for any sign or hint of him lying. He wasn’t.

“I really must be going but I will email you the details. I shouldn’t need to tell you this is time sensitive and confidentiality is a must. This is top priority and other than the girls, this better not get out”

“Of course, John. Here is my secure email.” I wrote my email address on a napkin and handed it to him. “Burn that after you email it and then delete the email. We also do not take chances.” I said firmly. This would be a huge score for us and a potential client. I can’t take any chances and messing this up is not an option.

“Of course, Miss Sandra” John said as he grabbed my hand and kissed it before leaving the room.

I finished my wine before I got up and headed out. I decided to look around to see if I can find out who this man-god is. He must work here. After looking in a few rooms, I found what looked like an office. There was a table in the middle with candles. He must have a girlfriend or mate. For some reason that sent an ache through my heart. Maybe I was just jealous as I could stand to take a ride on him. I am sure I could show him a thing or two. 

“May I ask what you are doing, ma’am?” a voice behind me asked. Shit!