She is our mate

Aaron

Something was wrong with my wolf. I had noticed it from the moment I woke up.

He had been restless all morning, pacing inside me with an agitation I couldn't explain. Every attempt I'd made to ignore him had only made things worse. He'd spent the last hour demanding my attention, pushing against the walls of my control as though something outside was calling to him. I was beginning to lose patience.

"What's wrong with you?" I muttered, fastening the buttons of my shirt.

My wolf didn't answer. He rarely did when he was like this. Instead, he paced.

I picked up my watch from the dresser and strapped it around my wrist before glancing at the time. I had a meeting in less than an hour, followed by a series of calls that would keep me in my office for most of the afternoon. There was no reason for me to be standing in my bedroom trying to figure out why my wolf suddenly couldn't settle down. I had more important things to deal with. The company was expanding into another territory, the council had been pressing me about the upcoming wedding, and Selene had already sent me three messages reminding me about dinner with her parents.

My engagement was supposed to be the beginning of stability. Instead, my wolf had decided to become restless for no reason.

I exhaled sharply and left my bedroom. Maybe some fresh air would settle him.

I walked through the house and stepped outside into the garden. The morning air was cool against my skin, and for the first few seconds, everything seemed normal.

Then my wolf stopped pacing. He became completely still.

I slowed down. "What?"

He didn't answer. Instead, something strange moved through me — a sensation I couldn't immediately identify, followed by a scent so intoxicating that I stopped walking altogether. Warm. Sweet. Soft.

My wolf surged forward.

*Mate.*

My entire body went rigid. No. I hadn't heard him correctly.

*Mate.*

The word echoed through my mind with such certainty that for a moment I stood there. A mate. After all these years, my wolf had finally found his mate. And judging by his reaction, she was somewhere nearby.

I closed my eyes and took another breath. There it was again. That scent. My wolf pulled me toward it with such force that I had to fight the instinct to follow immediately. I had never experienced anything like it. The pull was almost physical.

I followed the scent through the garden, turning around one of the tall hedges. Then I heard a woman's voice.

"...some people are just greedy."

I stopped. The woman continued speaking.

"They collect everything they can get their hands on and forget there are people outside their gates struggling to survive."

I raised an eyebrow. I had no idea who she was, but she was standing in my garden, holding a phone toward herself while criticizing the person who owned the estate. My estate. I should have been angry. Instead, my wolf was practically vibrating inside me.

*There.*

I followed the scent around another hedge and finally saw her. I stopped. My first thought was that my wolf had to be mistaken. There was no way this woman was my mate. She was human — I could tell immediately from her scent, and everything about her appearance confirmed it. She wore a fitted red dress that might have been acceptable somewhere else, but certainly wasn't what I expected from someone who had come to interview for a position in my household. Her clothes were cheap. Her shoes looked even cheaper. And there was something about the way she carried herself that irritated me almost immediately — an air of confidence that bordered on arrogance, as though she'd never considered that she might not belong in a place like this.

My wolf growled.

*Mate.*

"No."

He snarled inside me. There was no way. I was the Alpha King. I wasn't going to accept a human woman who looked as though she had walked out of a cheap perfume shop as my mate. 

My mate was supposed to be someone who turned heads when she entered a room. Someone elegant. Someone sophisticated. Someone who could stand beside me at council meetings and royal functions without looking completely out of place. Someone worthy of my position.

Not this.

The woman finally noticed me. Her eyes widened. For a moment, she stared. I watched her gaze move over me before she seemed to realize she'd been staring too long.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

I said nothing. I couldn't — not because I didn't have anything to say, but because my wolf was making it increasingly difficult to think. Her scent was everywhere. It filled my lungs. It made my body react in ways I had no interest in acknowledging.

She took another step backward. "Oh, that's my friend." She glanced toward the sound of another woman calling her name. "I should go. And I don't know if you heard any of the things I said earlier. I didn't mean it."

I watched her hurry away. My wolf remained restless.

*Mate.*

"No."

*Our mate.*

"You're mistaken."

*She is ours.*

I turned away from the direction she'd disappeared. "There's no way that woman is my mate."

My wolf growled. I ignored him and headed back toward the house. I needed to get to work. More importantly, I needed to stop thinking about her.

Unfortunately, that proved harder than expected.

By the time I reached my office, my wolf was still unsettled. I sat behind my desk and opened my laptop, forcing myself to focus on the documents waiting for me. It didn't work. My thoughts kept returning to the woman in the red dress.

I hated that. I'd spent years carefully controlling my life. I had no interest in allowing another woman to disrupt it. I'd learned that lesson the hard way. Every female assistant I'd hired eventually became a problem. 

The pattern had always been the same: we worked closely together, attraction developed, and eventually one of them crossed a line. I'd slept with them — that was my mistake. Afterward, they became possessive. Some began believing they had a future with me. 

Others became openly hostile toward Selene. One had even tried to convince the council that she was carrying my child. None of it had ended well. So I'd started firing them.

My last PA had lasted longer than the others, but even she had eventually become a problem after having a confrontation with Selene. I'd fired her immediately. I couldn't afford another situation like that. Especially now.

Selene was my fiancée. She was the daughter of two influential council members, and our marriage would strengthen my relationship with the council and secure an alliance that mattered to my position as Alpha King. I needed stability. I didn't need another woman complicating my life.

A knock sounded on my door.

"Come in."

My assistant entered and placed a tablet on my desk. "The interviews are ready for your review."

I nodded. She left.

I picked up the tablet and opened the recording. The first candidate appeared on the screen. Then the second. Then the third. None of them held my attention.

Until I saw her.

The woman from the garden. Bree Carter.

I leaned back in my chair as the interview began.

"How long have you worked as a personal assistant?"

Bree and her friend looked at each other. I frowned. The interviewer repeated the question. The two women finally admitted they had come for a nanny position. 

I stared at the screen, feeling irritated. They had walked into an interview without even knowing what position they were interviewing for?

Then Bree started laughing. My irritation immediately went through the roof.

"What exactly is funny?" 

I watched her struggle to explain herself, still laughing while apologizing for the misunderstanding. I shook my head.

 They should have been ashamed of themselves. This was a professional household, not some place where people could simply walk in and waste everyone's time.

My wolf stirred.

*Watch how you talk about our mate, my wolf warned.*

"She's an embarrassment," I shot back. "I knew you had bad taste in women. I just didn't realize it was this awful."

"At least get to know her first,* my wolf said. 

I glared at the screen. "Why?"

My wolf didn't answer immediately. Then he gave me the only answer that mattered.

*Because she is ours.*

I clenched my jaw. "No."

But my eyes remained on the screen.

Bree and her friend eventually stood and left the office. The video ended. I should have moved on to the next candidate. Instead, I remained there, staring at the blank screen. I didn't understand why. My wolf was quiet now. Almost smug. I hated that even more.

Finally, I leaned back and sighed. There was one solution. If my wolf wanted her nearby, then I would keep her nearby. I could hire her. 

It wasn't as though I was attracted to her; it was quite the opposite. 

She was human, completely unsuitable for my world, poorly dressed, and far too arrogant for someone who had wandered into my private garden and insulted its owner. I certainly had no intention of sleeping with her.

And that was precisely why hiring her made sense. 

If my wolf wanted her nearby, then I would keep her nearby. I could hire her as my PA and give him exactly what he wanted. He would have her close, where he could see her whenever he wanted, and eventually he would realize there was nothing special about her.

I would be able to control the situation. And because I had no interest in sleeping with her, there would be no repeat of my previous mistakes. Perhaps this would finally allow me to focus entirely on Selene. 

My relationship with my fiancée could become stronger, and my wolf would finally stop behaving like an irrational idiot.

It was a perfect solution. At least, that's what I told myself.

I picked up my phone and called the interviewer. She answered almost immediately.

"Yes, sir?"

"The woman in the red dress who just left your office."

There was a brief pause. "Bree Carter?"

"Yes."

"Is there a problem?"

"Bring her back."

Another pause. "Sir?"

"I want her to see me."

"Of course."

I ended the call. My wolf immediately stirred.

*I knew you would come around.*

I rolled my eyes. "I did not come around."

*You called our mate back.*

"I'm hiring her."

*Because she is our mate.*

"No."

*You know I'm right.*

I leaned back in my chair. "I'm hiring her because I need to control you."

My wolf laughed inside my mind. *Whatever helps you sleep at night.*

I ignored him. 

There was no way I was accepting that woman as my mate. I was simply employing her to keep my wolf satisfied and to prevent myself from repeating the mistakes of the past.

That was all.

At least, that was what I told myself.