P R O L O G U E - Elijah.

"I have to admit that I was not expecting you to arrive today. After all, it was not the date on which we had settled. I have not yet prepared anything in terms of the initiation ceremony."

Under ordinary circumstances, I would have been biting off the head of the person who had dared to do this. But I couldn't do that this time around, because there were not the ordinary circumstances in which we found ourselves. The man in question, was no one other than my Beta - or rather, my soon to be Beta, considering the fact that mine was a female who had gone to the pack that belonged to her mate. It was nothing for her to be ashamed of - but this was definitely something for him to be ashamed of. His arrival had been untimely, and had created a lot of trouble amongst my border patrol. I was in the right frame of mind to send him pack to where he had come from, but I knew that that would only come back to bite me in the ass at a later stage. There was no need to create any unnecessary discomfort.

I also knew that the real reason why I was so bothered by what was going on, was because of the fact that we had an open club this evening. Essentially, it meant that there would be members from all of our surrounding packs that were going to come here and enjoy their evening. I had been intending to go there and enjoy myself, but it seemed like that was going to have to wait. Finding a willing she-wolf had never been difficult for me, but doing it when I was irritated did make things a bit harder. I knew that all was not yet lost, and I would still be able to go there later, but it did not change the fact that this had not been a part of my plans.

With my luck, majority of the she-wolves would have already started drinking by the time that I got there, and I was not the kind of man who found myself in the habit of taking advantage of intoxicated woman. After all, what was the point of having someone to fuck when they weren't fully able to appreciate what was happening? Simply because you were not committed to the individual, did not mean that you didn't need to be committed to the act. It was as simple as that.

It dawned on me that I had gotten caught up in my thoughts. This wasn't a common occurrence, but the timing of it had been rather inconvenient. My soon-to-be beta was in the midst of explaining himself and everything that had led to his early arrival, and I hadn't heard a single word of it. But I doubted that any of it would be of any consequence to me. It was unlikely that it would come to be a big deal. It was going to be a lot of work, but I would have no choice but to make the arrangements for the initiation ceremony tomorrow. For the time being, I would merely have to give him and his family charms that would signify to the rest of the pack that they were here under my protection, and that they would not be a threat to us.

"Micheal. If you are to be my Beta, there are a few things that we need to get straight. You do not allow things like this to happen again. You and I had an agreement that you would only come here next week, and yet, here you are. You've thrown a major obstacle in our path, and now we're just expected to deal with it. I do not look forward to the impact that this is going to have on our future relationship with one another, but I will not tolerate things like this.

I value commitment to schedule and punctuality. My pack does not run as independently as it does merely because everyone decides to do what they want to do. It is because they follow their rules, and they know when not to cross lines. We have no choice but to schedule your initiation ceremony for tomorrow evening. Unfortunately, it will not be as grand as it was supposed to be, because we need to arrange it now, at the last minute. For the time being, you're welcome to distribute these charms to your family members. They will provide you with the protection that you need to make it through the day tomorrow."

I could tell by the way that his expression continued to drop, that he was starting to feel less and less optimistic in terms of his position here. Good. I wanted him to question what he had done, so that he would not dare to do something like this in the future. His self-pity only irritated me even more, for he should have known that doing this was going to have consequences. He needed to step up and accept them. I could only hope that he will take my warning seriously and refrain from allowing something like this to happen again.

"Alpha Elijah, I completely understand what you are saying, and I apologise for my actions. I accept the responsibility for what I have done. I did not think that it would leave this impression on you, and I hope to redeem myself in the future."

"For your sake, I hope so too. This is where you and your family will have to stay for the time-being, since I have not yet decided on a home for you. I warn you - this is still my house. Treat it as such."

"Thank you, Alpha Elijah. I will ensure that my family gets the message."

I didn't bother saying anything else to him. I shouldn't even have stuck around long enough for him to answer me, but it was too late for that now. It seemed like it took me an eternity to get to the front door, for it felt like I needed to tiptoe around my own house. It grated on my nerves even further. It seemed like there were suitcases and boxes everywhere, and it just wasn't what my house was supposed to look like. I knew, without a doubt, that I was going to have an incredibly hard time accepting this Beta. No matter how much he tried to suck up to me, or how well he followed my orders, it would not be as easy as that. I did not think that he truthfully understood how much this was costing me.

Luckily for my sake, I had not seen his mate or his children. If I had been put in a position where I was needed to address all of them, I doubted that I would have been able to handle it as kindly as I had handled him. But then again, perhaps I should have gone through the trouble of meeting them. After all, one of them should have been able to address their father and tell him that what he was doing was not right. But instead, they had been doing goodness knows what.

It was quite a long walk to the club, and I knew that it had already gotten quite late in the evening. I had every certainty that the club was already going to be busy by the time that I got there, that majority of the women would have started drinking. But I told myself that there was no use in crying over spilt milk. All that I could do, was to go there and hope that I would be able to salvage my chances of having fun. But it felt like even that wasn't going to be possible.

We did not use vehicles in my pack as I did not believe that it had a good impact on the environment - that was why I was walking to the club, instead of using a faster mode of transport. After all, we were supposed to be protecting our world and not ruining it.

I could feel myself getting more and more anxious to close so I got to the club. I did not quite know why I was feeling the way that I was, but I shrugged it off, pinning it on irritation. After all, what else could it be?

When I got to the front door, the guards who are standing there to ensure that no rogues found their way inside, did not even blink when they saw me. They allowed me in without question, which was not an unusual thing for them to do. It made me feel likely better because I did not have to wait in the long queue that was already outside. I doubt that I would have the patience to deal with that on top of everything else.

When I got into the club, I was immediately assaulted by the sound of the music that blasted through the speakers. I had to admit that it was the only thing that I didn’t particularly like about going out. Majority of the people who had earplugs shoved into their ears, and usually I was one of those people. Unfortunately, due to the fact that my entire routine had been thrown out the windows this evening, I did not have mine with me.

As if my evening wasn’t already bad enough, it seems like it was only going to get worse and worse. I was starting to debate whether or not it would be better for me to go home. But then I decided that I had come here to have a good time, and I was going to have a good time.

If I had to take a guess, I would say that the place had recently gotten a good and thorough cleaning, because it did not reek of sweat and bodily fluids as it usually did. It actually smelled quite appealing, which was a surprise in itself. I knew that it would not stay like this for long, but I would appreciate it while it did.

There was already a group of people dancing in the middle of the floor, and if I had to take a guess, I would say that they were already drunk. It usually took quite a while for us to get intoxicated but considering the fact that this was a club specially for us, they knew what to serve. I had no intentional drinking this evening, and I could only hope that I will find a woman who had had the same plan, so that I would be able to fuck her senseless, instead of having a senseless woman that I was fucking. There was only one of those that was truly enjoyable.

Someone collided with me, their shoulder slamming into mine. Just as I had been about to turn around, the person walked past me, and I found myself surprised to be looking down at a woman. If I had to take a guess, I would estimate her to be in her early 20s. And if I had to take another guess, I would say that her bumping into me seemed like the perfect excuse for me to talk to her.

And just like that, it seems like I had my sights set. I just hope that she didn’t prove to be a waste of time, because that would be another disappointment. As far as I was concerned, I had already had my fair share of those. I doubted that I would be able to handle my next one as well as I handled the previous ones. I couldn’t be blamed for that, could I?

I did what any man would have done if they had found themselves in my shoes, with a woman like this. I wwalked after her. I wanted to make sure that I didn't come on too strong, that she didn't think that I was pushy. I didn't want to ruin my chances by jumping the gun. Could you imagine what a fuck up that would end up being? I touched her arm, doing it lightly, yet firmly, so that she would have no choice but to acknowledge that I was waiting for her to talk to me. No matter how many times I needed to try, I would try.

"What is a pretty little thing like you, doing in a place like this?"

And she was pretty. That much I could vouch for. Perhaps it was just my dick speaking and doing the thinking. It was definitely possible. I could tell that she was not wearing anything underneath her tank top, the material almost being thin enough for me to look right through it.

I wasn't sure why I was so attracted to her. I wouldn't even call her hot or my type. She didn't even look like the kind of woman who came here to have a good time, although I doubted that I looked like the kind of man who came here looking for that either. It was a part of my charm. What if it was the same for her?

"I don't entertain guys like you, thank you very much."