Chapter 2

AXEL

I can’t help but smile at the message Verity sent me.

I have missed her deeply, which is uncommon for my kind to be attracted to one person, especially when they are not your mate.

I’m a werewolf and am the soon-to-be alpha of the Crescent Fall pack. My father, Alpha Cesar, is still the alpha. I am to take over when I turn twenty-one, which is next week.

Twenty-one is the right age to be part of something great in the pack, whether moving up the ranks or finding your mate.

Our Moon Goddess foretold that every werewolf would find their mate at the age of twenty-one. Many don’t, but they never give up hope of finding them.

I looked out the hotel’s window and watched as many humans went about their day.

Many have heard about our kind. I have witnessed many get frightened just by the mere mention of what we are. They all have their own stories or fairy tales about us, and most of them, I can not say whether they are true or not. It all comes down to whatever everyone believes.

I sighed as I turned around and watched my best friend scroll through the TV for something to watch. “There is nothing on,” he growled and threw the remote onto the bed.

I frowned.

I have to escape here, away from him.

Dixon and I have been best friends since we were five and inseparable. We do everything together, but we both have different values regarding women.

Dixon has saved himself for his mate and won’t even go near any she-wolves. I vowed to do the same. That was until I met Verity.

I don’t know what it is about the human girl; she brings something out in me that makes me want to devour in one sitting.

I never told her this, but when we first hooked up, she was my first. She never said anything, but I didn’t even give her a chance, as I left the following morning without a word.

Sounds cold, I know, but I didn’t know what to do. I was afraid someone would see me with her.

And before you think I hate humans, I don’t. Well, not her, at least. Sometimes I would like to kill time, but I know I can’t, but with Verity, it is different.

Mace, my wolf, even likes her. He was adamant that we wouldn’t be hooking up with anyone, but as soon as we met Verity, it all went out the window. He begged to mate with her.

I asked him if she was our mate, but he wasn’t sure. He felt a pull toward her, but he never mentioned anything else.

“Moon Goddess will let us know on your birthday,” he grumbled in my head.

I groan.

I hate when he listens in on my thoughts, it’s so annoying.

“Same here,” he moaned and went further into my head.

I looked back, and his bright blue eyes bore into mine. “What’s ruffled your fur?” I asked.

Mace stared at me but let out a yawn. His drool slipped out of the corners of his mouth. He looked at me, but something was on his face, a wicked smirk. “I wonder if she will wear panties for us,” he murmured.

I smirked and couldn’t help my c**k twitch in my pants.

Every time we see Verity, we end up either at the hotel or her tiny flat. She always makes some effect for us and even leaves her panties off, so we can have some fun.

“Hey dude,” Dixon called out, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked at him and had to adjust my pants; as my c**k strained against the material, the thought of Verity with no panties came to mind.

Fuck, this human was getting to me in the worse possible way.

“Can we go out?” he asked.

I frowned.

“You and Don can,” I said.

Dixon groaned and moved off the bed, ensuring his legs were on the floor. His eyes bore into mine. “Why don’t you come?” he asked. “We came here early as you wanted. I thought you wanted to have some fun or something by coming a day early.”

I stared at my friend. He knew something was up as we have been coming here once a month now for six months, and every time I have been here, I have hooked up with Verity. Dixon doesn’t know about her, and I wasn’t planning on telling him.

I didn’t even mean for it to get this far with her.

I sighed.

“I wanted to come early as my father has been keeping on about the whole mate thing to me,” I murmured. “I know I should feel excited, but it freaks me out knowing I have a soulmate out there somewhere. Not only that, but before we left, my father told me that as soon as my birthday was gone, I would be taking over from him and becoming the pack’s new alpha.”

Dixon’s eyes widened but a grin formed.

“That’s amazing,” he said. “You will get to be alpha and make all the new changes that we want to happen.”

I nodded but felt my stomach drop slightly.

There were many traditions in our pack that were entirely out of date, and I will make it my mission to change them to suit our day in age. One rule many have followed over the years is when wolves find their mates and reject them because they are weak or of low rank. I want to stop it, but part of me thinks I should lead by example and show there is nothing wrong with a weak mate.

My mind went to Verity. She is human and is classed as weak in many wolves’ eyes.

Every wolf is different, with generations of different beliefs, but humans have always been a hard topic for us. We have encountered many horrible humans, hunters that want us dead, and some who are scared, but that is all due to the stories they believe. I want to change that and bring humans into the pack when I am alpha.

I know there will be hate for what I will do, but I need to try something.

If Verity was my mate, I didn’t know if I could accept her.

I could hear a low growl in my head from Mace. He would accept her, and I knew he would. He would even cut my nuts off if I did anything to hurt her.

“Do you think your mate is within the pack?” Dixon blurted out.

I looked at him and shrugged.

Part of me wanted Verity to be my mate, but I knew I would have to wait till I was sure. Verity knew about our kind; I told her many things but left out about mates and what I am. I didn’t want to freak her out by telling her I was an alpha son.

Mates is a strange topic to bring up with someone. How could you tell someone you care about that you are destined to be with someone else? I knew I had to bring it up tonight with her, but I wanted to spend one final weekend with her before we returned to the pack.

Mace and I decided to leave Verity alone and only spend the weekend with her. We were going to search for our mate, and I didn’t need to distract myself from someone who might not be our mate. One final goodbye between us.

I looked at my friend, who had a blank expression. He was mind-linking someone, and when he came back, he frowned. “Don wants to go to the club at ten,” he said and stood up. “I best get ready,” he said. “What are you planning on doing tonight while we are out?”

“Oh, I am going to order room service and probably sleep,” I said.

Dixon stopped in his tracks and looked over at me.

“I don’t believe you,” he said and stared at me. “I think you have plans, and it doesn’t involve us.”

I stared at him, but a smirk itched the corners of my mouth. He knew I was meeting someone; it’s not that hard to figure out.

“I’m meeting someone,” I said. “I don’t want to say anymore as it won’t be fair to you or the person.”

Dixon stared at me and nodded.

He turned to leave and opened the door, but when he pulled my door open, he looked over at me and smiled. “I know it’s a woman,” he said. “Have some fun tonight and make it last.”

I smiled.

“I will see you in the morning for the meeting,” he said. He walked out of my room and closed the door behind him.

I sighed and walked over to my phone to text Verity about when I would come to her flat.

I didn’t mind her flat as it was small and out of the way from prying eyes.

I sent the reply and walked over to the closet to pick out something to wear.

I had to look nice for her.

Every ounce of me wants her, but I know it will be the end after this weekend.

I picked a black button-down shirt and some work pants, as that’s all I had. I placed them on the bed and turned around to head into the shower.

Verity and I talked. We talked about many things, from werewolves to her work.

I knew this would never be something, but I liked how she made me feel.

Her sweet taste and scent drive me insane, but I know it might not be because of her being my mate. Verity was a good-looking human with brown eyes, long brown hair, and legs that went on for miles.

What we are is someone of friends with benefits or something along those lines, and I like it.

I never thought about if we didn’t find our mate and whether Mace and I would come back and carry on with Verity, but I know if I keep doing this, someone will get hurt by it all.

I don’t know if she has feelings for me, but I know some are on my side, and I shouldn’t feel like anything. I should keep what I felt for Verity, for my mate.

I shake my thoughts away and walk toward the bathroom with one thing on my mind, having Verity this weekend and making her come as many times as I can.