The Wolf's Den

Marvel Hala

After we’d taken a few drinks each and were beginning to slowly feel the effects of the alcohol, we decided it was time to dance.

I led my friends to the dance floor, and we began to sway with the music. I was letting my slight buzz settle in, knowing that it would take a lot more to get me where I wanted to be for tonight.

As a wolf, I had an incredibly high tolerance.

Carl, a male I knew well, made his way over to me. He whispered happy birthday in my ear before placing his hands on either side of my hips and pulling me towards him, our bodies pressing together, the heat between us growing. I smiled as I began to grind myself against him, moving in rhythm with the beat.

Carl wasn’t the sexiest male in the pack, but he was attractive enough with his short, curly blonde hair and his sympathetic eyes. He was well-built like most wolves were, though a little too bulky for my tastes. However, he would do…for now.

Don’t judge me. I was a she-wolf in her prime.

So, what if I indulged in a bit of male attention now and then? It wasn’t a crime.

My pack no longer held the belief that we were meant to remain chaste for our mates. It hadn’t been the norm for several generations. Some may have still chosen this route, but the majority of us gave in to our animal instincts sooner or later.

I doubted that my mate was out there, somewhere, chaste and waiting for me, so I didn’t choose to wait for him either. It just wasn’t the way of things any longer. When we all reached puberty, and I saw all the male wolves humping anything that moved, I decided – like many she-wolves did – that it was a double standard to expect females to wait.

If my being a virgin was the only thing that mattered to my mate, then we probably weren’t going to last very long anyway. There was a hell of a lot more to me than my sexual history, and if he couldn’t look past that, then I think that said more about him than it did me.

***

I’d been dancing with Carl for quite a while and, honestly, I wasn’t really feeling it. I’d come to the decision that at the end of the song, I was going to break away. I wanted more to drink anyway; it’d been far too long since my last shot.

I found myself distracted as I waited for the song to end and I considered which round of shots I’d like to enjoy next. When out of nowhere, my thoughts were interrupted by a loud and powerful, territorial growl.

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and turned towards the source of the sound. In the doorway of the Wolf’s Den stood our future alpha, Enzo.

The exact same Enzo that I’d been secretly gushing over earlier while Kiara reminded me of all the reasons he was a horrible match.

He had a murderous glare in his eye, and his chiseled jaw was firmly set. His muscular build bulged, and his nostrils flared. He was breathing heavily and loudly as though he was trying to control his wolf while he stared out towards the dance floor.

Everyone stood still, holding their breath as they waited to see what he would do. Was he about to lash out? Was he about to turn on someone? Would he lose control and trash my birthday party?

We waited on pins and needles; however, after he failed to move for several minutes, everyone relaxed and continued going about their business.

“What in the hell is his problem now?” Kiara whispered.

“Who knows,” I answered with a dramatic roll of my eyes. “He’s always pissed off about something.”

Sadly, this wasn’t really out of the ordinary as far as Enzo’s behavior was concerned. Anger was his default emotion these days, it seemed.

Even when we were pups, he was always a little angrier and more possessive than everyone else. Alpha Griffith had said that this is common amongst alpha and even beta males. But it honestly felt more like an excuse than fact.

Tyrus didn’t show any of these undesirable traits, and he was the future beta. And I’d met other alphas over the years that didn’t struggle the way Enzo did. Seemed more of an individual personality trait than a widespread issue with all high-ranked males.

Alpha Griffith certainly didn’t have emotional issues; he was one of the most level-headed wolves that I knew. Though supposedly it wasn’t always this way. There were rumors that he struggled as well when he was Enzo’s age.

Maybe it was more of an “apple not falling too far from the tree” thing than anything else.

The theory was that he calmed down once he found his mate, Luna Rigina. The hope was that Enzo would too. But I think we were all holding our breath on that one.

Admittedly, it didn’t help matters that Enzo didn’t appear to be looking for her. He refused to travel out of the pack to search amongst other packs. And he rejected the idea of inviting females from other packs here as well.

On top of that, he was the only unmated wolf that masked his scent. His poor mate could potentially be in the pack, waiting for him, and not even know that he was her mate because he was blocking her out.

Her only chance to scent him would be when he was in his wolf-form. He couldn’t mask his scent then. But he was selective as to who he was around in wolf-form for this reason and did not spend time with anyone else unless absolutely necessary.

But everyone knew that he could only hide for so long. Eventually it was all bound to catch up with him – whether he wanted it to or not.

I couldn’t understand what was wrong with him anyway. Couldn’t fathom why he would put in so much effort to keep his fated mate at bay. Why was he so desperate to avoid having a mate?

I knew that once he found her and had completed the marking with her, then he would be expected to take over as alpha, which was admittedly a lot of responsibility. But, otherwise, it didn’t make any sense as to why he was so reluctant to find her.

Was he really so desperate to avoid the responsibility of his title that he would dismiss his mate so easily? Sometimes I couldn’t begin to fathom what it was exactly that I saw in him.

He was rude. He was gruff. He didn’t care how his actions affected others. The only thing he really had going for him was his looks. Because otherwise, his personality needed work.

So why I was still so head over heels for him after all this time was seriously beyond me.

Since the mood had been ruined by Enzo’s entrance anyway. I turned to Carl and thanked him for the dances but took the opportunity to excuse myself.

Kiara was still dancing nearby, so I swayed over to her to see if she wanted to join me for another drink. Aida had already bailed on dancing when Enzo appeared since her mate Tyrus had been with him; she’d hurried to his side the moment he’d arrive and wrapped him in a tight hug. Alcohol always made her a bit handsy.

Enzo, Tyrus, Aida, and the guys’ other friend, Daray, had gathered at a table in the corner. Aida was hanging over Tyrus, giggling as she clung to him. He held her close, his eyes filled with love as he gazed at her despite her silly antics.

“Happy birthday, Marvel!” Tyrus exclaimed as we approached, his dark eyes twinkling.

“Thank you, Tyrus! I appreciate that you guys stopped by for my party.”

“We’re happy to be here, we—“ Tyrus began before Enzo quickly and very rudely interrupted with his negative attitude.

“We’re only ‘happy to be here’ because we would’ve been coming here anyway, regardless of your birthday. This crap-hole is the only bar in town,” he grumbled.

I just rolled my eyes at him and took his comment with a grain of salt. Like I said, he was always in a bad mood nowadays. And I wasn’t going to let him bring me down – not tonight.