CHAPTER 6

Ryley

"Where's his office?" I demanded, arms crossed, glaring at his beta.

"What?" Luca looked genuinely confused.

"Mom, don't," Channing cautioned quietly.

"Where is Mr. Orion's office?" I asked again.

"First floor, last door on the left," Luca answered.

I thanked him and stormed into the pack house. I've been around alphas for half my life hell, I was raised by one. I wasn't about to put up with his attitude or anyone else's. His anger made no sense, either. I don't work for him. I work for Mr. Miller. Who the hell does he think he is?

"A very sexy alpha," my wolf, Lily, purred.

I was fuming by the time I reached his door and pounded on it.

"I wish you'd let him pound into us instead," Lily added.

"Will you stop?" I muttered under my breath.

"Come in," I heard him call, and I stormed inside.

"Yes, Miss Halliwell," he said, smug, leaning back behind his desk. My wolf was purring like a cat for no good reason.

If I hadn't been so furious, I might have noticed his gorgeous amber eyes, the well-trimmed beard, the hard lines of muscle under his shirt. I didn't.

"Liar," Lily huffed.

"Mr. Orion, I'd like to remind you that I don't work for you. I work for Mr. Miller, who you hired."

"Which means you, Miss Halliwell, work for me until the end of the summer, when your contract's complete. You work for me and only me. Was that not made clear?" He kept the smirk on his face, and I crossed my arms tighter.

"What I do with my personal time is none of your business, Mr. Orion. If I take on another case, you don't get a say."

"What pack do you belong to?" he asked, changing tracks.

"I'm a lone wolf," I answered, biting my lip.

"Why?"

"That's none of your business. I'm here because you asked for whoever solved your last problem, and that was me. I'm not here because I want to be. I'm here because the bonus paid for my son's dream car. If it weren't for him, I never would have agreed to this."

"Where's your mate?"

"What part of 'none of your business' didn't you understand?" I growled. He was in front of me before I could blink, his scent cedar and musk filling the air between us. My breathing turned heavy as I looked up at him.

He looked down at me, authority radiating off him, his alpha aura pressing against my skin like a physical weight, urging me to submit. Lily growled and fought against it.

"Everyone who stays on my land is my business, Miss Halliwell." His voice was low and husky, and it stirred something in me I hadn't felt in a long time. His breath brushed hot against my ear, and my own breath caught somewhere in my throat before I could stop it.

"And you should remember, Mr. Orion, that I'm not a member of your pack."

"Blake."

"Excuse me?"

"It's Alpha Blake. You're a wolf, Miss Halliwell. You don't have to be pack for your wolf to want to submit." His arrogance disgusted me or at least, that's what I told myself. All I wanted was to shove him back a step.

"I'm a lone wolf, Mr. Blake. I don't need or want an alpha. Have a good weekend." I turned and walked out before he could respond. Alphas were all the same smug, arrogant, convinced everyone beneath them owed submission. Never again.

"Mom, everything okay?" Channing asked as I came out of the pack house.

"Of course. I just had to set some things straight with Mr. Blake. Beta Luca, could you show us to where we'll be staying?"

"I'll ride with Channing, you follow," Luca said, and I nodded. I needed a minute to myself, and I didn't need a beta mansplaining why his alpha is a prick. I already knew. And no I wasn't submitting.

The house wasn't far from the pack house. Secluded, surrounded by trees, a two-story navy blue with white trim and a wraparound porch. It was the kind of house I wished I could've afforded for Channing and me on my own. But with him headed to college, tuition came first.

"Everything's been stocked. There's a lake with a dock behind the property. Call if you need anything," Luca said, handing me his card. I parked in front of the house and walked over to Channing's car.

"Thank you, and please pass along my thanks to Mr. Blake," I told him.

"Want help carrying anything in? I could send a few warriors over."

"We've got it. Thank you, Beta Luca," Channing said, and Luca nodded.

"Are there any trails?" I asked before he could leave.

"One that circles the pack house and runs out to the training grounds," he said, pointing. "Also loops around the lake."

"Thanks again," I told him with a smile. It really was a beautiful place, even sitting on Orion land. He handed me a set of keys and headed back toward the pack house.

"Let's get this done, Mom. Maybe we can catch a movie after," Channing said, already unloading the SUV.

This place would have been perfect if I didn't feel like prey.

"You could just use him for sex," my wolf offered.

"I love you, and I know you want a strong wolf, but he isn't it. We have our pup to raise. I know you're lonely I am too, sometimes but then we meet another alpha and I remember exactly why I'm never doing this again."

"But we're a Luna wolf," she whined.

"I know, sweetie. Maybe once Channing's off at college, we find a human man who'll love us. I don't want to risk running into Channing's father." I sighed.

"Yeah," she whispered, retreating.

Most of my life has felt like a contradiction. I had to raise Channing, but my wolf craved a mate. It's hard to carry everything alone but how do you trust anyone, when your own fated mate turned out to be the one who tore your family apart? If he could do that, what's stopping anyone else?