Chapter 2 - Persephone

At long last, I am getting to leave Sicily! Even better, my wildest dream is coming true. I am going to America to work for Silvercloud Industries, and I don’t think I can contain my excitement. I felt terrible that I missed Isis and Kurt’s wedding, but they understood I needed to finish my finals and get everything packed to come for my summer internship. I’ll see plenty of them while I’m there, or as much as possible, given they are Luna and Alpha of Silverclaw, and I’ll be super busy with my internship.

Oh, I hope I’ll be super busy. I will be so bummed if Tie’s jokes about interns being brought in as goffers to fetch coffee and things for the actual employees are valid. I would be so bitter and disappointed if I worked so damn hard, getting rejected two summers before this, only to be a coffee fetcher. I’ll probably dump the first cup of hot coffee I’m told to fetch on the person issuing the order. I am Persephone Adelaide Fayte, and I am a fucking genius inventor. I’d stay home and work at the cafe if I wanted to serve coffee.

“So you pack anything sexy? Like a new bikini?” André asked as he started plucking items out of my suitcase.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. André snuck up on me, and I hate when he does that. I must have been too caught up in thinking about what-ifs that I didn’t notice him. I rolled my eyes, snatched a sports bra from his hands, and stuffed it into my luggage. I’d be more embarrassed that he touched my bra if he was straight and single. But he’s neither of those things, so why bother?

“André, stay out of my clothes. None of them will fit you.” I scolded. “And why would I pack sexy clothes? And my bikini fits me just fine. Not that I’m expecting to go swimming a lot. I’m going to Oregon to work, not hang by the pool.”

“You’re a blonde bombshell heading to a pack with many eligible, handsome males. Don’t you want something hot to wear if you find your mate? Or to catch the eye of a summer fling?” André countered.

I scoffed as I put the last of the clothes I’d planned to bring into the suitcase. “André, I am going there to work. I want to prove myself in Silvercloud Industrial so that this internship can become a real job. I won’t have time for flirting, and you already know I prioritize my work over finding a mate.” 

“Yes, and I think you are lying to yourself. Everyone wants to find a mate. You cannot look me in the eyes and tell me that Sara isn’t itching to find her mate. Especially after not finding him in any of the Sicilian packs these past two years.” André folded his arms.

“And I know some seriously hot eligible males in Bloodmoon and Silverclaw. You’d have known it too if you’d gone to Isis’ wedding.” He added with that unsettling gleam in his eyes. If I’ve learned anything about André D’Amore over the years, it’s the beware of that look. It means he knows something that he won’t tell me.

“Sara is fine, thank you very much. Finding a mate is not high on my priority list, and she knows. Now stop getting in my way. Delilah and I have a flight to catch.” I shooed him away as I zipped my bag. 

‘Don’t talk for me. You may be fine without a mate, but I’d like to find him sooner than later. I may respect your dedication to your passion for technology, but that doesn’t mean my wants and needs will be dismissed.’ Sara snorted from where she was lying on the far side of our shared mental space.

‘I’m not dismissing them. I’m simply saying I am young, and there is plenty of time to find our mate later. It’s not like I’m suddenly going to age out of finding a mate or being able to have children.’ I countered. That shut her up, or more likely, she’s going to give me the silent treatment till we reach Bloodmoon, and she’s begging to go for a run.

“I know you do. Why do you think I’m here? Papa and Crista are taking Gwen and Christina for their checkup. So Darren and I are here to take you to the airport. Darren is helping Delilah with her bags.” André explained. 

That’s right. I nearly forgot my nieces had their annual checkups. I hadn’t even thought about who would take us to the airport. I figured they’d have Damon or Isadora take us. I didn’t expect Alec to have either of his kids do it. They have packs to run, so they should be too busy for something so trivial.

“Shouldn’t you be running your pack?”I asked as he hefted my luggage and led the way downstairs.

“Of course, we have a pack to be running.” André smiled. “But what kind of nephew would I be if I didn’t make sure my little Zias made it to the airport safe and sound.”

“André, I told you already you aren’t sneaking onto their flight. We don’t have any business in Bloodmoon or Silverclaw.” Darren rolled his eyes, taking my suitcase from André.

“But I want to make sure they get there okay.” André pouted.

“Stop pouting. I told you I’m not kissing you for pouting anymore. It only encourages your childish behavior.” Darren shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about them arriving safely. My parents will pick them up at the airport and drive them directly to the Bloodmoon pack house.”

“I think it’s sweet that André is worried about us.” Delilah smiled as she hugged him. “But you should listen to Darren. We’ll be perfectly safe. Your in-laws will pick us up, and then Darren’s former Alpha and pack will watch out for us all summer.”

“Fine…” André sighed. “Let’s go then. Don’t want you two to be late.” André conceded, and we thankfully got on the road.

The flight to Oregon was long and tedious. I spent most of it researching Silvercloud. I wanted to be as up-to-date on their currently announced projects as possible as anyone in the company of note. I still haven’t found anything regarding the elusive Silvercloud founder in all my digging. 

The company site doesn’t show a picture and only refers to him as J. Silvercloud. There are no details about him beyond that he partnered with Kinsley Industrial to start the company. From there, it links to Kinsley, which I know all about them, and that Alpha Logan and Beta John of Bloodmoon are the co-owners of the company founded by their family decades ago. I don’t like that I can’t find out who I’ll be working for. For all I know, J Silvercloud is a woman, which would be way cooler. 

Delilah spent the flight doing something similar to me. She’s coming for the summer after getting into a botany summer early college program at OSU. She’s super excited about it. When we weren’t busy researching our summer futures, we were sleeping.

Sixteen-plus hours on an airplane is killer. I should be grateful we traveled on a private jet instead of on a regular flight. If we’d been on a commercial flight, there would have been many other people and probably multiple long layovers in strange airports. 

And let’s not forget the time zones. We left home at eleven in the morning, so by the time we touched down in Portland, it was nearly four in the morning back home. Yet it’s only seven at night here. It’s all kinds of nuts and will take a couple of days to adjust. I don’t remember much about our arrival. Darren’s parents were welcoming, and we slept on the car ride to Mount Hood. I remember being greeted by Alpha Logan and Luna Aurelia with their three kids, but it was a blur leading up to my head hitting a soft pillow. 

I don’t know how long I’d been asleep, but I wasn’t in bed when I woke up. I grumbled, squinting as I realized I was outside somewhere. “How did I get out here?” I pondered.

“Your wolf.” An unfamiliar voice announced. 

I yelped, jumping up before realizing I was naked in front of a stranger. Sara and I will have one hell of a fight about this. I quickly grabbed the blanket, realizing he must have covered me up. I narrowed my eyes at the dark-haired male. He looked up at the sky to give me some sense of modesty. I cocked my head as I looked at him, noting the several piercings and tattoos I could see.

“Who are you? Where am I?” I questioned, wrapping the blanket around me to ensure I was at least covered.

“David Bryant, Miss Fayte. I’m one of Luna Aurelia’s guards. And you are in the forest, obviously.” He answered with a smirk, still not looking at me.

“I am covered up now.” I rolled my eyes. “And no shit, I’m in the forest. What I’m asking is how far I am from the packhouse. And I can’t imagine why my wolf would bring me out here.” I frowned.

‘Sara! What did you do while I was asleep?’ I demanded.

‘Can’t you smell it? He’s here. I could smell him everywhere at the packhouse, but you were too jet-lagged to listen. So I took control and followed his scent.’ Sara answered like I should have guessed that.

‘What do you mean HE? Like my mate? And if you were on his trail, why am I waking up in the forest?’ I questioned.

‘Bingo! I went in circles for hours, but the trail disappeared, and I couldn’t find him.’ Sara whimpered.

“You’re about ten miles from the packhouse. I take it you’ve had a talk with your wolf, and you know what possessed her to bring you way the fuck out here.” David sighed, now looking at me.

“Um.. yes.” I nodded. I wasn’t about to tell him she scented our mate and came to a dead end. I don’t want to even think about it.

“Good. Now, change into spare clothes behind that tree, and I’ll take you back to the packhouse. Kurt and Isis are waiting to take you to your summer job.” David instructed, pointing to a tree.

“Oh shit! My internship! I can’t be late for my first day!” I exclaimed as I hurried to change. 

David was still laughing at me when he dropped me off at the packhouse. Kurt and Isis were inside talking with Delilah. Delilah rushed over and hugged me the minute she saw me like I had returned from the dead.

“Where did you go? Why did Sara take control like that? Are you okay?” Delilah asked back-to-back questions.

“Sara decided that my being jet lagged wasn’t an excuse for her not to go for a run. I guess she got lost and laid down to rest.” I shrugged. 

I should feel bad that I’m lying to my sister, but I don’t want to mention that Sara scented our mate. Speaking of… I took a deep breath, trying to see if any scents clicked. And there was one. It was faint like he hadn’t been here in a while but was so ingrained in the packhouse that he used to spend much time there. It smelled like a new car: coffee beans, clove, cedar, and leather.

“Are you okay?” Isis asked, raising her eyebrow at me.

“Yep, I’m great. I am just frazzled by jet lag and Sara pulling that stupid late-night run. I’ll be ready in a flash. I don’t want to be late for my first day.” I assured her before rushing upstairs to get dressed for my first day at Silvercloud Industries. It’ll be a great way to not think about that scent and who it belongs to.