Wolf under an oak tree.

That night, I kept dreaming about Sparkle, something about that wolf didn't sit well with me. His eyes showed a level of intelligence that I have never seen on any wild animal, and for some odd reason, I have felt those same bolts of electricity somewhere else too.

“You are the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen, Iris.” the stranger's hand glided in every nook and curve of my body, igniting a fire within, and a breathless moan left my mouth.

“Who are you?” the question was barely audible, and it was a wonder that he heard me. He slowly moved his mouth to the point where my neck and shoulder meet, and he placed a chaste kiss right there before moving towards my ear.

“I am your mate, Iris.” each word that left his mouth, made an involuntary shiver run down my spine, and it took me a couple of minutes to register what he said.

“What do you mean by, ‘I am your mate?’” I asked him with a pixilated look, and he slowly raised his head, his face wasn't clear, but the only prominent thing that I saw was his eyes, it was the color of liquid gold, the same eye color that Sparkle had.

“You will find out soon, my love.” was all he said before everything around me faded, and a shrill sound brought me back from a dream, that I have never had before.

I abruptly got up from my bed, trying to get as much air into my lungs as possible, and the air around me was extremely hot, and I was also drenched in my sweat.

Wow, that was one intense dream, and it felt so real. But why wasn't I able to see the guy's face, clearly? And those sparks that I felt, stirred something inside me.

Jace Emerson

I never in a million years thought that a human would come near a wild wolf that is twice her size and pet it as if it was a domestic animal. I mean, if I wasn't a werewolf, then I would have freaked out when I see one, but Iris was totally calm, and she had something that compelled me to move towards her, and I know that it is not the mate bond that we share, but it was something different.

“Alpha, the elders from the werewolf council are here to see you.” I was brought back from my train of thoughts when an omega came to convey a message.

“I will be there in a few minutes,” I said, before getting up from the couch I was seated on, and I adjusted my suit.

“Oh, and, please make sure that my beta and gamma are present in the meeting before I get there,” I informed the omega, and she nodded her head before leaving the living room, in search of the other two high-ranking wolves.

I quickly checked myself in the mirror one last time before I made my way to the board room. “Son, where is Gamma Mike?” dad asked me when I reached the doors.

“Isn't he inside?” I asked him in confusion, and he shook his head, which incensed me.

Mike has been tardy these past few weeks, and he better has a really good excuse for that.

“Let's just beat him up, and put some sense into his head,” Sean suggested, and at that moment the idea felt really good, but as an alpha, I must have some control over my anger, too. So I quickly cleared my mind and concentrated on trying to contact Mike, and a few seconds later, I felt like something clicked.

“Mike, where the hell are you?” I yelled.

“Oh, please don't get angry Jace, I came to town to run an errand, when you informed me about the meeting, but I am already inside the house, I will be in the board room in two minutes,” he said, and without wasting any more time, I shut the mind link and entered the board room with my dad.

“A very good morning, Alphas, and I am sorry for the delay.” I greeted the three elders, and they nodded their heads in response.

“So, let's begin the meeting,” I said and took a seat at the head of the table. We have been having this meeting for the past three years since my grandmother died.

“So, as you know very well, Alpha Jace that the rogue intrusion in every pack has been increasing day by day, with more women being killed, and if we don't find that stone that your grandma hid, I don't think we will be able to save our race.” Elder William spoke, and I nodded my head.

The crisis started when a rumor started spreading about a lost stone, that is more powerful than any supernatural being living on this planet. We do not know what exactly the stone does, but as per our knowledge, it states that whoever possesses that stone will be able to control the entire werewolf race, that person will also be able to heal any kinds of injury, even wounds infected with wolfbane, a slow poison that kills a werewolf, and silver.

So who would miss such an opportunity, right? And since news travels faster than light, the rogues got to know about this too, and that is when a guy named Midnight, who is considered the king of all rogues, wanted the stone to himself so that he can rule over our race. And the funny thing is that no one has ever seen Midnight. And the last person who we believed had the stone, is my grandma, but unfortunately, she died a few years back in a car crash, but it was not really a car crash, since she was attacked by a group of rogues while she was on her way back to the packhouse, and we also found out that on that day she was taking the stone to hide it in a safe place.

“Alpha Jace, so what do you suggest?” Elder Quinn spoke, bringing me back from my thoughts.

“I am sorry, what did you say?” I asked him.

“I suggested that maybe if you choose someone to be your mate, like what your grandma said before she died, then I guess we will get to know where the stone is hidden.” Elder Quinn said, and I felt the anger course through my veins hearing his suggestions.

Yes, grandma did say that my mate will know where the stone is hidden, but she meant my true mate and not my chosen mate.

“How can I mate with someone else, when I know that my mate is out there, waiting for me?” my voice boomed across the small boardroom, and I heard a glass crack in the background.

“Alpha, please calm your wolf! It's just a suggestion.” Elder Quinn said frantically, and I can see the fear in his eyes, so I closed my eyes and counted to ten, and I felt my shoulders relax.

“Next time, please don't give me these rash suggestions,” I said and then I took a seat, after my outburst, no one talked much, and before I knew it, the meeting was adjourned.

“Hey?” Walter spoke, and I rose my head to see that everyone left the room except Mike and Walter, who looked nervous.

“What do you want, Walter?” I asked him, sighing.

“I know what Elder Quinn suggested was wrong, but why don't you start traveling to other packs and see if your mate is there,” Walter said with hopeful eyes.

“Yeah, and maybe you might be able to find her this time,” Mike said, and I shook my head.

“Thank you so much, guys, for your concern, but I guess I will wait a bit more,” I said in a dismissive tone.

“Alright then,” Walter said and backed up from the room, and when he was about to leave, his phone chimed, indicating a message which made him abruptly turn around to face me again.

“Oh, and I completely forgot to ask this from you.” Walter started, and he looked nervous which was kind of suspicious.

“Uh, the thing is, Iris, asked me if you could help her design a house for her,” he asked me, scratching his head, and the moment I heard my mate’s name, all the stress, and worry from a few minutes ago evaporated.

“Wow, mate wants to spend more time with us!” Sean cheered, running around inside my head, and I was happy too.

“Uh, it's alright if you don't want to help her either, I will let her...” “No! tell her that I would love to help, and could you give me her number?” I spoke before Walter could finish his sentence. He had a skeptical look on his face, and after standing there for a few more minutes, staring at me he gave me my mate’s number.