Wolf under an oak tree.

Someone kept pushing through my barrier to communicate, but since I am the Alpha, no one will be able to communicate with me except my mate... Even the thought of her causes a searing pain to course through my body.

What did I do to deserve this?

These types of questions kept swirling around in my head, and my wolf has not spoken to me for the past few hours, and I can feel his distress, but what am I supposed to do? How am I going to get through this?

“Jace! Jace! Where are you?” I heard Walter scream, and after a few minutes, I heard Mike’s voice yell from the opposite direction so I quickly wiped away the stray tears from my cheek, got up from the ground, and started moving towards where Walter’s voice was coming from.

“Hey, where were you?” Walter asked me while tossing a t-shirt my way, and I wore it before walking towards the direction of my house.

“Jace, where were you all night?” Walter asked me, but I held an emotionless face and kept walking since I didn't want anyone to know that I found my mate and that she was already married to someone else.

“I don't think I have to give you the answer to that.” I curtly retorted, which shut Walter’s mouth till we got home, and I quickly went inside my house and banged my door closed.

The entire day I stayed indoors, and my mother kept constantly calling me, but I rejected her calls knowing that I need some space today because tomorrow is going to be a new beginning in my life and for my pack too.

Iris Hendrix

“Where are you going today, Iris?” Ada asked me from the kitchen when I came downstairs.

“I am going for lunch with a friend,” I replied and took a seat on the stool.

“Oh, who is this guy?” Ada asked me allegorically, and I shook my head before getting up from the counter and grabbing my handbag.

“He is just a friend, Ada. And his name is Walter.” I replied, but she still kept teasing me, and when I came with a good come back, simultaneously, my iPhone rang, I picked up to see that the call was from an unknown number.

“You know there is a green button, which you have to press to answer the call,” Ada said and I gave her my stink eye before answering the call.

“Hello, Iris?” it was Walter, and his voice sounded urgent, and I heard someone yell his name in the background, too.

“Walter? How did you get my number?”

“That is not important now, but listen to me carefully and don't take this the wrong way, alright?” this raised a panic feeling inside me.

Is he in some trouble?

“I have some urgent work, so I wouldn't be able to come for lunch, but I will call you later, and then we can rearrange the lunch schedule.”

“Yeah, that would be alright, Walter. So you take care, alright?” I said.

“Thank you so much for understanding my situation, Iris, and you take care too, I will call you as soon as I can. So, I got to go now, bye.” before I could reply, he disconnected the call, but I did understand what he must be going through, sometimes work pressure is inevitable.

“So, what did your boyfriend say?”

“First, he is not my boyfriend, and he called to cancel our lunch meeting since he had to attend to something important.”

“So, when are you guys going to meet again?”

“I don't know, he said that he would contact me. But since I am ready now, I will take Beatrice for lunch.” Ada nodded her head, giving me her approval.

Two weeks later.

It took Walter two weeks to contact me, and then we rescheduled our lunch for today. I have been constantly changing one dress after another, trying to find the perfect dress, and at the same time, I didn't want to overdress either.

“Aunty Ilis, uncle Water is here.” Beatrice came into my room and announced Walter’s arrival and the way she pronounced Walter’s name was so cute that it made me laugh.

“I will be down in ten minutes, cupcake. So, can you tell Walter to come inside and take a seat?” I asked her, and she eagerly nodded her head before running out of the room. Once Beatrice left, I straighten my sundress one last time and wore my heels before leaving the room with my handbag.

The moment I reached the foyer, I heard Beatrice’s chirpy voice talking animatedly about her doll. “Hey guys, looks like you are having a great time, Beatrice?” I asked her, as soon as I entered the living room, which caused the both of them to look up.

“Aunty Ilis, look what Uncle Water got for me.” Beatrice came running towards me showing me the bag full of chocolates that Walter brought.

“Wow, cupcake, but don't you think this is a bit too many sweets for a little girl like you?” I asked her with a thoughtful face.

“Let the girl have her sweets, Iris,” Walter said, and I shook my head.

“So shall we leave?”

“Yes, we can leave now,” Walter said before picking Beatrice off the ground, and spinning her once and he whispered something in her ears which caused the both of them to giggle.

“What did you tell that poor child, Walter?” I asked him with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, this is a secret between Beatrice and me. Now, it's getting late, so let's go.” Walter said, and after saying goodbye to Beatrice and the babysitter, Walter and I got into his SUV and left my house.

“So, where are we going today?”

“I am taking you to my place.” I choked on air the moment I heard that.

“Why are we going to your place? I mean, this is just a friendly lunch and not a date, Walter.” my voice held the panic that was churning inside me.

“Trust me, it is still a friendly lunch. But, I have told you in the call last night, that these past two weeks have been hectic, and my schedule is so tightly packed that I don't have time to even breathe. And since my house is just a few minutes away from yours, I thought of having lunch there because I have a training session with the young mutts in about an hour.” Walter said.

Poor guy, his boss must be one cruel person with zero social life to treat his employees this way. Wait! did he say, I have to train the mutts?

“Walter, what do you mean by you have to train the mutts?”

“Oh, you know the newly turned werewolves,” Walter said casually, and I was beyond shocked.

What is going on here?