Three

Declan's POV

I twirled the pen in my hand again as I looked through the files in front of me. They were the ones Aiden had printed for me again after what happened yesterday and I was remarking the points on them.

I couldn't help recalling the incident yesterday and how the omega girl had seemed so scared. I wondered if she was fine or if Dakota had gone looking for her again after seeing how hostile she was to her.

But there was sudden knock on the door, halting my train of thought and I recalled myself. Why was I thinking about how someone else was faring when I also had my fair share of problems?

"Alpha, it's me," I heard a familiar voice call out.

It was Dakota. I couldn't help raising a brow at her coming to my office by this time as I looked toward the wall click. It was past six already. Although she was one of my betas, her work for the day was already done and it was her coming of age ceremony which meant she ought to be getting ready so I couldn't tell what she wanted.

But I said anyway, "Come in."

The door opened almost immediately and she came in, closing the door behind her.

"Good evening, Alpha," she greeted as she approached my desk.

"I thought you clocked out?"

"Yes, I did. But I came to report some things to you," she replied.

"Okay, I'm all ears." I clasped my palms and leaned back on the chair to relax a little while we talked.

She nodded and began, "I just received another report from one of the spies under my jurisdictions."

"What did they say?" I asked, now interested and mildly anxious regarding what the news was.

"There is suspicious movement in the rogue territory. It seems they are getting back up from someone."

"Back up?"

"Yes. It seems one of the werewolf packs has joined them."

My gaze narrowed immediately and I looked at the opened files on my desk. No wonder their numbers were not tallying and why they had not yet burned out their supplies even though we were giving them so much pressure.

I pursed my lips and looked at her. "Is that all?"

She nodded her head gently. "Yes, Alpha. That's all I heard from them. But I've told them to dig deeper so we know which of the outer packs it is."

I nodded back in agreement. "Good. Thank you."

As I finished speaking, I returned my attention to the files and I began to work again. But then, I noticed she was still standing there so I looked up at her.

"Anything else?"

She nodded gently and replied, "Yes. I have something to say."

"Okay. I'm listening."

"I was wondering if you'll come to the coming of age ceremony today," she answered.

I found myself frowning immediately. The coming of age ceremony was a tradition in the pack that was done every year as long as there was someone turning eighteen. I hadn't attended since my eighteenth birthday and my brothers and I became alphas.

None of us had attended any since then. There were usually too much people and it was rowdy so it didn't really catch our fancy. She also knew that so I couldn't figure out why she was asking me that.

"Why are you asking?"

"You know... today is my coming of age. So I was wondering if you'd come."

I shook my head negatively. "No, I am not."

She looked at me quietly and seemed a little disappointed but she nodded gently and lowered her head.

"Alright, I understand."

I watched as she turned and left closing the door behind her before returning my attention to what I was doing.

It was only one hour later, did I finally clock out and packed up the files. After I locked them in the drawer, I left my office.

The desk right beside the door was empty. It was my secretary, Candice who usually sat there but since today was a festive day, I gave everyone a break so there was no one around at that time.

I walked out of the building and headed toward my quarters which was on the east of the pack. The road on the way was just as deserted. It seemed everyone was interested in this year's coming of age ceremony.

I had nearly reached the stairs however when a sudden whiff assaulted me. It was the scent of a vermillion rose and I couldn't help pausing in my steps by the sharpness and how strong the smell was.

There was a garden around my quarters but u was sure there was no vermillion rose planted anywhere around. It was a very rare and didn't just grow anywhere and was not in the pack.

I suddenly had a thought which made me pause. Although my senses were sharp and I could easily smell things from miles away, I could also block them out. But that wasn't working today.

Unless... It was my mate.

'Mate,' I thought both shocked and curious as I found myself turning in the direction of the scent and began to trace its location.

---

Damon's POV

"You're here..." Ethan called out in a loud voice which was nearly drowned out by the loud music buzzing in the bar. He shuffled over to me and slung his arm around me as we walked into the private booth.

There were quite a lot of people in the room... too many for my liking. Usually, it would only be me, Ethan, Tristan and his foreign friend in the booth. But today, there were too many ladies for my liking.

"Here's the big man, people!" Ethan called out in a loud voice again that nearly made me block my ears even though the doors were already closed and the music wasn't so loud anymore.

I sat down and crossed my legs as Tristan looked over to me.

"I thought you said you weren't coming," he muttered.

I said simply. "I changed my mind."

"Or you ran out of the meeting," Ethan cut in as he settled, the two ladies beside him who I supposed were his plus twos for the day hanging around him quickly like koalas as they peppered kisses on his face.

"Not my type of gathering." I pursed my lips as one of the ladies poured me a glass of wine and I downed it.

I looked away from them to Tristan's friend who was seated at the farther end of the booth. There was a lady by his side too, flirting with him.

My gaze moved back to Tristan and I happened to find him looking their way for the third time since I entered. For some reason, he seemed uneasy and looked as though he would jump to them any moment from then and pull her away from him.

Ethan laughed gently. "Don't worry, the ladies here will help you get rid of all the stress. They got so excited when I said you were coming."

He looked at me cheekily and from the corner of my eyes, I saw him give the other three ladies a glance. Two of them quickly shuffled over to me and settled beside me.

They were quite sexy and seemed to know what they were doing as they tried to get me in the mood. But for some reason, I wasn't feeling the right vibe and instead, I was too tired to play around with them.

Ethan also seemed to notice this too as he crinkled his brows and asked me, "Hey, you good? You seem off."

Tristan also looked over and gave me a skeptic look but before I could say a thing, the last lady who was initially watching us quietly stood up suddenly and approached me.

She pulled off the long after dress she was initially putting on which I had also thought was a little off considering what her job was. I also noticed that I've never seen her in the bar. Underneath that was a hour-glass shaped body that was strapped with a black body-stocking that outlined all her features even more.

I heard Ethan whistle across me at the sight as she came closer, placing her right leg over the space left on the sofa in the middle of my pants. Slowly, she moved her feet up caressing the insides of my thighs.

"I heard you're a big shot in the pack. I think I can give you a good time tonight, what do you think?"

I tilted my head to the side as I stared at her. She was hot and interesting too. I reached out to hold my chin as though contemplating before eventually saying, "You're not bad..."

A smile broke out on her lips and she lifted her head haughtily. I shook my head and continued, "But... I don't do girls like you."

Her expression froze and she seemed to lose her composure for a moment. But she managed to regain herself and she smiled seductively. "You'll never know if you don't give it a try."

I found a smile creeping up my lips as she spoke. Personally, I liked challenges and a woman with ego like her was definitely my cup of tea. The only downside was that I knew she had other motives as to approaching me but I really wasn't bothered.

I reached out to pull off the wandering hands of the other two who were still trying to get my attention before saying, "Room 555, penthouse."

She understood immediately and nodded, picking up her outer wear as she left for the private room. It was my personal room in the hotel and the penthouse belonged to us. No one else were allowed in.

After she left, Ethan cracked a laugh. "I thought you weren't in the mood."

"I like challenges."

Tristan snorted before giving me a look. "Just be careful. She has ulterior motives."

I gave a small nod as I picked up my coat and left the booth for the penthouse.