Chapter 3

"Are you serious?" Sasha's incredulous voice flowed through the phone.

Placing my fifth glass of wine on the side table and getting comfortable in my bed, I responded with a sigh.

"Yup"

"So he just walked out?"

"Yup"

"What did the others say?"

"Nothing. Mitch just apologized and said they would be in touch with me soon to reschedule."

"Bloody hell..."

"Yup"

"Wonder why he took off....."

Staring out of my bedroom window at the darkening sky, I wondered the same thing.

****

Thomas

Weaving through the peak hour traffic, my chauffeur was taking me back to our penthouse on the other side of the city. Sitting in the limo with a drink in my hand, I was on edge. My wolf would not cease his whining and pacing inside my head. He fought to take control, trying to force his way out in desperation to get back to his newly found mate. The constant battle of having to push him back was starting to give me a headache. I could not calm him down and to be honest with myself, I did not know how.

My own emotions were going haywire.

Gulping down the whiskey, I poured another one. The drink did nothing to dull down the raging need that was pulsing through every nerve in my body. Unfortunately, being a shifter came with some downsides. The incapacity to remain drunk was one of them.

"Fuck!"

Hurling the glass onto the floor in frustration, I watched it roll to the other side of the car.

This trip had been a simple one. All that was required was to sign some papers to acquire the company, monitor the transition, and get rid of some of the dead weight. But now... Nothing was simple anymore. I was left to grapple with the reality of having found the one person who was created just for me and the guilt of having nearly fired the said person! What a fantastic first impression that would have made. Fuck!

Pulling out my phone, I called Mitchell Robinson from Ranford.

"Mr Carson. What can I do for you"?

"Mitch, can you organize the meeting with Miss Sutherland for tomorrow at 4.00 pm?"

"Sure. I can do that. And I'll let the others know as well"

"Yes... about that. I would like to handle this myself"

A rather pregnant pause greeted my words before Mitch answered, sounding confused.

"Right. So, you don't want us there?"

My jaw clenched with impatience. Even after years of dealing with humans, I could never understand their incessant need to read into and question everything. They could never just follow orders without questioning. It was part of the reason why I disliked working with them.

"No, Mr Robinson. Is that a problem?"

He cleared his throat awkwardly before responding.

"Of course not Mr Carson. I'll organize it for tomorrow"

"Good"

I knew that asking to meet Mia alone would probably be considered inappropriate, especially when the other four were present for every other meeting. But right now, I couldn't give two shits about humans and their tedious etiquette.

Arriving at the penthouse, I made a beeline to the bar and began downing drinks. It was uncharacteristic of me to use alcohol as a distraction or as an outlet but today's events had definitely warranted it.

Taking off my blazer and tie, I tossed them on one of the chairs and strode into the master bedroom. The view of Manhattan City at night was spectacular but I could not enjoy it. Not when thoughts of the beautiful woman I had met today started creeping back in.

Unable to fight it any longer, I sat on the edge of the bed, my face cupped in between my hands as I finally allowed the thoughts to invade my mind.

And the first detail to come flooding back was her smell. The smell of wildflowers on a summer night was the closest I could get to describing that addictive scent. It drove my wolf into a frenzy. And the longer I stayed in there, the more potent it had started to get.

My wolf of course was the first to react, wanting to take over and stake his claim but I, on the other hand, had been momentarily stunned. My wolf had not just recognized my mate but a mate who was human.

I groaned out loud.

Why? Why a human? How was this even possible?

I couldn't shake away the dread that had begun to take root in the pit of my stomach. For I knew, that this was bound to get messy and problematic. Such a pairing was unheard of in our world. Certainly not in the last few hundred years at least. How would this even work?

But my confusion and pessimism refused to linger around as my mind drifted back to the moment we had locked eyes.

It had felt right. More than right. Like something had clicked into its rightful place. It was euphoric and exhilarating. After 132 years, here she was – the missing piece of the puzzle. I could clearly recall how my heart had begun to race when I finally grasped the magnitude of this revelation.

I had found my mate and she was an utterly stunning woman with long black hair, olive skin, emerald green eyes, high cheekbones, plush lips, and the body of a goddess. Her smile though strained at that time, brought out her deep dimples on either side of the cheek, adding to the exquisiteness of her beauty.

Of course, all mates would view their other half as good-looking or beautiful. It was part of the magnetic effect of the mate bond to pull mates together. But I did not need a mate bond to see that this woman was a show-stopper. She looked like she was molded by the goddess of beauty herself. Hell! She could give most she-wolves a run for their money.

I could not remember much of what happened next, except that my wolf and I were completely focused on our mate. Her smell, her face, her body, and everything about her had started to overwhelm my senses.

And by the time I realized the full extent of the effect she had on me, my cock had grown painfully hard. All I had wanted to do was tear her clothes off and bury myself deep within her until we were both drowning in ecstasy. I had begun to feel hot and sweaty all over and when I could no longer take another second, I had to force myself to walk out.

Sitting in my bedroom now and looking out at the view, I felt empty. I never thought I would find my mate but here she was. I was thrilled and worried at the same time. Her being a human would not only complicate things but she would never be fully accepted into the pack. To add to that, I also knew that my Alpha and Beta brothers would force me to reject her or worse, harm her for being human.

My heart clenched painfully at that thought and my wolf howled in anguish.

I realized I had no clue how I was going to survive this.