His Sunshine Baby

She's gone

I slowly wake up, not because of an alarm, but feeling the warm sunshine on me. I stay eyes closed a few more minutes; I feel like I had the best sleep in a long time… I sigh and open my eyes drowsily. ...I’m in the suite?

Suddenly, memories from last night all come back at once. 

I met with Elena again. And we... I sit up immediately and look around me, looking for her, thinking she’s asleep beside me. But she’s not, I’m alone in the bed. ...Could she be in the bathroom then? I get up and hurry there, but she’s not in here either, or anywhere else in the room. Her clothes are gone… She’s gone. 

I sit back on the bed, sighing. I’m a f*****g i***t. What was I expecting? I frantically look for her, but of course, she would be gone. What was I hoping for…?

I reminisce about last night. Moon Goddess, that was the best night I ever had. I massage my shoulder, a bit sore. Sure, that was exhausting, but damn, I feel excited just thinking about it. It was… I might just get addicted to that girl’s body. The way she reacted to my moves, her voice, her breathing, everything was so damn perfect! I lost control and lost myself in her over and over. How many times did we even do it? I’m not that eager usually, but Moon Goddess, last night I was one hell of a hungry wolf. Wanting more, taking more, I just couldn’t stop myself. It’s all way too vivid in my memories, every second of it. 

I need to stop thinking about it. I decide to take a cold shower, trying to calm my emotions and my body down. We had s*x there too. Counting again, we did it once here, three times on the bed. It’s like being back in my teenage years again… Did my Alpha gene intervene somehow? I felt strangely stronger, better than usual. Like all my fatigue has been washed away, even now. Thinking about it, I barely slept what, three or four hours? I feel so high I could run the marathon!

But instead of running, I should get to the office… Well, mostly to check up on Damian. I try to mindlink my brother, but a wave of anger suddenly hits me, so hard I almost stumble in the bathroom. What the hell?

Damian…?

Where are you?

Damn, this ice-cold tune of his is no good, ever. I try to think of what he could be mad about, but nothing comes to mind.

At one of the Hotels. What…

Come here. Right now. 

And with that, he cuts the mindlink there. s**t, I feel like a kid who is about to get severely punished… What the hell is wrong with him! I try gathering my clothes, which mysteriously spread out in the apartment last night. That won’t do, though, I need something clean. I go for the wardrobe, where I store some brand new stuff for times like these. I knew I was paying this bedroom suite for something… I come twice to four or five times a week anyway, and I can’t drop by my place every time I sleep overnight. Though I usually don’t…

Now that I think about it, this was a first too. Sleeping beside someone. I typically leave after I’m done, or my partner does. But I guess, after last night, I wasn’t ready to let go, and none of us were in a condition to leave either… 

Shit, here I go, thinking about last night again. Focus, man. I randomly pick an outfit and get dressed in a hurry. I leave the hotel, wondering what does Damian wants with me right now. He sounded pretty angry. At a red light, I take out my tie and throw it on the passenger’s seat. I put it on by reflex, but now that I think about it, I would rather not have him hang me with it…

A few minutes later, I’m in the office’s parking. I hurry up and walk to the elevators, but I’m surprised by Neal waiting for me when the doors open on the designated floor. Why are they all wearing freaking suits, even on weekends? Don’t they ever relax? Neal is also clean shaved, both his hair and beard. Looking tired as usual, my brother’s beta sees me and sighs.

“What does he want?” I ask as we start walking side by side to the office.

“It’s about Liam. We’ve lost him again, and the guys said he was last seen with you at the Rain…”

Shit, I forgot about Liam! I took him with me last night, and we went inside the Nightclub together, but the truth is, I totally forgot about my little brother the second I spotted Elena discussing with that asshole…

Damian is going to give me hell for that.

I enter the office to immediately meet my brother’s ice-cold, silvery glare. It’s like being pierced with blades of steel. I advert my eyes by mere instinct. I may be an Alpha too, but s**t, Damian’s not the King for nothing. He looks as imposing as usual, wearing a jet black suit from head to toe. 

“Where the hell have you been?” 

“...At the hotel.” 

He growls, unhappy. He knows that means I spent the night with someone and most likely ditched our little brother for that. I sigh and try to make up for it.

“I’ll go find Liam. He always reappears near the Purple Pack territory anyway… And he’s a grown-up now, Damian, stop treating him like a Baby. Nothing would happen to him here.”

I’m answered with an angry growl again. Damn, my brother and his temper…

“I’m the judge of that, Nate. If I say I want Liam where I can see him, that’s exactly where he should be!” 

“Then go look for him yourself! Don’t have me babysit him!” I growl out of anger.

I’m so fed up with his control-freak attitude! He wants to know each step we take, everything we do, even now that we’re adults! I know our past put a lot on his shoulders, but damn, things have changed, he should let us breathe a little. Sometimes, I even can’t help but wonder if he's not so controlling with Liam and me just to compensate the fact he can’t protect his lost fated mate. 

Of course, my words only make him angrier. My brother growls back, and I increase the volume too. But suddenly, the door opens again, and Liam walks in out of the blue. Is he kidding me, that brat?! 

“Hey, calm down guys… Why are you fighting so early in the morning?” He asks.

“Because of you, you i***t! Where have you been?” I growl after him.

He shrugs.

“Come on, I spend a night out, and you guys are already fighting? Damn, you both need to cool off…”

What’s with that brat’s attitude! He’s the reason we’re fighting because he’s always running away! I growl at him, but I’m surprised to hear Damian do precisely the same thing. Guess I’m not the only one pissed with Liam’s recklessness for once… 

Since both are us are scolding him, our little brother looks down, finally submitting. He puts his hands in his sweater’s pockets, looking regretful for once. That’s enough for me, though I wish we would learn and not do it again. 

“Ahem, so… Did you think about my idea?”

I frown. What idea is Liam talking about? Damian crosses his arms. Apparently, he knows what our youngest is thinking of. Did I miss something? Liam notices my confusion and rolls his eyes.

“About visiting the other Clans? Like, officially, to look for Damian’s girl?” 

Oh, right, I forgot about that idea. I take a glimpse of Damian, and he’s frowning. Is he considering the idea? Years of Liam sneaking into other territories and me looking everywhere I could go in the open didn’t help at all… 

I want to leave that decision to him, but there’s this little, disturbing idea in the back of my mind, whispering something. That maybe, just maybe, if Damian let us do that, I might have the occasion to see Elena again. Damn, I know I shouldn’t. A one-time thing, that’s it. That’s what we agreed on. Nothing more. 

I see Damian’s hesitating, considering the idea. I hate myself because I know what I want him to say. 

“Nate, what do you think?”

Damn, don’t ask me… But he’s waiting for my opinion, and I know he’ll listen and consider it, as always. I sigh and scratch my beard. This is not a wrong decision… I mean, even without Elena, I would have considering this annoying, but for Damian and his mate’s sake, I would probably have agreed to it anyway. But now, I’m not sure my answer is so reasonable and innocent. It’s not even been a few hours and damns it, I want to see her again, I know it in my guts.

“I think it’s… worth trying. We can give it a shot.” 

I hate myself for thinking this. It’s physical, magnetic, but it’s not what I had planned. I had said one night, and here I am, creating an occasion to meet her again… It’s not only about agreeing to Liam’s plan, because I have no obligation to go myself. But I know I will if I have a chance to see her.

Next to us, Liam claps, obviously very satisfied. That brat… He has no idea what turmoil I’m in right now! Damian nods.

“Alright. You take care of it, Nate. If you find her, tell me. Immediately.” 

I put my fingers in my hair, trying to keep my composure. I want to run to the White Moon territory right away, and it’s bothering me. I turn to Neal, trying to calm down and think rationally, not listening to my body’s instincts. 

“Can you organize that? A dinner or something, with their Alpha. Their territory, their rules. We don’t need to bring a lot of people.”

Efficient as always, Neal is already taking notes on his phone. I bet he will have it all planned within a few days. 

A few days! 

I leave my brothers quickly enough and hurry out of the building. I mindlink my Beta Isaac, trying to hide my inner turmoil.

Issac, you free for a workout?

Right now? Why not, Boss, what do you wanna do?

Anything.

Oh, need to cool off? What happened?

I hesitate for a while. Isaac knows me by heart, and he can sense something’s off with me. But I don’t feel like sharing anything with anyone right now.

Nothing. See you at the dojo.

Roger that.

Speeding up, I try to clear my thoughts.

What’s wrong with me? It was one night of s*x, with a girl I barely know. I just know her name and a couple of details about her. I never needed more. Anytime I f****d with someone, it was only that, and we would part right after to never see each other again. Of course, I’ve had more regular partners, but there were no feelings involved, no longing. 

What is it about Elena that makes me lose my mind like this? It’s only been a few hours, and I’m almost freaking desperate to see her again! 

I reminisce everything about last night, but it’s like a dream. Everything was… perfect. If I didn’t remember it all so clearly, I would think I’ve been drugged or something. But I still can see it all too clearly. Elena’s deep amber eyes, the slight tan of her skin, her light pink lips… The way she blushed softly every time I touch her. And her scent, so alluring. The way she moved with me, naturally yet terribly seductive…

I shake my head. I’m going crazy. She’s not even my mate, how can I feel so attracted by someone? I should stay calm and reasonable, forgetting about this and not thinking twice about it. But damn, I am, and more than twice!

I finally parked in front of the Dojo, and see Isaac’s bike arriving too. I need to cool off. Train a bit, sweat it out, and put those thoughts behind me before I see her again….