His Unidentified & Untouchable Mate

An Unneeded Distraction

Jacob POV

I didn’t usually work on Saturdays, but the pack was in the middle of what we like to call cleaning house.

The Wild Fangs had five pack houses. One per territory, and one in the center where the High Alpha lived and worked. When my brothers went to go study under our uncles, who would pass their titles on to them, I began taking on duties for father. First, it was purely clerical. Then, as I grew stronger, I began leading investigations, leading hunts.

A knock sounded on my door, and I checked my phone’s display. It was 9:45am – fifteen minutes before my first appointment of the day. Either someone was too early and overeager, or it was someone I didn’t want to talk to.

“Come in,” I called, shuffling some papers around. I had five files on my desk – all wards graduating this year. All wards applying to stay.

The door cracked and a woman walked in. She had long blond hair with streaks of violet, a smattering of very sexy freckles in some very sexy places, a moderate ass and an ample bosom. “Amber,” I swallowed. “I thought we agreed not to meet in my office anymore?”

“Sure,” she replied. “That was before you stopped taking my phone calls, though.”

I stifled the groan rising in my chest. “Have you stopped to consider why I might have done that?”

She pursed her lips as if she were thinking long and hard about why that might be, then shrugged. “No, not really.”

“Because we broke up, Amber.” I informed her as politely as I could manage. “Because my eighteenth birthday is tonight, Amber. Because, if I can find my mate, I’d like to give her the best chance without her having to worry about you.”

Amber rolled her eyes, flipped her hair and settled into the chair in front of my desk. “Oh, please. With your family’s luck, she’ll either die, cheat, leave you, etc. It’s always something with your family.” She batted her long, fake lashes at me. “You’d never have to worry about that from me.”

Unfortunately, my office was completely internal, with no windows. There would be no airing it out to clear away the bullshit she’d just uttered. “My family’s history is none of your business. And, frankly, neither am I. We dated for a month, and I’d warned you it would be temporary. You promised you wouldn’t throw a fit like this.”

Her flirtatious stare turned aggressive. “I am not throwing a fit. I’m trying to make you see reason. I mean, what if I’m your mate? What if you’ve cast me aside and I never come back to you?”

I rolled my eyes – I couldn’t help it. “That won’t happen.”

“How can you be so sure?” she asked, meeting my eye in a defiant gaze.

My thoughts sprang to her immediately. Everything about her was magnetic – the enticing lace. The chase – she’d tantalized me, then pulled away. The mystery of her. The way her bright, amber eyes contrasted with her skin, the color of sun kissed earth. “I just am,” I replied, pushing her from my mind. I didn’t expect it to work – it hadn’t since I’d met her.

“You’re infuriating,” she groaned. “But fine – fine!” I expected her to leave in a huff, but she didn’t. She crossed her legs, a pensive look falling over her face as she perused my office. I hadn’t decorated it – mom had. She’d always taken a little extra care with me, and I could tell the idea of me sitting in a dark office with no outside lighting, with no décor depressed her, so I’d given her the honors.

And honestly, it looked pretty good.

Except there were pictures everywhere. One such picture was of me and Amber at prom. She’d draped herself against me like a starlet on the red carpet, and I’d let her. The picture caught Amber’s eye, and her lips quivered. “We’ve known each other since we were pups, Jacob,” she whispered.

And that much was true. Amber was the little sister of my best friend, Alex. Alex was the second born of my father’s beta – just like me, he was someone who’d never be important. “Yeah,” I said, softening my tone.

“Can’t we at least stay friends?” I noticed the way her hands trembled in her lap, and it weakened me.

I hated to see women cry.

“Sure,” I sighed. “But you can’t act like this – no more bothering me during work hours.”

She scowled, “It’s not like you have much to do anyway. You just help out here and there – I’m not that distracting, am I?”

I ignored the batting eyelashes again. “Actually, you are. I have meetings all day today with wards of the Northern Pack.”

Amber wrinkled her nose. “Why do we even take in strays like this? None of the other packs do.”

“Other packs don’t have the resources,” I replied. “And the goal is to just get them through school.” I motioned to the folders, then picked up the first one. They were marked with last names only, and when I opened it, I was surprised to find her portrait staring back at me. “Unless… unless they need extra protection.”

Amber rolled her eyes and stood, snatching the folder from me so she could shut it and put it down. “In my humble opinion, they’re just leeches. Everyone thinks so.” She sauntered around the desk so she could inspect the family photo that hung behind my chair. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. If you can’t handle the world alone, isn’t that just natural selection?”

I kept my hand on Zahraa’s file. “I don’t know about that,” I said, running a finger over the indentions of the manila folder. “Perhaps sometimes kindness can go a long way.”

Amber turned and headed for the door. “I hope you don’t go into this with that mind set. Our resources are stretched enough as it is – I always hear daddy complaining about it.”

My father complained about it, too. In fact, my father had told me to be particularly stern with these applicants. We didn’t want to be stuck with anyone that couldn’t serve a purpose. “I’ll be fair above all else,” I decided. “Now, if I could get back to my work?”

Amber sighed. “I suppose.” She tossed a glance over her shoulder and smirked at me. “If you don’t find your mate, and you find yourself lonely, give me a call, won’t you?”

She slipped out before she heard my answer. Which was sad, because it was a definite I won’t.