The Alpha And The Prey

Chapter 5

Nathan Pov

“Sir, we need more information. There are plenty of people in the world with Heterochromia eyes.” My secretary informed me, making me frown in frustration.

‘Tell her to look for a bunny,’ Ray told me as I gripped the phone tightly in my hand.

I snorted, shaking my head. ‘She’d think I’m crazy. Humans don’t know about us.’ He laughed, his tail wagging back and forth, but I could tell he was just as frustrated as I was. Why was it so hard to find one girl? “But in this state? There can’t be that many in this state.” I nearly whined. Why did this have to happen to me? To be mated to a shifter? She won’t even feel the pull! If she was just passing by, she would just be gone and I’d be left like this for the rest of my life.

“Mr. Masters, there’s hundreds reported in this state, if not thousands. There are even twenty that work in our corporation. It’s not as rare as you think it is. There are also various variations of Heterochromia. Different eye color completely, or one eye is half a different color, or both eyes are two different colors, there’s a lot of files to look through. Plus I had never seen the woman, and I’m not entirely sure if I’m overlooking them or not. There are thousands here to look through.” She said with a yawn.

Almost immediately I felt bad, wondering if she’d been awake all night searching for me. “Send the files to me. I’ll look through the pictures. Just the females.” I told her.

She stuttered, her fingers clicking over the keys. “Sir, you’re so busy all the time,” she said. I nearly laughed at her. She was much busier than I was. I only took care of what those at the business didn’t run, it was the leisure I had of being the CEO. “I couldn’t possibly,” She said, trying to mask the hope in her voice.

She wasn’t fooling me in any way whatsoever. “It’s not your job to search through countless pictures for one person. It’s my hunt, and I’ll do it. Thank you for taking the time to gather everything, but please give it to me and I’ll take over from here. Just cancel my five o’clock meeting, I have a feeling my mother is coming to visit me today.” I told her.

I had to listen to her gush over my mother for the next ten minutes on the phone while she sent me the files, trying my best to smile and agree with her over the phone. It was a habit, the workers sucking up to the CEO, despite the fact that most of them have never met my mother, only the older workers that were there when my father was alive remember her. It was common, the normal. Even when I did go into the office to meet with them for meetings, I was greeted constantly by the workers. How's the family, how are your brothers and your mother? Have you found someone to settle down with yet, are we going to be seeing children anytime soon? The same simple small talk that always got on my nerves but I was forced to smile and bear with it to keep the peace. Once she was finished sending me the files I verified with her I had received them, and we hung up the phone. I immediately called one of the Omegas through mindlink, requesting dinner, since I had a feeling I’d be here all night long.

It wasn’t long before I received a knock on the door of my office. “Come in,” I called, distracted by the endless pictures in front of me. I smelled the food and didn’t bother looking up, assuming it was the Omega I had called earlier. Even when the folding table was placed beside me I ignored it. The plates were placed on the table, and a chair was scooted towards the table, but it wasn’t until I caught the whiff of her perfume that I looked up from the computer. “Mother,” I said, nodding at her in surprise.

She looked as tired as she always did, her long brown hair was lighter from the years, and streaks of gray from getting older and stress lit up her hair. Her green eyes were darker like mine, but they lost the twinkle from old age and all of the horrors she’s witnessed. Even still she smiled, the scar running across the side of her neck from the battle we lost father in so long ago jutting out as she tilted her head to the side at me. I could tell she was looking at the computer. “Are you searching for a girl? You know you can’t tell who your mate is through a picture. Isaac tried that when he was eighteen, then gave up, saying whoever she is will come to him eventually. Jason and you were always the ones who tried harder to get their mate, but Jason has always been the most stubborn. I heard from him recently, he’s working in a strip club as a bartender.” She said, shaking her head.

I raised my eyebrow at her, coughing as I laughed. “Why? He still gets paychecks from the corporation for being one of the CEOs.” I asked, confused.

‘Maybe he blew it all already?’ Ray asked with a shrug.

I snorted, smirking at him. ‘With him, it’s a possibility.’ I replied.

She shook her head, laughing as she pulled her plate closer to herself. “No, he doesn’t. I had Dorthea cut him off.” She informed me, waving her finger at me. Despite the fact that I was the one who mainly ran the corporation, my mother was still known as the wife of the late owner, and she was friends with the woman who worked in accounting. It didn’t surprise me in the least that they did this behind my back. “I told him he needed to get his butt back here and help you with the corporation, but he refused, saying he feels like he’s close. So I cut him off. I assumed he’d come back for the paychecks, but instead, he got a job, saying it’s closer to girls. There are new strippers and new bouncers, new bartenders every night. He’s determined.” She said, shaking her head back and forth.

I watched her grab a roll and break it in half, dipping the corner in the melted butter from the corn and popping it into her mouth. For an exaggerated moment, I stared at the computer, wanting to keep looking through the pictures, but after a minute I sighed and turned towards her, pulling my plate toward myself. It wasn’t every day mother had a break from all she did, and I rarely got to spend time with her. Out of all of us guys, I was the closest to my mother. Her rock, she always called me. The one who was always there by her side, never crying or complaining, never giving her problems. ‘What will she think when her rock tells her he found his mate, but she’s a freaking bunny?’ I wondered with a sigh.

‘Maybe she won’t…mind?’ Ray asked, feeling just as apprehensive about telling her as I was. She raised us to know we were good enough for strong and beautiful she-wolves. How would she feel to know the first son to finally find his mate was mated to a weak and useless bunny?

“I know about the girl, Isaac told me.” She said, breaking through my thoughts and making me cringe with exasperation. I had a feeling he would, which was why I was expecting her, but I had hoped he would wait for me to tell her. He’s probably told Jason already also. I was glad he was gone, wherever he was, he was probably throwing a fit right now.

I looked at her, frowning. “She’s not what I expected, mom. I don’t even know where she is.” I said, hearing the frustration in my voice as I pointed at the computer. “All I know is her appearance. I saw her eyes, her hair color, her body, her face. She’s beautiful and she stands out, but I can’t find her anywhere. And she’s…she’s not a wolf.” I said, frowning.

Why couldn’t I be normal? Why couldn’t my mate be a wolf like the others? Why was I cursed with a freaking weak little bunny? I frowned, gripping my hands tightly on top of the foldout table as I stared at my plate. I didn’t dare look her in the eyes, I knew she was going to be disappointed in me. “Nate, I heard about what she is. Why are you angry about it? So she’s not what you expected, but the Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes. I’m sure she’s everything that you aren’t. Our mates are given to us to complete what we’re missing. Like a puzzle piece, they hold what we don’t, so when we’re placed together, we’re complete. She’ll make you complete.” She said.

I held back my snort, but couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling. It was a good thing I was still looking down at my plate otherwise she’d have smacked me if she noticed it. “Yes, mother,” I replied robotically.

‘To think that we’d fall in love with a bunny, or care about love in the least. She should be glad, wherever she is, that I’m not rejecting her. If it wasn’t for my father’s decree I wouldn’t have thought twice about rejecting her.’ I said with a frown.

My mother seemed to be content with my answer and started to eat her corn while I chewed absently on my roll and talked to Ray. ‘Don’t remind me. A white she-wolf, I just wanted a beautiful white she-wolf! Why couldn’t she be a wolf?’ he whined.

I chuckled softly at him, taking a sip of the water from the bottle she brought me. ‘At least she’s got white fur? Does that count for something?’ I asked, drinking the water.

‘Yeah, white fur and a tasty interior.’ He replied, making me choke on my water. I coughed, the bottle falling to the ground as I clenched my chest and my mother gasped, standing up and banging on my back repeatedly as I winced.

“Nate! Oh my God, are you okay? What happened? Did you choke on the food?” She asked, rubbing my back as I took deep breaths.

I shook my head, feeling annoyed at Ray and embarrassed at the same time. “No, I think the water went down the wrong tube is all, I’m fine mother, I promise,” I said, flashing a grin at her as I let out a few smaller coughs. She frowned, but nodded, seeming to believe me. We finished eating in relative silence, a few comments here and there about the pack and the business. Once we were finished eating, she offered to help me search through the photos, but I told her I wanted to do it myself. She didn’t get days off very often and she needed her rest more than anything. I had an Omega come to take the plates away and put warm milk in her room for her to sleep better, and she left me alone with the computer once more.

Once alone, I sat back in my chair, my eyes staring at the picture of a fifteen year old looking girl, and frowned. I should have told her to filter the pictures by age. I wanted nothing more than to give up for the night and go to sleep, but instead, I sat up once more and clicked off of the picture to the next one, and the next one, searching for the eyes that burned through me whether I was awake or asleep, a body that visited me in my dreams, and the fierce glare of her expression right before she shifted and ran off. ‘It’s nothing,’ I told myself, running my fingers through my hair. ‘She means nothing, just a mate to get my title.’ I said. I wasn’t entirely sure if I was trying to convince Ray, myself, or everyone else at this point. I groaned, rubbing my hands against my face, before continuing my endless search through pictures. She had to be in here somewhere, and no matter what, I was going to find her.