Declan’s POV
I groaned loudly as my alarm on my phone started blaring, blindly swatting away at the side table until I found my phone to turn it off and slumping back down on my pillow for a few minutes while I tried to wake up.
I suddenly remembered I wasn’t alone when a small, tanned arm crept around my waist from behind, “Hey baby, last night was fun.”
I opened and rolled my eyes. Last night had been fun and all, but that’s all it was last night. I was out with my friends having one last hoorah before I headed home for good and caught the eye of this random chick. Don’t get me wrong, she was hot, with long blonde hair, huge t**s, a killer body, but there was nothing else there. I had been studying computer science at UCLA for the last four years. Whilst it had been fun while it lasted, it was time for it to end now that I had graduated.
I had learnt a lot, bedded a lot of women and travelled a lot during the summers. I hadn’t stepped one foot in my hometown in that entire four years. Part of me had wanted to, especially after hearing that my brother had found his mate, and again after I heard I was an uncle to two nephews and a niece, but part of me knew that I wouldn’t leave if I returned.
I had grown up outside of a small town in Washington called North Bend. Wide-open spaces, acres upon acres of forest to explore, it was heaven. But, unfortunately, home came with one too many responsibilities, and I wanted to be free for a little while before I gave my life to my pack.
You heard me, pack. I was the son of the previous Alpha of the New Moon pack, one of the largest werewolf packs in the country. I was the youngest of two sons, so I got the freedom my brother didn’t get as the pack's new Alpha. Sometimes I felt guilty that I got to do whatever I wanted, but I knew my brother Dante was more suited for the role of Alpha than I was. He was much more responsible.
Tracy or Tammy or whatever her name was tried to grab my attention by pressing her naked body against mine, “Wanna have some more fun?”
I moved her arm so I could sit up, “Sorry, Tammy, I have to get in the shower and head off. Feel free to let yourself out.”
“It’s Trisha.” She called out as I went to the bathroom and turned the shower on, drowning out the sound of her voice.
Whoops, I guess I got the name wrong. Now before you curse me out for my behavior with her, any girl I bought home with me knew the score. They knew it wasn’t anything serious.
I stepped under the warm stream of water, trying to wash the scent of her perfume off me. Unfortunately, it was giving me a headache. One of the downsides of being a wolf was the acute sense of smell, and most of these girls seemed to bathe in their perfume.
“That’s because she is not our mate.” My wolf chastised.
I rolled my eyes, “Seriously, Ace, get over it. What’s the problem with having a little fun before we meet her?”
Ever since my wolf had awoken on my eighteenth birthday, he had been on my case about any girl I bought home. Werewolves were highly s****l creatures, not many of them made it to their eighteenth birthday without having s*x, and once you started, it was extremely hard to stop. It wasn’t just the males. Most she-wolves were the same, which means it was less awkward once you meet your mate.
What is a mate, you ask? The Moon Goddess Selene, the mother to all our wolves, created every wolf with a mate. That mate was their other half, their soul mate. Some wolves found their mates as soon as their wolf woke up, but others, like me, had to wait a little longer. I was twenty-two now and still hadn’t found her, but in saying that, you do not meet many wolves going to college in sunny California. I was in no rush if I was honest with myself. It would happen when it was meant to. Until then, I was going to live my life to the fullest.
After I showered, I dried off, wrapping the towel around my waist before heading back to the bedroom, praying that she had taken the hint. Thankfully when I got back to my near-empty room, she was gone.
The only thing I had left in my apartment was a bed, a side table and a couple of beer bottles in the fridge. Most of my belongings had already been packed up and shipped back home. So I was living out of a small bag. I got dressed in a plain white t-shirt and my motorcycle leathers and boots. I was driving my motorcycle home, my pride and joy, back home, hence why I shipped everything. It was about an eighteen or so hour drive back to my pack, which meant that I would split the drive over a few days.
There was a knock on my apartment door as I was shoving the last of my clothes in my bag and zipping it up.
“It’s open,” I called out, knowing exactly who it was.
“Yo Dec, where are you, man?” My friend Jaxson called out.
I grabbed my bag, swinging it over my shoulder before heading towards the living room. “I’m here, ready to go?”
Jaxson Mitchell was a friend of mine from back home. He was a few years older than me and had just finished his law degree, which he was hoping to put to good use at one of the pack’s many companies. It was good for a wolf to know pack law, but many of our business was tied to the human world so going to law school in the human world was a necessity.
He stuck his head up from my open fridge, “no food?”
I rolled my eyes at him, “Always thinking with your stomach, man.”
“Sure am.” He responded, “so let’s hit a diner on the way out of town.”
Jaxson was built a lot like me. Like most male wolves, we were on the tall side, standing at a little over 6’4 in height, both with a muscular build, but that’s where our similarities ended. Whilst I kept my black hair in a simple crew cut, Jaxson preferred to keep his blonde hair a little longer and slicked back. In addition, his eyes were grey, whilst mine were more of a warm amber color.
We had originally bonded back home over our love for all things motorcycle related. He was the one that had introduced me to them, and I hadn’t been in a car since. There was nothing like hitting the open road on the back of a bike, the freedom that came with it.
Once we were downstairs, I headed over to my Green Kawasaki Ninji H2 and strapped the bag to the back seat.
I looked at Jaxson and grabbed my helmet, “Our usual spot for breakfast?”
He nodded, grabbing his helmet, “god yes! I need their big breakfast one last time before we head home.”
It didn’t take us long to get to our favorite diners. It was a little hole in the wall, but their food was the best in town. We strode inside and took our usual booth in the back corner. I barely had time to sit down before our usual waitress came over, carrying a pot of coffee in her hand and a smile on her face.
“Good morning boys, how are my favorite wolves doing this morning?” She asked, pouring us both a cup of coffee.
Cassandra was one of the few supernatural beings I had met in Los Angeles. Wolves were uncommon due to the lack of running space. Witches, however, were a dime a dozen here, and Cassie was one of the friendlier witches I had met in my travels. Most of the time, our species tended to steer clear of each other, we weren’t complete enemies with witches like we were with the vampires, but we weren’t going to be holding any pot luck dinners together either.
“Good morning sweetheart, I’m doing better now that I’ve seen your baby blues,” Jaxon advised flirting with her shamelessly.
They had been doing this little flirting dance since we started coming here.
She gave him a smirk, “Flattery will get you everywhere, Jaxon. The usual?”
He nodded, “Yes, please for both of us. Unfortunately, this will be the last one for a while. We are both headed back home.”
“You’re breaking my heart, honey.” Cassie said with a pout on her luscious lips, “I’ll be right back with your order.”
I chuckled as he stared at her ass as she walked away, “Can’t believe that after all this time and flirting, you haven’t taken her home.”
Jaxon sighed, mixing some milk into his coffee, “Not from lack of trying, my friend. She said her coven is pretty strict on the whole, no fractionalizing with other supes.”
It wasn’t too long before she bought over two plates piled high with scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, mushrooms, sausages and hash browns. I reached over to grab the heavy plate from her, my fingers brushing against hers as I did. I was glad that Jaxon and I had grabbed the plates because as soon as my skin hit hers, she gasped, and her eyes glazed over. After that, it felt like forever before they went back to normal.
“Are you okay?” I queried, my voice filled with concern.
She took a deep breath and nodded, “Sorry, my powers are linked to touch, and when you touched my hand, I got a glimpse of your future.”
I raised my eyebrow at her, “Seriously? Please tell me you saw an island paradise in my future?”
Cassie shook her head, “Sorry to disappoint you, but no. I did see a bit of a rocky road ahead, though. I can’t go into much detail as anything I tell you could affect the future and make it worse.”
“Can’t even give me a little hint?” I asked, pressing her a bit more.
She sighed, “let’s just say it involves a girl and that you’ve got your work cut out for you with this one.”
My mouth dropped in shock, and Ace started getting excited in my mind, “Are you saying I’m going to meet my mate?”
“I’m not saying yes, and I’m not saying no”, She answered, “enjoy your meal, guys and if you’re ever back in town again, make sure you stop by.”
I had no words as she walked away. I mean, what are the chances my mate would be a member of my pack now? Dante had said that New Moon had grown significantly in the past three years. Maybe she had joined since I left. I had fun with the girls I had been with at college, but my brother had told me that there was no feeling like the one you got when your eyes met those of your mate. Hearing Dante talk about his Luna Cadi and growing up watching my parents together, I had no doubt in my mind that he was correct. Hopefully, she wants to be with me when we did finally meet.
We both filled up on our delicious breakfast and paid the bill, leaving Cassie a generous tip before hitting the road again. It was roughly an eighteen-hour drive home, so we were splitting the drive into three days, making sure we would stay in cities that didn’t have any wolf packs. Packs were very territorial when it came to land and weren’t a huge fan of non-pack members staying nearby. So whilst we could ask for permission to do so, it was just easier this way.
As we hit the road, I could not stop thinking about what Cassie had said about the girl coming into my life. I couldn’t wait to meet her.