Not-So-Fated Mates

Chapter 3: Him

Drake’s POV

    “I wonder what this chick is like,” Jackson, Drake’s Beta, said thoughtfully as he poured over the portfolio Drake had handed him as they sat in the SUV on the way to the Howling Moon pack. “I mean, she’s gotta be quite something to have accomplished what she has in only a few years.”

    Drake shrugged, looking out the window as they passed through the mountains. He could admit he was impressed at her accomplishment, it was no easy feat to be able to train even omegas how to partially shift. It was a skill that took a lot of discipline and control to master, and since even the wolves who were in the middle of the pack hierarchy tended to struggle with it, omegas almost never mastered it. Especially since their talents were more of an emotional nature than a physical one. They generally spent their time doing more therapeutic things for their pack, along with things like cooking and cleaning. Unfortunately, since shifter society tended to praise those with more physical prowess and look down upon those that were less inclined towards things like fighting and training, it meant omegas often were looked down upon and even bullied. As a leader, however, he saw how important omegas were, and knew that, just because they were on the bottom of the hierarchy didn’t mean that they were useless. Far from it, in fact. He’d seen omegas pull off some near impossible feats using their emotional talents, so he knew their abilities were nothing to sneeze at. They were just as invaluable to a pack as any other pack member, including the alpha, and, in his opinion, all packs should realize that.

    “We should be there in about fifteen minutes, alpha,” the driver, his delta, said, breaking through Drake’s thoughts.

    “Thanks,” Jackson replied, giving the file back to Drake. “Well, at least we know this visit will be pleasant. I’ve heard Alpha Richard is a good alpha, so you won’t have to go ape-s**t on him like you did to Alpha Fred.”

    “That little pissant deserved it,” Drake growled. “He was an abusive little prick. Did you see what he did to his own Luna? No self-respecting alpha would harm his pack members, let alone his mate.”

    “Very true,” Jackson replied, nodding somberly. “Thankfully, from what I’ve heard, after you beat the crap out of him and threw him in his own cells, she finished him off and retired, letting her son take over. My intel says that, while that whole pack still has a lot to get through after the years of abuse, they’ve all been doing a lot better. Seems his son is a much better person and alpha than his father.”

    “Good,” Drake sighed, dragging his hand across his face. Truth be told, he wasn’t looking forward to this visit. Yes, he’d arranged the visit, and yes, he was very interested to learn how this Layla Stanley had managed what had once been thought to only be possible for the more powerful wolves, but he wasn’t exactly enthused to be meeting her. He’d read all her alpha had sent him on her upon his request for the information, and, to be honest, she seemed dangerous. Not because of how trained she was, how well she fought, the fact that she’d become commander of the pack’s warriors in half the time it usually took, but because he had liked what he’d read. What was worse, when he’d seen her picture, he’d liked what he’d seen.

    Of course, he had plenty of unmated females in his own pack, and he’d happily f****d quite a few of them, but all of that was just a little fun. Ever since his mate, he’d refused to let himself fall for anyone else. He couldn’t go through that again. And his gut said that, if he didn’t manage to keep things entirely platonic, she’d manage to barge right through every reservation he had against trying again, until it was too late. Until she held the keys to his soul, and the power to destroy it. That couldn’t happen.

    “We’re here,” Jackson said, looking back at Drake. “You ready?”

    Drake closed his eyes, steeling himself before he dared to even unbuckle. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

Layla’s POV

    She stood blinking in the sunlight as an SUV pulled up the driveway. The house was placed about a half a mile from the street for privacy’s sake, with a long, dirt drive-way leading up to it. She’d known they were going to arrive about ten minutes earlier than expected, considering the guards on the edge of their territory facing the road had mindlinked her the second they spotted the alpha’s car. She’d had updates on their progress right until they had entered the driveway.

    As soon as she heard they were early, she’d mindlinked everyone in the ‘welcoming party’ and had headed for the front door. Once everyone had assembled, she’d placed herself next to the alpha and luna, though slightly behind them, both in deference to them and so that she could keep an eye out on all sides, to protect them should the need arise. Chelsea, who’d joined the warriors when she had, stood to the side and slightly behind Layla’s parents, filling in for Hector who’d ended up with a broken leg during training this morning and needed to stay off it after the doctor set it so it would heal properly.

    The SUV pulled to a stop, and the driver and another man got out, and if Layla had to hazard a guess, she’d bet that they were the delta and beta by the different levels of power rolling off of them. Then another door opened, and she was almost floored by the amount of power that hit her as a third man got out. The power had her fighting the urge to bare her neck in submission, but she grit her teeth and closed her eyes until the feeling passed. When she opened them, her jaw dropped.

    It was him. It was the man from her dreams all those years ago. What. The. f**k.