Seventeen-year-old Wisdom is lying in bed thinking about her father, Ossian, and her mother, Larisa, They were killed last month when rogues attacked the pack. Wisdom regrets she couldn't save her parents because she has never been allowed to train to fight or shift. Deshal Gordon, Wisdom's best friend, reminds her every day there wasn't anything she could have done to save her parents.
Deshal found his mate Idris Marcy a few days after his eighteenth birthday. Wisdom and Deshal have been friends since she was five and he was seven. He and Wisdom were shocked that his mate was a man since Deshal had always loved fast girls. The faster, the better. He didn't hesitate to accept Idris because he and Wisdom knew the Moon Goddess wouldn't have designed Idris for him if they weren't meant to be together. Idris fitted right in with the two of them. He wasn't jealous of their friendship. Idris looks at Wisdom as his younger sister.
Wisdom and Deshal have never figured out why Alpha Carmine commanded her never to shift, and she wasn't allowed to train to fight. She often spoke to her parents about it, only to be told it was for the best. Wisdom started noticing how her father looked at her when she asked to train. That confirmed her parents hid something from her, but what could it be? Deshal even suggested he would train her secretly. That was put to an end before it started when Alpha Carmine got wind of their plan, and he called him to his office and was forbidden to train her. After that day, he and Wisdom decided they would get to the truth regarding her not being allowed to learn to fight or shift. Why wouldn't they want her to be able to defend herself or let her wolf out to run?Alpha Carmine Ralston is the Alpha of the Fierce Growlers pack in Denver, Colorado. Fierce Growlers is the largest pack in the state. The Alpha is known to be fair, caring, and ruthless. He has a twenty-four-year-old son named Beauden. Alpha Carmine sent him away after his sixteenth birthday to the Alpha Academy. He raised Beauden alone after Beila, his mate, was killed when his son was an infant. Carmine and Ossian grew up together and were best friends. Ossian was Carmine's Beta.Wisdom spent a lot of time in the main pack house. She became the Alpha's assistant when she was fifteen. After her parents' death Alpha Carmine wanted her to move in the house with him instead of living in her parents' house. Wisdom declined because she feels close to her parents when she is home and wants to be dependent. Mostly because she loves peace and quiet after a day in school and then working there. She doesn't like Beauden much, she wasn't around him much when he was there, which she finds strange because of their parents' friendship. When he calls for his father, he's always rude and yells. Wisdom isn't looking forward to his return. She looked for her wallet for half the night until she remembered she left her wallet in her desk drawer. The Alpha gave her today and tomorrow off because tomorrow is her birthday. Wisdom’s intention is to run into her office, grab her wallet, and leave before the arrogant future Alpha arrives.****
Alpha Carmine is in his office when he hears some members telling Wisdom Happy Birthday. He's glad she's there because she left yesterday while he was meeting with some Alphas regarding a peace treaty. Wisdom walks out of her office while sticking her wallet into her purse. When Alpha Carmine stops her, "Young lady, did you think you could sneak in here and leave without seeing me?"She chuckles. "You can't blame a girl for trying to leave without seeing the handsome, ruthless Alpha Carmine Ralston."
"Oh well, since you said that, I'm not giving you your birthday present, But I like the handsome part." He laughs and pretends to walk away."I take everything back except for handsome. Now give me my present." She frowns, looking at his empty hands. "Where is it?" Carmine takes an envelope from his shirt pocket and gives it to her. "Happy early birthday, my dear. “Wisdom narrows her eyes, looking at the large sum of money. "This is too much. I can't accept this." She shakes her head, giving it back to himHe put his hands behind his back. "It's not too much. Yes, you can and will accept it. To be truthful, it's not enough, you deserve so much more. Do I need to command you regarding this matter" He points at her and grins.“No, you don’t. It’s still too much. Thank you" She gives him a long hard hug and kisses his cheek. "I'm going to do some serious shopping today.”
"You're more than welcome. I'm considering stepping down soon. We both know my son's attitude can be hard to swallow, and you may choose not to work with him. Let's be honest Beauden is an arrogant asshole. Remember, even if I'm not the official Alpha, you can come to me with anything, as always. If you need or want anything, I'm here. I don't and won't allow you to go without anything." Carmine hugs her. "It seems Beauden is driving in the gates.
"I will, and that's my cue to leave." She wraps her arm around his and walks out of the house.
Carmine walks her to her car and kisses her forehead "Enjoy your days off and your birthday. I still wish you would have let me throw you a party. You're only eighteen once."
"I just want a quiet evening at home and watch a good movie." She enters the car and looks at a black Lexus LX approaching her. Wisdom doesn't waste any time saying goodbye and driving away. Carmine laughs so hard he is still laughing when Beauden walks over and hugs him."Father, who was that?" He's looking at the back of a Porsche Macan driving out the gate.
Carmine looks at the car and then back at his son. "A hello would have been appropriate. It's good to see you too. Now to answer your question, that was Wisdom Ledger."
"Ah, Beta Ossian and Larisa's daughter." Beauden smiles. "Hello, Father. It's too early for her to go to lunch and to be off."
"As a matter of fact, Wisdom is off today and tomorrow. She's celebrating her eighteenth birthday tomorrow." Carmine looks down the empty driveway.
Beauden twists his mouth. "Did she move here to one of the pack houses after the death of her parents?"
Carmine narrows his eyes, looking at his son. "She lives in her house, as much as I dislike her being there alone. Wisdom is very adamant about living in her house. You sure are asking a lot of questions about Wisdom. Is there a reason?"
"Oh no, Father. Besides Wisdom being a member of our pack, she might be my assistant soon. So, I wanted to know more about her. That's all" Beauden jabs his hands into his pockets. His wolf Klondike is repeatedly screaming "mate." Beauden assures Klondike they will visit their young mate tomorrow on her birthday. After all, she's their mate, and they can't let her celebrate it alone. It would make them bad mates if we didn't acknowledge her special day.Carmine doesn't like the look in his son's eyes and wonders why he is asking about Wisdom. He's brought out of his thoughts when Efrem, his Beta, contacts him that Alpha Boyd Mosier from the Iron Hounds packs wants to meet with him regarding becoming allies. The Alpha will also bring his daughter Maeve, the future Alpha of his pack. Carmine thought about refusing the Alpha’s request. But he pushes it to the back of his mind and grants his wish. “I hope I don’t regret that decision”****
After showering, Beauden lays naked on his bed, thinking about the sweet smell of magnolia and geranium. He's trying to picture her face but can't. But Beauden remembers his father would always visit her parents at her house. Also, some kids wanted to know why she wasn't training with everyone else. He always found that odd.
When he graduated from the Alpha Academy, Beauden wanted to travel the world until his father was ready to turn the pack over to him. He decided if he met his mate, he would reject her and never mention it to his father. A month ago, Carmine called to tell him it was time to come home. At first, Beauden protested because he had just met a young lady named Pandora Rochon. Beauden had no feelings for her and only wanted to get in her pants, which was hard because Pandora always had two warriors with her. One night she came to his apartment alone. The following day Beauden got out of bed and left to go home, and Pandora had been conquered. She wasn't a virgin, as he thought. That night he was waiting for her in the bedroom, and he overheard her phone conversation. She was pregnant by an omega member of her pack. Pandora knew her Alpha father would be furious. Her plan was to trick Beauden into claiming her baby and mating with her.
His cell phone rings and he sees Pandora's face on the screen. He ignores the call, "You picked the wrong one to play tricks on. I'll never be a father to a pup that isn't mine. “Beauden's mind goes back to his mate. "Tomorrow, I must give Wisdom a present and wish her well. Then I'll reject her. I don't want or need a Luna."
Wisdom meets Deshal and Idris after leaving the pack. The three had pedicures, and she and Idris got their nails done. Deshal is waiting for her and his mate to finish when two young ladies sit beside him and flirt. He ignores the ladies and even shows them he has a mate. Idris stops talking to Wisdom and raises one finger. "Hold that thought. Do you see those two Ms. Thangs hitting on my man?" "Yep, we know he'll put them in their places if they continue to make fools of themselves." Wisdom is looking at the pink nail polish on her toes. "Good choice." She sees Deshal walking to them. Idris hasn't taken his eyes off the two women. "Just look at their sleazy tails. Can you believe they had the audacity to think they can have my man?" He kisses Idris's forehead. "Ladies, this is my boyfriend. Should I say any more?" "Deal with it—damn cheap and trashy asses." Idris snaps his fingers twice. The two ladies hurried out of the spa, saying they couldn't believe that the 6'3
"It's our birthday. Wake up. We're eighteen, and our mate is out there waiting for us," Sequoia yells in Wisdom's head. Wisdom sits straight up and looks around her bedroom. She shakes her head and rubs her forehead. "I must be hearing things." she chuckles, looking into the hallway. "No, it's me, your wolf. My name is Sequoia. It's good to be able to communicate with you finally. Sequoia talked about when they were young kids, and she wanted to talk with her. She doesn't know why today is different, and Wisdom can finally hear her. We have a lot of catching up to do." "Sequoia is a beautiful name. Our parents say a mate loves you unconditionally. As for our mate, I'm looking forward to meeting him too. Let's hope the Moon Goddess has designed a caring, strong man. I hope he doesn't get on my nerves and doesn't talk too much. I dislike a man who talks too much. " Wisdom slides on a pair of yoga pants and a tank top and jogs out the back door. Wisdom runs through her backyard
"My mate is Beauden Ralston." Wisdom smiles for a second, and then it fades when she thinks about how he talked to her on the phone. "Why would the Mood Goddess design him for me?" She mumbles when she hears the door open. "What are you doing?" Beauden is standing in the doorway. Wisdom turns around and sees Beauden in all his glory, his long joystick hanging down his thigh only a few inches from his knees. She covers her eyes. "Where are your clothes?" He's walking toward her. "Downstairs." She steps back with her eyes still covered. "You should get dressed." "Why should I?" Beauden winks at her " Have you forgotten I'm your mate? Wisdom Ledger, you're mine. I want what's mine." He grabs her arm, pulling her to the bed. "Beauden, you don't want to do this. No, not like this." Wisdom kicked him several times. He picks her up and puts her on the bed with her hands in one of his hands, holding them over her head. Beauden opens her robe with his other hand. Wisdom is wigg
Beauden is in his office, pacing and looking at his watch. He can't believe Wisdom hasn't arrived for work yet. "Damn it. I know I was wrong for taking her like that. The thought of her fucking that bastard pissed me off. I couldn't help myself. I wanted to claim what was mine. Damn, my mate was so tight. That's when I realized she was a virgin." He sits down, rubbing his head, and thinks about when he went downstairs to leave. But he drank another glass of wine and got dressed to leave but stopped when he heard the water running, poured another glass of wine, and sat in the dark to drink it, arguing with himself how he didn't want or need her as a mate or the Luna of my pack. When I wanted the hell out of her beautiful ass, when he tried to walk out the door, he couldn't leave her. "I had to mark her." He walks over to the window, looking at the front gate. "Where in the hell are you? Father said you're never late. Why aren't you answering me through our mate link? I hate to adm
Later that day, Beauden met with some of the women of the pack. The women look at him strangely, wondering if he is following Alpha Carmine's orders or if it is his. He orders them to call every pack to inquire about Wisdom and inform him when they find her. Beauden looks out the window at Deshal and remembers his father saying he was there because he was having problems with his mate. "That bastard was speaking about my mate. How dare he call my mate his. Wait a damn minute, did he tell my father about last night, or did Wissy?" Beauden mumbles, narrowing his eyes, still looking at Deshal. He's brought out his thoughts when Alpha Carmine tells him Alpha Boyd, his daughter, and Beta has arrived. "Be on your best damn behavior. Tonight after dinner, I want an update about Wisdom. Your ass better have some good news to tell me." Alpha Carmine is walking toward his office. “Yes, Father, I have members calling around for Wissy as we speak.” Beauden walks into the office behind him.
Alpha Carmine can't believe he raised a fool. He knew Beauden was arrogant but assaulting his mate. But he never thought he would do something so foul "Damn it if I didn’t need his ass, I would have killed him. Larisa, I should never have agreed to Wisdom, not training. I should have insisted on her training. That was one of the reasons I had her working in the office with me. So I could protect her. I failed. As far as her shifting I wasn't happy about her not shifting but that was something that I couldn't allow." Efrem walks into the room with a large folder. “You were right about that damn Alpha Boyd. His ass is in so much debt. He can’t dig his ass out with a backhoe.” Carmine takes the folder to read. “So, it seems they may be interested in more than being allies. I wonder if they plan to, “he stops talking and his thoughts go on to how Maeve was interested in his son. “Where is Beauden?” “He left about thirty minutes ago. I heard Wisdom left.” Efrem sits down. Carmi
The following morning Beauden met with the women he had called all the packs regarding Wisdom. After they have yet to locate her, Beauden doesn't take it well and yells for them not to sleep until they have her whereabouts. Alpha Carmine was walking down the hall when he heard all the yelling and women screaming. He ran to see what was happening but never expected his son to lose control because Wisdom was gone. Alpha Carmine tells the women to take a break. Beauden sits down. "I don't know what's wrong with me. What if I can't find her?" He covers his face. "Damn, as bad as I hate to say this. But that's a possibility. I still haven't figured out why you dared to assault your mate." Carmine slaps his head. "Something came over me. I didn't particularly appreciate knowing my mate had a boyfriend. The thought of someone touching her got the best of me." Beauden rubs his head. "Father, I want Wisdom home. I need her." Carmine looks at him strangely. "Son, I'm confused
Einar was tough on Wisdom during their four-hour training. He wants her to be as skillful as he is. He could see that she had been hurt. Wisdom reminds him of his daughter Nain. He didn’t ask what happened, it was her business, and she’ll share it when she is ready. Wisdom and Einar are sitting under a tree eating a cheeseburger. She’s looking around when she notices a handsome brown-haired young man who can’t seem to keep his eyes off her. Einar notices it too. He looks at the man. “That’s Whitman Carlson, the Alpha's youngest brother. He’s visiting for a few months.” He looks at the mark on her neck. “It seems you are already mated to another.” She lowers her head, then looks in the other direction and starts back eating. Whitman makes his way over to them introduces himself and sees her mark. He figured she was rejected by what his brother told him about her. But Peyton had forgotten to tell him how beautiful Wisdom is. He sits beside Wisdom and introduces himself. A few mi