RIVER
"Son. Calm down." My dad was seated at his desk. He just delivered, yet, another condition I had to pass to get the title that has been promised to me since the day I was born.
I'm leaning on his desk. I slam my fist down. "Calm down?! Christ, dad. This is bullshit and you fucking know it! You were 5 years in before you met mom! Why the fuck do I have to be mated to get my fucking title?!"
He shuffled papers. "Son. My situation was different. My father died. I had to take the pack. I wasn't ready. I should have had a Luna. You will have to go by the book. Just find your mate and you'll get your title. It's not the end of the world."
I stand up and grab at my hair with my hands then scrub my face of my frustration. "Not the end.....! Fuck! Do you realize my mate could be dead? She might not even be fucking born yet, dad? I could be waiting for fucking ever!"
"River, watch your tone." My dad looked at me with glaring eyes.
I leaned on his desk. "Dad. I'm ready. I'm more then ready. I've studied. I've trained. I joined the damn security unit, for fucks sake. What the hell more do you want from me?"
My dad stood up. "I need you to settle down. And stop using this office to impress your friends."
I stand up and growl out a frustrated breath. I run my fingers through my hair. "Fuck this." I head for the door.
"River!" My dad calls out.
I swing my arm behind me in a Whatever move not looking back and slam the door.
I'm heated, angry, fucking pissed right off. My wolf is clawing at my insides. He wants out.
The fucking nerve. I've been working my ass off for two solid years. Doing everything that bastard told me to do and this morning he says I have to find my fated before I can be Alpha? Fuck him. I don't do married life. And it doesn't even matter because chances of finding my fated is like one in a billion anyway. I'm never getting my title.
I storm down the stairs. Scowl on my face.
My mother came into the common room of our White Rock pack house.
She's a tad smaller then me and way more beautiful. She has the face of an angel and the power of an Alpha. She can kick anyone's ass, including my father's. And right now, I wish she fucking would.
She crossed the room with her arms out. "River, honey." She held my face in her hands when she reached me.
"Hey, mom." I grumble.
"River. You need to be patient. Your father means well. He doesn't want to see you stumble through like he did." She moved her hands to mine. "He loves you, River. He's not doing this to keep you from being Alpha."
"But, mom....you and dad were lucky. Fated mates are so rare these days. Dad's gotta know this. Mine could be anywhere. She could be on the other side of the planet." I whine at her.
She wrapped her arm around me. "Or.....she could be right next door. River, you don't know, but don't lose faith. Just focus on what your doing, alright. And don't think I didn't hear your tone to your father. I didn't like that one bit." She wagged a finger at me.
I hang my head. "Sorry." I mumble. "I just get so pissed off. I'm trying so hard and everytime I feel like I'm done, he throws something else at me. He's never going to give me my title."
"He will. In time. You'll see." She placed her hand on my chest giving it a little pat.
"Okay." My phone buzzed and I pulled it out.
She smiled. "Okay, sweetheart." She reached up and kissed the side of my head and walked away.
I briefly looked up. "Bye mom. Thanks."
"No problem, sweetie."
I looked at my phone. It was a text from my boy, Zeke.
Zeke: Hey, man. You up?
You: Yeah.
Zeke: We're heading to Falcon for a hunt and pound some back. You in?
You: After having a talk with my dad, I could use a dozen or more.
Zeke: Yuck. How'd that go.
You: About as good as you think. I wanted to rip his fucking head off. He says I can't take over until I'm mated to my fated.
Zeke: Gross. That could take forever.
You: That's what I said. But the bastard doesn't listen.
Zeke: Okay. Forget the asshole. Let's get you drunk and laid and you'll feel better.
You: Sounds like a plan. See you in 20.
Zeke: Later.
I head to my room. Go into the bathroom.
I blow out a big breath of anger and calm down.
Running a comb through my black hair. Long on top, short on the sides. I smile. Damn, I look good.
I go to my closet and pull out a white silk button down. I leave the top two buttons open. I throw on a pair of black acid boot cuts and my boots.
Once I'm dressed and looking damn hot, I grab my money clip and keys.
I head to my midnight black Camaro. Looking sexy, baby. It's my chick magnet. I don't need a stupid mate.
I get in. Rev the engine and peel out, tearing up the black top.
****
I pull into the lot at The Falcon.
I love this alliance. Falcon ridge has the best bars and the hottest girls. Both packs are allowed to cross the border whenever they want as long as they don't cause problems.
I park and get out. Beep the alarm and look around.
I see Blades truck and Zekes audi. My boys are here.
I walk in and the place is jumping. Ladies night. Girls drink free and it's like fucking Christmas in here.
I walk up to the bar and wave the bartender down. I shoot up one finger and he nods. He slips a beer to me and I grab it. Raising it as a thank you.
Scanning the bar, I see Zeke, Chris and Blade. All of us are best friends. We all grew up together and are all in the security unit.
Zeke is dressed to kill in a red button down and jeans. His short blonde hair and chisled features make him the lady killer he is.
Chris is jacked. His brown hair and rugged look gives him that bad boy look. It also helps that he's covered in tribal ink and wearing a black tank.
Blade is scary, but the ladies fucking love him. Hazel eyes, dark tanned skin. Ink all over. His long black hair give him the hard metal look that make the girls wet. And he knows it too. He's also bigger then all of us, which is good if we ever get in 'heated discussions'.
I strut over to the table. " 'Sup, boys." I pulled a chair over and sat.
Zeke clapped my shoulder. "You made it. Feeling better?"
I swig my beer. "I am now. My dad can shove it."
Blade leans on the table. "What happened now?"
"Oh, my bastard father. He says I can't get my title until I find my fated." I pick at my beer bottle.
Blade smirks and snorts. "Fuck. Does he even know how long that could take."
I shoot forward, raising a hand to Blade. "That's what I said!"
Chris lifted his beer. "Fuck em. Better to just get drunk and hunt ass."
Blade chugged his beer. "Speaking of drunk....what's in season tonight?"
It's become tradition for us to call which hotties would be easier to hunt based on the scene at the bars we go to. We call a hair color basically saying they're the ones getting more drunk then the others. I know it's disrespectful or whatever, but fuck it, it's fun and the girls know what we want.
Zeke sat up. 'I call blonde." He smiled over looking the bar.
Chris lifted his beer. "Can't go wrong with red heads."
I shake my head. "Nope. Brunettes all the way."
Blade sat back and tipped up the last of his bottle and set the empty down. "I declare all three. There no limit on my hunting card." He smiles.
Laughing, I offer him a hand up and puts his out. I slap it.
We're having a great time. I'm making eyes at girls who smile my way. Pounding back the beer, when I get this weird feeling. Then I see her. Dressed in fucking leather. The dance floor is crowded. People in my view, but I still see her. Her long brown and blonde hair hanging down her back. Her skin is tanned. I can't make out her eyes. She's turned to much. She looks sexy as fuck, but, she also looks like she could kick my ass if I looked at her sideways. So, of course, I'm staring her down hard. So hard she turns and looks around the bar. I quickly lower my head, until I catch her turning back around.
I want to approach her. I'm wondering if she's as hot in bed as her outfit makes her out to be.
I had worked out what I was going to say to her when I see her get up with one of the dudes she's was sitting with. She left with him hand in hand.
But, before she left, she turned her head toward my direction. She was fucking stunning. Flawless. And absolutely amazing bright amber eyes. They looked like gold.
My heart stopped. I had to see her. Up close.
I told Zeke I was heading to the washroom and I followed her out the door.
I looked around. And that's when I scented something in the air. I casually sniff for a direction.
It led me to the behind the bar.
Confusion set in as to why she would be back here and then I hear it. Grunts and moans. The dude is fucking her back there.
"Shit." I mumble to myself and make my way back to the front.
I stood on the porch, thinking about this. Processing. Why am I so interested? Why am I even out here? What the hell am I doing?
"Catch ya later, tiger." I hear her sexy voice trailing up from behind the bar.
She walks out into my line of sight. She looks a supermodel with an S&M fetish. Like she'd beat your ass if you said the wrong thing, but then fuck the shit out of you to make it right. It's driving me fucking crazy and I haven't even said anything to her yet.
I stand on the porch pretending I'm just out for air. I glance her way as she steps into the light of the bar. She hops on her motorcycle and revs the engine. Just when she's about to leave, she glances at me and our eyes lock.
I'm all kinds of nervous. I try to play it cool. Straight face as I watch her. She revs the engine once more as the corner of her mouth raises to a cocky smile.
I do the same as she peel out of the lot and into the night.
I stand there. Scratching the back of my head. Trying to sort out what the fuck was going on. And the only thing that was clear was that I had to find out who she was.
I head back in and sit down. I grab one of the fresh beers on the table.
Blade looked at me. "Where'd you go?"
"To the bathroom." I drink my beer.
He shook his head. "You weren't in there when I went. Where'd you go?"
I set my bottle down. "Just stepped out for air."
"You got some, didn't you." Zeke poked.
I tip my beer back. "I wish. But no."
Zeke smirked. "The nights still young."
I rose my bottle to him and he tapped his bottle to mine. "Amen, bro."
An hour later, my sexy girl is slipped to the back of my mind. I hit the door to my room with a knock out Burnette in my arms. I'm kissing the fuck out of her.
A few minutes later, she's on my cock, riding it hard.
As, I grab her breasts and squeeze, my mind wanders to my little biker chick and I can't get her smile out of my head.
I focus on my job at hand and I come into her and push her off.
I thank her for a good time and lead her out the door mumbling about getting up early for work.
She slips me her number and leaves. And I do what all us assholes do, I throw it in the trash.
I climb into bed, not thinking about the good sex I just had, but about the killer girl in black.
I will find her if it's the last thing I do.
ANNA"What's up, bitches?" I stroll into the station with my red motorcycle jacket slung over my shoulder, my other hand in the pocket of my red leather boot cuts and sporting a white t-shirt. I have a huge smile on my face. I love being me.The station is buzzing with day shift and night shift patrollers exchanging reports for shift change."Hey, Anna." Could be heard around the room.I walk down the aisle and park my ass on Greg's desk. Three desks from the back where Drake's office is.Greg side eyes me up and down then pulls back his chair, leaning back and folding his arms. "Damn, Anna. When are you going to let me make an honest woman out of you?"I lean in. "Not in this lifetime, sweetcheeks." I smile. "How was the border?""You covering for Dea tonight?" He raised a brow.I nod.He pulled out a report and handed it to me.&
ANNAMy left hook connects to the face of the one eyed rogue."TELL ME WHY YOU WERE AT THE BORDER!!" I grab his shirt and command him to answer me.I've been interrogating this guy for over an hour and was starting to lose my patience.He spits his blood on the floor. "I'm not telling you nothing, bitch." He grins an ugly, bloody grin. Glaring at me with his good eye."Fine." I stand up and stroll around him and the chair he's chained to. I run my fingers up his good arm, around to his back and down to his casted arm. He watched as I walked around, snapping his head to follow. I pause. The corner of my mouth ticks up as I grab the fingers of his broken arm and bend them backwards.He screams in agony."ANSWER ME!!""OKAY. OKAY." I let go. "Fuck...alright. some guy, okay. He comes into a bar I was at in Delwork. Says he'll pay me if
MICHAELOk. Can I start by saying, I know I'm being used. At first, I didn't care. I mean, who wouldn't want a hot, bad ass chick coming to you for the occasional hook up. If you're any kind of red blooded male wolf, you'd be crazy to say no.When I met Anna 5 years ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. She was sexy as hell, driven and has no problem saying what's on her mind. That in itself, drove me crazy.We agreed to keep it casual. No commitments. Just hook up when the need arises, but walk away when the deed was done.And for years, it worked.But, somewhere along the line, every time I woke up and she was gone. Every time she'd walk away with her 'See ya later, tiger.' My heart dropped. I didn't want her to leave. I want to hold her. Wake her up with kisses. Cook breakfast while I gaze at her in one of my shirts.
MICHAELIt's a little cooler tonight.I breach the treeline. My wolves eyes adjusting to the brightness of the moon. I trot into the clearing. Sniffing the air. I can smell her. I see her. She's shifted. Her naked frame sitting in the grass. Her knee up and her hair hung down in her face.My wolf let's out a tiny whine and licks his lips as the wind blows and I shift. He senses the same thing I do. I rise and walk over to her.I sit down. "Hey."She tosses a glance. "Hey." She goes back to playing with the blade of grass in her hand.With the invisible border between us, I try to see her face. "Anna. Is everything ok?"She blows a breath. "Yeah. I'm good." She doesn't look at me.I grow concerned. "Why are you just sitting here?"She tosses the blade of grass. "Thinking. Taking a bre
RIVER The look in Anna's eyes, as Karver jammed the barrel of his gun into my temple, told me that under her crass, rough exterior, there was a pain she kept well hidden. A wound so deep, you'd think it would impossible to fix. After I went to the hospital, she came by. Lectured me about being stupid and that I shouldn't have put myself in that position. I agree it was dumb, but I couldn't let her face Karver alone. Even as she lectured me, though, I felt she wasn't actually talking to me. It felt like she was talking to someone else. I had to find out who. When I went to her house, I wasn't expecting to have the conversation we had. Karver killed her lover. The same way he was going to kill me. I was shocked, but not surprised. It explained everything I saw in her face that night. After our emotional exchange on the swing, I felt I was delving into the real Anna. The
ANNAI walk into the station. "What's up, bitches?"The last few days have been a Rollercoaster of emotions, but today I decided to just push past and move on.I'm greeted with claps on the back and high fives for nailing Karver.I head for Drake's office. "Bossman. How's it going?" I walk in and sink into a chair at his desk across from him.He raises a brow. "You seem better." He turns to his computer.I adjust my seat. "Yeah. I had a lot of shit to work through, but I think I'm okay now."He folds his hands on his desk. "Anna. I know this Karver take down opened some wounds. We have some great people you can talk to if you need it."I smirk. "I don't need therapy, Drake."He sat back and folded his arms. "Not therapy, Anna. Just someone who can talk with you. In private. Just to make sure you're all sorted.""I'm fin
RIVERI check in with my superior who tells me that I'm to report to the recruitment center.Ok. It's weird, since I'm not a team leader and haven't haven't been involved with training at all.I head to Bartleys office. I knock on the door and wait."Come." I hear from inside.I open the door and step in. "Reporting for duty, sir." I stand at his desk at attention.Bartley smiles and stands. "At ease."I relax."Blake. I'm glad to see you. I didn't think Oakley would hand you over when I put in the request."I looked at him confused. "Request, sir?"He walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. "Son. What you did during the Karver operation was outstanding. Organizing those teams and assisting border to bring this badass down....just what we need down here."I looked at him. "Sir, I'm not sure I understand.
ANNAAfter breakfast, I walk across the barrack yard, heading for the training field.Yesterday, with River, was spectacular to say the least. It was passionate, but urgent at the same time. Like we both just needed it right now, but didn't want to rush past every moment. I've never felt like that before. No. That's a lie. The night with Michael in the clearing felt almost the same, but something was missing. I can't put my finger on it.Which brings me to my dilemma.After I left River, my thoughts drifted to Michael. He confession of love. My feelings for him are still there, even though, there's definitely something between River and I.Then there's this whole security unit thing. River is my superior. And while, I couldn't give a shit, he does. The unit means a lot to him. I don't want my bullshit to screw up his life. So, is what we might have worth