Fated Mates: Book 1 of the True Mates Series

by Alicia Montgomery

  “So…still want that cookie?” she challenged, holding the cooking away from him.

  He answered by rolling her under him on the couch, his hands roaming all over her body.

  ***

  They didn’t leave the hotel room all weekend, ordering only room service and watching movies in between having sex on every possible surface in the suite. Well Alex did leave once - to head uptown to Elsie’s for some key lime pie. Alynna greedily opened the box when he brought it into the suite and they ate it whole with two spoons.

  By Sunday night, Alynna was exhausted and she ached in places she didn’t know could ache. She felt wonderful and for the first time in many weeks, she was satisfied (and not just the fantastic sex.) She lay awake sometime after midnight, Alex spooning her from behind, thinking about this weekend. As agreed, neither brought up the subject of what would happen after they both left the suite, but she sell asleep dreading what was to come.

  It was around six am when she felt the bed shift. Alex got up, and began to gather his discarded clothes. Someone would come in at around 6:30 to relieve him from his weekend shift. He would have to be right at his post when that person came. Alynna closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. She thought she felt him hover over her for a second, before he headed towards the door. The lock clicked, the door swung open and then closed with a soft thud. She bit her lip and forced herself to go back to sleep.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Come in,” Cady called from her desk. She tapped a few keys into her keyboard then looked towards the door. Alynna stood there, holding two large cups of coffee. “Hey Alynna, what’s up?”

  “Oh you know…just passing by, thought I’d bring you a little something,” Alynna held up a cup. “Large peppermint mocha with extra whip cream and peppermint drizzle on top?”

  The redhead’s eyes lit up. “How did you know?”

  “A little birdie told me,” Alynna answered, placing the cup on Cady’s desk. Alex had mentioned this little peace offering might help smooth things over, at least score some points with Cady. Still, Cady seemed warm and inviting that morning, as if she had forgotten her small tantrum on Friday.

  Cady closed her eyes as she took a sip of the coffee and made a satisfied sound. “Hmmm…how did you even find a place that stocked peppermint at this time of year?”

  “Oh I tracked a place down, near my apartment. The owner likes me, owes me a favor and he gladly took out what he had in stock,” Alynna sat down.

  “Oh, you’re a such a sweetheart,” Cady closed her eyes, savoring the minty, chocolatey drink. A soft ping from her computer indicated new emails and she looked at her screen with a slight scowl on her face.

  “Is Grant working you too hard?” Alynna asked.

  Cady laughed. “I’m afraid I work me too hard.”

  “What are you doing?” she asked, sitting on the chair in front of Cady’s desk.

  “Well, I have to make sure Grant’s calendar is organized, first and foremost, and schedule all his travel arrangements, prepare reports, summaries…”

  “Wow, sounds…important,” Alynna’s eyes scanned the redhead’s immaculately organized desk.

  “More like boring,” Cady smiled wrly. “And sometimes frustrating.”

  “Is he difficult to work for?”

  “Oh no,” Cady shook her head. “It’s this company that’s tough!”

  “What about Lycan stuff? Doesn’t he have to do that too?”

  “Yes, but most of the time, stuff like that goes to Nick’s desk.”

  “Oh yeah? Like what?”

  Cady paused and took a sip of the coffee. “Well, most of the time, any type of dispute or problems concerning Lycans, we can let normal authorities deal with, though if they’re Fenrir employees, we can let out lawyers handle them. I’m told there used to be some sort of Lycan protection authority, but with numbers dwindling, they simply couldn’t handle it or there wasn’t really much work to do.”

  “Do Lycans get into trouble?” Alynna asked thoughtfully.

  “Well…” Cady’s delicate brows wrinkled. “There are a few things that I wish we could handle privately. And I know Nick can’t get to all of them, since his main function is to protect Grant and be his eyes and ears on all Lycan matters.”

  “What would you wish we could handle privately?”

  “Well, last year, there was a Lycan who went missing,” Cady began. “He was married to a human, and they had a young son on the way. She knew about him being a Lycan, so she went to Grant. Grant helped as much as he could and Nick made a few phone calls, but in the end, he had to let the police handle it.”

  “What happened?”

  Cady frowned. “Turns out he was depressed and was off his meds. He had been wandering the streets and then…well, they found him in the river.”

  Alynna gasped. “Why didn’t Grant or Nick do anything?”

  “They tried…I mean, as much as they could. But they couldn’t tell the police about him being a Lycan and unless he did something to endanger Lycan society, they aren’t allowed to meddle in investigations.”

  “But, that’s no excuse!” Alynna was outraged. “I thought we were…a family.”

  “I know,” Cady said quietly. “It’s not fair. Of course, we helped the widow and her son. They won’t want for anything for the rest of their lives, and she has a job here in Fenrir, as well as her child when he grows up. But you have to remember, there are rules in place, rules that protect all of Lycan society. Nick get requests like these about a dozen times a year, and so do all Alphas.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know…” Alynna said quietly. “I guess I’ve got a lot to learn.”

  “Don’t worry, there’s no test or anything. Just get through the basics and don’t get in trouble,” Cady tapped a couple of keys on her computer, then turned back to Alynna. “How are you getting along? How’s the hotel? Hope you weren’t too lonely?”

  Alynna mentally crossed her fingers. “It’s fine, just caught up on some TV shows and movies I haven’t watched.”

  “You know you can ask Luke or his staff for just about anything. They’ll even pick up anything in your apartment if you need it.”

  “Nah, I’m good. I hope Grant doesn’t blow his top when he sees the room service bill,” Alynna joked.

  “I’m sure he’ll be happy you have the appetite of two Lycans,” Cady remarked.

  Alynna had to bite her lip from blurting out the truth, but instead changed the subject. “Speaking of Grant, is he free right now?”

  Cady looked at her computer screen. “Yes, he should be free. I think he’s in there with Nick, but I’m sure you can pop in. I’ll join you in five as well, I think Grant wanted to go over this week’s schedule with you.”

  “Great!” Alynna stood up. “Thanks, I’ll go see him now.”

  She left Cady’s office and headed down the hall to Grant’s. “Good morning, Jared,” she greeted the young Lycan.

  “Good morning, Ms. Chase,” Jared greeted back. “The Regal said you can go right in.”

  “Thank you,” she headed for the doors to Grant’s office, but is caught by surprise when it swung open.

  “Hey, watch it – oh!” she gasped when she looked up into a familiar pair of hazel eyes. Alex’s familiar scent wrapped around her like a blanket, making her feel fuzzy and warm. “Alex, what are you doing here? I thought you’d be at home or…something…”

  “Ms. Chase,” he greeted, his voice flat. “The Beta asked me to come in for a meeting today, but I stopped by to deliver some reports to the Regal.” he explained before giving her a her a nod and turning around to walk towards Nick’s office.

  Alynna looked after him quizzically, but brushed it off quickly as she walked towards Grant.

  ***

  Alex counted to ten before looked back and saw the door to the Primul’s office swing close. He let out the breath he was holding for what seemed like forever. Alynna’s scent seemed to linger in the air, even with her gone from hi
s sight. He looked at the time. He had to get out of the lobby. The Beta’s office should be a welcome relief – he was pretty sure Alynna had never been in there. Her scent was driving him mad with desire and want, the memories from the weekend flooding his mind. He allowed guilt to flow through him instead, as if that was much better than the lust he felt when he was around Alynna. God, he was a fool, thinking he had a right to touch her, to be with her. She was the Regal’s sister, a True Mate offspring. There were things expected of her, things he didn’t even want to say or think out loud. He shouldn’t expect or want more than what they had during the weekend. He had to get out and clear his head.

  “Alex,” Nick called as he opened his office door. “I thought you’d want to get some rest after your 48-hour shift.”

  The younger man stood up, giving the second-in-command a slight head bow. “I needed to come and talk to you, Mr. Vrost. In private.”

  Nick motioned for him to come into his office.

  “I’ll be quick,” Alex said, shaking his head when the other man offered him a seat. “I think…I’d like to go back to Chicago for two days, at least, to check up on a few things.”

  Nick raised a brow. “Now? We need you, Alex. The Alpha trusts you to guard his sister.”

  “Yes, but this concerns her…troubles,” he explained. “We know that the intruder from the other day was definitely not from New York. We should expand our search and you know I can ask the Chicago clan for help.”

  Nick paused for a moment. “While I think that’s a good plan over all, we’ll have to run it by the Alpha. However, I think discretion would be the best course of action. I’m going to talk to him about it, but I’m going to suggest a more subtle approach. You’ll need to inform Craig Masterson of course, though that’s a mere formality,” he said, referring to Chicago’s Alpha. “Perhaps you could say you were going to visit family and make some discreet inquiries to some contacts?”

  Alex nodded. “Of course, Mr. Vrost.”

  “I’ll let Grant know as soon as he gets out of his meeting with Alynna and give you a call. Now go back to The Enclave and get some rest.”

  ***

  “Really, Grant?” Alynna snorted as she read the front of the shirt. The white t-shirt had a graphic of a smiling sun on the front and said, “My family went to California and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.”

  “Hey, you asked for a t-shirt. You didn’t specify what kind,” Grant said, amusement in his eyes.

  “He picked it out,” Cady quipped. “I kinda like it.”

  Alynna let out a laugh. “I”ll treasure it forever.” She stood up to leave, as she has already taken a lot of their time. She just wanted to set up another dinner date with Grant and chat about his trip to California. “Well, I’ll see tonight then. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this shawarma place I picked out!”

  On the way out, she nearly bumped in Nick Vrost. “Hey Nicky-boy,” she greeted, giving him an affectionate slap on the shoulder. “Whoah, work out much, buddy?”

  He gave her a smirk. “Just a little,” he retorted before heading into Grant’s office. She chuckled and stepped out. “Bye Jared,” she waved to the young Lycan.

  She saw Alex waiting by the elevator, jamming the buttons angrily as if willing it to come faster. She knew she wouldn’t see him again until tomorrow, but she had this weird feeling that she HAD to be alone with him somehow. He seemed…distant, but also agitated and she couldn’t imagine waiting another second to talk to him.

  The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Alex stepped in and Alynna nearly tripped trying to get in just behind him.

  “Hey!” she said breathlessly. The doors closed and the elevator began to descend.

  Alex acknowledged her presence with a nod, but remained silent. Alynna huffed, sensing something was wrong.

  “Meeting went ok?” she asked.

  “Yup,” he said.

  Something was definitely wrong. Alynna slammed her palm on the emergency button on the panel, sending the car to a screeching halt.

  “Alynna, what the hell?!” Alex braced himself on one of the walls. “What’s going on?”

  “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Alynna accused, poking his chest with a finger. “What’s wrong? Why are you acting like this?”

  Alex stepped back. “Alynna, there are cameras in here,” he warned.

  “I don’t give a fuck about cameras!” she said, raising her voice. “But I think you should tell me why you’re acting so weird, as I don’t think we’ll have much privacy until you take your shift with me tomorrow.”

  “You’re right, we need to talk,” he said, squaring his shoulders. “And I won’t be taking my shift with you tomorrow. I’m going home for a few days.”

  “And when were you going to tell me this?” she asked incredulously. Alex said nothing, instead he shifted his weight from one foot to another. “Oh, you weren’t going to tell me at all!” she shouted, throwing her hands up at him. “I suppose I was going to find out from Nick or Cady!”

  “It wasn’t my intention--”

  “Well, what was your intention?” she interrupted, anger flowing through her.

  “I’ll be gone two days,” he explained.

  “And then what?” she asked.

  “I…” he couldn’t say anything, but he also could not look her in the eyes. The silence seemed to stretch on forever. “Look, Alynna,” he began. “This, you and me…let’s not pretend it’s more that what it is.”

  Alynna’s felt her stomach drop, like the elevator had jerked in mid motion once more. She cleared her throat to get rid of the lump slowly forming there. “And what is that?”

  “Listen, we had some fun, right?” Alex let out a forced laugh. “I can’t…It wasn’t going to go anywhere and I’m not a relationship kind of guy.” He paused. “This just isn’t working out. We both have our own thing going on.”

  She stared at him, not saying anything. When she finally had the sense to open her mouth, the elevator jerked back to life.

  “This past weekend was great,” he moved closer, touching her cheek. Her eyes flinched, but she remained still. “But you know, we both should be free to do what we want, right? We never said we would be exclusive or anything.”

  Before she could say anything, the elevator stopped, then opened to the next floor. “Right,” she said, then shrugged away from him. “I’ll see you around then.”

  Alex watched her walk away as the doors closed. He banged his head on the metal wall, his chest tightening as he remembered the look on her face. Anger. Sadness. Hurt. He shook his head, trying to erase it all. This was for the best, he convinced himself.

  ***

  “Alynna, Alynna?” Grant said as he sat across from her at the shawarma restaurant later that night. “Are you ok?”

  “Huh?” she asked, whipping her head back to Grant. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a lot on my mind, you know.” Truth was, she felt numb. Her conversation with Alex played in her head over and over again. She still couldn’t figure it out. Sure, they never talked about commitment, but she at least hope he’d wait 24 hours before dropping her like a hot potato. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was something else. What she felt that weekend…she didn’t know what it was, but it had to be real, right? Maybe he just needed some space.

  “Have you been feeling ok? Safe?” he asked, concern in his eyes.

  “Yes, I’m good,” she gave a small laugh and grabbed some fries off his plate. “Just…restless you know?”

  He put down his sandwich. “I know this isn’t the best situation, but what can I do to help.”

  Alynna swallowed her food and took a swig of water. “Well, I know you’re not going to let me go back and live at my place, but will you let me at least get back to my cases? I’ve been holding off my current clients, telling them I’ve been handling a personal emergency, but I can only do it for so long, you know.”

  Grant thought for a moment. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to let you
at least wrap them up. If there’s nothing that will put you in danger…”

  “Of course not!” Alynna perked up. “I just need to meet with two of them and finish up one more round of surveillance on another. You can even have your lackeys follow me, as long as they don’t give me away.”

  He laughed. “They’ll keep a respectable distance,” he promised. “But you also need to be in contact with them at all times.”

  She nodded. “I promise, I’ll be good! My clients need some closure and…so do I.”

  Grant looked at her. “Closure….”

  She nodded. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about things. I can keep fighting it, fighting you for the rest of my life or just accept and adjust to what my life is now.”

  Grant had a hopeful look on his face. “Alynna, that’s…I’m happy to hear that,” he said raising his bottle of beer at her. She grabbed her own and clinked it with his. “Now, I’ve been giving it some thought. Once you’re moved into The Enclave, there are a couple of spots here at Fenrir you’d be perfect for. You could also go to college if you wanted to. Cady also suggested perhaps you could work at one of our security subsidiaries, right here in New York. Or I could assign you as a consultant for a couple of government contracts--”

  “Hold on there!” she laughed. “I appreciate the offer. But I’ve also got a lot on my plate right now to consider those offers.”

  “Sorry,” he apologized. “I was a little…over enthusiastic.” He gave her a genuine smile. “But I’m glad you’re finally open to integrating into Lycan society.”

  “I can’t imagine myself getting to that point anytime soon, but I’m trying,” she said.

  “That’s all I ask,” Grant replied. “I’m sorry I’ve been so heavy handed with you.”

  “You’re only trying to protect me,” she conceded. “I just don’t like having decisions made for me. By you, or this psycho who may be stalking me.”

  “I don’t want to see anything happen to you,” Grant said with a protective growl.