Ryan's POV
Today would be one of the most exciting days of my Alpha career. I was about to wrap up a months-long negotiation by finalizing an alliance with one of our neighbor packs, RedWoods. In the four years since I took over as Alpha of Glass Lake (a title I share with my identical twin brother, Reegan), we’ve successfully negotiated several alliances but this was my first solo endeavor.
As the twin with the patient, calm, strategic-minded personality (compared to Reegan’s hot-headed, verbally explosive one), I was the obvious choice to take the lead when tenuous negotiations were required.
“We are the strongest pack in the US with the largest territory and the most skilled warriors. These other packs have nothing to offer us. They just want to take what we have and you know I don’t have the patience for that bullshit.” Reegan had pushed back when I suggested we co-lead the treaty talks.
He had a point. He was not known for being patient, or subtle.
“But this is a chance to see through something dad started when he was a young Alpha. It would make him so happy if we could form an alliance with Ian’s pack.” I’d countered, hoping the chance to please our father would soften him.
Ian was dad’s best friend and the beta at RedWoods. I knew this alliance meant a lot to them. I thought maybe it would mean something to Reegan too, but no such luck.
“We’re the Alphas now, Ryan.” He’d argued. “It’s our decisions the pack will scrutinize now, not dad’s. We have to be smart about who we align ourselves with.”
Recognizing a lost cause when I saw one, I decided to move forward on my own. I was definitely the more nostalgic between the two of us. Continuing our father’s legacy was important to me.
“That’s fine.” I told him, smirking victoriously. “But I will be far too busy with negotiations to focus on this year’s Forest Preservation Summit. I’ll need you to attend and give our presentation this year.”
“Fuck!” He cursed in defeat. “Maybe I-”
“Oh no!” I cut him off. “You made your position clear. I wouldn’t dream of testing your patience with something as tedious as inter-pack relations. Enjoy the summit!”
I walked away laughing at his pissed off expression, knowing he got the short end of that proverbial stick.
Now, six months later, I was on my way to finalize our agreement with RedWoods while Reegan was stuck at a boring summit. I was probably enjoying the thought of his misery a little too much. Though, when it was all said and done, Reegan would go back to his exciting, carefree lifestyle and I would be the one feeling lonely and bored. The success of this treaty would be a notch in my Alpha belt, but I also had to admit the work I had put into it had been a good distraction.
Despite the many perks of the position I enjoyed, my life was beginning to feel hollow. On the surface, it would seem I had everything going for me: Ryan Stone, twenty-four years old, devastatingly handsome (or so I’ve been told), ridiculously wealthy, and co-Alpha of the Glass Lake Pack.
I didn’t mean to be vain, but I was well aware that the combination of my wealth, status, and good looks could get me just about anything I wanted from whomever I wanted it from. It was a perk Reegan had no shame in exploiting.
“Come to the bar with me and Zayne! Let loose and live a little!” My twin would hound me every weekend.
“I would rather eat silver than watch you drink yourself stupid and pimp yourself out to all the slutty she-wolves clamoring for a title. You should be ashamed of yourself for guilting our Beta into going along.” I pretended to gag at the thought.
Reegan would just roll his eyes at me, call me a prude or something like it, and go on his way. After a while, he just quit asking. At first I was relieved, but lately I’d been thinking it might be better than always being alone.
Despite our differences, having a twin was pretty great! We had a built-in best friend since the day we were born and our bond was unbreakable. I would never want to do life without him, even if he irritated the hell out of me sometimes.
I’d tried talking to Reegan several times over the last few weeks about the growing feeling of emptiness I was experiencing, but his response was always the same,
“Ryan, you worry too much. Let it go and relax for a change.” He’d admonished me. Not exactly helpful.
Maybe he was right, but I just couldn’t seem to let it go. The truth was, I’d been feeling lonely lately and I really wanted to find my mate. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.
Twenty-four was old for any wolf, but especially an Alpha, to be unmated. We could find our mates at eighteen and most had found each other by twenty at the oldest. My wolf, Teague, was getting more and more restless with every passing year.
Wolves mated for life and mated pairs were always stronger together, a fact that was even more important for an Alpha wolf. An Alpha was meant to have his Luna. She would bring physical, mental and emotional strength to her partner. Our wolves would be larger and stronger with our mate by our side. An Alpha/Luna pair were a force to be reckoned with and were meant to help their pack thrive.
“We need to look for our mate.” Teague, my wolf, would whine in my head frequently.
“I know, buddy. But you know Reegan isn’t ready. If we end up sharing a mate and he doesn’t want her, it will destroy all of us.” I reminded him.
“Rikkon wants our mate.” Teague scoffed at my excuse. Rikkon was Reegan’s wolf and Teague was convinced he would be able to sway my brother when we did finally find her.
My brother and I were attractive guys, both 6’3 with chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes. We were both strong warriors who trained regularly, leading to bodies of rock-solid muscle. The combination of our status as Alphas and our good looks meant we never lacked female company if we wanted it. Reegan always wanted it.
And that was the problem. As long as he was convinced he was happy living his current lifestyle, he wouldn’t entertain the idea of looking for our mate. Unfortunately, there was no indication he would be changing his mind any time soon.
On the contrary, he kept systematically screwing his way through the female population. I swore that shit was going to come back to bite him someday soon. He was going to get caught with some poor guy’s mate and end up in a challenge to the death. He’d win, but that wouldn’t save his reputation or his conscience.
I’ll admit I was no saint either but unlike him, I could count my intimate relationships on one hand. I never dated anyone longer than a couple months. I didn’t want to risk falling for someone who wasn’t my mate, or letting them fall for me. I’d seen it happen before and it never ended well.
At the same time, I could never quite bring myself to go for the casual one-night stand. Reegan already cornered that market anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I craved sex as much as the next guy. I was a wolf after all. But lately any type of romantic relationship with someone who wasn’t my mate just didn’t interest me like it used to.
Teague wanted nothing to do with it either. Without our mate, he was getting anxious and maybe a little depressed. As soon as I got close to any woman, I heard him howling in my head and saying, “It’s not her. Make her go away.” Then he whimpered and whined until I found a way to let her down easy and move on.
Maybe Reegan had the right idea to not press the issue, but I couldn’t be as unconcerned as he was any more. Although, to be honest, I thought his lack of enthusiasm was more deep-seated than he let on. As Identical twins, Reegan and I had shared many things but women had never been one of them.
Wolves were possessive by nature. When that wolf was an Alpha, multiply that possessiveness by a hundred. For a single Alpha wolf, or even fraternal twins, that wouldn’t be a deterrent.
But Reegan and I were identical twins, two halves of one soul. A fated mate was the Moon Goddess’s gift of your soul-mate. One soul mated to another soul for all eternity. Since my brother and I share a soul, it was entirely possible we would share a mate as well. Which brought us back to the possessiveness issue.
Reegan did NOT want to share. Admittedly, I wasn’t too stoked about the idea myself at first. But the more I thought about it, I really did believe that if the Moon Goddess designed it that way, the sharing piece would come naturally.
Of course there would be bumps in the road, but nothing we couldn’t work out. I just wished I could get Reegan to talk to me about it long enough to convince him. So far, it was a conversation he wasn’t interested in having.
All I knew for sure was I was lonely in a way that couldn’t be fixed by superficial relationships anymore. I needed “Her.” I needed “The One” to feel completely whole. I wanted to feel the sparks from our bond when we touched. I wanted the soul-deep connection my parents had. I wanted to hold her in my arms and know it was forever.
As I pulled into the drive of the RedWoods Beta’s house, I resolved to have a serious conversation with my brother when I got home. I was going to make him listen to me if I had to chain him to a chair. In the meantime, I would keep hoping for a miracle, that the Moon Goddess would just throw my mate into my path. If I just happened upon her, Reegan couldn’t be upset. Could he?
Introducinmg Ryan Stone! We'll meet Reegan a bit later. Thanks for reading!
Ryan's POV As I pulled into the drive of the RedWoods Beta’s house, I wondered about the man I would be meeting with. Ian Connor and my dad had been best friends for most of their lives. Despite belonging to separate packs, they had attended the same private school growing up. As a future Alpha and Beta they immediately clicked, bonding over the responsibilities of their ranks as well as their shared Irish heritage. Fortunately for them, our pack territories bordered each other so they were able to stay in touch over the years. Our families never spent much time together but Ian would come by the pack house to see dad fairly often. As a kid, I found him a little scary. He was a huge guy and always wore a serious expression. I remembered thinking he could easily crush me with one hand. He was a man of few words but when he did talk to Reegan or me, he was friendly enough. I was sad to hear his wife passed away a few years ago now. One day my dad seemed really down. When I asked him
Ryan's POV A few hours had passed since my conversation with Katalina’s father (or Kat as I had come to realize was the nickname everyone called her). I was currently pacing back and forth through the Connors’ backyard, wearing a path through a patch of wildflowers right on the forest’s edge. After listening to everything Ian had to say, my head was spinning and I felt like the walls were closing in on me. I had to get some air. That was nearly two hours ago and I still hadn’t been able to sort through the chaos in my brain. Teague wasn’t helping matters. He felt a connection to Kat’s wolf and had no doubt that she would want him. All he cared about was getting to her. I, on the other hand, had to consider the human side of things. And I had come to learn that it was infinitely more complicated than I could have imagined. Ian handed me a glass of whiskey and sat in the chair directly across from me. He opened his mouth to speak then suddenly stopped, a horrified look s
Kat's POV My alarm woke me all too soon. I groaned as I dragged myself out of bed, wishing I could sleep a few more hours. But I couldn’t complain too much. I had two adorable little babies to go see. I really did have the best job! I had given myself plenty of time to get ready so I took my time stretching my stiff muscles and running my fingers through my tangled mess of hair, yawning lazily. As my brain started to catch up to my wakeful state, I noticed a scent I didn’t recognize. It was faint but the smell of vanilla and fresh pine was unmistakable. Weird! Maybe dad was trying out a new cologne. I pushed that thought aside and decided I would take the time to make my bed for once before getting dressed for work. I was too lazy to walk all the way around to the other side of the bed so I stretched across it, practically lying flat on my stomach to pull the quilt up. That’s the position I was in, my half-naked ass bent over the bed, when I heard my door being flung open. My still
Ian's POV “Dammit!” I barked out loud, even though I hadn’t meant to. I’d just watched my daughter run out of the house, away from her mate, and it broke my heart. To be honest, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Katalina, while being everything I could ever want in a daughter- kind, compassionate, empathetic, intelligent, insightful, and selfless- was also headstrong and unbending when she set her mind to something. Just like her mother! We had never had an explicit conversation about it, but I still knew how she felt about the mate bond. I read it in her body language and heard it in the comments she would make about her friends or patients finding their mates. She’d say things like, “Sarah keeps telling me she wishes she would meet her mate but I can’t help but think how lucky she is that it hasn’t happened yet.” or “So and so just found her mate and keeps saying she’s never been happier. If you ask me, that’s just another broken heart waiting to happen.” It saddened me to think t
Kat's POV I had just completed the check-up for the new mom and her twin pups and was packing up to leave when I heard my dad mind-linking me. “Kat? It’s Dad.” I heard him say in my head. I mentally rolled my eyes. Like I wouldn’t recognize him. “Hi Dad. What’s up?” I returned warily. “Are you about done at the Andersons’ mo leanbh?” He asked in a tentative tone. Uh oh! When he starts with the “my child” in Irish, he definitely wants something. “I was just finishing up here. Why? Do you need something?” I asked, trying to hide my suspicion. “No. I mean, yes. I uh . . . I sent Ryan to meet you and walk you home. I’m just letting you know to expect him.” He stated in his “don’t argue with me tone.” Well, too bad! I’m arguing anyway. “YOU DID WHAT? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?” I yelled. “Do not raise your voice to me Katalina!” Dad growled. “I’m sorry dad, but I don’t want to see him. I thought bolting from the house earlier would have made that clear!” I growled back, quiete
Jesse’s POV Larissa and I were making the short walk from the pack house to the Andersons’ home. It was a longstanding tradition in our pack for the Alpha and Luna to visit families with new pups, welcoming the new additions to our pack. As we approached their front gate, I glanced up to see Kat Connor walking out their front door looking exasperated, and heart-stoppingly gorgeous as usual. I briefly wondered what she was upset about. She didn’t seem to notice us so I took a few extra seconds to drink in her features. She was more beautiful than ever! I quickly looked away as she stepped off the front porch, heading in our direction. When she addressed us by our titles, I groaned internally. We had known each other all our lives and been much more intimate than friends. She knew I didn’t want the formality from her. Before I had a chance to tell her so, Larissa started chatting happily about the new twins we were here to see so I let it go. Our friend and Beta Tyler was meeting us h
Ian's POV I heard Kat and Ryan walk in the front door and immediately went out to meet them. I needed to have a difficult conversation with my daughter and I was determined to do it before I lost my nerve. “Hi Daddy!” she said, walking over to kiss my cheek. That was a good start. At least she wasn’t mad at me for sending her mate to meet her. I expected the cold shoulder, if not outright fury. I looked over at Ryan to see him standing there with a smile and a dazzled look on his face. Apparently she didn’t eat him alive either. Maybe this won’t be as hard as I thought. “Katalina, I’d like to talk to you for a minute. Why don’t you join me in my study?” My tone indicated it wasn’t optional. “Sure Daddy,” she replied a little hesitantly, but followed me anyway. I belatedly remembered we left Ryan standing in the doorway. I stopped abruptly, turning to talk to him, when Kat smacked right into me. I reached for her, but Ryan was there to catch her before I could blink. He quickly set
Ryan's POV I was back to pacing. What was taking so long? Was Ian having that much trouble convincing her not to reject me? Things weren’t looking good. I instinctively looked around for a trash can or something to throw up in because I was starting to feel sick. Teague was giving me a headache, constantly insisting I basically kidnap her. “Go get her!” He kept insisting. “She’s ours! You need to make her come home with us! Cara wants to! She told me so!” Ugh! Just when I thought the suspense would literally kill me, I heard footsteps on the stairs. I whipped around, hoping to see Kat but it wasn’t her scent getting stronger. It was Ian who came into view. Oh no! Did she send him to tell me I would be leaving without her? I was definitely going to throw up! “Well, mo mhac, you better take good care of my daughter for the next two weeks!” He warned, but he had a huge grin on his face. Wait! What? “She really agreed to come home with me?” I asked incredulously. My knees went weak fr