Ian Reign sighed as he silenced his mother’s incoming call for the third time while he stood around with his group of friends at a party hosted by his friend’s older sister, Roselyn.
Ian Reign, future pack leader and grandson of Alpha Marcus Reign, a respectable but secluded pack outside Hilton City, was forced to visit after his not-so-likeable father’s lung disease got worse and according to his mom, he might never recover.
Ian had only seen his father a few times because of his nature; after all, he was born a werewolf and his father was a human who didn’t exactly understand how their world works.
At least that’s what his grandfather told him about his father.
It wasn’t until recently that Ian found out the real reason behind his parents leaving him with his grandfather in the pack while they lived together in the city and for the first time, his father wanted him to visit for Christmas.
Ian wondered why he suddenly wanted to spend Christmas together after abandoning his son for 22 years and when he shows up in the pack to see him, he only ever stays a few days at most.
Ian arrived in Hilton, lodged at a hotel, and contacted Derick, his best friend he met in college.
They were both sophomores at the same college, studying business, and Derick grew up in Hilton but only visited home during Christmas, and since he already promised he would contact him once he visited, he just had to tell him, though he didn’t know he would drag him to his older sister's birthday party on his first day in town.
“Are you going to pick that or what?” Derick asked as his mom called again.
“I know what she’s gonna say; it’s just better if I don’t.” Ian frowned but accidentally picked up the call right as he was about to return the phone to his pocket. “Shit!” He mumbled before eventually excusing himself from his group to pick up his call.
The background music wasn’t exactly loud enough to disturb his calls but he’d rather not let his mother guess where he was.
“Ian! What on earth are you doing? Why do you keep ignoring my calls and what do you mean by you’re staying at a hotel when you have a perfectly good home to stay in? Eloise half-screamed over the phone and Ian sighed.
He was about to come up with an excuse when a lady walked past him with a strong floral scent that had his wolf jumping excitedly in his head.
Ian could smell the sweet scent of Jasmine on her, even though the perfume she was wearing was chocolate of some kind but her natural Jasmine scent overpowered her perfume and as she strides straight and elegantly into the courtyard after letting the attendants help her off her expensive fur coat that covered her armless body-hug dress, Ian almost lost control of his wolf.
“It’s our mate.” Storm growled at him and Ian let out an exasperated sigh.
“Relax, Storm… I know…she’s ours” Ian agreed with his wolf, who was ready to take control and hold the lady back.
“Mom…I’m going to call you back.
“Ian!” Eloise fumed.
“It’s important; I think I might have found my mate.” With that, Ian dropped his call and hurried after the woman as she walked into the courtyard after dropping her gift.
Ian returned to his friends, who were mainly his classmates that lived in Hilton that Derick also invited over and a couple of Derick's childhood friends he wasn’t familiar with.
“Ian!” Derick’s loud call had Ian’s attention turning right back at Derick.
“What?” Ian blinked in surprise, wondering why he was calling him so loudly when he was practically right next to him.
“You’re like a million miles away. You okay bro? I asked if you’ve finally talked to your mom? She’s not asking you to leave yet, is she? ‘Cause this party isn’t ending until morning,” Derick told him while playfully smacking him.
“Yeah, yeah... we talked. Who’s that though?” Ian had to ask, as he couldn’t keep his eyes off the lady who was now talking to another lady whom Derick introduced to him as his sister.
“Oh, that’s Avery Archer. She’s my sister’s best friend. They’ve literally been together since childhood; not sure how she did it since Avery well… she’s a little scary; even when I was younger, I literally used to run away from her. But hold on a minute." Derick stopped, tracing Ian’s persistent gaze.
“Why are you suddenly interested in her…please don’t tell me she caught your eye or something, because there are tonnes of other girls you can possibly pick from at this party. I mean, look at those three over here.” Derick tried to divert his attention but Ian’s mind was too concentrated on Avery.
“I’m going to go talk to her,” Ian decided out of nowhere, as he’d been eavesdropping on Avery’s conversation with Rosie and he just felt it was the right time to approach Avery.
“What? No…Ian… no, don’t do it. Derick tried to stop him but Ian was quite determined, walking across the courtyard to meet Avery, who was a little too invested in her drinks.
Ian watched as Rosie immediately stood when he got closer, giving them some space as if on cue.
Ian gulped as he reached for her shoulder as her overwhelming scent clouded his senses and while he could feel his body heating up from the scent alone, touching her brought a feeling so intense his wolf seized control for a second.
His alpha wolf has always been stronger than him, stubborn and annoying as hell but he’s never been so restless.
With a single touch, Storm’s emotion rushed at him like a whirling tornado; he was full of excitement, anxiety, and desire all in one… he wanted to claim her.
“Mate” His lips moved without his control, which took a minute to regain.
Then Avery finally turned with a gaze so icy, it made him freeze or maybe it was just her incredible voice.
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‘I must be imagining it.’ Avery concluded as the slight glint she thought she saw in the guy’s eyes vanished as fast as it came.“Sorry, you’re just really pretty. I couldn’t help myself. The guy said, flashing his perfect set of dimples that would normally have Avery floored if he didn’t look so young and strangely reminded her of her cousin brother.“Well, thanks,” Avery replied indifferently while returning to her drink, emptying her cup, and ordering another one.Although many people avoided her because of her cold, unapproachable demeanour, there were still many people who’d looked past her hard exterior and approached her nonetheless because of her background, so she has grown used to the flattery and immune to their bullshit.Avery Archer was known by her not-so-favourite nickname, Apollo’s Witch, given to her by her staff and co-workers because of her nature, someone who hardly smiles... unimpressed and also unforgiving to people who crossed her or at least that’s who they th
Avery knew people were staring, from the moment Desmond walked in with another bitch in his arms right through when Ian started flirting with her.People were probably amazed by how a few days ago, Avery was showing everyone her relationship was fine but today, they were both with different people.Even if Avery’s notion of love was old-fashioned, she was someone who understood the concept of payback… although kissing Ian wasn’t entirely because she wanted to get back at Desmond.Ian was cute and attractive and he seemed pretty eager so it was like killing two birds with one stone; however… Desmond’s reaction to her totally harmless action was what she didn’t expect.“Is this why you broke up with me? You acted like you were obsessed with me but you had someone else…really? Why… because he’s younger?” Desmond could hardly hold herself back from punching Ian, making Avery scoff in total disbelief.“Sorry, do I know you?” Her question had the whole party taking a solid pause. Even thoug
Avery groaned as a persistent ringtone forced her eyes open, and because it didn’t sound like hers, she was forced to drag herself up against the headboard and reach to the bedside table to get some water out of habit but realised her water wasn’t where it usually was, and instead, a lamp was sitting there.It took Avery more than a second to load the previous day’s event, her breakup, and a very wild night with a completely random stranger.The warm body next to hers reminded her of her actions the night before and her brain screamed in total disbelief.‘Shit, seriously, Avery, what were you thinking?’ Avery mentally scolded herself as reality checked in. It felt like her warning alarms, which would normally have gone off after meeting someone like Ian, took a vacation.She was always so guarded with other people but strangely, it wasn’t the same with him… was it because he’s a stranger or is it something completely different? Avery wasn’t sure as she picked herself up from the bed an
Ian felt his wolf stir wildly as the looming scent of his mate faded in the air, leaving Storm restless, and that forced Ian’s eyes open, and while he hoped his mate was still right there next to him, the cold bed was the terrifying evidence that she’d been out of the bed a while.Ian shot out of bed, drawing back his curly hair before approaching the bathroom, hoping by some miracle his mate would be in the shower, even if that was merely a gullible wish of his, since his super hearing would have picked it up if she was.Gathering whatever faith he could muster, Ian approached the door, hesitating before pulling the handle but as he thought it, she wasn’t there.“She could be downstairs.” Ian renewed his hope and dashed downstairs while struggling to put his shirt back on as before reaching the last step, hoping by some miracle she was right there with her friend, who was Derick’s sister.Ian, on reaching the last step before climbing down the stairs, paused and arranged his messy hai
‘I hope I didn't have any weird looks on.’ Avery wondered to herself after a quick stop at the restroom to recompose herself.‘Fuck Avy, of all people you could have chosen to sleep with, it had to be your fucking brother! What shitty luck you have. Avery mentally scolded herself as she walked out of the bathroom, hoping she'd be able to handle breakfast with Ian around. Judging by the shocked look on his face as their eyes met, it was obvious to Avery that he wasn't aware either and more than that, Avery found her mind rounding back to the fact that her father had another child, with that bitch no less. Someone who could be responsible for her mother's death, anger seeped into her skin, replacing the shock of their unexpected revelation. Avery knew her father's affair had been going on for a very long time, but to think it was old enough for them to have a 22-year-old child. Nothing could have prepared her for that. Being 29 years of age, she deduced the affair had started when s
Eloise couldn't be more glad to have her son over from the pack. Since she went against her father's wishes to marry someone who could inherit the pack, Ian ended up as the collateral; she didn't hate the deal though. Ian was better off in the pack than in the city, jam-packed with humans with so little knowledge about their existence. Eloise also knew her father, Gideon, could take care of Ian better than she ever could, but it didn't affect her love and affection for her son and while Ian was oblivious to it, Eloise tried her best to know everything she could know about him, down to the fact that he was yet to have his first rut.Although he has a human father, Ian was born an alpha; it wasn't surprising since his grandfather was one, so when his wolf awakened at 17 with its characteristic red eyes, it wasn’t unexpected, if anything his grandfather wished desperately he’d turn out as one.But unlike every other alpha Eloise had met since she grew up knowing quite a few, she was a
Avery only wanted some proper peace and quiet upon reaching home; she only wanted some time for herself to think about everything her father wanted of her but that turned out to be a far-fetched dream when she returned home to see her ex-boyfriend in her apartment.Since she went straight to Rosie’s birthday party after work and stayed the night at her place, she had no time to come home and change her apartment password, which she once shared with Desmond.“You have some nerve coming back here!” Avery gritted her teeth, a hint of disbelief in her tone as she passed the entryway to the sitting room. This was her home, the place she had worked her ass off to keep since her father had tried every possible way to bring her back home, even if he ended up getting what he wanted, it was still her apartment.The messy couch and the loud TV in the background made Avery realise Desmond spent the night at her apartment.Desmond, on her appearance, returned the wine to her fridge and walked clo
Jasmine scent, ivory skin, round icy blue eyes, lofty caramel hair that smells like vanilla-scented shampoo, 5’7, Nubian nose.Ian found himself struggling with the random images of this particular woman, her messy hair sprawled on the bed under him, her subtle melodious moans filling the room and leaving him yearning for more.The pure euphoria he felt as her thin hands wrapped that carefully around his neck, dug into his back as she cried out in ecstasy, overwhelmed by pleasure as her orgasm raked through her, leaving her squeezing him so tight, he could lose himself in her.He wanted to feel it again, that pleasure-wrecked expression on her face as he pounded her ferociously and without mercy, the way her ivory skin turned pale red as once he pressed down too hard.Her weak hoarse voice as she pleads to get a few minutes rest as he's ready to go again, clouded by her alluring jasmine scent that seems to control him like some kind of drug.While a part of him screams that he shouldn
The party turned out to be somewhat a terrible experience for Avery.Seeing her parents and coincidentally bumping into her boyfriend, whom she couldn’t even challenge outside for daring to bring another girl to the party, well, people were already aware they were half-siblings.Maybe she could have kept things a lot more under control. When the headache started, for a minute, Avery thought she was going crazy, the voice in her head practically threatening, Natalite to stay away from Ian.But that voice soon died down like it wasn’t even there, but after that comes a terrible headache that made her lose the balance of her body as dizziness accompanied it and the ground felt like it was swirling under her feet.She wanted to wait around some more, see more of the party since the highlight of the party was completely different from what she expected.Once again, Avery clarified the existence of werewolves as the MC made jokes about the alphas and Luna’s invitation.Hearing the MC go on
Chapter 57Ian, after Natalie’s advice, sighed softly and turned away since he figured she was right. there’s one problem, though: Kaden has been acting so weird since he touched Natalie and Natalie on the other hand, seems to be doing her best to ignore him.The party was like every other Elite party, with representatives from the hosting pack talking about the unity of the werewolves and the importance of sticking to ethics, not encroaching on or eyeing other’s territory and peacefully resolving territorial disputes.No matter how many times the matter was emphasised by each meeting or party, it doesn’t mean that pack wars don’t happen, after all… alphas will always be alphas.Ian was lost in thought trying to come up with ways to see Avery separately; they needed to talk and he was nearing his limit, waiting for it to happen naturally.Ian instinctively snapped his head in Avery’s direction after a groan slipped out of her lips, and for a second she wobbled on her feet, her face sc
Chapter 56Avery started feeling restless from the moment Ian walked in with Natalie; she tried hard to maintain her composure and not glance in their direction but seeing them together stings more than she thought it would.Was it because she put some distance between them? was that why he showed up to the party with some other woman? Was it because he didn’t want the public to speculate about them or was it because he just didn’t care?Whichever the option was, she almost couldn’t hide how betrayed she felt and anytime her eyes darted in their direction, Ian was always busy with the girl.Ian said the girl was just a friend but why are they acting so chummy and familiar? Why is he holding her hand?‘This is ridiculous, Avy. I can’t believe you’re thinking that way when he blatantly walked into a party of Elite members of the society with another girl in his arms.’ Avery thought, her fingers tightening around the glass of wine she was holding while talking to other members of Damian’
‘Well, this is awkward,’ Natalie thought while clutching down on her gown.Avery’s questioning and cold glare were practically burrowing into her skin; it was almost hilarious and Ian; Natalie had never seen him look that mad before.Ian reluctantly turned away from the two after Avery asked him to leave for his seat; to avoid the spread of any weird speculations, wild rumours, and careless gossip, it was better they didn’t escalate matters.Natalie, however, was impressed by Ian’s self-control.For a minute, Natalie thought he was going to drag Avery away from the place, which would have resulted in a more awkward situation but Ian, despite looking so pissed, just quietly led her to their reserved seat.“That sly bastard, he did this on purpose,” Natalie heard Ian mumble, his eyes still crimson. Natalie walked over to their side of the table and grabbed herself a flute of champagne.Watching Ian fume about his mate being another alpha’s date wasn’t as entertaining as she imagined it
Chapter 54Damian felt strangely proud that people just can’t keep their eyes off Avery, her stunning dress and that choker necklace she had on that bare her pale neck, and the sweet smell of her chocolate perfume, which for some reason was unusually strong on her.Damian felt this the last time they met, when he asked her to come to the party with him; her natural scent was unusually dull, almost nonexistent, but because he thought she was wearing more perfume than usual, he didn’t think much of it.But with his unusually sharp nose, Damian still couldn’t pick her scent even though she was standing right next to him; it strangely made him frown.The urge to lift Avery’s flamboyant black lace sapphire choker necklace that matched her sapphire earrings and bracelet rose, wondering if, by any chance, Ian had his mark on her yet.Even if he’s an alpha with a territory, he’s still young and he should probably know better than to do stuff like that without permission.‘Maybe I’m just overt
Avery sighed softly as she stood up, ready to leave the cafe where she met with Damian.After giving her response, she didn’t think there was anything else to talk about and immediately tried to leave.“You wanna get some tarts? you love tarts...my treat,” Damian suggested, pointing at the pastry shop displaying tarts right next to the cafe as they walked out of the cafe together while ignoring the gaze of the two girls by the entrance who seem to have recognised her even though she was wearing the simplest clothes possible.Avery for a minute hesitated but the pastries looked nice.“Sure,” Avery accepted before they both walked right into the pastry shop but right before she let go of the glass door, Avery was sure she heard a camera shutter.‘I wonder what those reporters are up to now.’ She thought while waiting as Ian ordered her some fruit tarts and packed them up for her.“Thanks,” Avery grinned before they both walked out and headed towards their cars.“Well, they reminded me o
Chapter 52Avery sighed softly as she stood up, ready to leave the cafe where she met with Damian.After giving her response, she didn’t think there was anything else to talk about and immediately tried to leave.“You wanna get some tarts? you love tarts...my treat,” Damian suggested, pointing at the pastry shop displaying tarts right next to the cafe as they walked out of the cafe together while ignoring the gaze of the two girls by the entrance who seem to have recognised her even though she was wearing the simplest clothes possible.Avery for a minute hesitated but the pastries looked nice.“Sure,” Avery accepted before they both walked right into the pastry shop but right before she let go of the glass door, Avery was sure she heard a camera shutter.‘I wonder what those reporters are up to now.’ She thought while waiting as Ian ordered her some fruit tarts and packed them up for her.“Thanks,” Avery grinned before they both walked out and headed towards their cars.“Well, they re
Chapter 51Even if Ian had promised to wait for Avy who said she needed some time to sort stuff out, it was hard to keep himself from contacting her.Being cooped up at home while still blatantly giving Eloise the cold shoulder was terrible.After all, she forced him into accepting her conditions.Ian was only able to accept her proposal after brainwashing himself into thinking he wasn’t doing for her but Avery.Doing the internship at the company and changing schools would mean he gets to stay by Avy’s side for a while.His grandfather is only filling in for him as the alpha because of school.Ian knew he had to return to take his grandfather’s position the moment he was done with school, which means he only has a couple of years to spend with Avy and convince her to be his Luna, since being his Luna might change everything for them.Ian, while still drowning in his thoughts, decided to visit Natalie since he finally made up his mind on what to do about the Elite party, which invitat
“This is surprising; I never expected you’d actually show up here.” Natalie grinned after Ian showed up at her place of work and paid for her hours since she was an escort for alpha werewolves.Since she was reserved only for the VIPs of the bar, buying her hours without reservation was expensive, and somehow Ian paid for it to talk to her.After their first encounter, Ian and Natalie, naturally, got close since he was new in town and Natalie knew all the fun places.While Ian could call Derrick to hang out, he still couldn’t discuss werewolf matters with him since he was yet to tell him about who he really is.Natalie had met Ian outside before; when his father died and he needed a drinking buddy, it kind of seemed like Ian had more worries than his father’s death at the time but Natalie never got to ask since it was officially the third time they were meeting.And though Ian did seem like he genuinely wanted to be friends with her, Natalie was sure it was all because Ian still hasn’