Izolda Mikhailovna

The sound of an engine died down in front of her house and she went downstairs to find a self-satisfied Damien standing in her living room.

“How have you been, Miss King?” he asked showing his good disposition.

“Well. And you?” She disliked his good mood already and didn’t even want to hear the answer.

“Same. We signed a treaty with a pack outside of the city. They are more of a village operating on farm lands. This will supply fresh produce and freshly hunted game meat to Black grocery stores,” he answered not minding sharing this information as it would be public very soon.

Ada was impressed as city wolves didn’t get to hunt themselves as often but their bodies still craved game meat especially if it had organs and blood.

“I am sure a lot of your clan members will be grateful.”

“I hope so. I had been pushing for this deal for some time and was glad when everything was signed,” he said and walked towards her. “I believe I deserve a reward,” he whispered as his head dipped to touch his lips to hers.

His hands went to the sides of her hips and his tongue licked her bottom lip. She wasn’t going to indulge his arrogance.

He pulled back just a centimeter and said, “Open up for me”.       

Her lips separated and his head dipped again to enjoy his reward. He wasn’t in a hurry, his lips, tongue and teeth kept enjoying her mouth. A hand on her nape pressed her deeper into him as if his mouth wasn’t conquering hers already. Her breathing became labored and her lips answered his movements occasionally, before she repeatedly caught and stopped herself. He pulled back and smiled at her with an even more self-satisfied smirk. He was getting on her nerves.

“You taste like fresh strawberries,” he observed.

“I ate a few from my grandfather’s garden.”

He hummed and came back to her mouth as if to confirm the taste. This kiss went into the depths of her mouth and he let out a sound of appreciation as his tongue sampled hers.

“Bring me some next time you go.”

He was really pushing it. Ada just glared at him which made him smile wider.

The daughter of the new ally clan’s Alpha had worked hard to gain his attention during the two days of his visit. He wouldn’t lie if he said he wasn’t flattered and hadn’t enjoyed flirting with the pretty redhead. But his arrangement with Ada had kept him from pursuing anything with her. Even though they hadn’t discussed exclusivity, he wouldn’t consider other women.

Currently he was bathing in the scent of Ada’s arousal and enjoying the sound of her heart beating as if it was a war drum during an epic battle. She wanted him too. And it was enough to overcome his morals protesting forcing a woman into a sex arrangement. He would save the feelings of shame and regret ruining this strange woman to the moment of drawing his last breath, dying young, during another Alpha challenge battle that was inevitable anyway.   

“Your mouth is very pleasant to kiss.” He was doing it intentionally.

Her regal face didn’t react, but her eyes were actually showing irritation. It was too much of a reaction from the princess to his innocent teasing.

He lowered himself to her level and genuinely asked, “What is it? Do you want me to stop touching you?”

She turned her head. “You smell like another woman. Please present new test results for STDs next time you arrive. Nothing will happen tonight. Goodnight, Mr. Sevach.”

She hadn’t intended to tell him this until he tried to pursue something more than a kiss. She wanted to text him about it the next day, which would spare her a conversation and buy a day away from him hopefully. But he was irritating her.

“Ada, look at me…”

A bored uninterested gaze turned to him.

“I haven’t been and will not be with another woman during our relationship. I didn’t include this in the agreement since I highly doubt you can manage hiding two lovers from your father, and I already knew my intentions.”

Her eyes lost the expression of boredom and turned deadly at the mention of her father.

“Goodnight, Mr. Sevach.”

******

Ada’s office was in dire need of renovations. How long had it been? Her father was such an intelligent man, but maintenance wasn’t his thing. Entrepreneurship and innovation. Those were what he excelled at, but if it wasn’t for Uncle Aram, his Beta, all those ideas would die after the first logistical or financial challenge. This office looked straight out of 90’s with nothing modern technology could provide except her laptop.

She was pulled away from staring at the ugly wall color judging it, when Emma knocked on her door and walked in without waiting for an invitation.

“Damn I keep trying to walk in on you being bent over that desk by the black-eyed Alpha.”

This reminded Ada that he had visited her only once in the last week claiming to be busy. Nothing had happened during that visit, he asked her a few casual questions about her wellbeing which obviously were attempts at finding out more about her affairs and the reason she rejected him. He gave a not passionate kiss on his way out, which Ada couldn’t help but answer.

“Fine, don’t look at me like that. Izolda Mikhailovna is here to see you. Good luck…” Emma grimaced by just uttering her name.

The mischievous young Emma wasn’t the best student, and beating up boys always got her a glare from the strict principal.

“Nice! Tell Ani to send her in please. I shouldn’t make the dragon wait.” Ada’s mood improved immediately. 

Not even a minute later the feared woman walked in in all her glory. She was rumored to be a descendant of Russian aristocracy. Blond shoulder length curls, sharp in no way pretty but attractive features, thin unforgiving lips, stature that made teen male wolves wet themselves and, of course, signature pearls. Above all, this woman in her sixties was intelligent and supportive.

Ada got off her chair to hug her visitor and led the way to two small armchairs facing a round coffee table. It didn’t feel right to have an executive desk separating them.

“What brings you here?” Ada asked smiling a young, genuine smile.

“A rumor,” Izolda Mikhailovna answered. “A rumor that Ada King has gone door to door to young influential men. A rumor that Damien Sevach has lost his fated mate and is being hunted by power-hungry men with young daughters. A rumor that Damien Sevach’s opposition has been having meetings since, due to him not having fated Luna anymore.”

“It is marvelous how much wolves gossip in this city,” Ada answered nonchalantly.

“Ada….” There was strictness, almost a warning in Izolda Mikhailovna’s voice.

Ada didn’t like that she was about to disclose which rumors were true, but she respected the woman too much. This visionary single handedly had created Almanac school for all high-ranking wolves. For once there were no clans or territories. The entire elite of Moonstone city was in the same building gaining necessary knowledge. Propaganda of unity among werewolves, opposing common enemies and birthing a powerful future generation was constant and everywhere. Damien was among the first alumni, Ada graduated a few years later, and her brother Arthur was still a student.

“Damien Sevach is my mate, we rejected each other, he was compensated,” Ada spoke evenly looking Izolda straight in the eye.

“Ignorant child!!!” Izolda left the room closing the door a little too loudly for her refined manners. She had always worked from the shadows, so Ada knew this conversation and its consequences were not over.

She sighed and went to find Emma. She was flirting with a nerdy chemist from organic chemistry division. Spotting his boss, he quickly excused himself walking in the direction of the suite where lab rats were kept. The two young women discussed the rumors about Damien briefly with Emma going off to find out more. An hour later she barged into Ada’s office not looking happy.

“Those stuck up, antiquated, closed-minded leeches are planning to challenge Damien for his Alpha position tonight. It is on the common grounds. I expect any semi-important wolf to be present to witness. I wonder who will be there to see black-eyed Hercules put those vintage assholes in place, and who would gladly watch him crushed.”

Ada didn’t like this. This kind of noise could get her father’s attention and bring him back from his trips an extra time.

“We will go,” Ada concluded.

A few hours later they were walking into a large crowd of wolves. The place was built like a mini-Colosseum specifically for Alpha challenges. With so many clans cohabitating stability among clans was a luxury especially a few generations ago, so Alpha challenges had become almost a form of entertainment.

Rows of the arena were filled with people, loudly speculating about the outcome. A young woman was annoyingly telling her friend how Alpha Damien was rumored to have somehow lost his mate and how hot he was.

Emma cleared her throat and multiple people surrounding them heard the power in her Beta voice. Noticing who they were standing next to, all without exception moved a step away. Ada didn’t mind being isolated like that; she was looking at the center of the arena.

Damien stood shirtless, barefoot with only dress pants covering him. She approved his dress pants choice. During her training for an Alpha battle her and Emma had experimented with different pieces of clothes. Jeans were too sturdy of a fabric and sometimes pieces of it remained on the wolf after shifting. Any shorts with a waistband were uncomfortable as the waistband would stretch and then pop with a force.

“Do you think Moon Goddess creates men like Alpha here to have something to touch herself to?” Emma said with a mischievous smile pointing at Damien with her chin.

A middle-aged man next to her gave her a dirty look and muttered “blasphemy”.

Emma wasn’t wrong. If Moon Goddess was a sexual being, she had definitely enjoyed carving Damien. His chest and arm muscles were lean and long under his pale skin that almost glowed in the orange-pink rays of sunset. He was tall, probably the tallest man Ada had ever met, and his broad shoulders and long arms and legs gave him elegance that overly bulky wolves lacked.

Ada scanned the crowd and unsurprisingly numerous females were watching him and excitedly talking to their friends. Now that he knew not to wait for his mate, he could choose almost any unmated female in this city. A small line appeared between Ada’s eyebrows. How long until he started looking?

Arsen and another man appeared in the arena, spoke to Damien and his opponent before leaving, an old voice shouted “Start!”, and the opponents started moving. Crowd didn’t bother quieting down, the excitement was rising.