Dante:

I looked at Aurora whose eyes were wide in surprise as she clearly processed the mating bond. Her brown hair, which was messy last night, was tied in a bun, and I couldn’t help but catch sight of the love bite that was on her neck.

Being drunk last night, her calling herself tipsy was just some stupid excuse as not to admit that she went a little overboard with the number of drinks she had.

“How do you know my name? I never mentioned…”

“Dante, is my son, Aurora, and one of the reasons I called you here today was for you to meet him” Giovanni, my father, said, stopping her. She frowned in confusion, and turning to face him, taking her attention off me, I could tell that the last thing she expected to hear was that “I am retiring, Aurora, and I know that you are not bound by blood with the pack; however, I want you…”

“Wait, wait, what?” Aurora asked, stopping Giovanni “why are you retiring?”

“I have grown, Aurora, and I need to rest. My son Dante would be taking my place, and this is one of the reasons why I called you here” he said, looking at me. He knew that I didn’t want this, but seeing as he was insisting that she was the best at what she did, his one request was for me to give her a chance; I found myself forced to listen, FOR NOW.

“I am your new Alpha, Aurora. You have two options, either to submit, or get out of that door” I said, glaring at her. Giovanni let out a low growl of disapproval. Aurora looked from me to dad, then to me again, either too shocked to speak, or still processing what I was saying.

“Alpha Giovanni, he can’t be serious?” She asked, looking at Giovanni who smiled at her.

“If I trust anyone with anything, it is you, and that is why I want you to be by his side while he takes charge as Alpha. You would help him expand, especially since he’s lived out of the city…”

“I don’t need her help. If I am agreeing to work with her, it is simply because you recommended it. I can find my own men to do their dirty work instead of sending a woman…” Giovanni banged the table with his fist, stopping me from completing my sentence.

“I did not ask. I will not allow you to ruin what we have worked hard to build; therefore, you are going to have her by your side for at least a year. Three-hundred, and sixty-five days. If the two of you can’t find a mutual deal to work on, then you are more than free to fire her” Giovanni said, completely ignoring that the woman could have a different choice or idea about this.

“Alpha, with all due respect, I am not his wife, nor am I a slave for you to enforce me to do something that I don’t want to take part of. You didn’t even bother considering that I might not want to work with him and are just enforcing an opinion on me” Aurora said, looking down at her lap “my respect for you is infinite, and you know that I would give my life for you; but…”

“If I mean anything to you, Aurora, you are going to do this. I know that I have put you in a tough position, but if I am trusting you with this, I do not expect you to let me down” he said, stopping her. She looked down at her lap, avoiding his eyes. I took a deep breath, shaking my head at her behavior before looking at Giovanni.

“One year is all she gets. Then she is out of my sight and I do not want to see her, or any of YOUR men around MY pack, do you understand me? The pack members would live their lives as they please, and I give you my word that I would ensure their safety and stability as their Alpha, but that is ALL you would get from me as a promise” I said, getting up from my chair. I could hear Aurora hold her breath as her wolf let out a low whimper, one that had me fighting my own wolf from howling in pain.

“Where do you think you are going? We’re yet to discuss anything related to what you would be working on” Giovanni asked, glaring at me.

“There is nothing to be discussed with you. I have other important things, and I believe that your little Aurora and I can have our discussion over dinner later tonight, in private. You needn’t worry, I won’t be trying to take your place until you’ve decided to let it go; therefore, take your small time” I said, looking at him, and turning to face Aurora, the woman’s eyes were wide in surprise as she processed what I said.

“My number is in a small paper that I put in your left back pocket. Next time I say that you are not supposed to be out by yourself, being drunk, or in other words, ‘tipsy’, I suggest that you stay inside” I said, winking at her. I walked out the door before she could answer, my chest aching with each step I took away from her.

Leaving the building, I caught sight of my best friend who was waiting for me upfront. I smirked at the sight of him, and nodding, I watched as he got in the passenger seat while I got in the driver’s seat, starting the car.

“I take it that things didn’t go too well?” Leonardo asked, raising an amused eyebrow.

“Don’t even ask, Leo. We are in for more than just a little challenge” I said, shaking my head “just be sure that they don’t find Elena and mom while we’re doing this. I’ll be sure to end things my way this time”

Aurora:

“You can’t be seriously expecting me to work with HIM?” I asked, looking at Alpha Giovanni who smiled at me.

“I know that you are surprised, and in all honesty, I never expected the two of you to be meeting the way that you did; but we both knew that I wouldn’t be staying forever, Aurora” he said, his voice softening.

“I didn’t even know that you had intentions of retiring anytime soon. Yes, I know that you wouldn’t have stayed in your position forever, but I expected to at least be notified. You know, to keep it in mind, to be mentally prepared…”

“You wouldn’t have agreed to work with Dante if you knew. At least, now, you don’t have any excuses, and I know that you don’t like how you two met; but if I mean anything to you, please do this for me” he said, his voice softening. I sighed, and stood up from my chair to get on my knees in front of him.

“Alpha Giovanni, you have been the father that I didn’t have. You saved my life when everyone around me was using me for being alive. I owe you my life for what you did, and you know it; however, I just need a little time to think about how all this is going to go. I know that you want me to work with him, and I know that I can never do anything to repay the debt that you did for me, but…” I said, stopping as I felt my chest ache. The fact that he didn’t even notice me as his mate broke my wolf, causing her to quiet down completely. But I knew not to tell Giovanni that his son was my potential mate “just let me think about it. I still have to speak to Aiden about this too”

“I thought that you two had an open relationship?” He asked, watching as I got up. I nodded and smiled.

“I told you that last night would be the last time I slept with any of the other men. I want us to try being real. You know, considering that it was me who told him that I wanted our relationship to be an open one, I believe that I should at least try speaking to him about wanting us to be real” I said, smiling. Giovanni chuckled and nodded. He got up from his chair and cupped my cheeks, gently kissing my forehead.

“You are forever going to be my daughter, do you understand that? I got Dante here, and I know that it is a matter of time till I’ve found my mate and daughter. They might not even forgive me for leaving the way that I did, but I know at least that I have someone who I can say considered me as her father over the years” he said, his tone softening. I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

“I will forever be grateful for your existence in my life, and whether or not you were my Alpha, my respect for you will always be infinite”

*******************************

I entered Aiden’s building, Casper’s Co., smiling at the employees who nodded in greeting at me.

It wasn’t the first time that I came here, but this was the first time I’ve come unannounced; however, I wanted to surprise him with a nice brunch for the two of us.

I knocked on the door of his office twice before his secretary opened it for me. Her hair was messed up and needless to say that her makeup was a little messed up. She smiled at me and walked out, leaving me with Aiden who was fixing his shirt when he took sight of me.

“Someone was having fun” I teased, entering the office.

“Sienna was just leaving, but I wasn’t expecting you, is everything alright?” He asked, taking a step toward me. I extended the bags of food for him to see, and smiled.

“I brought us brunch, figured that it has been a while since the two of us have spent any time together…”

“You are a lifesaver, you have no idea how starving I was” he said, stopping me. I couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t bother kissing or hugging me in greeting when he took the bags, and heading to the couch, the two of us sat, leaving a small distance between us.

Aiden dug in without saying a word, the man didn’t even bother looking at me “it is either you are very hungry, or something is bothering you”

“No, nothing is bothering me. But I have been meaning to talk to you about something”

“So was I…” I said, smiling at him, my cheeks reddening as I blushed, now unsure how to open the subject.

“Oh? What’s wrong? Is everything alright at work?”

“Yes, yes, everything is fine. You start though, I need to arrange the words properly in my head before saying them” I said, fiddling with my fingers, growing more nervous by the second.

“I think we should break up” now, to say that I didn’t expect that would not be a lie. My heart felt like it fell out of my chest, and instead, I felt like a bucket of boiling water was spilled over it.

“What?”

“I know we agreed to keep this as an open relationship, but I can’t find myself looking at you as more than a friend, and I can’t keep doing this anymore…”

“Is it about us not spending time together? I already arranged myself at work to…”

“No, no, Aurora, it is not that” he said, stopping me “I’m in love with Sienna, Aurora”

I froze, processing his words for a few seconds before he went on, seeing as I didn’t respond “she is pregnant, and the two of us planned on getting married in a few months. I have been meaning to talk to you about it, but the two of us never had the time to do so”

“Sienna, as in your secretary, Sienna?” I asked, looking down at my lap. Aiden didn’t respond for a few seconds before he nodded, and swallowing the lump that formed in my throat, I smiled and nodded “well then, I wish the two of you a happy life together”

I got up from the couch and walked to the door before he could see the tears that formed in my eyes, not wanting to give him that bit of satisfaction “what were you going to say?”

“It doesn’t matter” I said, looking at him over my shoulder “have a nice brunch and I hope that you and Sienna are happy together”

“Aurora…”

I walked out of the office before he could say another word, practically running out the building. My tears fell from my eyes before I could stop them, and had it not been for the fact that my wolf was giving me the strength to keep walking, I know that I might have fallen on my knees as his words played in my head.

Stopping in front of a bus stop, I forced myself to wipe my tears from my eyes before my phone vibrated in my pocket. I picked it up, expecting to find a message from Aiden only to be surprised when I found that it was from Giovanni.

-Don’t get too carried away with Aiden, mi amor, you still have a dinner date with Dante, and attached below is contact number in case you decided to say that you didn’t find the paper;).

Stay safe, and have fun.

I glared at the message for a few seconds before throwing my phone back in my purse, cursing under my breath as I massaged my temple while I sat on the bench.

Thank you, Giovanni, that was just what I fucking needed…

Dante:

“Do you think that she would be calling?” Leonardo asked, scrolling through his phone. He has been searching for something for the past hour, though what it was, I was sure that not even he knew.

“Considering the fact that she wants nothing to do with me, no” I said, answering Leo, ignoring the clench in my chest as I spoke so coldly about a woman who was supposed to be my mate. The idea of her being my significant other was disturbing enough, and the vision of her walking out of that hotel, smelling like sex and alcohol for some task for a prick like Giovanni wouldn’t escape my mind no matter how hard I tried. I wasn’t even sure that she knew that he was simply taking advantage of her for HIS own benefit, and even if she did know, I wasn’t sure if she was okay with that or not.

“What if she decides to test her luck and do as your father told? And even if she DOESN’T want to test her luck, what if your father persuades her into this?” Leonardo asked, taking a sip of his cocktail.

“First, the man is not my father, him being the sperm that helped conceive me does not make him that. Second, I would know that she is nothing but my Giovanni’s little pawn, someone he used to get what he wanted and yet was too oblivious to see it. Either way, I would be making sure that she’s out of this job before the year ends, and if by some miracle she does decide to stay, her time ends with the clock hitting twelve one year later” I said, remembering what Giovanni told me about her. I had my own plans, and they required her to be out of this, but if I waited for twenty years to get things done, I can wait for another year.

“The two of us are in for one hell of a challenge” Leonardo said, shaking his head as two girls looked at the two of eye, clearly stripping us with their eyes. I shook my head and pulled my phone out just as it rang, and frowning at the strange number, I waited for a ring or two before answering.

“Hello?” I asked, waiting for the caller to say a word.

“You really are a prick” I heard Aurora say, her tone cold and clearly unamused.

“I believe that you need to learn your manners when dealing with your Alpha, little wolf” I said, careful not to growl. I couldn’t risk humans finding out about me being a werewolf. It would only cause an unnecessary riot, and could put me and Leonardo in danger.

“When do you want to go on that stupid dinner date of yours?” She snapped, clearly annoyed by the fact that the two of us would be going out to begin with. The fact that she didn’t see the way that she was speaking as wrong was annoying enough; but that would be dealt with soon, needless to say, I would ensure that she knows her manners by the time I was done with her.

“Someone is in a mood” I noted, rolling my eyes despite knowing that she couldn’t see me. Leonardo, who was listening, fought back a laugh at our conversation, but that was the last thing that I could worry about “tonight at eight, I’ll send you the location when I’ve arrived. The two of us would meet there”

“Sure, I will see you then” she said, hanging the line before I could answer. I looked at the phone with wide eyes, processing that the woman just hung up on me a second ago.

“Did she just…?”

“Man, that girl is feisty, no wonder Giovanni liked working with her” Leonardo teased, fighting back a laugh at my surprised expression “you have yourself a handful”

“One more word, Leo, and I will be sure that you’re eating your balls for dinner tonight” I snapped, glaring at him. Leonardo, of course, being his playful-self, smirked and looked at both girls, winking at one of them.

“I would rather have one of them eat it” he said, nodding at the brunette to walk up to him. I looked down at my glass, not wanting to pay much attention to the blonde who was following her friend, approaching me “loosen up, man, the woman is nothing but his pawn. You can get rid of her easily, you just need to find it in your stupid head to think straight”

“You seem stressed” she said, putting a hand on my shoulder. Leonardo already had his arms around the other woman who bit her bottom lip, trying to seduce him, and I had to fight back rolling my eyes at her lame attempt. I put my hand on the blonde’s, slowly removing it, careful not to hurt her before throwing a fifty dollar bill to pay for the drinks.

“I am not stressed, thank you, signorina”

“Where are you off to?” Leonardo asked, smirking when the brunette started kissing his neck, not caring that she was technically doing it in public.

“Home, I have a few things to tend to before tonight’s dinner” I said, nodding at the woman who was by his side “are you coming or?”

“I think I’ll lay back. You go, and let me know how it goes” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her to sit on his lap. The bartender looked at the two of them then nodded toward the stairs where the rooms were, and smirking, Leonardo got up from his chair, holding the woman in his arms.

I shook my head and walked out of the bar, my mind swirling around the thought of having found my mate the way that I had. I knew that tonight was going to be difficult, and that would be for the two of us. She would have to be smart and not speak about me being her mate, if she wanted of course, not to be rejected, and I would have to go against every instinct of claiming her as my own.

What the fuck are you doing, Dante D’Angelo? Seriously, what are you doing?