Book 1: Chapter 82

“You should probably text Silas you won’t be home tonight.”

My eyes widened as I looked at Charles. “I won’t?”

Charles flashed me a smile and my heart skipped a beat. Looking back in my lap, I pulled out my phone and texted Silas. 

**‘Alpha. I won’t be back tonight.’ **

There was an immediate reply. 

**‘Be safe. Don’t forget the condoms.’ **

My face heated up and I turned my phone down. Charles laughed and I looked up at him. He was glancing at me, a wide smile on his face.

“Silas messing with you?”

“Yeah. Alpha likes to mess with me. Especially since becoming an Omega.”

Charles shook his head. “Usually it’s Nate that’s the one who is the one who cracks jokes.”

“Beta does but I don’t think he’s ever done one at the expense of my disposition. Alpha lets them fly. The other day Eros…” I shook my head. “Let’s just say he brought me to my knees for fun.”

Charles barked out a laugh. “Eros would. I’ve spent a pretty surprising amount of time with Eros considering I’m human. Whenever Silas would get drunk, Eros would take over. Either to make sure he could walk home or just to continue to drink.”

I chuckled. “I can’t image the handful that Alpha and Beta were in high school and college.”

“You have no idea. Silas on his own wasn’t as bad but add Nate to the mix and it was a disaster. It was like they knew what each other were thinking.”

I tried to hold back my smile. “Partly the mind link would do that. But if it’s outside the territory they just have grown up together. A lot of times with bigger projects they don’t even need to converse; which is infuriating when trying to keep records.”

Charles reached over and took my hand again, squeezing it. “You balance the two of them out really well. Nate would rave about you when you started. Saying you were the best find.” I blushed and looked down into my lap. “And I happen to agree.” The red completely took over, going down my neck.

“What do they say now?” I tried to laugh off the pure embarrassment I felt.

“That’s you’re too good. They complain constantly that you’re too damn good at your job and make them keep up with you.”

I wondered if there was a hint of pride I heard behind his voice. We lapsed into a quiet spell as we drove into the highway. Charles stayed mostly attentive to the road but if he needed both hands, it would quickly slip back in mine.

The sparks were something I’d always had my mom and dad try to explain to me. They used to enjoy telling me too, since they were as big as they were on finding your fated mate. Dad said it was like fireworks for him but Mom always said it was more like flames. I didn’t know if it meant that if felt different to everyone. Now, I think it did.

Charles touching me was like tiny shocks, like every nerve in my skin going on individually. It wasn’t painful though. The emotions were so different when you expect pain. Instead, it was a sense of everything making sense. Everything being right and good and where it belonged. There was a calming effect but at the same time it made my heart race. Nothing could compare and I don’t think I could ever tire from it.

“So…what’s your wolfs name?”

I smiled. “His name is Renji. He’s a bit…much.”

“Much how? Energetic? Go-getter?”

“No…no. He’s a bit forceful. Solaris said that my first mate wasn’t someone who made me an Omega and I think Renji was going to be the dominate between us. He just…never got the memo that we changed designations.”

Charles hummed. “So is your relationship closer to Silas and Eros? Or Nate and…shit…I don’t ever think I’ve spoken with him before but Nate’s told me…”

“Wren is his name. And I guess you could say a bit in between but also not on the same spectrum.”

“How so?”

Renji laughed as he stepped forward. “Unlike Eros, I find most of what Sam does for the pack tedious and boring. I refuse to help. A wolf? Doing paperwork?” His gravelly laugh shocked Charles as he swerved a little within the lane. “But I also don’t leave Sam high and dry like that Wren. It’s not every day I feel sympathy for a human side but I do with Wren. He isn’t fair and he’s gotten his human side in trouble more than once with Eros.”

 “Ren…Renji?” Charles stuttered as he glanced more at us than the road.

Renji reached out and squeezed Charles’ thigh and I nearly exploded with embarrassment. “Nice to meet you, mate. I was worried for a moment about who we would be mated too but it doesn’t seem like I need to worry any further.”

“It’s…um…nice to meet you as well. Sorry, it’s been a while since I met a new wolf. I’m not well versed in how to do it.”

“If you would like, we can get more intimate. Road head is always a good way to get to know someone.”

I nearly died and I tried to yank Renji back as he cackled in our mind. The smirk on our face though was enough for Charles to cough and sputter for a moment. Fighting Renji tooth and nail, I held back our hand as he tried to slip further down Charles’ thigh. This was not how I wanted our first interaction to go. Charles cleared his throat finally.

“In non-traffic scenarios, sexual acts are one of the leading causes of accidents.”

Renji snickered and pulled his hand away. “Yes, Chief.”

He stepped back, snickering the whole way and I almost didn’t want to take over after that. I interlaced my hands together in my lap and hung my head.

“I’m sorry about him. He’s…a lot.”

Charles reached over and brushed my cheek. It send a wave of shocks across my skin and I shivered. “Don’t worry about it, Sam. Renji is his own. Don’t be embarrassed by anything he does. I can handle him.”

I smiled and nodded, bringing my head up. The blush tinting my cheeks didn’t quite disappear but it was better than it had been. There was a silence that filled the air and I started to fidget. It had been a while since I was this far from the territory and I didn’t feel quite comfortable with it.

“Why don’t we do twenty questions? I know we know roughly about one another but we haven’t really delved super deep.”

“Okay. Did you want to start?”

He smiled and I felt the anxiety in my chest lift. “Sure. Let’s see…” He hummed for a couple seconds. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

I shook my head. “I’m an only child. My mom is an Omega but she struggled with having me so my Dad decided one was enough. He wasn’t going to risk her for the sake of wanting a large family.”

“Your turn.”

“When did you decide to be a police officer?”

Charles snorted and shook his head. “It’s going to sound dumb but it was Junior year of high school. The school put on one of those career weeks. The old chief came in and he was so burnt out he didn’t give a single shit about bringing the next generation in. Maybe that’s what drew me to it. He refused to sugar coat how hard of a job it was. He also couldn’t hide the pride in his voice about what he and his officers did, no matter how hard it was.”

I watched his face relax aas the smile on his face grew a bit more wistful. My mouth opened to start to ask a follow up question but he shook his head.

“My turn. What’s your favorite thing to do to de-stress?”

*‘I know what I’d like to do now.’* Renji purred in my mind and I pushed him back.

*‘Horny wolf.’*

He was never this bad normally. I knew having your mate around was tough but I wondered how Wren and Nate did it around Solaris.

*‘Because she hides her scent. He might feel the sparks when he touches her but you notice that she keeps her distance from him quite a bit. I’m sure she doesn’t want to torture him like you’re doing now to me.’*

I rolled my eyes. *‘If you had your way, you’d make him pull over and you would mark him right here.’*

*‘Of course!’*

*‘There is a process we need to go through! Silas needs to set up so he gets added to the pack and working out the specifics of his duties. There hasn’t been a mate in the packhorse for more than twenty years. That isn’t something to be ignored.’*

“Sam?”

I whipped my head up. “Sorry. Renji is being…Renji. Billiards. I play billiards to help relax me or to try and help focus me. There is one set up in my room that Alpha gifted me as a welcome to the leadership craziness.”

“Well, that explains a lot.” He chuckled. “Alright, your turn.”

Charles got over and exited the highway. I looked around at the area but I didn’t know where we were. His face was a little tighter than it was a moment ago as he drove down the streets he seemed to know very well.

“Where are we going?”

“A place that I hate but as Silas said…I need to decide and I’ve decided.”