As Amber walked down the stairs for dinner her heart started to beat 100 miles a minute. Why was she feeling this way? This was ridiculous. She walked into the hotel dining room and there was Darren already seated at a table waiting for her. As she walked over Darren got up and pulled the chair out for her. "Feeling better?" He asked. "Much better, thank you" "That's good." As he said it he couldn't help but look her up and down. Her hair was damp and she had put on a simple blue dress that made her eyes sparkle. She was stunning.
Suddenly he heard Ashley cleared her throat, "Are you guys ready to eat?"
"Yes please" Amber responded a little too quickly. "What are we having?"
"The chef heated up some of his famous mushroom raviolis. I hope that's ok?" "Sounds perfect" Amber replied. "Agreed" said Darren. "Great. Are you both ok with ice tea to drink?" They both agreed and Ashely left to go get them some.
"So Amber," Darren began "Where are you from and what brings you hear?" "I'm from Louyville, Az but I'm on my way to start a new chapter in a new town. I'm actually on my way to there now but I decided to take the scenic route snd when I saw this place I just had to stop. I'm not sure why but it was like it was calling to me." Darren had an idea of why that was but he wasn't about to tell her that he knew she was his mate and his wolf had called to hers. She clearly didn't seem to even realize she had a wolf. Had she known she would have recognized him as her mate right away.
"Yeah I can understand that. First time I ever passes by this place I just knew I had to stop. It's unlike like any other place I have ever been. Beautiful, quiet, remote and you can be totally alone here with nature. Not to mention the staff at this hotel are wonderful"
"I noticed that, they all seem to really care about their guests"
Just then Ashley walked over with their drinks and food. The smell of the food reached the table before the plates did. Amber hadn't realized how hungry she was until she could smell the delicious cheeses and Alfredo sauce. Ashley set the plates and drinks down. "Enjoy" she said as she started to walk away. "Thank you again so much for this" Amber called. Amber looked down at her plate. She couldn't remember the last time she had, had such a nice meal in such a beautiful place, and yet at the same time she wasn't sure how much she would be able to eat with thus gorgeous man sitting across the table from her. As they began to eat Darren picked the conversation back up in-between bites.
"So where are you moving to?" "Well it's a small town and you probably haven't ever heard of it but it's called Chico in Northern California." Darren dropped his fork and looked up. Did she just say what he think he heard her say? Chico. His hometown. The place he had left so long ago and had made the decision not to ever go back. He has chosen to give up his right as an Alpha. He didn't think he'd ever be able to find a Luna and running a pack alone seemed like a curse rather than an honer. Now he had found his mate and she was headed there. His pack was there, his family but so was Liam and his pack. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong? Are you OK?" Amber was staring at him with a worried look on her face. He hadn't realized he had been zoning out.
"Oh yes, sorry I'm fine. You just startled me. Chico is my hometown. And I've just recently decided to head home for the first time in a long time. Years ago I decided to leave home and explore the world but now I think it's time I go home."
Amber was beyond surprised "Oh! That's crazy! What are the chances of that?"
"Yeah pretty crazy, guess I was meant to bump into you." He looked at her with a dazzling smile and Amber was suddenly very glad they were sitting down.
Darren needed time to think and figure things out so before the conversation could continue he quickly changed the subject.
"Amber, I might be wrong about this, but earlier when you were telling Ashley what happened in the forest it felt like you were leaving something pretty big out." Amber looked down and kept her eyes on her plate. For some reason she felt nervous to tell Darren what had happened. Darren quietly waited for a response.
"Well at first I was just lost, but then I heard a really loud sound. I could tell it was an animal but didn't know what it was. I was scared and then it stepped out into the moonlight. I know this is going to sound crazy but I swear Darren it was the biggest wolf I've ever seen. It was jet black and I thought I was gonna die right there and then." Darren visibly stiffened. "So what happened?" His voice was unintentionally harsh. "That's just it. I tried to back up because it was growling but I backed right into a tree. I shut my eyes and expected that it was going to attack me. But instead it just came close to me, I shut my eyes and could hear it smelling me and then there was a big gush of air and when I got brave enough to open my eyes it was gone."
Everything in Darren went still. He was angry, worried, protective,and frustrated all at the same time. Why hadn't she did something earlier. Who was it that had found her out there? What had they been doing and why?! He had so many questions and he was going to get answers. He breathed deeply a few times before he calmed himself down enough to talk. "Amber, why didn't you say something earlier? If you had said something maybe we could've tried to track it down and make sure it didn't hurt anyone else."
"I thought you guys would think I was crazy. I'm sorry I didn't even think of it that way." "Ok." Was all he said but the way he said it and the look on his eyes was harsh and cold. Amber couldn't help but feel bad that she had obviously upset him so much. She hadn't even thought about it possibly finding someone else out there. How could she have been so selfish and inconsiderate.
They finished their meal without much more conversation. When they were done Darren walked Amber to her room in silence.
As she was about to go in he grabbed her wrist gently and turned her around. Amber sucked her breathe in. She had to look up to look at him and still their faces were just inches apart now. She could feel his warm sweet breath on her face and his smell was intoxicating. She barely knew this man and yet everything about him made her want him. That had never happened to her before.
"Amber" he said a soft tone "I'm sorry if I made you feel bad earlier. What happened to you... it just made me worried for you and I reacted harshly. You handled yourself amazingly and I'm sorry if I seemed upset with you" "Thank you, goodnight" was all she could manage to get out. Amber turned around quickly, went in and closed the door. What was going on with her? Why was she so attracted to this man? Hadn't she just gotten out of a relationship and was so happy to finally be free? Darren didn't seem like the one night stand sort of guy, he seemed like the kind you started a life with. A life that was sure to be filled with long nights and... No! She couldn't let herself even think about that. None of it mattered. Tomorrow she would be on her way to start her new life and Darren would simply be a hot guy she met on the way that she would never forget. She changed into her pajamas and got ready for bed.
Darren headed back to his room. He opened the door went inside and sat in the small chair that was by the window. What a night this had been? Who knew that in one night so many things could change. He started to think about his old pack and his life before he had left. Back home there had been two wolf packs in his small town. Contrary to what many might think there really aren't that many wolf packs left and competition between the ones that are left is fierce. They are very territorial and normally two packs would never reside in the same town, let alone the same state. In every pack there was an alpha and he ran the pack along with his mate who was called his Luna. They also almost always had a second in command called Beta. Most wolves especially Alphas found their mate by the age of 25. That's why when he had reached 28 and still hadn't found his, he knew it probably would never happen. The idea of an Alpha running a pack without a Luna had sounded like a curse then anything to Darren. His best friend and Beta Jason had found his mate early at just 23. When Darren's 29th birthday came and he still hadn't found his mate he let Jason know he would be leaving and asked him to run the pack in his place. He had left that night and never looked back. He kept in contact with Jason of course to check in to make sure everything was going okay but as far as anyone else knew he had disappeared. Darren had also kept in contact with Jason to make sure Liam, the Alpha of the other pack kept in line and stuck to the agreement they had set down. Before the agreement the two packs had battled for territory for years. The conflict had finally ended when Darren's and Liam's parents had come to an agreement and split the West Coast in half. Liam's pack ran everything north of Chico including parts of Oregon and Darren's pack ran everything south. Both packs had ancestral land in Chico and so they had agreed for it to be a neutral zone. Sadly not long after that Darren's parents had been killed in a car accident. Darren's dad had been the Alpha and so his Beta had taken over until Darren had been old enough to take his fathers place. Liam had also come of age and had taken his place as well. What made things even more interesting was that Liam hadn't found his mate either and he was only a year younger than Darren. Liam however had chosen to stay and run his pack. Darren couldn't believe at the age of 32 he had finally found his mate. He thought he had, had a better chance of winning the lottery then this ever happening. Yet here she was more beautiful than he could ever of dreamed of, and sweet and humble on top of it. The even crazier part was that she was already heading to Chico. It was like fate. He would just have to find a way to go with her. There was no way in hell he was letting her go alone. She may not know she had a wolf, but other wolves be able to tell right away. And after her experience in the woods, he had a feeling that at least one wolf out there already knew she existed. He wasn't sure who that wolf had been but he didn't like it and he was going to find out. He would make sure whoever it was didn't come near Amber again. He had so many questions about her. Who were her parents? Where were they? How did she not know about her wolf? For now he was going to try to get some rest because tomorrow he was going home and until he was able to claim her any wolf might try.