Kameron's POV ...
I walked into my office feeling frustrated. She lied to me-I knew she did. There was something strange about Callie, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. She was hiding something from me.
I walked over to my desk where a stack of paperwork awaited me. I sat in my leather chair and started reading through the documents. It was when I read the first line ten times that I finally give up. My mind couldn't focus. All I could see in my head was a woman with jewels for eyes and fiery red hair.
"Dammit," I cursed.
I stood from my chair and walked to my large floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the pack lands. I could see the healing center off in the distance. I felt the familiar pull telling me to go back there, but I fought it. There was no need for me to go back.
I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. What was going on with me? My wolf felt restless inside of me. He was pacing and on edge, but I couldn't understand why. There was no imminent danger and I felt physically fine. So why was he restless?
I couldn't understand this feeling. I was drawn to the girl, that much I knew, but I had no idea why.
Maybe it was the mate pull?
I shook my head. "Impossible."
At the age of twenty-five, my window for finding my mate was pretty much closed. I was meant to have found her by now, and the fact that I hadn't meant only one thing. I didn't have one. It was not unheard-of that some wolves had no predestined mate, but it was a problem if said wolf was an alpha like me.
I needed a Luna, more so my pack than me. I couldn't run the pack alone anymore. The time had come that I take a mate.
I would've been lying if I said that I wasn't slightly disappointed that fate had not blessed me with a mate of my own. f I had it my way, I would have remained unpaired. But that was not our way. I needed a luna, and my pack needed an heir. If I wanted my bloodline to continue to lead the Great Pine Pack, then I needed to put my personal feelings aside and do what needed to be done.
My parents had been the ones to force this decision upon me, specifically my father. I hate-fought him at every turn but I lost out. He won the fight. When I finally conceded to defeat, my parents got to work finding me a new bride It took them no less than two months to find her.
The daughter of Alpha Byron Black, Flo Black. She was from the neighbouring pack and a noble bloodline. It made sense why my parents chose her to be my bride. Her genes would produce a strong heir, and our union would tie our two packs together.
I had been all set on the idea until a few days ago when she arrived.
Now, for some reason, my head was conflicted.
Callie was invading my mind without even trying.
I didn't even know the girl's last name, but she was all I could think about. I started toward the healing center. I could see the light in the window. My eyes fell on it as if hoping to catch a glimpse of the person inside, even though I knew she was bedridden and out of sight.
"Who are you, Callie, and why are you making me feel like this?"
I needed answers, and I needed them now. Something was going on, and I was getting nowhere asking Callie. She wasn't telling whole truths, and I couldn't work with half-truths. There was only one man who I knew would be able to get the answers I needed
'Jorge, I need you in my office.' I called my beta through the mind link.
If anyone could get answers out of someone, it would be Jorge. He had been my beta ever since I took over from my father. He was a man of honor and valor. Sure, he was always in work mode, but that meant that he was good at what he did. He rarely smiled and I rarely saw him at pack gatherings that included any form of fun. He was all about his work but that was what made him a great beta. I could rely on him to take his job seriously, and thereby make the pack run efficiently.
I walked over to my bar cart, feeling the need for a drink. I just finished pouring a glass of bourbon when I heard a knock on the door.
That was fast, even for Jorge.
"Come in," I called, taking a sip of my bourbon.
"Yes, Alpha."
Jorge walked in with his usually stoic face on. It was nearly one in the morning, and he was up within minutes of me calling for him. He rarely called me Kameron, and, when he did, he always looked uncomfortable doing it.
"I am sure you are aware of the border jumper that Thomas and the other patrol wolves brought in."
Jorge nodded with a serious expression on his face-even more so than normal.
"I need information on her. She's hiding something from me, but I don't know what yet. She's not a threat, that much I know."
"How can you be so sure, alpha?"
"I just know." I took a sip of the bitter liquor, allowing the liquid to burn my throat as it went down.
Jorge's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Jorge was a man who worked with facts and truths. Things like feelings and fate were childish beliefs that had no logical backing-his words, not mine.
I sighed. "There's something about her, Jorge, that I can't quite place my finger on."
Jorge's brow furrowed. "Something about her?"
"I can't see her as just a common rogue. There's something more than that going on here. I ..." I trailed off, hesitant to open up to the stern older man.
Jorge's frown deepened. He was looking at me intently, intensely. What was he thinking?
"Alpha, may I speak freely?" he said. I took another swig of my liquor and gestured for him to proceed.
"Why haven't you placed her in lock up? If you are unsure about her intentions for being here and are sure she is lying to you, why is she in one of our healing beds instead of a cell?"
That was a good question. If this had been any other wolf, they would have been detained. She had no reason to be in the healing center. Rex said she was healing fine. She could continue treatment in a cell, if need be. It had been done before to other prisoners.
"I wish I knew the answer to that myself," I muttered to myself, downing the rest of my drink.
"Excuse me, Alpha?"
"No, just talking to myself." I cleared my throat. "Just do as I say, Jorge, and question her. Do what you need to to get the answers out of her."
He clenched his jaw, but he didn't say anything further.
He turned to leave but stopped with his hand on the knob of the door.
"Alpha?"
"Hmm."
"Count yourself lucky you don't have a mate and a suitable one has been chosen for you. I can only hope to be as lucky as you are."
He said the word like it was acid on his tongue. Jorge hated the whole concept of mates. He was a man of logic and control, after all. He didn't like the fact that the Moon Goddess got to decide who his partner would be. There was too much lack of control in the decision for him, and it was one of the many reasons Jorge stated how he would never want a mate.
But why was he bringing that up now?
Without another word, he opened the door and left.
I stood staring at the closed door of my office.
"You don't know how wrong you are about that, Jorge." I moved to pour myself another glass. I walked back to my window and looked at the moon. At the age of 25, I already led my pack for almost five years. I had been a good alpha thus far. I protected my people and made sure that my pack was prosperous. This was the land the moon goddess blessed me with, and I intended on protecting it.
"My pack will always come first," I said to myself. I downed my drink and cast my eyes to the healing center where Callie was.
"They will always come first," I repeated firmly.
I turned from the window and made my way to the bar cart once more. I needed to rid myself of these thoughts.