The lack of sleep over the past few weeks had finally caught up with Calder. He was dead on his feet, and thankfully headed home for the night. The assistance from Gus, his workload had been eased drastically. Having enough money to hire contractors to do the maintenance and repair work around Twisted Tail was a godsend. The old man had really come through for him, and just when he had needed help the most.

In all honesty, he would have thought that he’d have a little bit of breathing room now that there was less construction work he had to do personally. Wrong. Calder was more stressed than ever thanks to the rising pack tensions—and then there was the whole ‘finding a mate’ issue.

He wasn’t sure what to make of his conversation with Gerri. On one hand it had sounded promising,  she’d told him that finding his mate and sending her to Twisted Tail would be a piece of cake, but he wasn’t holding his breath waiting for a damn miracle that, in his mind, was unlikely to occur. Keeping the sarcasm out of his voice after her statement had taken effort, but somehow he’d managed. After all, Gus had assured him that Gerri Wilder was the best in the business and swore she could find a mate for Satan himself, should he ever be on the market.

Calder pulled up to the wrought iron gate in front of the Alpha’s well-kept home. There was no doubt the log home was stunning, with its high peaked roof and wrap-around porch. Griffin had spared no expense when it came to the home’s construction, surrounding himself with every possible luxury. It was totally out of place compared to the rest of the modest homes situated on pack lands.

Living there for the past few weeks had left Calder feeling out of sorts, knowing his pack lived in such dilapidated houses. That’s why his first priority had been working feverishly on the desperately needed repairs and long-overdue updates around the territory.

Calder got out of his truck and opened the gate. Out of habit he sniffed the air, searching for any threats. “We really need to get our second in place so we can start appointing enforcers,” Calder said to his wolf.

“I would trust Alex with our lives. As for the rest of them, the jury’s still out.”

“Agreed.”

Calder pulled his truck through the gate and exited the vehicle once more, this time to close the gate back up. He was tired of looking over his shoulder every second of every day, waiting for the inevitable attack to come, thanks to the few bad seeds left over from the previous Alpha. He knew exactly who they were, and while Alex didn’t think they would challenge his position, Calder knew they would. It was only a matter of time. One way or another, they’d come. “And I’d damn well better be ready when they do,” he thought.

Scenting no immediate danger, Calder climbed back in his truck and headed down the long wooded driveway. His stomach grumbled, reminding him the sandwich he’d had for lunch hadn’t quite cut it, and it was long past dinner time. But first things first. A nice hot shower.

“Someone’s here.” His wolf sounded the alarm in his mind.

Rolling down the window he drew in a deep breath, trying to identify the threat his wolf had detected. The smell of fresh-cut wildflowers filled Calder’s nose. His wolf whined at the scent as it filtered down to him.

Wary of who might be waiting for him, Calder slowly rounded the last curve in the driveway to see a bright yellow Camaro with black racing stripes parked in front of his house. Coming to a quick stop, he hopped out of his truck, ready to confront the person who had trespassed on his land—but the car was empty. Calder glanced around the property before noticing several lights on in the house—lights he was certain he had turned off.

His wolf spurred him on, pushing him to sprint up the steps then through the front door. The animal didn’t seem upset by the intruder. Not in the least. It was much more of an immense curiosity that filled the animal. Calder tried to figure out what his wolf was up to, but he had no idea why that particular scent had his beast so intrigued.

The smell of fresh roasted meat set off a new round of grumbling from his stomach. The man may have been distracted by the thought of a home-cooked meal, but not the wolf. He had smelled something much more inviting. As much as Calder wanted to investigate the tantalizing aroma coming from the kitchen, his legs seemed to move of their own volition, demanding he locate the source of the fresh wildflowers that had his wolf all worked up.

As he made his way deeper into the house searching for the intruder, a singsong voice floated in the air.

“A woman.” Astonishment crashed over Calder. His strong legs suddenly lost all coordination and were replaced by what felt like those of a newborn deer. Another step on shaky legs sent him crashing into the wall as he worked his way closer to the tantalizing sound.

“Is someone there?” the female voice called out.

Calder opened his mouth to speak, but his tongue was too heavy and thick; no words were forthcoming. He forged on, using the wall as a support, desperately needing to confirm that his dreamlike state was a reality and not some twisted trick of majik played on him by someone wanting to see him fail. 

The singing resumed as Calder slowly worked his way to the master bedroom— hoping and expecting to see a divine goddess stretched across his bed, lying in wait for his homecoming. Instead he found the door to the master bath ajar.

He knew he should give her some privacy, but honor be damned, he had to see the woman who possessed the harmonious voice that was keeping him in a state of awe. Leaning against the doorframe, Calder felt his heart skip a beat, maybe two—and his wolf screamed in his head, “MINE!”

The amount of sheer willpower it took not to launch himself directly on the dark-haired, bronze-skinned beauty in the bathtub was monumental. Like serious effort, gold-medal-award shit.

Calder sucked in a deep breath, mesmerized by the droplets of water that trickled down her chest and over her full breasts as she slowly sat forward. Feeling like a voyeur, he tried to avert his eyes but failed as billows of steam rose from her heated skin. He tucked his fingers deep into his tight pockets to keep from reaching out and seeing if her skin was indeed as soft as it looked. His cock grew painfully hard as he imagine climbing into the tub behind her and pushing her hair to the side, trailing soft kisses over her neck and shoulders.

A war with his animal raged within. The wolf wanted to mark and claim her as his own, taking what the Fates decreed as his. The man was much more cautious, not wanting to terrify her, sensing she held no majik of her own. She was as human as could be—a thought that should have sent him running for the hills, but didn’t. He had full trust in the Fates that this woman, in all her human glory, was made for him, and him alone.