“What’s next?” Diana, the Alpha of Maple Ridge, asked as the door closed behind her latest appointment.

“Uh… let me…” Drake flipped frantically though his papers, looking for the schedule. The stack fell to the floor and he dropped down after it with an apology.

Diana wondered what had possessed her to give her last secretary such a generous paternity leave arrangement. Even as she asked herself that, she smiled. Tanner had been a loyal, exceptional secretary and deserved every moment he could get with his new daughter. Diana just hoped the young omega standing in for him would learn quickly.

“Here!” Drake gasped triumphantly, straightening with the schedule. “It’s uh… Omega Alain.”

“Send him in,” Diana said, wondering what Alain was coming to see her about. He was Tanner’s father-in-law and since she was so fond of Tanner, she cared a great deal about his extended family.

Alain entered with a respectful bow, bending down while tilting back his head and exposing his throat submissively.

“Welcome, Alain. Please, sit.”

“Thank you, Alpha.” He sat quickly.

“How is your granddaughter?”

The omega’s nervous expression quickly turned to joy. “Oh, she’s wonderful. Growing so fast. Even in my wildest dreams, I never hoped to see my son with a true mate and a family of his own.”

“Niles seems like a good father.”

“He’s wonderful, Alpha Diana,” Alain said. “Just a natural.”

Diana nodded in approval. The entire family had briefly turned her pack upside down. Niles, calling himself Knives, had arrived fresh out of prison and with no idea he was a wolf. It was the sort of trouble Diana would have turned away, had he not clearly been fated to be Tanner’s true mate. While Tanner and Niles settled in together and prepared for their new baby, Diana started searching for some sign of the pack that had orphaned Niles, leaving him to grow up with no idea of his heritage.

Alain, who had been searching for his long-lost son for years, heard she was asking around and showed up at the edge of the Maple Ridge territory, eager to see if the orphaned alpha was indeed his son.

“And how are you settling in?” Diana asked.

“Quite well, I think, Alpha,” said Alain. “It’s… certainly an adjustment, I’ll admit. But the rumors of how well the Maple Ridge pack treats omegas were obviously not exaggerated.”

Diana smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way.”

Alain’s true mate – Niles’ other father – had been killed in an attack by another pack before Niles was born. Alain was able to secret the infant away, but was forced to remain in the pack. When he finally escaped its clutches, with his second-born in tow, he moved from place to place, never joining a pack.

Diana knew he had been both afraid to find himself sworn into another cruel pack, as well as determined to be free to seek his missing son. While Niles being part of her pack had been a large part of Alain’s decision to join, Diana suspected that her pack’s reputation for fair treatment of omegas had played a role as well.

“So, what brings you here today, Alain?” she asked.

“Jaden is… having trouble adjusting,” he said.

His other son. Diana nodded, folding her hands in front of her and waiting for him to go on.

“Maybe I should have gotten him into a pack sooner or… I don’t know…” Alain bowed his head sadly. “I fear I spoke too harshly of my experiences in my former pack. He wasn’t thrilled about swearing and hasn’t seemed like himself since. I’m worried he’s unhappy now. I’d speak with him, but, well I’m his father. He doesn’t want to hear what I have to say.”

“I’ll find a way to speak with him. Find out what’s on his mind and see what we can do to make him feel welcome,” Diana said.

Alain bowed deeply. “Thank you, Alpha. I would be most grateful.”

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Truly, you’ve already done more than enough, Alpha.”

Diana smiled. “If you ever need anything, my door is always open.”

“Thank you.”

The omega let himself out and Diana picked up her phone and dialed the number of her eldest son. It went straight to voice mail. Frowning, she tried her other son.

“Mother,” Cale said after the first ring.

“Do you know where Conner is?” she asked without preamble.

“Yeah, there’s some issue with pipes freezing in some of the guest houses from last night’s snow. He’s up making sure everything is ready for that next storm that’s rolling in.”

Diana frowned. “Did the pipes break? Was there damage? Why wasn’t I informed?”

The sound of her son’s laughter echoed into the phone. “Guest house maintenance is one of the things you turned over to Conner, remember? I’m sure he’ll put together a report for you when it’s done.”

The alpha’s frown deepened. Cale was right; it was one of the duties she had turned over to her successor. She hated to give up any control at all; the reminder that something was happening in her territory without her knowledge was frustrating. Then again, Conner would never be able to run the pack if she didn’t start letting him ease into the role of Lead Alpha.

She sighed. “That’s right; I know he’ll take care of it. I thought we were only supposed to get a couple of inches,” she added, thinking of his storm comment. Maybe it was a good thing she was giving responsibilities to Conner. Goodness, couldn’t she even keep up with the weather report anymore?

“That was the last report,” Cale confirmed. “But it sounds like the storm has a slim chance of swinging a bit more east and slamming us. Couple of feet if that happens. If nothing else, we’re looking at two inches of snow at the minimum.”

“Good to know.”

“Did you need him for something?”

“Yes, it’s fine, it can wait,” Diana said. She thought for a moment. “Then again… you might be the better choice…”

“For?” Cale asked.

“Do you know Alain and Jaden at all?”

“Niles’ family,” Cale said almost instantly. A good pack leader always knew everyone in their pack. Since he wasn’t the Maple Ridge alpha, he hadn’t quite bothered to go meet them in person, but he knew of them and their relationship to other pack members. “I haven’t met them yet.”

“You saw them at the full moon ceremony when they swore to me.”

“I was in my territory that night, remember? That last storm blocked the road.”

“That’s right.” Man, she needed a vacation. Nevertheless, Diana nodded in satisfaction. Yes, that might be perfect. “Well, it seems like Jaden is having trouble adjusting to pack life, his father is worried. You know their history at least?”

“Yeah. They came from that crazy pack with all the enslaved omegas, right?”

“Exactly. Alain thinks he spent so much time trying to turn Jaden against the idea of a pack that the poor boy doesn’t want to be in one at all. I was hoping someone could talk to him. See what’s wrong, help him out.”

“Wouldn’t his future alpha be better suited to that?” Cale asked.

“I thought that at first,” Diana admitted. “But it occurs to me that it might be too much pressure. Jaden is an omega and if he’s at all intimidated by authority, as I think his history suggests, speaking to Conner might be too much. You’re an alpha, but you won’t be his pack leader. And you’re the younger brother; you have something in common. Besides, it will be good practice for you. You may have a lot of homesick wolves when you start your pack.”

“Mm,” Cale said thoughtfully. “Sure, I can go talk to him.

“Thank you, Cale.”

“Sure thing, Mom.”

Satisfied with her choice, Diana hung up the phone and turned to Drake. “Next?” She resisted the urge to groan when he started flipping through his notes again, knowing that Tanner would have had her next appointment ready before she had even finished with Alain.

* * *

Cale trudged across the resort, bundled up against the cold air that had been blowing steadily in. The sound of skiers yelling and cheering was noticeably absent. They were in that strange period right after the New Year, where everyone was back in school and things on the resort slowed down for a couple of weeks. The fact that it was a weekday made a difference as well.

After everyone was back in the swing of school, the majority of tourists would change over from families to school trips, and weekends would be packed. Cale figured the last storm and the rumors of the upcoming blizzard helped clear the resort as well.

It was a long hike to Omega Row, but he didn’t complain, the snow was easy to walk on and the air, though cold, was crisp and fresh.

He made a mental note to keep better track of where pack members lived. The only reason he hadn’t had to embarrass himself by asking his mother was because he knew that Alain and Jaden had been able to move into Tanner’s old house, since Tanner just happened to be the new true mate to their respective son and half-brother.

Cale chuckled to himself. He met Niles when he was still contemplating not swearing to the pack and didn’t think Tanner loved him. Cale quickly talked him into staying to be with his true mate. It was ironic, Cale thought, because he wouldn’t have given the same advice to himself.

“No, thank you,” he muttered.

No true mates for him. Even though they were still a couple of years away from needing his new pack, things at the site were picking up. The land was mostly cleared and he was waiting for some proposals from town planners to pick the best site plan before they broke ground. After that, things would move even faster and the last thing he needed was a true mate getting in the way.

He’d seen people with new true mates. They were distractions. Things fell through the cracks and mistakes were made because the pair got more focused on each other than the world around them. Throw in a fertile omega and a baby nine months later and it was a mess. Cale couldn’t imagine having to divide his attention between a mate and his site. He certainly couldn’t dedicate the time he needed to be a father.

After his new pack was formed, sworn, and settled, then he could worry about true mates.

He stopped at the tree line as Omega Row came into view. A young man was in front of Tanner’s old house, shoveling the driveway. Cale watched him for a moment. He had obviously gotten too hot; a jacket was thrown over the railing on the stoop and he was in nothing but a long-sleeved undershirt that hugged his body.

The man paused and wiped his sleeve along his brow, giving Cale a perfect view of his face. He was handsome. Really handsome. The resemblance to Niles was obvious, although Cale hadn’t been particularly struck by his looks. This man had the same dirty blonde hair, but Cale thought it looked more golden glinting in the sunlight.

The wind changed and blew a chilly gust toward Cale. He caught the strong scent of an omega that was somewhat reminiscent of Niles’ scent. Cale took a sniff to confirm that this was indeed Jaden and was struck by a mix of musk and earth and… and… He couldn’t describe it. It was intoxicating. Overwhelming.

Fuck.

Glad the wind was to his back, Cale turned and hurried back into the trees before the omega could spot him. He snorted furiously as he went, frantically clearing the incredible scent of his true mate from his nose and ignoring the instant hard-on it had given him.

As he strode away, he pulled out his phone and called his brother.

“Yo.”

“When you’re done with the guest houses, Mom’s got a pack member she wants you to talk to,” Cale said.

“I’m heading back home now,” said Conner.

“I’ll meet you there and fill you in.”

Cale hung up the phone without another word. No way in hell he was going to even talk to his true mate. It was too soon. Years too soon. Why now? Why, on the cusp of one of the most intense parts of starting his pack, did his true mate have to show up?

He simply wouldn’t talk to him, Cale decided. He’d avoid him and steer clear. He’d never have to smell that aroma again, not until his pack was set up and he was settled in.

It would be easy.