Mate (Bride #2)

Chapter 1 - Adam

My Alpha's orders always took precedence over almost everything else in my life. Through thick and thin, chaos and routine, war and peace—nothing kept me from my leader and closest companion. Even with the festivities still underway in the tavern of The Sunrise Mill Inn, my commitment persisted, taking me away from my Alpha's engagement celebration so I could pore over the documents collected on the vampire-wolf wars.

Sasha had pointed me toward the kitchen, but she must have been mistaken. Perhaps she was slightly drunk on both fae liquor and the proposal of the Beaufort Pack Alpha, which she had accepted without hesitation. Charlotte's office didn't exactly look like a place where highly sensitive documents should be kept. Who was guarding the talented chef's office with the door standing wide open?

I sighed, thoughts of the engagement party weighing on me. The pictures on my phone proved Sasha's devotion. Anyone could see the affection in her eyes and the attachment between her and Donovan. She made a great match for him, and he seemed as dedicated to her as he was to his pack. In many ways, I felt envious of her willingness to jump into such a relationship so quickly—and his, too.

*They get along. They're happy, for fuck's sake,* I reminded myself as I approached Charlotte's office. *Don't you want your Alpha to be happy? It makes him a better leader.*

Only, it didn't make me happy. It just made me question what I was supposed to do now that I was left behind in the single life. Hookups only worked for as long as they lasted. Which wasn't particularly long, considering how picky I was with women.

Once I crossed the threshold of the office, silence draped over me, startling me into a pause. I glanced over my shoulder. Through the opening, I could see three staff members bustling around the kitchen with plates and cookware, their mouths moving soundlessly. My eyebrows shot up as I peered around the office.

*Must be some kind of cloaking spell,* I thought, touching the folders on the desk. *That's why the documents were here. Hidden in a place nobody would expect.*

The office appeared larger than it had when I first found it. Books lined the shelves behind the mahogany desk, alongside a multitude of weapons: throwing daggers, a javelin, a medieval mace, long swords, short swords, and a set of katanas. Some of the weapons served as bookends, keeping the spines of the texts rigidly compact, while the books themselves showed wear and tear—proof they were often read.

A window to the left drew my attention next, offering a view of the brick alleyway running along three sides of the inn. Compact as the place appeared from the outside, a labyrinth of suites and rooms existed within, proof that wolves were exceptionally cunning creatures, capable of hiding in plain sight.

*If only it wasn't neutral ground,* I reflected, frowning heavily. *Then maybe this place could be a haven for wolves trying to escape the war raging outside.*

Years of training hadn't prepared me for the horrors I witnessed on the outskirts of pack lands. Even Donovan couldn't have predicted the depth of the wounds, the number of casualties, or the constant, nagging paranoia that hung over our shoulders every time we went into town. Even standing inside an inn protected by a promise of tolerance, my nostrils tingled with the distinct scent of other species.

Fae, vampires, shapeshifters—every supernatural creature in the vicinity had chosen this place to rest. I had to respect that. And I wanted to respect that.

My brain simply couldn't fathom how vampires and wolves could get along inside an inn while tearing each other to pieces on the streets outside.

Sighing, I took in the rest of the room. The walls were cluttered with an assortment of expressionist paintings, photographs, and charcoal sketches tacked casually next to framed works of art. Many of the small tables in the room hosted weapons, and I chuckled to myself, trying to imagine the petite chef—with her cherry-red highlights and creamy, tawny-ochre skin—wielding any of the larger ones.

"Is there a reason you're snooping around my office?"

A smirk tugged at my lips as I turned slowly to face the woman who ran The Sunrise Mill Inn with Sasha and their wolf sisters. "Hi, Charlotte."

"Yes, hi," she said, stepping into the room, her eyes narrowing into slits. "If you're looking for those butter biscuits I made for your son, they're in the fridge."

"No, sorry." I gestured sheepishly toward her desk, heat flaring on my cheeks for no damn reason other than to make me look like a fool. "Sasha sent me. I mean, Donovan sent me. But Sasha said this is where the documents were being held. I have to go over the vampire-wolf crap, and then I have to, uh…"

The way her eyelids widened, exposing golden-brown irises, made my heart quiver. My words tumbled out instantly, with little to no possibility of recovering them. When my mouth slackened, she snapped her fingers at me, her irritated frown hardly detracting from her beauty. Though I'd seen her a dozen times by now, I was still surprised by how she was a foot shorter than me.

"Weird," she said, gesturing toward her desk. "You're here for research, but you keep staring at me."

I blinked rapidly. "What?"

"Ah, I see. Lights were on, but nobody was home. Am I right?" Her smirk spread evenly over her face, enhancing the golden hue of her eyes. Mischief sparkled in her pupils, making me clear my throat. "Did you want some help with that?"

"With what?"

She sighed, rolled her eyes, and then wandered toward her desk to tap the folders on top. "These, genius."

"Oh, right." I shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Have a seat."

My feet carried me to a spare chair next to her desk. I leaned against the mahogany wood, dragging one of the folders toward me to peruse. Her petite fingers cradled the next folder as her eyes danced quickly across the page. The skin between her eyebrows knitted in concentration.

The chuckle that slipped out caught her attention.

She squinted. "What?"