MATE AND HIS LOVER 9

#9 Whoever you want me to be

The meeting their contact has set up with the shapeshifter is at the red-light district.

It's too far from Nate's packland, but he and Frank still make the journey hoping to get a clue on the whereabouts of at least one of the rogues in their list — the rogues from the Croway pack who Nate and his team have been assigned to catch, alongside Patrick and his team.

True to the name, the street is cased in a red hue. Some shops boast flashing banners, while the others have wall length showcases with almost nude women and men inside, gesturing the onlookers to come closer to the glass.

There are also flashily dressed prostitutes on the streets, available for a much cheaper price than those offered inside the brothel houses, and nearby are the affordable motels they take their clients to.

Nate drives the car slowly, both to avoid the pedestrians and to look out for a brothel named Rosomo.

There are too many shops crammed in the street that it's easy to miss a signboard if you're not carefully looking for it.

"This one looks fancy," Frank comments as their car crosses a large pale-orange building with a big lit name board that says in cursive, "Poppy's."

Sparing it a glance Nate continues to drive until a large vertical blue board with Rosomo written on it appears at the side.

After they park the car at the opposite side of the road, they both get out and head towards the brothel. They are briefly stopped and checked by two men at the entrance.

Inside, the mistress of the house welcomes them, and upon hearing the name of the shapeshifter Nate and Frank are here to see, she sends them to the last room on the top floor.

When they enter the room, a blonde girl looks up from the phone she is scrolling in on the couch. Her face brightens up after seeing two handsome faces walk in.

She immediately puts away her phone. "Nate, is it? Jimmy told me you would come," she says, "although he forgot to mention how hot you are."

"Jimmy must've also told you why we are here. Do you know anything about a guy named Shane?" Nate says.

The woman looks up and down over Nate's physique. "I do. But it will cost you."

"We know. However much you ask."

She shakes her head. "That was before. Now that I've seen you I don't want no money anymore."

Nate's brows crease. "What else you want then?"

"You. Sleep with me once, and I'll tell you everything you need to know."

"I don't have time for this. I'll double the amount Jimmy told you."

She gets up and goes to Nate. "You can offer me even ten times more if you want. But it's you or nothing. No bargaining. Do you want the information or not?"

Nate feels frustrated. He looks at Frank who shrugs.

There could have been a time when Nate wouldn't sweat over this and had agreed to it, but he's no longer without a mate, even if it's a mate he hasn't accepted yet.

The woman steps back from him. "Time is money here, boy. If you don't agree within the next five seconds I'm afraid I'll have to see you go."

Nate stands up. "I'll pay."

She smirks and takes his hand in hers. Nate is repulsed by her touch but allows it. She slowly takes him to the back of the room where there's a bed, and closes the door, while Frank stays outside unable to bail out his friend on this.

She guides Nate to sit on the bed and starts to undo his buttons. With tight jaws Nate looks away with a sharp turn of his neck. Seeing his reaction, the woman stops undressing him. "It's rude to not get in the mood with a lady."

"Nothing can be done about it. Just do whatever you want," he flatly says.

She kneels in front of him and places her hands on top of his thighs. "Really? Maybe you'll change your mind once I look more to your liking."

Soon her hair turns red and eyes turn blue. Her nose becomes smaller and lips look plumper. She has shape-shifted to another form. "How about this?"

"You're wasting your time, and mine, too," Nate says, feeling ready to leave and look for another lead.

"How about this?" she says, ignoring him and transforming into another beautiful girl.

She does it a few more times, only to annoy Nate further in each attempt.

Nate eventually has enough of it and starts to get up to leave when the woman shifts again, and Nate comes face to face to Daisy.

She says, "This is the face I read in your mind. The one you desire. You sure you still don't want me?"

Nate grabs her hair and brings her face close to his. He's angry she is wearing Daisy's face, but it's also tempting him. The woman looks exactly like Daisy, except there's desire in her eyes, a desire for him, something Nate is finding harder to resist on a face he is the most attracted to.

"You're not her," Nate says through his teeth, both for her to hear and for him to be reminded.

"But I can be. I can be whoever you want me to be," she says, inching closer to him. "Imagine I'm her."

Nate grabs her neck and takes her to the wall. He pins her to the side. "But you're not," he says and lets her go and walks out of the room.

Seeing Nate leave, Frank follows him quickly. "That was fast," he says. "Did she tell you?"

"No," Nate says as they both get out and head to the car. "We'll have to find some other way to track the guy."

Frank smiles. "You couldn't do it, could you? Because of Daisy."

Nate doesn't reply, starts the engine, and drives them away from the red light district that Nate swears in his mind to never visit again.

"We still got this," Frank reassures him. "I'm darn sure we're going to catch the first rogue."

Nate knows Frank is only saying that to cheer him up. When the assignment was given to Nate and Patrick, Nate promised himself he would catch every single one of those rogues, leaving none for Patrick. However, with how things are now, even one is enough. One that he was so close to catching today, but let it slip.

He knows it was his decision and can't blame Daisy for it. However, Nate can't help but notice that his feelings for Daisy had already come in the way of his goal to become the Alpha even when it is the exact thing he had been trying so hard not to let happen. 

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