And There Were Wolves

forty | I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs

Alpha Ryker's POV

After reviewing the agreement one final time, I digitally signed it and notified my secretary via email. Closing my eyes, I leaned back against the leather chair and took a deep, calming breath. It was crazy to think that I actually had a successful company without even a penny from my family.

Roughly four years back which was one year after my brother's passing, my father declared my nephew, Draven Summers, as the single inheritor of old Cromwell's riches. I had been angry. My frustration didn't stem from Draven in particular as I knew there was some tough love back in the States and that he'd been ostracized by his own grandfather. All my anger and frustration were for my father. He'd simply kicked me out just because I wanted to make Alana Luna. He'd gone on and on about how our pack, The Ethereal, had become one of the strongest packs in the world because we, the Alphas, had never rejected our Fated Mate. He'd spoken at length on how our mates were selected by the Moon Goddess with a purpose, despite our lack of knowledge, and we had to have faith in her.

At that time, I'd believed that to be ridiculous. Alana's mate (my brother) died, and according to the sorceress, so had mine. Before Walker's death, I'd spent years searching for my mate everywhere, visiting almost all werewolf packs in the world, and couldn't find her. Thus I couldn't understand why on Earth I couldn't settle with Alana and actually tried to help with each other's sorrow. Perhaps one day we could eventually be happy. She was my best friend since we were in nappies. Alana was the one person with whom I would trust my life with. Yet my father's words had been final and it had been materialized when a letter from his lawyers informing me about this came to me on Monday, a week after his ultimatum.

I had to concede; I hadn't thought I would be where I was today. All my money — the money I'd spent  — had come from my parents. I'd lived very comfortably for almost twenty years of my life. Some portion of my trust funds had been used during college days and also when I'd gone searching for my mate all around the globe. I'd only gone back once because Walker had asked me to, saying that he'd had something very important that he'd wished to tell me. I'd missed him and Alana, so I'd gone back, but then not long after that, he'd died. Brutally so.

That could change a person. It'd changed me. I'd been a hopeless romantic — although I'd never admit it and my past behavior would disprove that. After what had happened to my brother which had required me to step up as the Alpha, I became a pragmatic person. I'd forgotten about all those romantic notions of wanting to find my soulmate. I simply hadn't bothered going through another twenty werewolves packs I hadn't visited. I'd accepted what the sorceress once had told me as a fact and moved on. Alana had always been there for me and she once had been a candidate for Luna — given that she was my brother's mate, I'd given the position to her. Although it wouldn't be official until I marked her and I wouldn't mark her until we were officially married, which was what she had always wanted. The wedding dress, the calligraphy invitation card, and all the bells and whistles.

After we had begun our relationship and my parents made it crystal clear that they were cutting me off except for a bit of money that would always go to the pack, I'd begun cutting off unnecessary expenses and used most of the money for investments including but not limited to cryptocurrencies. I'd gained more than enough to buy a private company and from then on, Dmitry and I had worked hard for the next two years. And now, I could repay back all the initial funds that I'd taken from the pack money with interest.

Opening my eyes, I could only feel grateful for everything that had happened. The experience was priceless. It had taught me not to take everything for granted and for the first time in my life; I had actually worked. I hadn't depended on my parents or their fortune.

Before leaving, I put the files back in the safe, locked it, and headed towards the door. I left my office and locked the door behind me. Only Dmitry and I had the keys to each other's office. As I stared at the staircase, I let out a deep sigh. It had been more than a week. Almost a fortnight of ignoring Xyrra because of that nightmare. Although I was confident that I wouldn't cause her harm, I couldn't help but wonder if the terrible dream was a premonition of what could occur later on. Maybe the Moon Goddess was trying to warn me about something. Whatever it was, I didn't want to take any chances. The only way I could ensure her safety was by keeping my distance. By not being with her, it would be easier to fight the urge to kiss her. Kissing her was bad. It could lead to more and increase the chance that the nightmare might come true.