APEX - Season 2

Ch. 19: A Suitable Mate

Rhys

It appeared that Calla would be a no show at my apartment. Not that I expected her to be there every night, but in her absence, I found myself wallowing in a pool of boredom and self-pity. The malaise hit me so strong, I didn't even feel like jacking off. This couldn't be a normal reaction. I was an independent sort of person and so was she. Then again, independence only went so far in the werewolf realm. We adhered to a pack mentality. It was hardwired into us. Being a lone wolf was frowned upon and when it came to Alpha's status as a singleton, it was considered destabilizing as hell. Not just for the Alpha, but for the entire pack.

It was no wonder that I missed Calla. She offered the companionship and intimacy I hadn't known I'd needed. But she was off with her family tonight and I was home alone, watching a show about the ancient and possibly alien origins of the werewolf gene. As I stared at the host winding his way through a forest talking about prehistoric peoples and ritualistic practices involving the worship of wolf gods, I wondered how our relationship could possibly survive the upcoming tribulation.

Add to this, my father had sat me down in his office earlier today to inform me that I needed to partner up sooner rather than later. It was necessary, he said, if we were to maintain our pack's elite status. "If there's someone special in your life, why are you keeping her from me?" he'd asked.

That question felt like a trap. On guard, I started to overthink every word he'd said. What did he know about me and Calla? Had Liam opened his Goddamn mouth? "What makes you think I'm keeping anyone from you?" I replied.

"What a disappointing response." He flicked his hand at me, motioning for me to get up. "Leave if you can't be forthcoming. But here me now, you're to be mated soon, Rhys. You have obligations to me and to Apex. And there is an order to this. I've let your mate-less existence go on far too long. Get your act together."

Recalling this conversation made my skin crawl. I attempted to reengage in my television show, where an archaeologist was now showing the host a large cavern in a cave. On its wall was a dark brownish red painting depicting a human wearing what looked to be a wolf's head. As I leaned in towards the television trying to see it clearer, the doorbell rang.

My shoulders relaxed, and at the same time, my heart sped up. Calla. Maybe her dinner finished early, and she decided she couldn't go a night without her share of me. The thought got my juices flowing.

Forgetting my aches and pains, I hopped off the couch and made a beeline to the door. "I was just thinking about you," I said as I opened the door.

My happy smile dropped. An attractive woman waited at my entryway for me to invite her in, but it wasn't the one I'd hoped for.

"You sensed me coming?" Skye's eyes lit up. "You know what that means, don't you?"

"I'm guessing not what you think it means."

Ignoring me, she stepped forward and placed a hand on my chest. Her baby pink fingernails tapped against my heart. "It means we're already developing a psychic connection. And this is only the second time we've seen each other!"

"Skye," I said as I removed her hand from my shirt, "I thought you were someone else."

Her eyes lost a bit of their sparkle, but then she shrugged it off as though she didn't believe me. "Who?" she asked.

"I need to be clear with you." Clear was kind. That's what they said in leadership classes when talking about crucial conversations one needed to have with problematic employees. The same philosophy seemed like it could apply here.

"I find honesty very sexy," she said. "But don't you want to invite me in first?"

"No, I don't." If she found honesty sexy, she was going to leave here as horny as she was disappointed.