Wolfe's Den (Wolfe Creek Book 1)(3)

"Are we doing something wrong?" she asked looking at me with a tilted  head and scrunched brow like she was afraid she offended me. I was  starting to think I was living in a dream; then again, I hadn't dreamed  of anything but my imaginary lover in a very long time.

"No, it's just too much," I sighed, resigning myself to their ways.

"We do what Mr. Grey asks. He listened to your voicemail and told us to  bring you to the Den." She sounded as though she had nefarious designs  on me. It was silly, considering I called my parents in front of her for  safety sake.

"Will I be meeting Mr. Grey?" I was very intrigued to meet him even  though he was sounding like a bossy tyrant. Generally, I would be  intimidated by a man like him, but I couldn't wait to see what he looked  like.

"Yes, but he will not be back until tomorrow. He's out of town at the moment. We'll get everything set up for you."

"I'm kind of hungry," I lied. I was starving. We stopped off at Wendy's,  and I got a salad. It was so fresh, and I totally needed it. It was  awkward eating in front of her while she just sat there, but she  informed me that she already ate before they picked me up.

She was constantly on her phone, texting and looking at emails. Suddenly  she huffed, then said, "The boss would like to talk to you." She handed  me the phone which I shakily took from her.

"Hello, Mr. Grey," I murmured nervously. I waited for a response, but there was nothing on the other end, so I said, "Sir?"                       
       
           



       

He didn't say anything, so I thought I lost him and asked again, "Sir, are you there?"

"Catherine, I'm here," he whispered. His voice sent shivers down my  spine as my ears heard his rough timber. His voice was beautiful, but  strangely familiar.

"Mr. Grey, I can't thank you enough for this opportunity. I'll do whatever you ask. I really need this," I gratefully admitted.

I heard a low growl, then I heard the word that had been ringing through  my ears for the past six months. "Mine." Then the call ended. It was  him, my dream lover. I looked up at the woman in front of me, eyes  opened wide. That was why their eyes seemed familiar. They were like his  except they were green compared to his gorgeous blue.

Turning to Chloe, I asked suspiciously, "What's going on?"





Chapter 2-Hunter




"Any news on the woman fitting my description?" I asked my sister as she  sat in my office. We had other matters to discuss, but all my being was  focused on the other half of my existence. The last six months had been  unbearable torture. I hungered for my mate and had no idea who she was  or how I would find her. Her sexy curves and curly brown hair tormented  me every waking hour.

Chloe fidgeted in her seat, and I knew there had been no progress. It  was hard on her to watch me slowly lose my mind. I shifted every night,  running for hours, trying to fight sleep because dreaming of her was too  much, but staying away from her was just as hard.

"Sorry, Hunter. We can't seem to locate her in any of the packs in the  Northwest. Gage is about to go down to the southwest territories and see  if any female meets your description."

"I need to find her. These dreams are slowly killing me. She's my mate. I  need to find her," I snarled. Every day I struggled to contain my wolf.  He wanted to leave the area in search of her, but being the Alpha I had  to remain strong and do what I had to do for the rest of the pack. My  emotions were coming to a head. I had to shave twice a day because my  wolf laid at the surface. No matter how much I tried to calm the beast  he came to life after he claimed her. I was a shaggy mess every morning  and this morning was no different. I needed to focus on the resort, but I  wanted answers on my mysterious mate.

Chloe's green eyes dilated as she nervously asked, "Hunter … what if she's not in a pack? What if she's a human?"

"There's never been a female human in our pack. Have you ever heard any  tales about it?" We weren't as informed about our past as we would have  liked to have been. After a massive brush fire ripped through our lands  in the late 1740's, all records were lost. The packs moved further north  settle along the Cascade Mountains. The only records were kept secure.  Rumors were the great fire was set intentionally by one of our own in an  attempt to end the lives of the Alpha's family, my family, and destroy  our pack history.

"No, but we can call the elder in Redding to see if he has any ideas if  it's even possible," Chloe suggested. She did have a point. Creed and  his family had some old books, none of which were very detailed or if  they were, they had been singed too severely to even be interpreted.

Gossip floated through our village just like any other. There were  claims that there was a human mate, but it was just a myth to give some  of the pack hope when a member took too long to find their mate. But  with all the searching for my mate and no luck, I was starting to  believe in that tale.

"I need to find her. She's mine. I'm thirty-two already. I should have  found my mate many years ago," I growled, the pain of never finding her  ripped through my chest. My dreams weren't a thing for our species. Once  our mate was found, they smelled each other and mated within the day.  I'd been dreaming of her for six months, reliving night after night of  overwhelming, heart pounding passion that defied belief. Maybe it was no  different than other shifters in that area, not that I would know, but I  felt her soul as we mated in my sleep.

"We'll find her," she promised. The determination and conviction in her  voice made me believe her. Brushing off her skirt and laying her tablet  on my desk, she said, "Let's try to take your mind off the mating hunger  and talk shop."

I sighed, "That's probably for the best." She was right as always. I  wished I could have made her my Beta, but unfortunately it was passed  down from generation to generation from another family. It was our own  way of checks and balances. One family couldn't possess total control.

"We only have a month before we open, and we haven't even started the  hiring process. I know there are several locals that need a job, but we  need more than them," she remarked. I knew where she was going with  this, but I was too riled up with mating hunger that I ignored it.                       
       
           



       

"I'd say in the next two weeks we can start hiring the local community to run the resort," I added.

Immediately her eyes opened wide and she snapped her fingers, a little  quirk she had when she had a brilliant idea or remembered something.  "Oh, yes, we've already received a call about a job from a woman in  Oregon named Catherine. She sounded desperate. I feel terrible that we  can't hire her." Chloe was soft at heart unless you fucked with her  family. It was in her personality to care about a kitten, something  laughable to our kind.

"Is she a shifter?" I asked. What was the big deal? A shifter we could hire unless there was something really wrong with her.

"No, she's a human, but she sounds like she's about to break if we don't  hire her. Gage thinks we should. It would help if we hired a few  humans." I gave her the warning glare. We talked about this before, and I  wasn't totally against it, but I wanted to be super selective if we did  hire one of them. It's one thing to see them in passing as guests, but  daily contact could risk everything. "Don't look at me like that. I know  the danger of daily interaction with the same people, but just … well,  just listen to her message." Chloe got up and leaned over my desk, then  dialed the number and voicemail access code and put it on speaker.

"Um. Hello, this is Catherine Kinney … I know you didn't have an  application for employment up, but I really need a job … " she sighed. I  hit the replay button, not letting her message finish. Chloe looked at  me in disbelief. I didn't answer her stare. I listened to the same part  again.

A growl ripped through my chest, and I demanded, "Bring her to me."

I continued to listen to the plea from the warm voice I'd come to  worship. I knew every inch of her body, the beat of her heart, the taste  of her flesh, and the scent that drove the beast in me insane with  hunger. Most of all, I knew what it was like to hear her sighs of  ecstasy as I claimed her every night. It was her. My mate.

"Hunter, are you well?" Chloe asked as she sat straight up. I was  feeling a range of emotions and it was noticeable in my eyes and my  sudden release of my fangs, rattling my sister who was concerned for me.  She was real, she was mine, and I wasn't going to let anything stop me  from claiming her.