Chapter 2: Chapter 2

SLOAN

Sloan slid his arms into his jacket sleeves, adjusting his collar and cuffs as he mentally reviewed his schedule for the day.

~Morning sex: check.~

He glanced at the satisfied blonde tangled in his bedsheets through the reflection in the mirror.

~Furniture delivery for the den and the office: ongoing.~

He would check on them before leaving for his meetings with surrounding packs and clans in the area.

He’d been the pack alpha for eight months now, since his father had retired at age sixty. Now Sloan was responsible for managing the largest and wealthiest multispecies pack in the Seattle area.

Recently, however, a gang of rogues had banded together and were terrorizing shifters and humans alike.

They’d been leaving a string of mutilated and murdered bodies up and down the coastline, crisscrossing different pack and clan territories.

He scanned over his appearance once again. His muscles bulged under his crisp white shirt, which contrasted with his dark, olive complexion beautifully.

His pants were tailored perfectly over his muscular physique.

He pulled his wavy, black hair into a man bun before brushing his neatly trimmed beard with his hands.

“I’m clearly losing my touch if you’re up and dressed already,” the blonde purred and wrapped her arms around his waist to kiss him between the shoulder blades.

“Trust me, Elizabeth, I’m more than capable of getting back into bed with you, but I have pack duties and work to attend to.” Sloan didn’t even believe his own excuse.

Her gentle caresses, which would have aroused him a mere hour ago, suddenly repulsed him. Even his wolf spirit unexpectedly recoiled at her touch.

“How about I give you something to remember me by until tonight?” she offered, looking up at him and showing off her naked body.

He fought to control his facial expression and calm his gag reflex.

“Sorry, but morning sex was more than enough.” He needed to remove himself from her presence. He was struggling to control his body’s disdain for her advances.

~What’s happening? Elizabeth’s been my girl for the past year and a half, and I’ve never felt like this~. He gently peeled her hands off his body.

His brother Tristan barged into the bedroom. “Sloan! Gallagher’s here. Dad’s overseeing the delivery and installation. Our first clan meeting is on the northern side of the city in thirty minutes.”

Tristan looked up from the schedule on his tablet and saw Elizabeth halfheartedly shielding her naked body behind Sloan.

“Oh, hey Liz.” He picked up her discarded dress and tossed it roughly to her.

Sloan discreetly covered his snort when the dress smacked her in the face. He was a little embarrassed by her being there. She’d been in his bed many times before, but something was off today.

“Anyway, the panther clan was attacked last night. Three dead, as well as a lone jogging human. The council of elders is getting worried, so they pushed their meeting to 11 a.m.”

“Shit!” Sloan snapped. “It’s going to be a long-ass day. Let me check on Gallagher first, and then we can go.” He stopped at the door and added, “Um, Elizabeth, I’m not sure about later.”

As he left the room and closed the door behind him, he whispered, “Or ever.”

“What the hell was that?” Tristan laughed as he ran to catch up with Sloan.

Twenty-eight, Tristan was only a year younger than Sloan, and his complete opposite.

Tristan kept his sandy brown hair short and styled with excessive hair gel, and he was almost six inches shorter than Sloan. Despite his smaller body frame, Tristan was surprisingly strong.

“I don’t know,” Sloan replied. “Must be time for a new bed warmer.”

“About fucking time!” Tristan cheered.

Sloan rolled his eyes at his brother’s reaction as the smell of freshly carved wood filled the foyer.

Some pack members were helping with the moving of furniture, while their father stood by the open front door, directing individuals around.

“Father.”

“Son, I must say your taste has drastically improved,” Theo joked as he pointed to the library. “And Gallagher’s was a wise choice.”

“Mom suggested them. Also, thanks for taking over this task,” Sloan said as they looked at the different pieces being placed together.

The new floor-to-ceiling bookcase, already installed, was being stocked by a woman, while a solid oak desk was being rearranged to sit near the bay windows that overlooked the backyard.

The view out the window was of the cliff drop and the sea.

“We lost three panthers last night,” Sloan stated, turning to his father.

The older Sloan got, the more he agreed that he was a carbon copy of him. Both were identical in height, complexion, and mannerisms, though his father had become more carefree since retiring.

“Shit. This isn’t how I envisioned your first year as alpha, son.”

“Me neither,” Sloan said as they walked back to the foyer.

Sloan sensed Elizabeth’s presence as she slowly descended from the second-floor staircase, but he chose to ignore her. She tried to get his attention but failed.

She huffed in frustration and stormed out of the house. Sloan’s father glanced at his son and smirked.

“We’ll see you at the council meeting in a few hours, Dad. Tristan, Declan, and I are heading over to the panthers’ territory.”

Sloan could feel the questions his father was dying to ask lingering between them, but the sound of a motorbike revving filled the air instead.

“That would be Declan,” Tristan said, stating the obvious, mostly to defuse the tension.

Sloan rolled his eyes and motioned a pack member over.

“Sally, have someone tend to my room. The bed needs to be thoroughly cleaned, and the current sheets can be removed and burned.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Wow, burning sheets? Liz must really be losing her skills,” Tristan teased.

Usually, a comment like that would enrage him, but Sloan simply shrugged.

Theo smiled knowingly and announced, “It’s beginning.”

***

Later that evening, Sloan stood under his shower, letting the cold water cascade down his chiseled body. He tried to forget his strange day, particularly his brief conversation with his father that morning.

~“What do you mean, ‘It’s beginning’?” Sloan had asked his father.~

~“You’ll see.” Theo had just walked away, howling with laughter.~

~All day, I’ve been sexually frustrated, and my wolf was just as uneasy and restless. You’d think sitting in a meeting room filled with pack elders would help curb this surge of sexual hunger.~

~No matter what I do, my hard-on refuses to go away.~

He looked down, and there it was, his immovable erection, hard as a fucking rock.

~Maybe I should call Eliz—~

But before he could finish the thought, his wolf grunted in dissatisfaction and disgust. His cock deflated, but only for a moment.

“What do you want from me?” he growled, punching the shower wall in frustration. His knuckles bled a little before the healing process stopped it.

He rinsed the blood off his hand and gazed at the red bruises before they disappeared.

“WHAT?!” he called out angrily as someone briefly tapped on his bathroom door.

“Get dressed, princess. We’re going clubbing,” Tristan called from the bedroom.

“Yes, my queen!” he replied, switching off the water.

~Random pussy. Just what I need~.

Once again, his wolf shuddered in disgust at the thought.

~Shut the fuck up. Do you have a better idea?~

Forty-five minutes later, Sloan met up with Tristan and Declan in the foyer. They were all dressed in designer suits. Sloan’s was dark gray, with a white button-down shirt open at the neck.

Tristan opted for a brown suit and a French blue button-down shirt. Declan was in his usual all-black.

Declan was issuing orders to a group of pack members, all shifters of different species. Each was tasked with protecting the territory’s perimeter tonight. They were to report anything suspicious.

“Dismissed,” he said, ushering them away.

The group saluted him and broke off into pairs as they left the house.

“Where’s your cockblocker?” Declan asked sweetly.

“Not coming.” Sloan shrugged as he used the entryway mirror to tie his hair up into a messy man bun. Tristan threw his arm over his brother’s shoulder.

“He’s finally seen the light, and has returned to the other side.”

“About bloody time. First round is on me.” Declan smirked.

“I know you all didn’t like her, but you don’t need to be so damn happy about it.”

Declan carried on like Sloan hadn’t just spoken. “Fucking ecstatic! That wolf’s as toxic as the fallout at Chernobyl.

“I’m just glad you’re finally free of her poison, and I hope you’ve officially welcomed back your balls.”

“Fuck off.”

“Let the hunt begin,” Tristan cheered.