Attorney-Alpha Privilege

“Forgive me.” Her voice, soft and wary, cut through my daze. “You took me by surprise.”

There was still a storm of sexual energy inside me, like lightning striking every part of me, but this woman was completely calm and unfazed.

And then it hit me. She had no idea who I was to her. She had no idea who she was ~to me~.

She was treating me just as anyone would treat their alpha, avoiding prolonged eye contact and speaking formally.

She had no fucking idea that we were mates.

When an alpha finds his mate, only he can feel it until he tells his partner.

“I apologize,” I said, trying not to grit my teeth, not to ball my hands into fists, not to show any sign of aggression or the desire to take her right there, right then. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

She didn’t respond, as though she was intimidated by what had just transpired between us. There was a lingering wariness in her scent.

She was probably thinking I was going to bite her head off, despite apologizing, which was something I hardly ever did, even under normal circumstances.

My wolf’s instincts were more primal. It didn’t matter that I knew nothing about this woman. My wolf saw her as its mate, and it wanted to claim her.

Reining the wolf in at that moment was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do because it went against all of my natural instincts.

I was drunk on her scent, a scent that was far more potent than before, far more tempting now that I knew who she was to me.

Ironically, it was those same instincts that urged me to take her against all sense that also told me this wasn’t the right time. She was wary of me, maybe even scared of me.

She refused to make direct eye contact, wilting under my intimidating gaze.

I would never, ever hurt her, especially she who was meant to be mine, and if I didn’t want to scare her away, I needed to clear the air. ~Now.~

I willed myself to defuse the tension rolling through my muscles, through my stiffening cock, and released an even breath.

“It’s okay,” I said, unable to look away from the lines of her face, committing them to memory. “Really. I don’t bite…” My eyes went to her neck, where her pulse stuttered. “Most of the time.”

She turned her head slightly, her eyes slowly trailing up my body until they chanced a glance just below eye level, as if she couldn’t bring herself to lock our eyes again.

I wondered if I’d landed myself a submissive she-wolf; she was being so careful, and for some reason, it made a long-lost spark of wickedness light up inside me.

Approaching her, I grinned, flirting with my lips. “Next time you draw me, come closer.”

“Oh…okay,” she stammered.

My wolf growled inside, baring its teeth. We had agreed on stalking rather than pouncing since it was a bad idea to make a move this soon.

She was too flustered, too anxious, probably her submissive wolf urging her to stay down, to lower her head and expose her belly, to admit defeat.

I didn’t want a defeated mate. I didn’t want my mate to be scared of me. The only way I would have my mate act submissively was when we were in bed, and I would make sure she would not be wary of me then.

As much as every part of me wanted to blurt out that we were mates, to stay and breathe in her scent, to feel her touch, to ~bite~ her neck—instead, I did the right thing, the honorable thing.

I walked away without another word, leaving the setting sun behind me and heading back into the darkness.

***

Name: Sienna Mercer

Age: 19

Breed: Werewolf, female

Family: Melissa and Peter Mercer, adoptive; Selene Mercer, sister, adoptive; Biological parents unknown

Dominance: Unranked

Sitting in my study back home, I stared at the very few details I had about my mate and grimaced.

If it wasn’t for my lawyer, Jeremy, who happened to be mated to Sienna’s sister, I probably wouldn’t even have had that much.

It had been eating at me since I’d come back home from the river. Once I was out of scenting distance, all of my primal instincts grew quiet, reserved.

Wolf and man were both in agreement: we had to take it slow, whether she was submissive or not.

~I’m not going to fuck this up. I don’t want to risk pushing her away.~

No woman would appreciate an advance from a man she hardly knew, Alpha or not. Courting existed for a reason.

However, with the mating season drawing closer, I knew that when the Haze had started in earnest, it would make courtship much easier.

I might not even need to work very hard; all werewolves lost their wits and gave in to their impulses when it came to the Haze. I could at least count on that.

~But what if she finds a partner for the season?~

That would create a mess…literally. Because someone would be cleaning his carcass off the sidewalk.

She was my mate. ~Mine.~ No one else was going to touch a hair on her head if I had a say in it, and as the alpha, I had a fucking lot to say.

Sitting idly by as my mate took another man to her bed was not an option. But neither was pushing her to mate before she was ready.

~I’ll have to tread very carefully…~

Once a werewolf found their mate, they would be mated for life. One could not live without the other. When one died, the other would soon follow.

That was the absolute truth, the beauty and horror of having a mate, and no one was excluded from that rule.

~Not even alphas.~

~Not even Aaron.~

When my older brother had met his mate, Jen, a beautiful human woman, I had looked up to them as my ideal of a mated couple.

They’d completed one another, you could only look at them with envy, wishing you could have something even half as special.

And I’d wished that for myself. I’d wished to find a mate that completed me as much as Jen did Aaron.

But then Jen died, and as nature commanded, Aaron soon followed. So quickly, both were gone, the ultimate mated couple—and with them my hopes and dreams of finding my mate came to a screeching halt.

I’d suppressed my desire for a mate by distracting myself with meaningless sex.

I wouldn’t let myself find a true connection, not if it meant having to watch someone else I loved die, or worse, putting someone else through that nightmare.

It wasn’t just the death that scared me, though.

It was me.

I wasn’t sure I had what it took to be a mate.

With everything I thought I knew about what made a perfect mate fading away after Aaron died, what did I have left? Just shattered illusions.

And being my mate would be no easy role either. An alpha’s mate should be strong, capable, and able to stand her ground. I needed someone who could be at my side, be my equal.

I’d never imagined myself with someone submissive. I had a healthy respect for submissive wolves, but I needed someone who could help me rein in my worst impulses.

Maybe it was crazy expecting a mate who could go toe-to-toe with an alpha, but sometimes even I needed to be put in my place. Was Sienna someone who could handle that?

She was only nineteen. ~Nineteen~.

She was ten years my junior, barely out of high school. Did that make me a cradle-robber? ~Shit, I hope not.~

In my last relationship with Jocelyn, she had been, unquestionably, the mature one. Nineteen-year-olds were still figuring out their identities, learning by making mistakes.

I wasn’t known for my patience, but I’d have to find some fast if I was going to make this work.

In werewolf terms, it wouldn’t be that uncommon to date, or mate, with someone that much younger, but it was frowned upon, especially when the alpha was involved in said relationship.

I didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought. But I had to give a fuck about her. She was my mate. I couldn’t rob her of her freedom so early.

Mating was for life, and while she might want a mate like everyone else, she was also a she-wolf in the prime of her life.

Would she really be ready for a lifelong commitment so fast? I knew I wouldn’t have been.

And if that was the case, how the hell was I going to make this work?

The Haze was easing its way through every inch of my mind and body. The season would be nearly unbearable if I didn’t get on the same page with her fast.

But sex, while very much on my mind, took a back seat for the moment. There were a hundred other hurdles I’d have to overcome before I got to that one.

It was starting to get late, and the Haze had probably swept up every member of my pack by now.

But I had to speak to someone about all this. Someone who would be sworn to absolute secrecy, not just by their word, but by the nature of their very job.

My lawyer, who was also my new mate’s brother-in-law. He was the only person who could give me the insight I needed.

I dialed Jeremy’s number. He answered immediately. “Yes, Alpha?”

“Meet me in my office,” I said. “Something urgent has come up, and I need to talk to you.”

There was a short pause before he said, “Aiden, it’s late, and it’s the weekend. I’m with my mate at her family’s house.”

~Sienna is probably there.~

I couldn’t help but think about how she might’ve reacted when the Haze hit. The tingling she’d feel throughout her body. The intense desire she’d feel for her mate…for me.

“This can’t wait,” I replied, knowing I was being cruel. It might’ve been the first day of the Haze, but if I was to get a handle on Sienna Mercer, I needed an insider.

My lawyer and adviser let out a deep sigh and said, “I’m on my way.”

***

Jeremy met me in my office a short while later, clearly anxious to get back to his mate. I couldn’t blame him.

Now that I’d found my mate, I could sense the Haze again, and it was sending my sex drive through the roof.

“This won’t take long,” I said. “You’ll be back in Selene’s arms soon enough. And speaking of which, I’m formally inviting you and your mate’s family to the pack house in a few days for a party.”

The party wasn’t my idea; Josh had been planning it for the past week as a way to push more women on me in an effort to get me to pick a partner. He was planning on inviting mostly unmated she-wolves.

Well, I’d finally found my mate, though I wouldn’t be telling him that. And now this pointless party could actually be of some use.

But I’d be the one making the guest list.

“Really, you’re inviting me and the Mercers?” Jeremy asked, frowning in confusion. “I thought these parties at the start of the Haze were usually…”

“This isn’t a fucking orgy, Jeremy, if that’s what you’re implying,” I said. “This is a classy dinner, and I want to get to know some of the families in my pack, including yours.”

I tried to keep my voice devoid of emotion, and I put on my best poker face, but Jeremy wasn’t my lawyer because he was stupid.

“And why are you interested in Selene’s family?” he asked.

~Danger. Tread cautiously. ~

“Because it’s been a while since I saw your gorgeous mate,” I said, lips twitching despite myself when Jeremy’s face darkened. “Seriously, Jeremy, do I need an excuse to invite your mate’s family?”

“This just all seems a little last minute,” Jeremy murmured, unconvinced.

“It’s not a big deal,” I said, changing tactics. “You’ve gone above and beyond for the pack and me the past few months.

“The whole tension with that Canadian pack? I wouldn’t have managed to solve it without you. Think of it as a way to give you a night off duty to enjoy yourself.”

Despite my attempt at distracting him from my true motives, Jeremy was no fool. He stared at me for a few long moments before he said, “Is this about the mating season?”

My entire body froze. Was the jig up already?

I was good at navigating politics; my grandfather had drilled into me everything I needed to know about how to play these games.

But Jeremy had been with me almost as long as Josh, and he saw through everything.

He changed his expression into a careful neutrality before he said, “If it’s what I think it is, I don’t know if it’s such a good idea.”

My wolf growled softly in my chest at the thought of someone standing in the way of what it wanted. “Stop dancing around it and just say what you’re thinking, Jeremy.”

He sighed. “I know Sienna is unmated, but she’s only nineteen, Aiden. Are you sure you want to take her as your partner for the season? There’re so many other women in the pack.”

My body untensed, and I leaned back against my chair. So, he’d figured it out, but not ~all~ of it. He just thought I had a passing interest in his mate’s sister, not that she was ~my~ mate.

Jeremy was my lawyer for a reason—he was damn good at his job—but I couldn’t trust anyone with the knowledge that I’d found my mate. Not yet.

“Don’t tell anyone about this,” I said, a low growl in my voice so he’d know I was serious. “Yes, Sienna has piqued my interest, and that’s all you need to know.”

“This is going to make my life hell with Selene,” he said, shaking his head. “I hope you know that. And Sienna is ~my~ family now too. I look out for my family, Alpha.”

There was an undeniable tension in his tone. He was being protective of Sienna, and I respected that, even though it bordered on insubordination.

“None of this leaves my office,” I said, staring Jeremy down. “You don’t speak about it to anyone. Not even to your mate. ~Especially~ not to her.”

He nodded, sighing. “I figured as much,” he said, rising back to his feet. “If that’s all, Alpha, then I’ll take my leave.”

“You do that,” I said, giving him a smirk. “And keep an eye out for the invitation in the mail.”

Jeremy just shook his head while he walked away, muttering, “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into with Sienna, Alpha. But you’ll soon find out.”