Chapter 474

Nathan

Olivia’s pink breasts, covered in soap bubbles, stared up at me from my phone screen.

Instantly, I felt a stirring in my groin as I looked at it. God, I wanted to be home with her. But at the same time, this little experiment of hers… it was intriguing. Maybe traveling for work wouldn’t be so bad if we sent each other some pictures in the meantime…

But before I could pull up my camera app to snap a picture of my own to send back, there was an abrupt knock on the bathroom door.

“Someone in there?” a voice on the other side asked.

I sighed and quickly sent Olivia all I could manage—a smiley face emoji—before I shoved my phone back into my pocket and swung the door open.

“All yours,” I said, stepping out of the way. The gruff Alpha standing in front of me, smelling of cigar smoke with that particular red look in his eyes that practically screamed ‘too much scotch’, brushed past me with nothing more than a grunt.

Shaking my head, I returned to the main room where the other Alphas were gathered. Dan was seated in the center of the room, gesturing wildly as he told yet another one of his stories.

“So there I was, staring down the barrel of my shotgun at the biggest goddamn boar I’ve ever bloody seen,” he said, the amber liquid in his glass sloshing slightly as he gestured. “The beast stamped its giant feet and snorted. I knew I was in for it if I didn’t pull the trigger…”

I had heard this story before, multiple times already: Dan shot and killed the boar.. It now hung above the mantle in his private study. I had seen it firsthand at the dinner party, and it really wasn’t all that much bigger than a regular wild boar. The beast never stood a chance.

The poor thing was probably just scared, too.

Stifling a yawn, I made my way over to the full bar that came along with Dan’s lavish hotel room and poured myself another glass of whiskey. I leaned there for a moment, looking out the back patio doors at the darkened sky outside as I swirled the liquor around in my glass.

We were staying in the city; not a bad place to visit, I figured. Under normal circumstances, maybe I would have even enjoyed it.

But it was a bit difficult to do that when my entire day and night was completely, utterly monopolized by the Alpha association.

The meetings were one thing, but this? I got tired of it on the first night.

“At least we’re going home tomorrow,” I thought to my wolf as I sipped my whiskey. “I miss Olivia. And the twins.”

My wolf growled in agreement. “Hopefully these old coots don’t force you to stay for another ‘gathering’ after tomorrow morning’s meeting.”

I almost laughed. I hoped not, too; but tomorrow’s only meeting was first thing in the morning, with the city’s chamber of commerce. Surely the other Alphas would all be itching to get home after that as well, and we could all go our separate ways.

I only hoped that it would be a good, long while before another one of these multi-day affairs.

As I stood there, looking out over the city lights, thoughts of Olivia floated back into my mind: her soft nipples peeking out above the water, the way her lips were pushed out in a delicate pout. She was so gorgeous.

Chancing a glance over my shoulder, I carefully slipped my phone out of my pocket when I saw that no one was looking.

“Just another peek,” I thought as I opened the picture.

I couldn’t help but smirk a little as Olivia’s breasts stared back up at me. Soon. And I had plans already for Valentine’s Day; after all, I had to make up for this business trip somehow. I was going to take her somewhere really nice, and then…

“Busy, Ford?”

A sudden voice and a large hand on my shoulder caused me to jump, instinctively shutting off my phone screen in a split second.

“Alpha Dan,” I said, whirling around. “I—”

Dan just smirked down at me. “No shame in it, boy,” he said. “These business trips get lonely.”

I swallowed as I put my phone back in my pocket and let out a slight chuckle. “Uh, yeah,” I admitted, rubbing my hand along the back of my neck. “It seems so.”

Dan sighed and nodded his head toward the patio doors, indicating for me to follow. I did, and a moment later, we stepped out into the cool night air. The sounds of the city filled my ears—so different from the sounds of the ocean and the birds back home. It was nice to visit, but I could never live here. It was too rowdy; too many sirens, too many people, too many car horns blaring.

Dan and I leaned on the balcony railing with our glasses in hand. We were silent for a moment, both sipping our drinks, before I felt the need to fill the silence.

“Are you looking forward to going home tomorrow?” I asked.

He shot me an amused look. “Why would I?”

I furrowed my brow. “Well, your wife—”

“Oh, her?” Dan chuckled. “Yes, I suppose time apart isn’t ideal. But I don’t need to see my wife constantly, Ford. I’m an Alpha; if my desires controlled me, I would never get anything done.”

“I see,” I managed around the knot in my throat.

“You’re still in the coveted honeymoon phase,” Dan continued coolly. “So I’ll give you some leeway. But Nathan, you must focus. Olivia cannot be your entire world.”

His words made me bristle. Of course Olivia was my entire world; she was my wife. My fated mate. The mother of my children. I opened my mouth to retort, but Dan raised his hand to stop me.

“I know what you’re going to say,” he continued as though reading my mind. “She’s your mate, and I understand that. But Nathan, you swore up and down that your seat on the association was of utmost importance to you.”

“I only want what’s best for my pack,” I said, maybe a bit more boldly than I intended. “I’d like to make that clear.”

“Very well.” Dan took another sip of his whiskey. “A noble cause. But if you want what’s best for your pack, then your wife should understand. She shouldn’t be sending you videos and…” His eyes glanced toward the pocket where my phone was held. “...Pictures.”

There was another pause. I took a heavy swig of my whiskey; it made my head foggy, smoothing out some of my tension.

“We were torn apart for a decade,” I admitted. “So the thought of being away from her, even for just a few days…”

“Tell me, Nathan.” Finally, Dan turned to face me. “During those ten years, how many women did you bed?”

My face instantly flushed, and not only because of the alcohol. “I—” I swallowed, realizing from the look on Dan’s face that I had no choice but to answer. “A few,” I finally answered vaguely.

Dan chuckled. “A few,” he echoed. “Hardly enough to gain enough experience. You’re an Alpha, Nathan. And you’re telling me that you’re so caught up on one girl that you only bedded a few women over the course of ten years?”

My mouth opened, but no words came out. It didn’t matter, though, because Dan continued.

“Here,” he said. “Let me make you an offer: I’ve got some nice girls to set you up with. Good in bed, and I’ll cover the cost. It’ll offer you a release, you know. So you can focus on your duties.”

“A release?” I couldn’t believe what he was implying. “I couldn’t… I’m faithful to my wife.”

Dan chuckled again. “You wouldn’t be unfaithful,” he said. “Your heart still would belong to her.”

“But—”

“Just consider it,” Dan interrupted. “You know where to find me if you change your mind. And remember: I’ve got plenty of girls for you to choose from. Have all of them, if you wish.”

With that, Dan turned on his heel, glass of scotch still in hand, and made for the door to head back inside. But I felt a burning question rise to my tongue, and before I could stop it, it spilled out.

“I was under the impression that prostitution was illegal, Dan.”

He froze. I watched his shoulders tense, his hand gripping his glass so tightly I thought it might crack. Something in me stirred, then; something primal. Something almost like fear.

When he finally replied, his voice was low and gravelly, like a growl—or rather, like a warning.

“Watch yourself, youngling,” he said, turning to look at me over his shoulder. He took a few strides toward me, and his hulking form almost seemed to grow in size.

“Perhaps it is not so wise to discuss matters of legality when you stand so close to the edge of a ten-story drop.”