The Contrary Mate

I was only home for a few minutes when my guests finally arrived. I'd met my business partner's mate a few months ago at a conference we spoke at, but neither of them had ever been to my new home. Vander was looking around with a half-amused smile on his face. His pretty mate Kylie was looking around with wide green eyes.

Another young woman from the Lightwood pack had come with them. According to Kylie she was twenty-one and was going to help babysit, but was actually just hoping to find her mate if she tagged along with them. She was cute with her blond hair pulled back into a ponytail and was carrying my friend's infant on her hip with an expression similar to Kylie's as she took in the room.

I let my gaze linger over her for a long moment, but my wolf was completely disinterested. I mentally shook off my disappointment and turned my focus back to my friend's words.

"Seems a step up from the garage," Vander commented. I just laughed at his wry expression since it felt like old times. He had retreated after my sister's death—everyone had mourned her greatly—and it was good to see Kylie bringing him out of the misery he had sunk into.

"Your home is beautiful," she said, still sweeping her eyes over the wide staircase, the fancy light fixtures, and decorative features.

"I can't take much credit. Lenora hired me a decorator after I bought the place. I just pointed to the simplest options she presented."

"Well, I still feel totally out of place," she commented, glancing at Vander. "Could I maybe skip tonight?"

Vander wrapped his arm around her. It was touching, although my wolf felt another pang that we hadn't found her yet.

"You don't have to worry, Kylie. You'll look great and will fit right in," I promised her.

Vander shot me a teasing jealous expression before speaking to his mate. "He is right, you'll outshine them all. And I'd hate to miss the chance to see you dressed up, I've been looking forward to it for so long. And it'll be a night off from Nadia..."

She smiled at him. "Well, you do sell it pretty well."

I winked at her. "And I'll be there, too, and so will Lenora. You haven't met my secretary yet, but I promise you that she's a force to be reckoned with. If anyone dares snub my friends in her presence, I pity them."

Vander nodded solemnly. "Lenora is a force of nature."

She smiled at me and then shot Vander an affectionate expression that stabbed so sweetly. She had been nervous the first time she met me, clearly worried that I would hate her as if she were replacing Darlene. She had no need to. How could I hold her bond with Vander against her, when Darlene would have smacked me upside the head for it? She wouldn't have wanted to watch Vander sink into despair, and if his second chance pulled him out, she would have welcomed it.

Vander had blamed himself for Darlene's death, but it hadn't been his fault any more than anyone else's. It was a horrible tragic accident that no one could have predicted, and if he had been there he would have as likely died as my sister. Of course I wished Darlene hadn't died, but there was no magic or technology that could turn back time.

Fred showed up, reminding me that we had places to be. "But first, Fredrick will show your rooms." They followed him as he took them off to the guest rooms.

Fred was another wolf from my pack and had been playing the butler for me for months now, and he was doing a good job of it. I found the formality he now insisted on jarring—I'd known him as Fred since we were kids—but since he had agreed to do the job, I left it to him how he would go about it. All my staff were pack wolves other than a few vampires in security. Having no mundane humans on the premises made keeping our natures secret from humans that much easier. It wasn't that I had a problem with humans, I just didn't want myself and my pack mates to have to be constantly on guard when we were at home.

That's not to say I never had humans around. There were good reasons for their presence from time to time, but everyone stayed on guard when they were and the pack parts of my home were well hidden away from prying mundane eyes.

There were also a lot of human employees at Meteor, but there was a strong no abilities while on the premises policy in effect for the werewolves and vampires who worked for me. It wasn't hard to enforce because everyone knew better, but things sometimes got a little bumpy around the full moon.

Such were the struggles of urban wolves, but I enjoyed the challenge.

I made my own way back to my private suites, and I got myself ready for the gala. I'd been to enough of these that I wasn't excited, but my wolf perked up at the idea of possibly meeting new people. It was another chance to find that elusive one for whom he had been searching so long. I tried to keep him from getting too excited since the majority of attendees would probably be the exact same people we usually saw at these things, a mass of humans, a few werewolves and vampires, and occasionally an eccentric fae, but not a single one of them our mate.

He wasn't my logical half though, and I couldn't stop my mind from thinking, but what if? What if this was the time that she'd be there, beautiful from behind in an elegant gown, and she would turn, and our eyes would meet...

I brushed aside the thoughts. Fortunately, no one would ever know how bad I was deep down because I was never going to admit it. I had a reputation that I enjoyed and intended to preserve. If I couldn't have my mate I could at least have that.

Ready, I met Vander and Kylie in the foyer. Vander looked like he always did, just slightly more formal, and Kylie looked stunning in a blue dress that hugged her chest and waist and swept down over her hips, although I was wise enough not to comment on her appearance considering Vander's mildly possessive stance. We both knew that I would never in a million years threaten his claim on her, but wolves would defend their territory fiercely if they felt threatened. Like my alpha had always maintained, a huge part of controlling our own wolves was being mindful of the sensitivities of other wolves and not overstepping.

Lenora had joined us, as well. She was my go to date for these sorts of functions, although it was never anything but platonic. Her straight black hair cascaded down her shoulders instead of in its usual tight knot, and she was wearing a modestly cut red dress that still managed to look wicked on her curves. I'd be on the receiving end of a lot of envy tonight, and even the thought amused me as always. I nodded to my guests and my secretary. "Shall we go?" I suggested, and we headed out to the limo.

Vander stayed glued to Kylie in the vehicle and I grinned at him. I wished we had a pack link to use to speak to each other because then I could try to reassure him without drawing attention to his quiet possessiveness, but it was impossible since we were in different packs. Still, I nodded at him reassuringly. Kylie's hands were fidgeting excitedly on the strap of her purse.

Lenora gave Kylie a tight smile, but she meant it to be comforting and I hoped Kylie could tell. "Don't worry, they're rich snobs, but they're too stuck up to bite. And even if they tried, our jaws are stronger." She snapped her teeth.

I laughed at her assessment along with Kylie. They weren't all that bad, but a few were.

"It's not really that, at least not just. I'm also excited. And it's also the first time we're leaving Nadia alone in a strange place. I trust Lys, of course, but...it's still hard."

Her fear was not surprising. Kylie had gone through so much. I was glad I had helped Vander rescue her when she ended up back in her mate's clutches, and would do it again a hundred times. If—when—I found my mate, Vander would have my back just as much as I had his. My sister might be gone and Vander might have stepped back from active involvement in our company, but he would always be my brother.

"I promise you, she's safer than we are. My home is always guarded and the security tech is the best." I winked.

She nodded. "I understand, but my wolf is uneasy..."

"I'll ask them to double up security for tonight," I assured her, and sent my head of security a text. It didn't hurt to be a bit more prepared if that helped put her at ease. She thanked me, although she really didn't need to.

By the time we arrived, Kylie seemed a bit more relaxed. I walked into the slightly ostentatious building with Lenora on my arm. There had been much whispered speculation about the nature of our relationship over the last few years, although no one ever dared ask us directly.

I didn't blame them, because we did make a striking pair. Only an inch shorter than me in her heels, her hair was a dark as my own, although her crystal blue eyes were bright compared to my brown. We smiled as we walked inside, never touching, but ambiguously close as the comfortable companions we were. Vander and Kylie were at our heels, both so silent I could only imagine that they were speaking with each other through their link.

Again, their closeness provoked an enviousness I preferred to ignore.

My wolf perked up hopefully in response as we pulled up at the venue. Maybe tonight would be the night.

Although I'd made that wish a million times before, and it had never been true.

But still, maybe tonight.