"I'm telling you, you have to do something about this! Here we are, the whole pack in danger and you're going out with some bitch? Your father would be ashamed of you!"
Brian let out a howl as he lunged for Jensen Hatcher, the man who had just insulted his mate.
"Never again," he growled.
Jensen's gaze lowered slightly, "Yes, my Alpha." He nearly snarled the words, his disgust barely held in check.
"I am your Alpha. If you have a problem with that, you can challenge me anytime you wish. But do not ever speak of my mate in such a way. Ever."
"Yes, Alpha. My apologies."
Brian knew that this wasn't completely over with Jensen, but still he wondered if he should postpone his date with Annabell just a few days more. His wolf growled at that. No, boy, I won't do that to you. It was just a thought. He chuckled softly, irritating his wolf. There was no way he was going to wait to see Annabelle any longer than he had to. He watched as Jensen left, wondering how long it would be before he caused trouble again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Annabelle stepped into the relaxed atmosphere of the restaurant, her eyes quickly finding Brian in a corner near a window. Slowly she made her way toward him, smiling when he realized she was there and turned away from the window.
"A penny for your thoughts."
"I was just thinking how lucky I am to be on a date with such a beautiful woman." He stood and pulled out her chair for her.
"Well since the 'beautiful woman' just arrived, I'd say your full of it. And does that line actually work?"
Brian chuckled. She was perfect. "I just had a rough day at work, and was still thinking over some problems that need to be worked out." With that, he turned his attention to making sure his mate had the perfect evening.
After dessert, Annabelle had suggested that they take a walk, so they left the restaurant and began strolling through the town square. Brian felt a thrill run through him when Annabelle had not protested to him holding her hand. If he could end every day like this, life would be perfect. All too soon, though, the night came to an end. They made a lunch date for the next day as they made their way back to the parking lot.
Annabelle sighed contentedly as she started her car and pulled into traffic. It had been the most wonderful night. Temporarily, she had been able to forget how weary she was. She had even pushed her assignment to the back of her mind for a few hours.
She pulled into her driveway, then hurried up to her front door to tear open the note taped to it. Damn it! Can't they go one night without reminding her? She ripped the paper a couple times then let it flutter to the ground. Unlocking the door, she slammed it closed behind her. They just had to go and ruin her evening, didn't they? The first normal evening she'd had in almost two years and they had to ruin it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brian watched as Annabelle sagged against her front door, then ripped the note to pieces. Okay, so maybe following her home after their date was sort of stalking, but he just needed to be sure she got their safely. Yeah right, he told himself. You just wanted to know where she lived. He made his way silently up to her porch and gathered the pieces of the note, slipping them into his pocket.
Once home, he began piecing the note back together and froze when he read what it wrote. 'Remember your incentives. Do your job and everyone will be fine.' It seemed like a veiled threat, but what really shocked him was the symbol in the bottom right-hand corner of the paper. It was the Cimmerian royal seal.
Nothing sanctioned by Cimmerian royals should be taken lightly. Using any kind of magic was considered taboo, even in a Were community. Cimmerian magic was the darkest of all. Legends told of a time when weres, vampires, wizards, and witches had all co-existed together, until a royal family of witches separated themselves from their circle and started a war.
During that war, it had been discovered that ancient, dark magic could affect both werewolves and vampires, giving wizards and witches an advantage they'd never had before. It had been a bloodbath. Unknown prejudices were revealed as more and more leaders from each group fell, causing a loss of control on their people. And the original offending family, the Cimmerians, had begun to build what would one day be the largest witches coven in the world. If Annabelle was somehow mixed up with that, it could mean war all over again.
But she couldn't be, could she? She was his mate. He needed to be able to look objectively at the situation, but couldn't bring himself to make the calls to the other members of the Alpha Directorate. They would most certainly put out the order for her to be brought in. Brian couldn't let that happen. Maybe he could unobtrusively gather a little more information while getting to know her. Then he could take it to the Directorate. It wasn't the best plan he'd ever made, but it had to work.
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