Seducing Serenity

Chapter 4

Gabriel

I had to admit I was shocked when she made me wait for an answer on the job offer. After I got over myself, I realized I should be impressed that she cared enough about her current boss to talk to him first. A ripple of jealousy went through me as I thought of her caring about the feelings of another man. I couldn't get her out of my head, and it was driving me crazy. I needed to see her again, but I could hardly just show up on her doorstep.

I'd told Lucas about her, and while he was happy that I'd finally found her, he didn't understand why I just didn't claim her then and there. I'd wanted to, but she was human and probably didn't even know werewolves existed. I could tell by her body's reaction to me that she felt something, but I could also tell she had no clue what it was. I would have to take things slow with her, and it wasn't going to be easy. It took everything in my power not to take her right there on my desk.

I was confused as to why I'd been mated with a human, but I'd waited this long to find her, and I wasn't going to waste more time. I was almost thirty and my parents had just about lost their patience with me. As beta of my pack, it wasn't as important that I have a mate as it would've been if I was the alpha, but they wanted grandkids, and they never let me forget it. They'd been trying to match me up with every eligible female within a 50-mile radius, but I was determined to wait. Not that I hadn't engaged in a few relationships here and there, but I'd never let them get serious. I just had to hope Serenity would come around. I didn't want to force her.

What would I do if she didn't come around? What if she had a boyfriend? The thought had my blood boiling and my wolf Cain growling in my head. She couldn't feel the mate bond like I could, and I wasn't sure if she ever would. I didn't know anyone in our pack that had ever been mated to a human, but I knew it was a possibility from things I'd read. I'd search out information on the situation and see what I could do. Even if I marked and claimed her, would she consider herself mine? I was surprised that Cain was on board with claiming Serenity as our mate since she had no wolf, but he was insistent that we claim her. He hadn't let me stop thinking about her and had put plenty of images in my head of all the things he wanted to do with her. All of them included stripping her of her clothing and seeing what kinds of noises we could get her to make with just our tongue. I could almost taste her and feel her quiver, hear her moans as I took her over the edge again and again. I shook my head and told Cain to knock it off before I had to take a cold shower. The dream I had the night before had been bad enough. It had been so intense that I woke up and had to change my shorts. That hadn't happened since I was a teenager. How the heck was I going to look her in the eyes on Monday? How was I going to keep my hands off her? I sighed and decided to call it a day. It seemed like everyone else had already left and the office was quiet.

I was about to leave when my Uncle Bernard stopped by my office. I should've known he'd still be around. He was the alpha of the pack, and owned Kingston Enterprises. His son, Leo, had decided to go off on his own and had a law firm in town. My father had been Bernard's beta until his retirement five years ago, and I took over. My uncle was more than ready to step down and retire, but Leo was only twenty and wasn't ready to take over. I was somewhat worried he never would be, but I never said it out loud to anyone but Lucas.

"I hear you finally found your mate," he said, "congratulations! When do we get to meet her?"

"It may be a while." I replied. "There's a complication since she's human and has no idea about us, and mates. I don't want to send her running for the hills."

"How do you feel about being mated to a human? You don't have to accept her, you know." He sounded concerned.

"If that's what the Moon Goddess planned for me, then I'm willing to give it a shot. Have you heard about any relationships between wolves and humans?" I asked, hoping he'd have good news, or at least some advice.

He nodded. "I had a friend from another pack who was mated with a human. It took a while for them to work out the differences between them, but they were happy. Some of the other pack members never accepted her though, and their children faced some challenges."

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "I have to give it a try. I'll give some thought on the best way to do it."

Well, don't wait too long..." he started, and I cut him off.

"I know, I know! My parents aren't getting any younger."

He laughed and said, "Seems you've heard that before. I'm off to the lake house with your aunt and cousins. Are you joining us this time?"

I frowned and thought about it. Maybe getting out of town would do me good. It would certainly keep me from searching out Serenity. "You know what? I think I will. I'll meet you out there later."

"Perfect. We'll have dinner and your room ready." He turned and left my office.

I started getting everything packed up and decided to grab my laptop. I'd do some research on Serenity while I had some free time over the weekend. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't stalking, just trying to make sure there were no surprises. I also needed it to do research on humans mated to wolves. It still felt like stalking, but I figured it was better than hunting her down and marking her. Monday couldn't come soon enough, and I had a feeling it was going to seem like forever.