Rikae didn't just enter a room; he commanded it. As the Lead Beta of the Silver-Claw Pack, he was the glue holding their territory together. While the Alphas spent their time posturing and snarling, Rikae was the one balancing the ledgers, optimizing the border patrols, and out-lifting every Enforcer in the gym.
He was the "Gold Standard." Broad-shouldered, with eyes the color of polished flint and a jawline that could cut glass, he was the man every she-wolf wanted and every male feared to challenge.
"Rikae, the North-East sensors are recalibrated," his assistant, a young Omega named Jax, stammered. He couldn't help but stare at Rikae's forearm, where the veins corded under tanned skin as he signed off on the morning reports.
"Good. Check the salt-licks on the perimeter next," Rikae replied, his voice a low, resonant rumble. "And tell the scouts if they miss another shift, they're answerable to me in the pits."
Jax nodded quickly and scrambled away. Rikae sighed, leaning back in his leather chair. His life was a masterpiece of discipline. He didn't drink, he didn't smoke, and he didn't "mate-hop." At twenty-three, he was the most eligible bachelor in the three-state region, but he was waiting.
He was a man of logic, but his wolf was a creature of destiny.
"Still holding out for a ghost?" A voice drawled from the doorway.
It was Silas, the Alpha. He leaned against the frame, watching his Beta with a mix of pride and pity. "The Moon-Glow summit is tomorrow, Rikae. Every eligible female from four packs will be there. If you don't find your 'fated one' there, I'm appointing you a partner. The pack needs a Beta-Female, and you need to blow off some steam."
Rikae didn't even look up from his tablet. "My steam is managed in the training room, Silas. I don't settle for 'partners.' I want the soul the Moon gave me."
"And if she's not there?"
Rikae finally looked up, his flint-grey eyes flashing with a hint of gold. "Then I keep waiting. I'm a Beta; I have the patience of a mountain."
He didn't know that his patience was about to be incinerated. He didn't know that in less than twenty-four hours, his "perfectly managed" world would collide with a girl named Lisra—and the scent of jasmine and rain that would change everything.