⚠️ ⚠️18+ smut warning/suggestive themes through the entire story⚠️ ⚠️

.

.

.

.

.

✨️Song- somebody else by Rico Love✨️

                         Derek's POV

The wrench fell from his hand as he aggressively worked it against a stubborn bolt. The sound of metal colliding with the concrete of the shop floor had the older wolf wincing slightly.

"Shit." He growled, grabbing the wrench off the floor and standing to roll his shoulders slightly. When a car was giving him problems, it was best he took a walk to cool off before he bent a rim or popped a tire with his claws. One thing about Derek, his anger always got the best of him, but over the course of the last year; after finding a new anchor and destined mate in Alan Deatons daughter, he was able to control it so much better. Granted, he wasn't in a relationship with her, she was barely 18, and he was stuck in a situationship with Paige, the two have been together since high school 10 years ago, and the two of them now had a 5 year old son named Eli, which made it even harder to walk away.

Derek walked over to his toolbox and placed the wrench in the drawer. He grabbed the grease rag and wiped his hands clean before walking into the waiting area of the shop to talk to Malia and Dominick. Dominick could tell almost immediately that Derek was annoyed and he couldn't help but smirk. Leave it to Derek's little brother to talk shit to annoy him further.

Before Dominick could even open his mouth to speak, Derek beat him to it.

"Don't start with me, Dom. I'll rip your throat out, eat it, then shit it out." He snarled, and Malia cackled at that, looking up from her phone to flash her cousins a toothy grin.

"Rude." Dominick mumbled and scowled a bit at Malia for laughing. It wasn't unusual for the trio to banter like this, but it was unusual for Derek to give up so quickly on a car.

"Want me to take over, bro? Clearly, your mind is elsewhere." Dominick pointed out, and with a heavy sigh and little to no hesitation, Derek nodded. It was true. His mind was elsewhere. He kept thinking of his mate. His anchor. She's clouded his thoughts and judgment for weeks now and he knows it's because she was approaching her 18th birthday and when that day comes, the mate bond will be so strong he probably won't be able to control himself, and even better? She'll finally feel it, too. The spark that has his heart calling her name. The spark that has him weak every time he lays eyes on her. She was the most stunning woman he's ever laid eyes on, and he was certain he would feel that way even without the mate bond. Her personality was even sweeter;  everyone who knows her loves her. It annoys Derek because he has competitions, but he knows that mate bond will be in his favor.

"Don't worry, bro, I'll get it done." Dominick added on, pulling Derek from his thoughts of Sundina. Derek nodded and silently thanked his brother before walking into his office, closing the door, and sitting down at his desk. He opened his drawer and pulled his phone from it, and started scrolling through Facebook. He didn't have anything but Facebook as far as social media goes, but the only reason he had it was because Paige kept pestering him about it and explained how it was a great way to keep up with the times and old friends and blah fucking blah. Derek hated it, but once he found Sundinas profile, he got used to the idea of keeping it around longer than he anticipated.

Speaking of Sundina, he smirked at the screen when he saw she posted a new selfie. God, she was stunning. How on earth did he get blessed by Luna this much? He wasn't a bad looking guy at all, but every single time he looks at this woman, he feels like he's been struck by Aphrodite herself. Gaia, even. Fuck every fucking goddess there was. He casually liked the photo, but he didn't react with hearts or anything inappropriate. He had to keep it together for the next couple of weeks.

                                 ~•~

Derek made it home an hour after his shift ended. He stayed behind to clean the shop and help Dom with paperwork, especially because Malia never stayed past her shift. As he walked through the threshold of his domain, he smelled Paige's famous chicken tortilla soup; He couldn't lie. It made him smile. It's not like he didn't love Paige. Of course, he loved her. He just wasn't in love with her anymore. He hasn't been in love with her for years now. It has nothing to do with him finding his mate. She was the mother of his firstborn son, though, so he'd always have a special place for her in his heart, but he no longer wanted to be in this relationship. At least not romantically. He wanted a Co-parent relationship with her, and that was all.

"Babe? Is that you?" Paige called to him from the kitchen, and he rolled his eyes slightly. He picked up the mail from the table by the door, and as he checked each letter to see what came, he grunted a response.

"Who else would it be, Paige. The door was locked. I hope I'm the only one aside from you that has a key to this place." He grumbled. He didn't mean to come off so blunt. He was just naturally sarcastic. Naturally, an asshole. All of the Hales were, but she knew what she signed up for when she agreed to be with him.

He could practically hear her eyes rolling to the back of her head, and honestly, it made him smirk. He knew she hated his snarky attitude most of the time, but he didn't really give a damn. He tossed the junk mail back down on the table and he kicked his boots off before walking towards the kitchen. Paige smiled at him and he walked up to her and kissed her head and snaked his arm around her waist to give her a quick hug. Before she could return the hug, he pulled away and walked to the fridge which caused her to frown. She felt him pulling away from her and she's felt it for a while, she is still holding onto hope though that it'll work itself out. In her eyes, they have too much history to just call it quits.

Derek pulled a Gatorade from the fridge and twisted the cap off. He took a swig, a rather long one to the point his head tipped all the way back and as he chugged, his addamsapple bobbed up and down.

"Eli is with your mother for the afternoon... so after dinner maybe we could spend some time together?" She asked hopefully. There was a sparkle in her eyes, one that Derek knew all too well. She wanted to fuck, and as sure as he was a man, who was he to turn down the opportunity to bust a nut?

He growled lowly at her words and looked at her with alpha red eyes as he wiped the Gatorade from his lips with the back of his hand.

"You're missing daddy's dick I see." He teased with a wink and gave her little ass a smack as he walked past her to head upstairs to shower. He was sweaty and full of grease, he wouldn't touch her like that. He respected her too much. He had every intention to wreck her in other ways though. It's been a week since they've been able to explore each other in a quickie; but it's been even longer since they've had a night away from their son to actually have some fun with foreplay.

After his shower, the Alpha dried off and walked into their bedroom and took a pair of black briefs from the drawer of his dresser and slipped them on his athletic frame. He was more than athletic though, he was large and beefy but it was all muscle. Paige didn't cook well enough for him to over eat to be considered fat or have a dad bod. He was lean, but he was clearly dangerous.

With a gallop down the stairs, he emerged once more and sat down at the table as Paige placed the pot of soup in the middle between their bowls with a large serving spoon.

"Thanks for cooking, beautiful. I appreciate you." Derek murmured, reaching to grab her hand as she joined him and as he placed a kiss to her knuckles, Paige smiled.

"You're welcome babe. Enjoy."

                                  ~•~

Once they finished dinner, Paige stood and cleared the table while Derek checked his messages; what he didn't expect though, was Paige to pull out some pastries she got from Villanueva Bakery. When she placed the box on the table, Derek stared at it and his cock involuntarily twitched in his briefs as the memory of him first meeting Sundina replayed in his brain. He knows he shouldn't be thinking of his mate while he was with Paige, but fuck how could he not when he was constantly reminded of her?

He remembered the day so clearly, he walked in the bakery, looking for Iris but found Sundina instead, Iris' granddaughters. It was the first time he's ever heard a name like that and the first time he's ever laid eyes on the woman. She's the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Her smile made his knees weak, and her smooth, jazzy voice had his mouth watering, especially the way she said his name. It was like honey dripping from her tongue. He didn't realize he was growling at the memory until Paige chuckled.

"Well, if I would have known you liked these pastries so much, I would have gotten four!" She said with a giggle, and Derek immediately came back to reality, and he looked up at her and smiled small. He was now ashamed. Ashamed that his heart was beating for another while his cock was about to be buried inside of Paige mercilessly.

"Go upstairs." He told her, voice an octave lower as he arose from the chair. Her eyes widened and she giggled and without a fuss she darted for the stairs, ascending them like an excited kid about to have their way in a candy store.

Paige didn't know it yet, but she was about to get ruthlessly destroyed and it was all because Derek had his mate on his mind.