I woke up alone as usual, but considering I slept in until eleven in the morning, I knew I couldn't be mad at Matteo for leaving. He was probably doing something with that Alpha Noel guy. So in my state of lonesome, I simply held Matteo's pillow against myself until I was practically suffocating in his heavenly scent.

I forced myself to get out of bed so that no one would question why I was waking up at noon. I didn't have any other answer besides that I just really love to sleep. I'm one of those rare breeds of people that go to bed early and won't wake up until I smell lunch. I don't have a problem with it, but everyone else seems to for some reason.

I headed straight for Matteo's Jesus-shower after I had forced myself out of his bed. Growing up, I'd always been a night showerer. I couldn't help but use Matteo's shower every chance I got, though. It's definitely my favorite part of living in the pack house. Sleeping with Matteo comes in a close second, but if I could marry a shower, I would marry this one. It truly was made for Jesus. From there, I wasted a whole other hour singing the United States' National Anthem about thirteen times at the top of my lungs.

"Hey, hobo." Jack nudged my shoulder.

"Oh, hey," I chimed as I finished putting cream cheese on my bagel. "Want one?" I smiled just as Daniella walked into the kitchen. The look of 'what the actual heck is going on?' on Jack's face was extremely evident. His brows were pulled together, and his normal smile was replaced by just a flat line. "What?"

"Are you feeling okay?" He questioned as his eyes scanned over my entire body.

"Am I feeling okay?" I repeated not entirely sure if I heard him correctly. He brought his hand up to my forehead and held his palm to it.

"Yeah. Do you get extremely friendly and generous when you're ill?" He asked as I swatted away his hand.

"Can't I just offer a friend a bagel?" I questioned with a laugh. Immediately, Jack shook his head.

"No, not you. You just called me your friend, and you're laughing. Are you positive you're okay?" By this point, Jack seemed to be panicking. For what reason? I had no idea. He was acting like I'd never been generous a day in my life. I'll admit, last time he called me a hobo, I ended up sucker punching him, but I was in a pretty good mood today.

"Jack, I'm fine," I assured just for Daniella to pipe in.

"You and Teo bang last night or something?" She asked lazily as she bit into an apple.

"I wish," I mumbled to myself, taking a bite of my bagel.

"What?" Jack asked not hearing what I had said.

"Nothing, nothing," I quickly covered. A loud laugh erupted from Daniella which just confused Jack even more. It was times like these when I wasn't sure if Jack was seventeen or twenty-five. I could honestly see him being anywhere within there. He had a very interesting character. Some days he was mature and well put together, and other days, he was—well—Jack.

"So, what happened?" Daniella finally asked obviously knowing my abnormally peppy mood was due to Matteo. I just shrugged and bit into my bagel.

"Wait, something happened?" Jack chimed in just now getting the hint that my sudden change in character wasn't due to an attack on my immune system. His eyes grew about three sizes, and his mouth made an 'O' shape. "Did the sexual tension finally hit it's peak?"

"Oh my gosh!" I groaned out. "We just cuddled. That's it!" I stated in exasperation. Jack seemed happy about this news. He was the one pushing me to give Matteo a chance and try to get over the whole 'Alpha title' this entire time. Daniella just seemed bored.

"I was expecting a bit more fun from you, Kaia. I'm thoroughly disappointed," she commented tossing her half-eaten apple into the trash.

"Daniella, shut up," Jack turned around and snapped at her. "Don't say anything to discriminate her." I rolled my eyes as I ate another bite of my bagel. Daniella and Jack had begun arguing about God knows what, so I just headed out of the kitchen. I was stopped abruptly by a hand gripping my forearm which spun me around so that I was facing Jack. "Where are you going?"

"To my room. Issue?" Jack didn't respond, but Daniella did.

"Noel left for the afternoon like an hour ago. Teo is probably in his office if you two want to get it on or something," she put bluntly. I scowled at her hoping she didn't realize just how enticing the thought of getting it on with Matteo sounded to me in that moment. I may not like the whole 'Alpha situation' he has going on, but I can't deny what a fine piece of ass Matteo is.

"Like I said, I'll be in my room," I stated as I walked out of the kitchen.

I swear on my life that my intention was to walk straight to my/Matteo's room. It wasn't until I got to the hallway when I had the option to walk up another flight of stairs or walk to the end of the hall to Matteo's office that I decided to scratch that plan.

"I can just stop in, and say hi. There's nothing wrong with being friendly. It's not like I'm trying to ride him," I reasoned knowing for fact that I was going against my entire rogue side, but I couldn't help it. Matteo had an annoyingly strong hold on me: the mate bond. It was like I had a literal leash on.

I made my way down to Matteo's office being as quiet as possible. I was not willing to give Daniella the satisfaction of knowing that I'd actually went to see Matteo. I reached the large, oak door and didn't even bother knocking. I just walked straight in.

"Hey, I just wanted to say hey—and no one's in here," I said as I realized that I was talking to literally no one. Bummer. I sighed in annoyance, but decided not to leave the office. Instead, I walked in completely and shut the door behind me.

I realized in that moment that Matteo was about five times more organized than I'd ever been. Everything in his office seemed to have its own special place. Even his desk was organized. I had no clue how he managed to keep everything in order with so much work that had to be taken care of. I would be a mess if I were him.

I knew from the various conversations with my dad that the Caedes Pack was important. It was one of the packs that basically ran all of the packs below it. Other packs that rank near Caedes are mainly just Socius, Uirium, Apsens, and—the one pack I unfortunately didn't take as seriously as I should have—Vindicta. Out of about all thirty packs located within North America, these five basically run the whole show.

Caedes and Uirium not only outrank all the packs in North America, but they are also two of the highest ranking packs known to this day.

The Ducem Pack in Russia is actually the largest pack known to date. It's always been a dream of mine to destroy it slowly, but I can only cause so much destruction at once without getting myself killed.

Point is, I know for a fact that Matteo doesn't exactly have an easy or non-stressful job to do, but his organization skills are certainly up to par.

"Well," I sighed as I scanned the office. My eyes landed on a couch that seemed fairly comfortable. My statement proved to be true as I sank down into the leather sofa and sprawled out lazily, "I suppose I'll just wait for Matteo, then."

I didn't originally plan on falling asleep, but I guess I was doing a lot of things on a whim today. I've never been bothered by a few extra hours of sleep. I sleep like a baby. There wasn't really anything else to do while Vindicta had me locked up in a cell for four years other than constant naps. Sleeping pretty much became my natural state of being.

I was like half-awoken from my peaceful rest when I heard the sound of boots hitting a floor. The couch I had been laying on in a very odd position had caused my body to tense up and almost mimic the feeling of how it felt to sleep on my piece of old-cardboard-bed-thing in my cell. This in turn caused my brain to think I was still locked up in Vindicta territory, so as soon as the door to Matteo's office opened and the sound of men talking was heard, I automatically turned into my grumpy, asshole self.

"Jesus Christ, will you all shut the hell up?" I snapped rolling over just for my head to make contact with the back of the couch. This instantly snapped me back into reality. My eyes flew open, and I turned around on the couch to face three very confused men. One of them being my absolutely gorgeous mate, and the other two looking moderately hot, but not Matteo-on-a-fine-summer's-day-hot.

"Um." Out of all the things Matteo could have said, he chose the word 'um'. Spoken like a true Alpha.

"Who the hell are you?" The one dude, who I had no clue of, asked me in total confusion. He looked older than Matteo. Not by much, but he definitely seemed older by at least a few years.

"I'm Kaia," I retorted as if he should have known my name the moment his warm, brown eyes landed on me. The dude didn't say anything in return. Instead, he turned to face Matteo in bewilderment. The third guy in the room did the same.

"Kaia is my mate," Matteo stated. His tone of voice was hard, and judging by the angry expression he had directed toward me, I could only assume he wasn't exactly pleased that I took a power nap in his office when I had been specifically told to not involve myself with whatever week-long-meeting this was.

The older man turned to face me once again. Slowly, a cocky smirk grew on his face.

"And you've been hiding her all this time?" He questioned. The man beside him just watched me closely. Like the older-guy, he had brown hair and brown eyes. Only difference being that his hair was slightly darker in color, but it wasn't nearly as dark as Matteo's. No one really had the capability of comparing to Matteo.

"Noel, I really don't think my mate is any of your business," Matteo snapped quite harshly. I hadn't really had the opportunity to ever see him act this way. It was a bit weird, if I'm being honest. He seemed slightly terrifying, and I couldn't decide whether it was due to the fact that he seemed to tower over everyone in the room, the tight, black shirt he had on showing off his dominating figure almost perfectly, or just the terrifying expression on his face.

Either way, I was extremely turned on by the dominance that was emanating from him.

I think I was the only one, though, because the guy standing beside the older man whom Matteo had referred to as Noel looked like he wanted to jump out of the window. Noel wasn't paying much attention to Matteo. Instead, he was focused on me.

"It was just a question, Alpha Nerezza. The entire werewolf community has been waiting for the arrival of your mate, and you've been hiding her. Pardon my curiosity," Noel commented. I immediately realized how much of a cocky asshole this guy must be on a daily basis and wondered if he'd ever had the chance to meet Daniella.

"Noel, I don't think—" the other man in the room who I'm going to assume is Noel's beta began to say, but was interrupted by his Alpha.

"You certainly are not what any of us would have imagined for the Alpha of Caedes," Noel said as he held out his hand for me to shake. I slowly raised my hand to his and took it. There was something I didn't like about this guy, and it wasn't just because he was like the male version of Daniella.

"I would suggest you release my mate's hand," Matteo warned in a calm tone, but I could feel the anger underlying in it. If I was Noel, I would have pulled back immediately, but he seemed in absolutely no rush.

"I assume you'll be making an appearance at the Conference?" Noel asked as he leisurely pulled his hand away from mine. I eyed him carefully, analyzing him entirely: the way his chest rose and fell when breathed, how often he blinked, and how his lips moved when he spoke. Something about this guy made my brain tick, and it had my entire body on high alert.

"Conference?" I questioned, cautiously averting my attention from Noel to Matteo. Matteo was no longer watching me with his heavy glare. Instead, he was staring directly at Noel.

"Leaders' Conference," Matteo remarked. His gaze never left Noel's back. My attention returned to Noel who was patiently awaiting my answer.

"Leaders' Conference," I drug out not entirely understanding what the two were talking about.

"Oh, Matteo didn't tell you?" Noel took my silence to his question as a no. "It's a big meeting that involves the Alphas, Betas, even the Gammas from all over the world. It happens every year. This year it happens to be taking place in Ontario, I believe. I'm surprised he didn't tell you considering he's one of the Alphas that runs the whole thing," he chuckled, but I could tell what he found funny wasn't his surprise. I could be wrong, but I had a feeling that Noel had a bit of a petty grudge against Matteo, and he was enjoying getting on Matteo's last nerve.

At least we had one thing in common.

"And, I'm supposed to be there?" I asked.

"Well, you are his mate unless he doesn't accept you."

"Noel, you are to be escorted off of my territory. My Gamma will be here shortly," Matteo spoke up, finally having enough of Noel's antics. Noel turned around and faced Matteo just then seeing the anger lying in his features. I could literally hear Noel gulp. Matteo seemed unaffected by this and just continued staring at him like he was his prey.

"Alpha—"

"I'll review the territory agreement again, but you'll be lucky if you keep half of what you have now," Matteo seethed but in the calmest way. "Is that a problem?" I could see the internal struggle that Noel was having. I sort of felt bad for him, but it was his own fault for testing Matteo. If he had just been smart about the whole situation, he wouldn't be having half of his territory taken from him. It didn't take a genius to know that you really shouldn't challenge the Caedes pack or the Alpha of it, for that matter.

The Caedes Pack practically ran North America, so Matteo's anger due to Noel's disrespect didn't surprise me. Everyone respects the Caedes Pack. It doesn't matter who you are in it. In the eyes of most packs, Caedes Pack is basically just a bunch of Alphas run by one of the most important and influential Alphas of all—Matteo.

"No, Alpha Nerezza," Noel submitted, hanging his head low.

"Good. Get out." With that, Noel and his beta left Matteo's office and met Daniella in the hallway. As soon as the door shut, Matteo was standing over me. He was not happy. That was extremely evident.

"So, this Leaders' Conference?" I said, cutting the angry silence in the room.

"Forget about it," Matteo order making annoyance rise within me.

"Why?"

"Because you aren't going," he stated bluntly. My jaw dropped and my brows furrowed together.

What the hell does he mean 'because you aren't going'?

"Yes I am," I argued. I didn't even really want to go in the first place. In all honesty, if he would have been making me go, I would have refused, but now that he doesn't want me to, it just makes me even more motivated to go. "Or do you just not accept me? You don't want everyone else to know I'm your mate? You just want to sleep in the same bed as me and keep me hidden from the rest of the world?" That struck a nerve.

I wasn't sure if his anger took over or his wolf, but I was suddenly picked up from the couch and pushed against the wall. I had been in scenarios like this before, both sexually and violently, but this time I was completely flustered. I had a small inkling that it was due to being in such close proximity to my mate.

"I want you more than anything, but I also want you safe and alive," Matteo advised as his hand delicately held onto my chin forcing me to look up at him. "You aren't marked, you aren't exactly mated, hell, you don't even accept pack life. How do you expect to fit into an entire room of high ranking pack members being the person that you are?"

"I'm not going to make everyone else happy. I'm going to make you happy. How do expect me to accept pack life if you push me away from it?" I shot back.

"I'm not trying to push you away from it. I'm just trying to ease you into it, so I don't end up losing you for throwing you into it."

"Well, maybe I would rather just be thrown into it!" I snapped as I raised my voice causing him to raise his as well.

"That's really what you want?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, fine!"

"Great!"

"Perfect!"

"Wonderful!" I shouted back at him just seconds before his lips attached to mine.

In that moment, I genuinely believe I had irregular heart palpitations. A flame built up between our lips. When I allowed him access into my mouth was when the flame turned into an entire bonfire.

Matteo's muscular frame had me pinned against the wall. His right hand still had a hold on my face, but his left was trailing down my body where it rested on my hip. Heat from not only his warm lips but also his hand on my hip caused a fire to build in my chest and my legs to feel like they could collapse at any moment.

He nipped and sucked on my bottom lip, no doubt making it swollen. I didn't even fight the moan that came out of me causing Matteo to growl lowly. A part of me was actually amused knowing just how much Matteo enjoyed it.

Somehow, we ended up on the couch. Matteo was laying down, and I was straddling his waist. Any other time, I would have been on a mission to have his shirt and pants off in the next five minutes. The heat in my chest grew, and almost every part of me wanted nothing more than to jump his bones in that moment. I say almost, though, due to the fact that something in my brain told me to pull away.

I was completely in a daze when I pulled my lips away from his. Judging by the redness and slight swelling of Matteo's lips, I already knew I no doubt looked like a hot mess. There was no way Jack wasn't going to question me about this.

Talk about just being thrown into it.

"So, um, that Leaders' Conference," I managed to stutter out as I ran a hand through my hair.

"A month. We go in a month," Matteo advised just as breathless as I had been. I nodded in response.

"Can't wait."

______
I ACTUALLY UPDATED ON TIME FOR ONCE HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA I hate me too guys I know.

But hey they kissed and it was steamy so there you go. IM SO EXCITED TO GET THIS PLOT ROLLIN' YEAH.

Stay Awesome Gotham 3/11/17