Alpha's chase

Chapter 5: Frozen Time

Three Days Later

~Austin's POV~

It was finally New Year's Eve. Olive and I were attending the bash at Rhym tonight and it was gonna be one for the books. Rumor has it they pulled out all the stops and hired Diplo. I'm not sure if it was true or not, either way, I'm stoked. Just as I was getting out of bed Olive came bursting into my room scaring the s**t out of me.

"Girl you will never believe the offer I just got!" She screeched and she jumped onto my bed.

"What is it?" I asked reluctantly.

"I Just got offered $25,000 to go to Paris tonight for a modeling contract!" She Screamed.

"First off, I am right here. And second, how legit is this offer? It seems sketchy that they would do s**t last minute." I replied with a skeptical tone.

"Well, the shoot isn't for two weeks but they need me there ASAP to do fittings and press. I need this money and the company is legit as they come. I was escorted to their headquarters in Denver yesterday. I guess one of their main girls had to drop out and I look similar to her and everything. I signed the contract already."

"YOU DID WHAT!" I yelled at her. "What about our party tonight!? When do you leave?" I was fuming.

"I'm so sorry AJ, but you know how much I need this money, and It might be a good career move for me if my mate issue doesn't pan out. I leave in four hours which means I only have an hour to pack and get to the airport. I'll be back in two weeks It's not forever you know."

"So I'm supposed to just go to this club by myself tonight?" I asked in a pissy tone.

"It hasn't stopped you before remember?" She smirked at me.

"I was different back then, don't go shaming me for all the s**t I used to do now!"

She was referring to the time in college when I went to a rave for three days with no phone and no purse, just my ID, $200 cash, and a small baggie of molly. Nobody could find me at least until I stumbled home at 4 a.m. on a Sunday. Only to find Olive and my parents frantically pacing around my kitchen. Let's just say I was in deep s**t. It's something we don't bring up that often because it was a low point in my life.

"Hey, all I'm saying is that you will survive if you go by yourself! Have fun! Let off some steam! Find a hot guy for all I care! Just don't stay home on my account!" Olive persuaded.

"Fine, I'll still go but you owe me big time for bailing on me!" I laughed as I got up to take a shower.

"Don't worry, I'll buy you a new set of snow clothes and a new board!" She yelled as we went our separate ways.

I hoped she knew I would hold her to that. I just laughed to myself. I had to stop myself from getting ready early. I was buzzing with this nervous energy and I just couldn't shake it, so I just went and made myself some breakfast and binge-watched The Great British Bake-off. Around three o'clock I went out to grab food and made a last-minute stop at ULTA to get some new eye shadow and a new liquid lipstick. I found this amazing pallet called Avocado Toast and this nice baby pink liquid lip color.

Once I got home, I started getting ready. It was only a little after Five but maybe I would text my brother Callum and see if he wanted to grab dinner. It had been quite a while since we saw each other and now was as good a time as any to get together.

Text to Callum: Hey bro I know it's last-minute but would you want to go grab sushi with me tonight around 7 pm? Olive is out of town and it would be nice to see you!?

Callum: Make it 8 pm and I'll be there. Where are we going and can Arrow come? She misses you too!

Me: Yes Arrow can come, I wasn't sure if she was in town or not. Meet me at the place on Spruce & Broadway.

Callum: See you there!

I finished getting ready around 7:15. You'd be surprised how long it takes to curl all this hair. Although it was already wavy, I was going for a bombshell look. I put on my new dress and shoes and my feather jacket, which pulled it all together and walked out to get into my awaiting Uber. I decided that I would Uber around tonight on the off chance that I did meet my mate I did not want to leave my car anywhere for an extended period. I would for sure get a parking ticket or two. I arrived at the sushi place 10 minutes early and snagged a table before it got too busy. New Year's Eve was notorious for selling out all the restaurants. Luckily there were a lot of restaurants to choose from in this part of town. I sent Callum a text letting him know I snagged us a table.

Callum and Arrow arrived shortly after I did and sat down next to me. We placed our orders quickly since we already had our favorites. The waitress brought our drinks and left us alone to chat.

"Hi, guys! You look well." I stated

"I've been working a lot lately, if I didn't drink three cups of coffee today I would be a zombie right now," Callum said.

"Yeah, and I finished my finals two weeks ago so I've had some time to decompress. Mom and dad are still in Europe so I have the house to myself." Arrow said

"Did you finally move out Callum? I feel like a terrible sister that I don't even know these things!" Said a little hurt.

"Don't worry sis, mom and dad don't even know yet. I got a new job a few months back that pays me extremely well so I bought a new car and started renting an apartment closer to the office. Driving to the office every day from mom and dad's house was getting expensive." He defended.

"Well, don't worry. I'm sure they will be happy for you. It's about time you jumped out of the nest. Where are you working these days that pays so well? You didn't even finish school?" I asked curiously.

"I got a job at PNE construction. The company is booming and I have a lot of experience from helping dad out for all those years. They gave me a management position making close to six figures." He said happily.

"That's so good for you bro!" I smiled playfully punching him on the arm. "What about you sis? What is your major again?" I asked Arrow.

"I'm just going for nursing. Nothing fancy really but I'm not sure if I want to be a Nurse Practitioner or not. It's a year or so of extra schooling depending on how many classes you take and when you can do your clinical but they do make a lot more money." She said thoughtfully.

"You should go for it!" I encouraged.

"You think?" She asked.

"I mean, I'm already proud of you so it doesn't matter what I say but I do think you should go for it! Better pay never hurts. That's why I work so hard at MELT. Matt pays us well since the restaurant RAKES in the cash. Plus the side gigs we get in our "Off-Season." I said using air quotes.

"It's nice to see you doing well AJ, We were worried about you there for a bit, mom and dad too," Callum said flatly.

"That's still a sore subject. Olive brought it up this morning as well, and I'd just like to forget all about it." I said trying to get a flashback.

Our food finally arrived at the table, and we all ate in silence for the most part. There was a lot of food here for three people and I highly doubt there would be any to take home. We were all fairly large wolves. Our parents must come from warrior blood in the past. After we all finished I was about to book my Uber when Callum offered to drop me off. He reasoned that he would like to see me getting to my destination safely, so he would know where to start looking if I disappeared again. I was a little offended but took him up on his offer. I promised that I would text him tomorrow to make sure I got home safely. I had truly changed, people just had a hard time believing me since I had said it before a few too many times.

Callum had a nice car, I will say. Rolling up to Rhym in his murdered-out Audi S3 was a nice touch to my movie star look! I quickly said my goodbyes and promised to not be a stranger before getting out onto the gold carpet leading into the club. It was a lot different from the Christmas party. I walked up to the door and gave them my name. I was promptly escorted up to the Elite VIP balcony, which was way nicer than the table Olive and I had the last time we were here. A petite girl resembling Vanessa Hudgens walked up and introduced herself.

"Hello Miss Tindall, My name is Misha I will be your waitress. Here is your pad." She sat a small iPad on the table. "If there is anything you need you can order it here. If there is something you require that isn't on there, please just hit the call button. I will be right up to check on you." She smiled.

"Oh, Thank you so much! I feel like a queen!" I said. "Could I get a gin and tonic dark with extra limes please, and call Me AJ," I asked.

"It would be my pleasure!" Misha said as she gracefully went back down to the bar.

I looked around the area I was put in. It was a lot more lavish than I was used to. I even had a personal Waitress which meant I didn't have to fight the crowd at the bar. There was a row of red velvet half-moon-shaped couches with tables in the middle. Each table had a curtain that you could pull for more privacy from the other tables. I noticed elevator doors on the far wall, which were probably used by my A-list celebrities that didn't want to be seen entering the building or something of that nature. For the first half-hour, I just sat back and watched as the club filled up. I sipped my drink just chilling until I caught a buzz.

~Ryker's POV~

I had spent most of the last few days keeping myself busy training in the gym, doing rounds on the territory making sure everything was secure, and just trying to act normal. It would be a bad look for the big bad Alpha to look like a nervous wreck around everybody. Today was the ultimate test. Could I keep my s**t together long enough to not rip somebody apart? I decided to go for a long run early this morning to let my wolf Thunder out! He was driving me insane. He was just as excited as I was to possibly meet our mate. We covered a lot of ground on our run. We might have run 50 miles total before heading back to the pack house for lunch. Ginger had made chicken caesar wraps, pasta salad, roasted carrots, and even fresh lemonade. I scarfed down lunch not waiting for anybody else and went upstairs to take a shower and a nap. Although I felt entirely too wired to need a nap, I knew that if I didn't at least try to get some rest I would be a grouchy ass hole tonight. That was the last thing I needed if I was going to be meeting Austin.

Seven o'clock rolled around and Tate, Wren, and I piled into Wren's New Bronco. One of our warriors, Daniel, was driving us to the club and three others were following behind us to work as security. We were going to dinner first at a steakhouse down the street and wouldn't be making our entrance until ten. We enjoyed steak dinners and a few bourbon neat. Nothing to get us f****d up but enough to kill my nerves.

"I just got a text from Marco that she has arrived. She is in the Elite VIP section ad instructed." Wren said.

"Bro! Don't f**k this up!" Tate encouraged.

"Thanks, BRO... I needed that confidence boost." I replied sarcastically.

"I know! Everything will be cool! I just hope She brought a hot friend. I don't want to be the only one alone tonight." Tate joked.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of hot chicks there but you should seriously consider keeping it in your pants! God forbid you to find your mate and it stirs a bunch of bull s**t we don't need. Wren smirked. "I genuinely feel bad for whoever your mate is. She is gonna have her hands full."

"Hell yeah!!" Tate attempted to high-five Wren who just stared at him with a frown.

"Gross dude!" Wren just shook his head with disdain.

Eventually, we paid our bill and made our way to the club. Daniel parked in the underground garage below the club and we got into the elevator. We ascended to the third level and when the doors opened her scent flooded my senses. I immediately looked around to find her but she wasn't there. She must have made her way down to the dance floor. We settled into our booth and ordered a few bottles of were-liquor.

~Austin's POV~

After getting a nice buzz I made my way down to the dance floor. It was a little before ten and the club was decently packed. Diplo wasn't here but the night was still early, anything could happen. I danced with a small group of girls, jumping around to the beat of the music just really feeling myself. A few guys tried to dance with me but I wasn't interested. The music eventually shifted into something more sensual and I decided to make my way up to my table to get another drink and chill out. The night was still young and I didn't want to wear myself out just yet. I was ascending the stairs when I caught that delicious scent of warm tobacco and vanilla. That meant only one thing. My mate was up here. I took a deep breath and put on my sexy walk. I wanted to stun him. I made it to the top of the stairs where three ginormous guys were lounging at my table. Weird. It wasn't until I locked eyes with the biggest of the three that time seemed to stand still. He stood up looking at me. Damn was he fine. I couldn't even see all of him but I could see the tattoos creeping up his neck and down one of his forearms. His brown hair was braided into a bun with the sides shaved clean. He had on black tailored slacks, a black dress shirt with the sleeves slightly rolled, and a gold bowtie. I couldn't tell what color his eyes were cause they were black as night never leaving my body.

Mate! Lyla screamed in my head!

~Ryker's POV~

Not long after we sat down I started to catch her scent, at least it was getting stronger than it already was since we sat at her table. I knew she was getting close when my wolf started to stir. I looked up from my phone to see the most beautiful creature I've ever laid my eyes on.

MATE! Thunder was bouncing around just dying to be let out.

It took everything for me to restrain him. This girl was indescribable. she had the longest blonde curly hair, naturally tanned skin, magical orbs of hazel for eyes, and she was tall and lean. The green dress she was wearing looked like it was made just for her.

Tate: Damn she is hot!

Tate said in the mind link, too which I growled lowly at him. I was stunned into silence.