“You sure you’ll be alright on your own?” Derek Roland, my friend and sparring partner, asked as he tipped back his last glass of bourbon and got off the bar stool.

“Sure.” I answered him half-heartedly, taking a gulp of my drink. I hoped it would help me get intoxicated, but it was hard for a wolf to get high in a human club.

My wolf was already impatient, but I had to stay sane.

As the future Beta of the Ocean Runners pack, I was tasked with secondary defence.And since the Alpha was away now, I couldn’t risk going too far out of town in case there was an emergency.

“You remember what happened the last time you said that?” Derek raised his eyebrows at me.

I knew what he was talking about, but I just shrugged before tipping back my own drink.

“You know, I don't want to come back in the middle of the night again to drag your raging ass back to the packhouse.” Derek stressed.

Hearing his words, my wolf bared its teeth with a smirk. I frowned and locked it back in my mind ignoring its protest.

“Another,” I told the bartender, who gave me a concerned look. “I’m not nearly drunk yet, man. Get me the strongest you got.”

“Fine, call me if he gets in trouble.” Derek handed a card to the bartender before looking at me with narrowed eyes.

“Don’t cause any trouble, mate.” He waved back at me before making his way back out of the club, sliding right through the mass of swaying bodies.

Angry and irritated at the word ‘mate’, my wolf growled louder inside my head. I controlled myself not to crumb the glass, and another drink helped nothing to fade my irritable feelings.

Age twenty four, I was the only one in my group who hadn't found his mate yet.

Even Derek had found his mate three years ago, while attending Uni. It was a guy named Sawyer Hudson, two years older than him and from a relatively small wolf pack in Somerset County.

I was happy for my friends, all of them, but my wolf wasn’t.

It felt left out and hopeless. With each passing day, that hope kept dwindling little by little.

My wolf was getting angry, agitated for no apparent reason. Last time I lost control of it, causing five big guys to the ER.

My packmates were worried about me, I could feel it.

Cameron, our future alpha and my best friend, had even been crazy enough to suggest that I take a year off and go travelling, especially to the Blood Moon Festival that was held for a course of fifteen days in a remote part of North Carolina.

However, as ridiculous as the idea had sounded at first…I was now tempted to take him up on that offer.

My wolf was already unstable, growling and snapping at every person possible, I couldn’t risk waiting too long.

There are rumors that wolves over thirty with no mates often turn rogues, a wolf who has completely given in to their animal instincts. These rogues can no longer differentiate between friends and foes and everyone around them becomes endangered.

“Hey handsome…” a woman came to sit on the stool that Derek had occupied not too long ago. She looked up at me from behind thick lashes, her hazel eyes mischievous and the curve of her lips seductive. “Wanna dance with me?”

I looked at the woman up and down. Her little black dress was just the perfect size, not too long as to seem ‘safe’ and not too short as to leave nothing to the imagination.

I gave her a lopsided smile. “Why the hell not?”

Drowning the entire glass of whiskey in one go, I laid out a hefty tip for the bartender and got off the stool, holding my hand out for the woman, who looked to be about the same age as me, if not older.

Her smile was wide as she placed her hand in mine…and yet, I felt nothing.

No spark, no anticipation, no connection.

My wolf grumbled in frustration, 'she is NOT our mate.'

'I knew,' I replied to my wolf while holding the woman's hand. Yes, she was just another faceless body.

'but she can help us.' I faked a smile to hide my pain while my wolf snorted with a roar.

I desperately wanted to find our mate and I had tried many ways to search for her but it ended with disappointment every time.

The thought that we might never find her had always tortured us, especially my wolf. It felt like thousands of sharp claws scratching my heart.

So, sometimes we needed something to numb ourselves. It was either the women or a bloody fight, as long as it could take us back from the edge.

My wolf finally settled for this woman for tonight, I guided the woman to the dance floor and almost instantly, she began moving against me, swaying her hips and grinding her ass against my front.

It was clear what she wanted from me.

Wrapping an arm around her front, I hauled her to my chest so I could lean down to whisper in her ears. “How about a little adventure?”

My free hand rose up from her thighs to move under her dress…and straight to her womanhood. Fuck! She wasn’t wearing any underwear.

Her gasp of pleasure was enough to tell me that this is exactly what she wanted. So I parted her folds with my fingers and dipped into her drenched core. Looks like the amount of alcohol she had had was making this a lot easier for me. I hated foreplay and for her, I wouldn’t be needing much.

“Let’s get outta here.” I whispered again, and this time my voice was all but a growl.

She nodded enthusiastically against my shoulders and I heard another moan leave her lips as I removed my hand from her folds.

Taking her hand, I took her out of the club, avoiding all the grinding bodies on the dance floor as best as I could. And then we headed straight for the parking lot, where I had parked my jeep.

“In the car?” She asked huskily as I opened the door to the backseat.

“You want to wait for another twenty minutes to head to a hotel?” I asked her, a bit rougher than needed.

“No.” She swallowed, reaching for me. “I want you now.”

“Perfect.” I let her get in first before entering the car and slamming the door shut. Leaving the rest of my clothing on, I unbuckled my belt and pulled down my pants to my knees, followed by my underwear. My shaft sprang free from the restraints already hard from wanting release. I heard her gasp from beside me.

“Come.” I held out my hand for her.

Swallowing at the sight of my erection, she came to straddle my waist, hoisting her skirt up to her waist. Without delay, I positioned the blunt head of my cock at entrance to her wet folds and slid in with ease, her inner muscles squeezing my shaft like a glove.

A scream tore through her lips as she clutched onto my shoulders and I hung onto her just as desperately.

I needed this.

My wolf needed this.

Wanting and needing…were two completely separate emotions.

As I found my release inside the warmth of her womanhood, knowing full well that I wouldn’t even remember her face by tomorrow morning…

My wolf howled loud for wanting our real mate…a mate that we had been searching for, for all the last six years.

※ Author's Note ※

Hey guys! Finally the sequel comes out! Thanks for all your support and waiting! Hope you enjoy Alex' romance.

As for my dear new readers, no worries. Though it's a sequel, this book can be read as a stand-alone.

Just in case you want to, or feel lost in some cases as to who certain characters are, please read the first book The Alpha's Bullied Mate in the series. It would make my day.

And please do leave a review. I love hearing all your feedback!