Daniel Pov

　　"Daniel, where are you?" Peter, my father, asks through the mindlink. I sigh loudly before putting the helmet on my head. The night is beginning to fall, and the sky starting to take on shades of orange and pink on the horizon of the Stonehaven Pack territory. I sit on my motorcycle parked in front of Emma's new wolf pack territory. I watch people moving back and forth, helping with the construction of the new house.

　　Emma's wolf pack is growing, and I so want to be part of it, to be by her side, ruling alongside her. Loving her with everything I have.

　　"I'm at the Stonehaven Pack, Dad," I respond reluctantly. The tension in my words is evident. I can feel my father's scolding coming from miles away.

　　The wind blows gently, stirring up the dust on the ground and bringing with it the scent of dry trees.

　　"What the hell are you doing there, Daniel?" Peter asks irritably. I simply shake my head at my father's tone and start the motorcycle, leaving Emma's wolf pack. The engine roars loudly, breaking the tranquil silence of the place I'm in.

　　How I wish I could stay here with her. The way Emma hugged me, her incredible scent. Her soft skin and those soft, red lips, the desire to kiss them only grew within me. The way she smiled and the sound of her laughter, I was addicted to that sound. It's hypnotic to me.

　　"Emma is an Alpha now, Dad. I thought it appropriate to come here and offer help," I respond sincerely, trying to stay calm. Something that has been difficult to achieve when talking to my father.

　　He wants so much for me to become someone I don't want to be.

　　Besides, I missed Emma. After Alpha Matthew's birthday party, I hadn't heard from Emma or seen her again. News had spread to my wolf pack, Direwolf Pack. The Moonshadow Pack and the Night Howlers Pack had declared war on each other. My father sided with the Night Howlers Pack and has been supplying weapons for the confrontations between the three wolf packs.

　　The reality was that my father only saw this as a force to annihilate the Moonshadow Pack once and for all with the help of the Night Howlers Pack, once that was achieved, our wolf pack would break the alliance with the Night Howlers Pack. There was no interest from my father in kneeling to Alpha Matthew and becoming submissive to a king.

　　Wars are useless, and I can't understand my father's fixation on prolonging this further.

　　"I don't give a damn if she owns a coconut stand, Daniel. She is the daughter of Beta Robert from the Moonshadow Pack. They are at war, and which pack do you think she'll side with?" my father questions authoritatively, his voice resounding in my mind like distant thunder.

　　"It doesn't matter if she's the Beta's daughter, she has her own wolf pack now!" I retort irritably. I accelerate the motorcycle down the winding road, the trees passing quickly, forming a brown blur around me.

　　I drive the motorcycle fast, weaving between the cars. Even wearing my leather jacket, the wind slips through the sleeves, and the cold that comes with it makes me shiver.

　　"Daniel, we've discussed this many times," my father points out through the mindlink, and I feel like rolling my eyes at his tone. "You can't be with Emma, besides, she is not your destined mate, and it's time for you to stop acting like a teenager and take your place at the adult table. Start acting like the future leader you're going to be," Peter says seriously. I can feel through the mindlink my father's expectations and disappointment toward me.

　　I park the motorcycle in the shopping mall's parking lot. I stare at the neon lights beginning to turn on, bringing life to the urban landscape. "I'm already acting like the future leader of the wolf pack. I went to talk to Emma and see if she needed help. Like good allies should do," I retort with heavy sarcasm.

　　I can visualize my father huffing wherever he is, and it gives me a fleeting joy.

　　"Daniel, you need to start taking things seriously. You need to find a wife and make alliances with powerful wolf packs. Emma doesn't have that. Families are important, and hers is directly linked to the Moonshadow Pack, whether she's in another one or not," my father responds seriously.

　　"Dad, I'm already doing my best within the conditions you've given me. I started dating..." I searched for the name of the young woman my father wanted me to get closer to. I watch the cars around me pass slowly, the movement of people coming and going seems like a somewhat chaotic dance.

　　"Kelly," my father responds impatiently. I take off the helmet and place it on the motorcycle handlebar. The day is almost gone, with just a few hours left until sunset. I want to go back to see Emma today, I want to hug her again and do something nice for her.

　　"Yes, Kelly. I went out with her yesterday, isn't that enough for now?" I question tiredly. Kelly is the daughter of an allied Alpha to our wolf pack; my father wants so much to pair me with her because he wants to expand his real estate business into the other wolf pack's territory.

　　"No, Daniel. It's not." Peter responds before our mindlink connection ends.

　　The night is approaching quickly, and the first stars begin to appear in the clear sky. It makes me realize that time stops for no one, not even for me.

　　I run my fingers through my hair, still sitting on the parked motorcycle. For a few minutes, I let my mind wander through the scenery I find myself in now, trying to organize my thoughts.

　　"Why is it so hard?" I question Remus, my wolf. "Why is it hard for my father to just let me live my life?"

　　"Because you always put your life in dangerous situations," Remus responds with sarcasm, and I roll my eyes.

　　As I get off the motorcycle, I walk lazily into the shopping mall. Some young, even pretty, women smile at me, and I return a few smiles. But none of them are Emma, none of them are Queen Emma.

　　"Kelly is also pretty," Remus comments pretentiously.

　　"Yes, but it's not just beauty that attracts me. I want the real thing, Remus," I respond, my eyes searching among the people inside the shopping mall for the reason of my existence. But unfortunately, I don't find her.

　　"Daniel, it won't be with Emma, you know that. She is not the one," Remus resonates in my mind with a depth that even causes me anguish.

　　"But I could make her be. It's possible, we both know it's not necessary to be destined for love to flourish, Remus," I retort as I walk through the mall corridors, looking at the store windows.

　　"It's just easier when it's a destined mate. There's no bond between you and Emma," Remus states, and it leaves me even more upset.

　　"It can't be that there's no bond between Emma and me, Remus. The way we met, the way Emma is, the way she talks. How can there not be a bond between us, Remus? How can there not be?" I ask incredulously, and my wolf just remains silent.

　　I make the clothing purchases Emma requested, it helps distract me from my father's harsh words and my wolf's discouragement. I know what I feel for Emma, and she needs to know that. Know how much I want to be with her, how much I want her to let me love her with all the strength I have.

　　As I return to the parking lot, a familiar scent meets my nostrils. The incredible and unmistakable scent of Emma.

　　I walk through the now dimly lit parking lot, looking for Emma. Her scent grew stronger and my heart racing with the approach.

　　"What the hell is this?" I ask, surprised to find James, Emma's brother.