Page 6 of The Wolf's Bullied Mate
Ten minutes later, I was heading towards the townhouse. I didn’t live far away from where I worked, just a ten-minute walk, so I liked spending my breaks at home. It was easy to heat up my lunch in my kitchen and then work in my garage. It was almost 3 pm, and I had a meeting with Ryder and Caden planned.
I entered the red brick building and passed the reception area to Ryder’s office. He had kept his father’s old furniture in there, including an ugly chandelier that hung from the ceiling like a blight. He had told me the old decor reminded him of his late dad, and I had encouraged him to keep the items to remember his father. If the furnishing brought him comfort, there was no reason to redecorate.
The chandelier with its tacky plastic candles could go through, in my opinion. The thing drew the sight of everyone coming into the office, and not in a good way.
Ryder smiled at me and gestured to one of the guest chairs in front of his dark wooden desk. “Good to see you, Oliver.”
“Likewise,” I smiled and sat to the left.
Caden barged in immediately after me, breathing heavily.
I turned to him and arched my eyebrows. “You can never be on time, can you?”
He frowned, plopping heavily into the chair on the right side. “I am on time.”
I looked down at my watch. It showed a minute past three.
I opened my mouth to inform him that he was one minute late, but Caden huffed. “Don’t even start.”
A wide smile graced my lips. “Whom else would I tease, if not my best friend.”
“You bet I am,” he replied, giving me a look.
“Gentlemen,” Ryder tapped his fingers on the desk. “Can we proceed with the meeting? I want to spend the rest of my day with Aria.”
I chuckled, and Caden smiled.
“Alright,” I said. “Today’s Wednesday, so it’s our weekly meeting about the state of affairs in the pack.” I opened the conversation.
“Caden, please give your report first,” Ryder nodded.
“There’s nothing to report. Ever since you defeated the Wolfsbane Society there hasn’t been any opposition towards your leadership. Nobody wants to move against our alpha and his family. We currently have friendly relations with all the other packs; no war brewing on the horizon or anything sinister. We’re safe and at peace,” Caden explained.
“Oliver?” Ryder turned to me.
“When it comes to conflicts within the pack, there haven’t been more than the usual number, and Aria has almostcompletely taken over dealing with them. She’s excellent at the job, so I’ve only been taking care of the accounting. I assume that once Aria’s pregnancy becomes more advanced, I will cover more of the internal affairs again. Nevertheless, I suggest we still include luna in weekly meetings as she might also have something to offer about the atmosphere in the pack from her perspective,” I suggested.
Ryder nodded. “That’s an excellent idea. So, to sum up, there are currently no threats against the pack, and the internal affairs are in order. Nobody feels overworked, and we are sharing our responsibilities equally. We can enjoy a well-managed pack, then.”
I smiled. “That’s true. All is fine in the books as well. Nobody embezzles money, and our economic situation is stable. I’m preparing the proposal to reopen the fish cannery. It’s going to be a while longer until I have it ready to show you, though, as I’m discussing the matter with potential parties interested in running the business for us.”
“Good,” Ryder smiled. “Is that all we have to discuss for the meeting?”
“Feels very short,” Caden chuckled.
I thought for a moment. “I may have something I’d like to have your opinion on, but it’s not directly connected to pack matters.”
“Shoot,” Ryder waved his hand, encouraging me.
I put my hand into the pocket of my jeans, took out the flyer, and laid it down on the desk, smoothing out the wrinkles as best as I could.
“An arranged marriage agency?” Caden whistled when he saw the big text on the paper.
“My mom gave this flyer to me,” I explained. “She wants me to try to find my mate soon.”
Caden laughed out loud. “Oliver… as sociable as you are, I never thought you’d have to rely on such a company to find you your mate.” He continued laughing as if it were the stupidest idea in the world. “Really… Oliver and an arranged marriage… That’s hilarious…” He had trouble speaking through the sounds of laughter.
A pang of hurt went through my heart, and doubts immediately arose.
