I entered the bathroom to take a quick shower, suddenly feeling sticky and hot. Letting the cold water run down my body, I became lost in thought.
 
 It was meant to be a road trip with a few hot spots to stop at. I even got Lola, Rose, and Chris to come down. It had been pretty neat, and we had hit up a few clubs, but when we came here, I just wanted to stay for a bit...
 
 Chris had completely gone into whore mode whilst I had just ground against a few girls on the dance floor, but I didn’t bring any of them back. Okay, maybe I accepted a blowjob or two whilst I was there... but hey, I was an alpha. I had a high sex drive, and all I had to do was give those girls one killer smirk, and they were willing to drop to their knees for me. As for fucking them, it wasn’t for me. I mean, I would have in the past, but I had toned it down a lot in the last two years. I heard too much shit from men about regretting their past once they found their mates, and I didn’t want that.
 
 I sighed,I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep again. Maybe I actually needed to get out and go for a run or something. I grabbed some pants, a shirt, a leather jacket, and my boots. Once dressed, I walked out of the luxury penthouse I had booked for the four of us.
 
 The sound of moans reached my ears and I sighed, not bothering to give them privacy and looking at the couple on the sofa. Rose was straddling Lola, whose hands were under her top as they made out passionately. The smell of their arousal was strong in the air.
 
 “Can you ladies take it to the bedroom? This is a shared space,” I remarked, grabbing my phone from the table. Rose gasped, pulling away and blushing in embarrassment. She obviously hadn’t realised that I had entered.
 
 Well, as one of the best trackers, I knew how to creep up on a person and keep my heart rate low.
 
 Lola quirked an eyebrow with a smirk. Unlike her partner, she sure didn’t care.
 
 “Tell me, Ray, are you jealous that you’re single and lonely on this cold winter night?” she asked, kissing Rose’s shoulder.
 
 “Actually, no. Not when I see what Rose has to put up with,” I said to her pointedly, flashing her a patronising smirk.
 
 Lola was like Raihana to me; we had grown up together. Sure, she was a bombshell with glossy brown hair, large hazel eyes, and a sexy athletic figure, but she was like a sister to me. Rose was slightly more petite with filled out curves. She had ash-blond hair and grey eyes. Both had found each other at the mating ball a year ago, and Rose had quickly become part of our small group. I sure was glad because Lola was pretty headstrong, and Rose was the perfect remedy to soothe her, something I often had to put up with before Rose came into the picture.
 
 “Sucks to be you then.” Lola shrugged, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me keenly. “Why are you awake? Didn’t you decide on an early night after the call from Luna Maria?”
 
 “Yeah, I did… then got disturbed,” I said, unlocking my phone.
 
 Mom’s call... that had not gone well. She really needed to stop stressing out. I was an alpha, not a newborn pup. I scrolled through the messages. Raihana complaining she didn’t find her mate… Liam wishing me the best… I didn’t tell him I was skipping it this time around. The topic was still painful for him. The man had gone through shit.
 
 “Was it that dream?” Lola frowned. I had told her and Chris about them, and I was sure Rose probably knew. Although I didn’t directly discuss it with her, she was Lola’s mate.
 
 “Maybe it’s your guilt, babe?” Rose suggested with concern.
 
 I didn’t reply. Guilt? Maybe. I often felt like I had pushed her to that extent. Even then, no one mentioned the young witch who had helped us. To our kind, witches were all just trash, forgetting that if it wasn’t for that witch, many more would be dead.
 
 “Don’t think too much about it,” Lola said, pulling Rose into her lap. “Maybe you should have gone to the mating ball. You and Chris both.”
 
 “She isn’t wrong, you are going to be Alpha soon,” Rose agreed.
 
 “Something I know. Thanks, ladies, for the reminder,” I said with a mock smirk.
 
 “Okay, we get it. That’s your business. Now can we have some privacy?”
 
 “Yeah, that’s what bedrooms are for.”
 
 “Go to a club or something!” Lola called after me.
 
 I could use a drink…
 
 The Streets
 
 Rayhan
 
 Ten minutes later, I was out in the cold, wet streets. As a werewolf, I didn’t really feel the chill; we were pretty hot-blooded. Lost in thought, I let my feet carry me, and soon I realised I was in a quieter area. I saw a group of men standing against the wall, sniffing drugs and smoking. The smell made me want to wrinkle my nose.
 
 “Pretty boy looks loaded… shall we rough him up?” one of them muttered.
 
 “Too stupid to be out here… those clothes are fucking branded, mate, I swear…”
 
 “His boots alone are fucking gold mines.”