Mated to the Alpha

SASHA

A week later, I walked in for my first day at TITAN Corporation. I could feel the strength of the pack the minute I walked into the building. It was almost crippling.

Every rogue cell in my body was willing me, begging me, to run. Taking this job went against everything I had been taught growing up, and my father’s words echoed in my mind.

“A pack is dangerous, never trust a pack.”

“If you get caught in their territory, you’ll be killed.”

“Don’t try to reason with them. Just run.”

“We are all the pack we will ever need.”

I snapped myself out of my memories and made my way to the lobby reception. The girl at the desk gave me a sniff and a scowl. “Can I help you?”

“Hi. I’m here to see Jim Thorpe.”

“And you are?” She looked me up and down, trying to figure out if I was really supposed to be there.

“Sasha Lovett.”

She eyed me before picking up the phone, “Sasha Lovett to see Beta Thorpe. Mm-hmm.”

She hung up the phone and looked at me again. “Okay, Miss Lovett. Take the elevator to the eighth floor. Mr. Thorpe will be waiting for you.”

“Thank you,” I replied, letting my words drip with kindness.

“Miss Lovett! So glad to see you!” Mr. Thorpe chimed as I exited the elevator.

I shook his hand with a smile. “Good morning, Mr. Thorpe.”

“Oh please, call me Jim. Everyone does.”

I replied with a nod, not sure if I was ready yet to actually call him that.

“Okay, so Mr. Bettany said that you, and I quote, ‘weren’t the worst assistant he’s had,’ which, from what I gather of Mr. Bettany, is pretty much a glowing review.”

That made me chuckle, and I let out a breath. “You have no idea.”

“Well, if you were able to survive Mr. Bettany, then this should be a piece of cake. You’ll be the new assistant for our CEO and alpha, Jackson Thorpe.”

“Thorpe, as in…” My eyes squinted as my brain tried to make the connection.

“My brother.”

“Ahh,” I replied with a nod of the head. This shouldn’t be too bad. If he’s anything like Jim, he’ll be a way better boss than the old troll Mr. Bettany.

“I’ll give you the grand tour of the place. Here’s the break room. The fridge is always stocked. Please help yourself to whatever. There’s coffee and tea and other random drinks and snacks.

“Here’s the file room and copy room. We have two main boardrooms on this floor. This one here by my office and the second down the hall closer to yours. Let’s take you to your desk, and we can go over your contract.”

“Thank you,” I smiled and followed him down the hall to a large set of double doors with a clean, modern desk stationed just outside them.

“Here we are. Have a seat and look over the contract. I’m going to go inform him you’re here.”

He walked away, and I looked down at the file in my hands, opened it, and read through the terms.

My eyes widened at the list of rules and stipulations, mostly going over the fact that I would be dealing with confidential business and pack matters and could not give them away to anyone.

But my eyes grew even wider at the bottom of the page where it stated my salary. That number couldn’t possibly be right. I would be making more money than I’d ever had.

Sadly, the walls weren’t very thick, and I heard everything in the office, pulling me away from the awe of my contract.

“Are you serious, Jimmy?!”

“Just hear me out, Jack!”

“You can’t hire a damn rogue to work for the pack! Can you imagine what she’ll do with all of our information?”

“She seems like a sweet girl and trustworthy. Don’t you think it’s a bit sad that she’s a rogue and so young? We could help her.”

“She isn’t a part of our pack. She can’t just be privy to our pack’s internal systems.”

I lowered my head. I knew this wasn’t going to work, that this had been too good to be true.

“She goes, Jim!”

“Jackson, she’s staying.”

“We’ll see about that!” He growled and I could hear heavy footsteps coming toward me.

The door flew open and suddenly the world began to spin.

The scent hit me like a ton of bricks as sage and bergamot filled my senses. It was intoxicating. I looked up to meet the eyes of who I assumed was Jackson Thorpe.

“MATE!”

“Mate! Mate! Mate! Mate!!” I could hear Raya going crazy in my head, but my body wouldn’t move.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want a mate, I just didn’t think I actually had one. When I was younger, all I could think about was finding a mate to take me to his pack and make a home with me. Someone to give me a safe place.

But that moment never came.

Now I was twenty-four, and it was practically unheard of for a wolf to go that long without finding a mate. So I had given up. I could take care of myself. I was all the pack I needed.

My mind was snapped back to the world when I heard a low growl. I looked up to see Jackson Thorpe standing aggressively above me.

“You. Are. Not. My. Mate.”

I lowered my head, hoping my submission would calm him.

“No way!”

I darted my eyes up to see Jim standing in awe.

“See! I told you hiring her was a good idea!” He laughed, and I couldn’t help the small smile that found its way on my face. It was quickly erased by Jackson’s growl.

“We are not mates,” Jackson huffed.

“And I hate puppies.”

Jackson and I turned to Jim, confusion evident on his face.

“Oh, I thought we were going around and saying things that weren’t true.” Jim shrugged with a smirk. “My bad.”

I tried to stifle a laugh, which just brought Jackson’s fiery gaze back to me. “In my office, both of you.”

He stormed back into his office, Jim and I following behind. We sat in the chairs across from his desk, and he leaned back in his chair. I could see the struggle within him. I just didn’t know what to do.

“Alpha Jackson, I don’t want to—”

Jackson interrupted me with a raise of his hand. “Don’t speak.”

We sat in silence for what seemed like forever before he spoke again. “This is what we are going to do. You will be my assistant for one month, but I don’t expect you’ll survive that long.

“I give it a week tops before you quit.”

“Wait, so I’m not fired?” I asked in surprise.

“Not yet.”

“And you’re going to keep her as your mate?!” Jimmy added.

“Not yet.”

My heart sank. Every dream I’d had about finding a mate had just died. I had never thought about what would happen if he didn’t want me.

“We’ll see,” he added.

“That’s not as bad…,” Raya whined.

“Nobody speaks of this. I mean it, Jimmy. If you tell a soul, I’ll beat the crap out of you.”

“You’ll try,” he scoffed.

Jackson stood, using the full effect of his alpha presence. “Nobody will speak of this. Do we have an understanding, you two?”

We both lowered our heads. “Yes.”

“Good. now get back to work.”