Page 1 of Desire Him

CHAPTER ONE

The breeze whispers across Valentine Smith’s cheek as she stands next to her new alpha female, Eme. They’re at her and Logan’s mating ceremony party, celebrating their union with the rest of the pack. It’s halfway through the night with snow softly falling on the Brook Mountain Pack’s little mountain village, and while some of the pack has already disappeared into their home, a handful remains.

Much to their entertainment, the majority of them are drunk. All except for Val and Eme. Val doesn’t get drunk often. She tends to like to keep her wits about her. Plus, she does stupid shit when she’s drunk. It’s best to save herself the morning after embarrassment.

Careful not to jostle the contents of her red solo cup, Val gives Eme a brief, one-shoulder hug. “I’m so glad you’re part of the pack, Eme.”

She pulls away and sees Eme grin brightly at her. “Me, too.”

Val blows out a breath, exasperated at all of tonight’s events because the mating ceremony wasn’t the only thing that happened. “Can you believe it though? Jim Spears?”

Jim Spears is the reason Dillon Ryker, Eme’s ex, came and almost ruined the entire mating ceremony. Dillon was obsessed with Eme and had challenged Logan to a match. Whoever won would get Eme. This sort of challenge is the way of their world, but thankfully, Logan had won.

The traitor, Jim, is why Dillon was there in the first place. He wanted Logan gone, and he thought the best way to do that was to have Logan be challenged by a wolf on wolfcalm, a sometimes deadly drug. But in this case, it had made Dillon stronger.

Once the fight was over and Logan was the victor, the mating ceremony continued without a hitch, and the whole pack has been celebrating ever since.

Val is just glad that part is over. She had been worried that Dillon would take Eme away, and she rather likes Eme.

Eme blows out a breath. “I don’t know him well, but I do like Viola. She’s a sweet lady. She shouldn’t have to go through this. No one deserves this. It makes me wonder what she’s feeling right now, and it hurts that I can’t really help her feel better.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Val has known the Spears since she was a baby. To see them as a broken family now . . .

To distract herself from those thoughts, Val looks around at who’s left at the party and doesn’t find Jim’s mate anywhere. She must have taken off as soon as the mating ceremony was over. Val can’t blame her. Tonight had been rough for her.

“Do you think she’ll be alright?” Eme asks.

Val twists her lips to the side and gives Eme a sympathetic smile. “Time will tell, but parting from your fated mate can be difficult.”

“Gosh, I hope I never have to go through that.” Eme and Logan may not be fated mates, but imprinted mates would have the same issues.

“Viola is strong,” Val reassures. “She’ll get through this.”

Eme sighs. “I hope so. Do you think Jim will leave without a fight?”

Jim was told he has the night to gather his things and say goodbye, and then he’ll be escorted off the property in the morning. Hopefully, he won’t resist. They’ll kill him if he does. He may have been disloyal to the pack and almost got Logan killed, but Val doesn’t want to see him die either.

Val chuffs and takes a swig of her beer. “If he knows what’s good for him.”

Eme runs a hand through her curled hair, and she turns to Val. “Logan can’t deal with another thing. He already has the rogues crossing our territory and the wolfcalm to deal with.”

“Did Logan say what he was going to do about the rogues?”

Eme shrugs. “An hour ago, he mentioned to me that Wayne was going to be the one to discover whether the rogues were the ones selling the wolfcalm. They have to know for sure before he can do anything about it. It could be a mess otherwise.”

“We all know they are.” Val snorts.

“But we need proof. It’s a Head Alpha thing.” Since Logan is Head Alpha, it’s his job to bring justice, but he can’t do anything about the issue unless he has proof. Val supposes this is what most people would call responsible.

“So, Wayne will find the proof.” At the sound of her beta’s name on her lips, Val flicks her gaze to where Wayne stands. Draven is hovering next to him, and together, they’re drinking and laughing. Her heart flutters a little at the sound of his laughter. It’s deep, just like his voice, and adds to his attractiveness.

Wayne Blake has blond hair, and he’s stocky. Even through his coat, she can see his muscles bulge. He’s a good beta, tending to everyone’s needs. Val just wishes he’d tend to hers in the way she wants to tend to his.

“You’re staring,” Eme whispers.

“Huh?”

“You’re still staring,” Eme adds, giggling. “Why don’t you just go talk to him?”