Dan was surprised when Asher walked into the living room with his mate thrown over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

He lowered his newspaper, "That's new, what happened? "

"I wish I could tell you " Asher sighed and laid her gently on the sofa, careful not to stir her and making sure her body was properly balanced on it.

A wry smile twisted Dan's mouth, he envied Asher. Since he once had a mate, he knew how precious she was once to him.

Yes, he and Sabrina were doing great but sometimes he could still feel that void, that ache.

The demise of a mate always leaves a wound that scars - the emptiness never goes away. It's almost suffocating and tormenting initially but with time, the pain becomes numb - that is if you're patient enough and strong enough to endure that heart-wrenching pain.

It was never easy but it got easier; now he was happy with Sabrina. He just hoped their relationship would last for a long time.

Asher slumped on the sofa with an exasperated sigh and his eyes closed - things were getting more confusing.

He could speak a lot of languages, thanks to his many years spent on earth. Asher has seen people envy and wish for immortality but they don't know that it gets tiring.

He has watched people he grew up with, hang around and even those he had an affair with over the years, - during those times, it was seen as a taboo for an unmarried lady to be seen in tight corners with a man, talk more a bed - all grow old and die eventually while he remained the same - young and undying.

Life became boring because humanity became too predictable to him; greedy, selfish, evil; humans never had good thoughts in their hearts.

So to pass time, Asher picked up an interest in languages, and thankfully the Nicolli clan never stayed at a place for a long time in fear of being discovered by the humans and hunters.

So he and his clan moved around a lot. Truth be told, he could boost of traveling around the world already. Little Town was the only place he had settled longer than intended.

Asher couldn't describe it but a force drew him here in the first place and now he has come to love it because he finally found his mate here.

But right now, what bothered him the most was the fact that his mate spoke Romanian. He hadn't forgotten that during their passionate makeout session.

Asher didn't think about it a lot then because she had ensnared him with her touches and kisses but now, his head was clear.

Romanian was just one of the many, many, languages he knew and was fluent at it. How had Lia known the language and was so good at it?

Though he never asked her but he was sure his mate could not speak it. Moreover, Lia took up only Spanish at school, neither did he remember Romanian being taught in his school.

So how come? He didn't teach her either? The only person he taught that language was his ex-girlfriend Katya who was late.

It couldn't be that the spirit of his late ex-girlfriend who died years ago possessed his mate? Was that why she was so eager to choose him as her mate?

Asher shook his head, erasing the useless thoughts out of his head. If it was Ben, that would have been a tad bit believable since he was a medium.

"What in the world are you rambling about? " Dan asked with a lost look on his face.

"Shit!" Came his loud curse.

Lost in his thoughts, the vampire didn't realize he had made himself vulnerable to Dan's telepathy. Having known that Dan couldn't filter whatever he heard, Asher blocked him out of his mind without hesitation.

"Why are you so obsessed with Kayta lately? " Inquired Dan with a fixed gaze on the vampire who was uncomfortable with his question.

"It's nothing " Asher answered curtly with annoyance.

"It's nothing?" Dan gave a short laugh of disbelief, "No offense but you've been slipping, I even read your mind " He pointed out and that was something to be proud of, considering the fact he hardly got access into the private vampire's mind.

"I'll tell you everything later " Asher coaxed his right-hand man, "I need to figure everything out first "

"Fine, whatever you say" Dan dropped the paper on his side of the sofa and stood to his feet.

"Good luck figuring it out all by yourself, "He said to him before leaving but Asher was able to sense the gibe that lay beneath his voice.

"Who said I was going to figure it out on my own?" Asher scoffed in his mind and slipped out his phone from his pocket with the intention of ordering that werewolf called his love rival over to his place.

Meanwhile.....

"I still don't trust Tristan " Ryan spoke out his mind while Daniel busied himself with his barbecued beef.

One couldn't help but notice that the dishes on the table were all meaty and featured only a few salads - not to mention the fact that this was the second serving.

Beef ribs, Meatballs, Barbecue chicken, Barbecue sandwich,

Beef ribs and Beefsteak surrounded his table and the Alpha didn't look like he was halfway stopping.

"He sent the delegate back alive, doesn't that mean peace?" He questioned his beta in between chomping on a beef rib.

"Yes, he did send the messenger back alive but I keep having this disturbing feeling that he's planning something else "

"Fine then," Daniel gulped down a glass of wine and wiped his mouth with the tablecloth, " Tighten the security around the borders if that would ease you "

A smile stretched Ryan's lips, "Would do so with immediate effect " He said to Daniel and began to inform all the pack guards of the latest development through the mind link.

"Care for anything? " Daniel gestured to the feast on the table. After he ran in the woods in his wolf form, he felt so famished he would have swallowed a cow if he had encountered one on his way home.

Though werewolves still consumed cooked meat, the raw ones were still the most delicious and fulfilling; the metallic taste of blood mingled with the flesh was heavenly-such appetite wasn't surprising since wolves were carnivorous creatures

Daniel was busy replenishing his lost energies and his beta was giving out orders mentally while his chewing disturbed the otherwise peaceful air.

Suddenly, his phone rang. It was the vampire.

The first thought that came into Daniel's mind," Did something happen to their mate?" But it wasn't possible else, he would have felt it through the bond.

He picked up and listened attentively to the vampire's short message that went straight to the point: Asher wanted to see him.

That could only mean one thing, his mate's wolf must have tried something stupid again.

"Where are you going?" Ryan, who had noticed his call, asked when he saw him rise to his feet.

"I have to see an annoying vampire," he disclosed without further information.

Ryan guessed something must have happened to their Alpha's mate. Again.

He sighed, Daniel had suffered so much since childhood; why couldn't the moon goddess give him a normal mate?

Why couldn't the moon goddess stop his suffering for once? He deserved to be happy after all these years of hard labor.

Ryan had been Daniel's beta from childhood, so both were as close as brothers or even more than.

When Daniel had told him that he had found his mate, he was so happy for him. Who knew, he didn't find a mate instead, the Alpha was sharing a mate.

And sharing with a vampire of all species?

Truth be told, he was tempted to report this weird occurrence to the council of Elders but when he saw the look on Daniel's face, he couldn't.

For the first time in fourteen years, the Alpha was smiling again and it was all because of his mate. Maybe the trouble packed hybrid mate wasn't as bad as he thought.

He just hoped the girl was smart enough to choose the Alpha as a mate in the end and not that dumb vampire.

"Asher, sure calls at the right time " Daniel sassed in his head while dressing up, then left the pack. He was reluctant to part with his food but his mate was first.

Daniel followed the forest route since it was the fastest to Little Town than the main roads.

The forest was quieter than usual due to the curfew but it was not a problem for him; with his hearing and fast reflexes, he would be able to evade the patrol team.

Soon enough, he arrived at Asher's place without difficulty and located his mate through his sense of smell.

"What did you do to her?" Daniel accused him with fire in his eyes.

Asher snorted, " I think your question should be, 'what did she do to you? ' "he helped the werewolf rephrase his question.

"What do you mean? " Daniel asked in confusion which made Asher narrate to him what happened while excluding the language part.

"Damn! " Daniel let out an exasperated curse, "Why is our mate so obsessed with you?" Daniel queried Asher while making sure to be careful with the use of his pronouns.

He continued, "What do you have that I don't have? "

"A dead heart? "