•Ryder's POV•

"Mara, hurry up. We're running late as it is." I mind-link her.

I mean, what is with girls taking forever to get ready? All I had to do was change into some nice jeans and a clean t-shirt, spray some cologne, run a hand through my hair and BAM! I'm ready.

But girls need to do their makeup perfectly, put their hair into some complicated-twisty thing, make sure they have the perfect outfit, blah blah blah.

"Shut up Ryder, we leave when we leave. I'm almost done." She replies.

I sigh and lean against the railing.

Mara's mother walks in, her father trailing close behind.

"Ryder, how nice to see you again. You look nice, are you going somewhere?" Katrina asks.

I nod and smile, "Mara and I are going out for dinner with some old friends of mine."

"That's nice, we're going out for dinner too actually. Would you mind reminding Mara to lock the house when she leaves?" Richard asks.

I nod, "No problem."

They both smile at me, "Have a nice time Ryder." Katrina says.

I smile back, "Thank you, and you too."

They walk out the door and I tap my foot, waiting for Mara.

I finally here her footsteps walking down the stairs and I look up, my eyes locked on her as she's looking down at where she's stepping.

She looks amazing. She's wearing a stunning dress that's not too formal, yet not too casual either, it' knee length and a beige kind of colour. It has two straps, but layers from one shoulder travel down vertically to her waist. A small lighter coloured band wraps around her slim waist and she wears some strappy heals that give make her at least three inches taller.

Her hair is twisted into a braid in the front and then ties into a neat bun at the back. Her make up is light and neat, exactly how I like it. Even though I wouldn't mind if she didn't have makeup on, but I hate the look of too much makeup.

She smiles at me when she looks up and I lean in and kiss her cheek, whispering in her ear, "You look beautiful."

She blushes a little and studies my outfit, "Not too bad yourself."

I chuckle and grab her hand, "Now we have to go, so come on."

She grabs the keys on her way out and locks the door.

"How did you know to lock the door?" I ask.

She points to her ears, "Tiger hearing."

I chuckle, "Sneaky."

She just giggles and hops in the passenger side of my car.

I start the engine and drive off, heading to Alpha Kyle's town.

"So where are we meeting them for dinner?" Mara asks a few minutes into the drive.

"At an Italian restaurant in Kyle's town, he said it has the best reviews." I answer.

She nods, "I love Italian."

"Have you ever been to Italy?" I ask.

She shakes her head, laughing a little, "I've never been out of the country."

I smile at her, 'We'll go one day."

"Really?" She asks exictedly.

I nod, "Definitely."

"That would be amazing." She sighs, resting her head against the headrest.

I smile to myself, whatever makes her happy.

We get to Kyle's town and I park out the front of the restaurant, we get out and I lock the car before walking through the entrance.

The smell of herbs and pasta whaffs through my nose as soon as we open the doors, we walk to the lady at the front and she smiles at us warmly.

"Table for two?" She asks, although I note her hesitation, she knows I'm a werewolf and I know she is one too.

"We're actually meeting Alpha Kyla, is he here yet?" I ask.

She widens her eyes a little and nods, "Right this way please, Alpha."

Well, at least she knows who I am.

She leads us to a private area, the rest of the restaurant cut out by large curtains hanging from the ceiling.

Alpha Kyle smiles when he sees us approaching, and he and his mate stand up when we arrive at the table.

"Alpha Kyle." I shake his hand while Mara kisses his mate's cheek.

He nods, "Please, may we just call each other by our first names Alpha? I would rather this as a casual meeting."

I chuckle, "That's fine Kyle, I would rather that. Sometimes the whole 'Alpha' thing tires on me."

He laughs, "Too right. This is my mate and wife, Kiera." He gestures to that lady next to him.

I shake her hand, "And this is my mate and girlfriend Mara, as you know Kyle." I gesture to Mara.

"Good to see you again Kyle." She smirks.

"The pleasure is mine Mara." He grins.

We sit down and scan the menus.

Mara and Keira start in a conversation and I look to Kyle, "Thank you for inviting us Kyle, it was a nice gesture."

"Of course Ryder. I was hoping we could form and allience." He says.

I nod, "That would be great."

He nods too, "Very good. Also that way, I can help if something happens with this Cam guy."

"Yes well, we still have no idea what his intentions are, but we are hoping to find some leads or something soon." I say.

"Kyle," Keira says, "You need to give them the note." She says.

"Oh yes." Kyle replies.

"Sorry?" I ask, clearly seeing Mara's confusion as well.

"We went back to the cabin the other day, you know, just in case. And we actually found something this time." He says.

"What was it?" Mara asks.

He pulls out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket and hands it to me.

I look at it and frown, "A phone number?"

Kyle nods, "I'm not sure who's it is, but I decided to just give it to you. It doesn't look familiar?" He asks.

I look at Mara who shakes her head, "I don't think so."

"Won't he realise it's missing?" Mara asks.

Keria shakes her head, "Kyle copied the real one on that piece of paper, the real one is still in the cabin."

Mara takes the paper from me again, studying it, "Zero, nine, four." She reads, "That's the start for Valleyfield numbers."

I frown and take the paper from her, putting it in my pocket, "We'll have a look and contact you when we figure it out." I tell Kyle.

He smiles, "That would be great."

 ••••*••••

After we finish out meals, we chat while finishing our drinks.

"My Alpha ceremony is tomorrow, it would be wonderful if you and Keira could attend." I say to Kyle.

He smiles, "We'd be honored."

"Great." I smile back.

I look at the time and see it's nearly nine-thirty, "We best get going, we have a busy day tomorrow." I say.

Kyle nods and stands up, "Of course, we'll escort you out."

I nod and take Mara's hand as she gets up. We walk to the doors and wait patiently as Kyle pays the bill, much to Mara and my protesting.

Mara tugs on my shirt, "What?" I ask.

She points to the window, "Isn't that Torah?" She asks.

I turn around and see a familar face look around cautiously before walking down the side walk, "I think it was."

"Why would she be in Kyle's territory?" Mara asks.

I shrug, "No idea, I'll ask her next time I see her."

We leave the restaurant and say goodbye to Kyle and Keira.

As we drive away, Mara asks for the number again and studies the number.

"I wonder who's number this is, maybe this is the lead we need." Mara says.

I nod in agreement.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hello!

I'm sorry it's shorter than usual, but I have work really soon and I wrote this fairly quickly, so sorry again if there are any mistakes!

This book is doing so well, it's amazing and I never knew I would get this far!

Mara's dress to the side ------------>

Please keep voting and commenting!

Bye! xx