Amira

I wake up against a hard, bare chest with an arm around my waist. With a scream of surprise, I try to throw Caine's arm off of me, but I fail as he groans and pulls me closer to him. The pillow wall that I had built is destroyed and pillows are thrown around the room, clearly done on purpose.

"I could get used to this," he lowly mumbles as he nestles his face in my hair.

"Well don't," I struggle to get away from him, but he growls and tightens his grip.

"Don't try sweetheart, it's very hard for me to control my wolf in the morning," the rasp in his voice weakens me, though I am very irritated by it. I have already had the 'pleasure' of meeting Caine's wolf, and I'm going to try to avoid that..

"Can you please let me go?"

"Come on, babe," he flips me and moves himself to hover over me. "Don't you want to have some fun?" he wiggles his eyebrows. I roll my eyes and try to fight the urge to take his offer.

"Ew, please get off," I shove at his chest.

"Don't even try to deny it, Amira. You want me." He begins to lower his lips to mine and I freeze in shock. He stops not even a centimeter from my lips and, even with my eyes lightly closed, I know a smirk has crossed his face.

"See? You want me," he smartly remarks, but doesn't pull away.

Then, to save me from my confused state, someone knocks and the door opens without a 'come on in'. Caine groans.

"First you have your hands all over her and now you're a cockblock and I can't even get a fucking kiss," Caine mumbles, then louder says, "What do you want, Daniel?"

"You've never kissed your mate? Pathetic," Daniel crosses his arms as he stands in the doorway.

"It's complicated," Caine growls.

"I hate him," I say as I push Caine off of me and Daniel chuckles. Caine rolls his eyes.

"Amira, can we talk?" Daniel raises an eyebrow at me and, once again, Caine growls.

"That's enough," Alpha Daniel glares at him and his growl stops as he glares back.

"She'll be down in a second," Alpha Daniel nods and shuts the door behind him. Caine rolls to his side and buries his head in his hands.

"Amira, I need to tell you a few things before Daniel does." I feel the best I can do is pay attention to him, judging by how serious he is right now.

"Okay," I gulp.

"I'm sure you remember yesterday what Daniel said." Immediately I think he's referring to what I did to him, how I hurt him.

"Despite what he tells you today, I did not steal his mate," my eyebrows scrunch together in confusion.

"What?"

"Alpha Daniel already found his mate."

"So where is she?" Caine sighs at my question.

"She rejected him. She rejected him for me." Instantly I feel sick. I know I don't like Caine that much, but the thought of him being with someone else just gives me the worst feeling. Not quite jealousy, but something along the lines of it.

"We hooked up before they found each other. If you ask me, I did him a favor. She was crazy. I was drunk, I left before she woke up. A few months later, Daniel was meeting with my father and she showed up. He immediately knew she was his mate, but when she found out, she said she loved me and rejected him. I never touched her after that, Daniel knows about what happened before they met. He hates me now, and it's not even my fault. So if he tries to tell you I stole his mate, don't believe him. That's not what happened." I stared at him horrified.

"He lost his mate and all you're worried about is me blaming you for being a heartless asshole?"

"Amira-"

"No, Caine! You didn't tell me we were mates, you forced me to come here with you, you've been trying to get somewhere with me, but still haven't done anything nice or thoughtful for me. I'm sorry, but you are an asshole. It's just the truth."

"Wait, Amira!" before he could say anything, I slam the door and make my way to Daniel's office. Maybe I took it too far. He just admitted to sleeping with another girl before his mate and that just made me hate him more. My feelings are so jumbled right now, I just don't want to deal with it.

I reach Daniel's office and knock on the door.

"Amira," I hear a voice behind me and jump as I quickly turn around. With a sigh of relief, I look Alpha Daniel in the eye.

"Alpha, you wanted to see me?"

"Please, Amira, call me Daniel," I nod at his request. "Why don't we go outside?"

I follow him as he leads me out the back patio doors to the extravagant yard with its own private beach. The waves crash on the shoreline and I'm surrounded by the smell of salt water.

"I like the islands because they remind me of home," Daniel finally talks as we walk across the sand. "There's nothing quite like the feeling of sand in your toes and the ocean breeze on your face," his hands are in his khaki pockets and his white short-sleeved button up ripples with the wind.

"Tell me something, Amira," he licks his lips as he watches his toes dig into the sand with every step. "Do you really believe in all of this? In Tyson being alive and Trenton being an illegitimate Alpha?" I hesitate.

"Alpha," he raises his head towards me and I correct myself, "Daniel, when I turned fourteen, I had a dream where I was swimming in the ocean, a place I've always wanted to be," I gaze out into the ocean and Daniel grins. "My grandma was there with me. We were splashing each other and having fun. Suddenly a wave came out of nowhere and crashed down on us. After a few seconds, I resurface, but my grandma was nowhere in sight."

"It was just a dream, right? Your grandma was okay when you woke up."

"That's what I thought, and I woke up in the middle of the night surprisingly calm. But the next morning, I walked into the kitchen to see my mother crying. My grandmother had died just an hour before I woke up. She drowned in her bathtub." Daniel stays silent when I finish speaking.

"Amira-"

"That was the first time one of my dreams came true. After that, I'd see some other things happen before they did, but I didn't realize it was a talent until Caine told me it was. I've been dreaming about Tyson for almost a year now, and I believe I dream about him for a reason. I don't just think he's still alive, I know he is. And I know he's the rightful heir to the Malignity Pack. I think it's my responsibility to show him who he is, to show him where he belongs."

"I believe you."

"What?"

"I believe you. Tyson is alive, and I'm going to help you find him." I stop walking and turn to face Daniel. When he realizes that I had stopped, he turns to me.

"Thank you," I say, and he grins at me.

"For someone so smart, why did you get stuck with a mate like Caine?" He begins walking again and I follow, "despite what Caine tells you, I don't hate him. I know what happened with my mate wasn't his fault. He just aggravates me. I will get a new mate, I know that. I just don't know when or who it will be."

"I wouldn't mind if you hated him, Alph- Daniel. I do," I admit to him and he sighs before speaking again.

"Please don't say you hate your mate, Amira. It breaks my heart to hear anyone say that."

"I do though."

"You don't. You may not like your situation right now, but you can feel the mate bond already. How you really feel about Caine will soon be uncovered." I take in his words and silence surrounds us again. The waves crash against the sand and drown out faint voices from far down the beach.

"Daniel?"

"Yes, Amira?"

"Whatever happened to Caine last night, you said it was my fault. How was it my fault? What did I do to him?"

"You are just beginning to uncover your talents, Amira. What happened with Caine was one of them emerging in a time of need. I knew from the moment you stepped out of that car that you are strong. I know your talents, hidden and exposed, and I can help you learn to summon and control them, if you let me."

"I would love that."