"Myers," I say, answering my phone.

"Michael Myers?" a voice replies.

I recognize it to be River, Alpha of Nightstalker pack and a relatively close friend of mine. If I'm being honest, I'm surprised Zaine hadn't called me Michael Myers at least once.

"It's Halloween," I say, quoting the movie, "Everyone's entitled to one good scare."

River chuckles.

"Are you two done?" Nick's voice asks.

He's the Alpha of RedRiver. I guess it's a conference call, with more than just two people talking. I knew it was Nick's number calling me and not River's.

"Yes, we're done," River replies.

"For now," I add. "How's your first year as alpha going, Nick?"

I hear him chuckle softly. "Not bad. Drake's been helping when I need it."

"Not surprised," I reply. "How is my favourite diabolical alpha anyway? I haven't talked to that psycho in a while."

"I'm fine, thanks for asking, Asher," Drake's voice says. "Though I don't really appreciate the nickname."

"It's true though, Drake," River says. "We all know your medieval torture methods are fucking scary as hell."

"It gets information out of my victims just fine," Drake replies carelessly. "And it's kind of fun."

"Psycho," I sing playfully, leaning back and throwing my feet up on my desk. "How many alphas are in this?"

"Just five," Nick replies. "You for Moonblood, me for RedRiver, Drake for Bloodlust, River for Nightstalker and Blake for Silverblood."

"Blake's here?" I say. "Why's he always so quiet? And why was I the last one added to the call?"

"I don't waste words as much as the rest of you do," Blake replies.

"And because that's just how it went," Nick adds.

I huff. "I'm offended. I thought I would've been one of the first."

"Deal with it, Asher," Drake says.

I huff again, pouting even though they can't see me.

"Not that I'm not enjoying this but was there a reason for this call?" River asks. "I have a feeling my beta and twin brother are play-fighting again and destroying the pack house living room and I'd like to get them outside so I can show them I'm still the best fighter."

I roll my eyes, smiling. Even though he's the alpha of the strongest pack around, River still finds time to be completely childish, playful, carefree and idiotic. But only people who he trusts know that. To most people, River's a dangerous, stone-cold killer of an alpha, doing what it takes to protect his pack.

"Yeah, I'm inviting all of you, and your mates, over to RedRiver for a meeting to go over our alliances," Nick replies. "And to make the ones between my pack and all yours official, since it's just been an unspoken agreement. I was thinking maybe a lunch meeting in a couple days on this coming Saturday the thirteenth?"

"I'm good with that," Blake says after a few seconds of thinking.

"Me too," Drake says.

"Me three," River adds.

"I'll be there," I say. "I'm bringing Raiden again though."

"Still haven't found Rei?" Drake asks, his voice gentle.

I growl softly. "She came back for Christmas. Left again five days ago."

"Left?" Blake repeats. "Why?"

"It's hard to explain over the phone," I say, my voice low.

I'm still kind of mad that she left. I don't understand how she doesn't see that she's giving that asshole King control over her. I get that I can be controlling and possessive but I do want what's best for her.

I'm also mad at myself and my lack of control over my temper. I shouldn't have snapped. It was a mistake and at least I realize it. I just have to remember to not do it again.

"I'll see you guys in a few days," I say.

"Adios," River says, his voice telling me he's grinning.

"Later," Blake adds.

"Bye," Drake says blandly.

"See you soon," Nick finishes.

I hang up, setting my phone on my desk. As I do, Raiden comes in with Mom and Zander. Scott will be busy with warrior training and knowing Dean, he's there watching and helping.

"Thunder, we have a lunch meeting at RedRiver on Saturday." Raiden nods, telling me he's alright with that. "You had another bloody nose, didn't you," I say, taking my feet off my desk and pointing to where I see a bit of dried blood under Raiden's nose.

He scowls, taking a tissue from the box on my desk to wipe it off. "Yes. I hate being prone to them, and from nothing but dry air."

"Let me see," Zander says, snatching the tissue from Raiden's grasp.

As Raiden whines, Zander holds his head and wipes the dried blood away like a mother would to a young child, then throws the tissue in the garbage and kisses Raiden's forehead.

"Love you, Raiden," Zander says softly. "Forever."

Raiden smiles. "Forever, Dad."

I smile and aw at them. My mom comes over to me and kisses my cheek.

"Mom!" I whine.

"What?" she replies, smiling. "No matter how old you get, Asher, you'll always be my little boy. And besides, since Rei has already seen a good portion of your baby photos, I have to find other ways to embarrass you."

My eyes widen. "When did you show her those?!"

I send a playful glare at the other two in the room as they chuckle and laugh. No sympathy from them I see.

"When you were all fourteen or fifteen, she was alone in the pack house one evening and looked sad so I decided to cheer her up," Mom replies, shrugging. I notice Raiden and Zander wince and look guilty at the mention of Rei being alone and upset. "She would've seen them eventually, you should be glad it was back then and not now. Those friends of hers would definitely get a kick out of seeing you in that Cinderella dress when you were four."

"Mom!"

She laughs but she's right. I don't really feel like having Killian or Zaine calling me Princess or Cinderella.

"On a more serious note," Mom says, putting a hand on my shoulder, "I'm proud of the man you turned out to be, Asher."

I scoff slightly. "I don't know if I am."

"Why not?" Zander asks, frowning.

He and Raiden have sat down on the two chairs in front of my desk. Mom stands beside me, her hand on my shoulder as I rest my elbows on my desk, my head in my hands.

I sigh, shaking my head. "I feel like a failure, like I'm not... made to be a mate. At least, not a good one. I can't keep my anger in check, I feel like I keep messing up, tearing down any progress we make and I don't know if Rei even truly wants to be with me. Why would she, after everything I've put her through?"

"Oh Asher," Zander says softly. "You are made to be with her. Yes, you were horrible in the beginning but at least now you're trying to fix it. You made mistakes, lots of them, but you're trying to right them. If you weren't made for her, you wouldn't care about her like you do."

"She chose to leave," I argue.

Raiden rolls his eyes. "She doesn't see how much control she lets King have over her. We may have been apart for two years but I know my twin... Call it a twin intuition. She didn't want to leave and she does want to be with you, Asher. But you're both leaders and both of you will probably have a hard time knowing when to listen to and follow the other. Relationships don't go along perfectly, there'll always be bumps in the road."

I snort softly, a small smile on my lips. "When did you get so smart?"

He shrugs. "I'm observant. Plus I probably beat some of your brains out when you let me beat you up so I only seem smart to you."

I wince, remembering that. "You hit hard, bro. Those bruises and broken bones didn't heal for at least four or five days."

With our quick healing, most bad bruises are gone in a day or two, while broken bones usually take two or three days. The ones Raiden gave took almost two days longer than normal.

Raiden smirks proudly. "Hey, it made me feel better so I stopped ignoring you completely."

That was two months after my sixteenth birthday, when Raiden had kept his word up until that time and didn't speak a word to me, Scott, or Dean unless it was pack-related. He would glare at us every so often, making me regret everything even more. Until I finally found the nerve to ask him to help me find Rei since we were both working on finding her on our own. He reluctantly said he would but only if he could beat us (Scott, Dean and I) up. That beating lasted two and a half hours. Two and a half hours of him roughing us up. He only started talking to us again after that.

"If I had to beg and still can't convince my mate to stay, how does that reflect on me as an Alpha?" I say. "That portrays me as weak and that makes the pack look like an easy target."

Mom scoffs and flicks my forehead. "Asher, my son, I love you but you can be an idiot."

"Anyone would fall to their knees in front of their mate," Zander says. "I would. I know any other alpha would too. And she chose to leave. She's strong-willed, others will understand that convincing people like her can take a damn lot of work."

"And looking weak doesn't mean you are weak. The strongest people let themselves be weak," Raiden says.

I notice his eyes are fogged over as he speaks and they clear as soon as he finishes. I don't ask, knowing if he doesn't say who he was mind-linking on his own, he probably wants to keep it to himself and won't answer if I ask.

"Why did she leave?" Mom asks softly.

I sigh. "Two reasons, as far as I know. One, she's a little scared I'll turn out like Leon." Mom and Zander both scowl at his name while Raiden growls softly. "And two, because King told her to go back. I think that she's letting him control her but she doesn't realize it. She said he helped her and I get that she would feel grateful but she doesn't have to listen to his every order."

Raiden nods, agreeing. "She just has to see it on her own. She's too stubborn to listen to someone else."

"Sounds like you," Zander says, looking at Raiden, who pouts.

There's a short silence before Mom asks, "Can you explain that Rogue Kingdom concept to me again? I still don't quite understand it. I get why rogues don't go mad, because they have a group like a pack, but how does the kingdom work?"

Raiden and I glance at each other.

"From what I got, it's like two big packs," Raiden says. "Rei leads one, King leads the other. And within the two big packs, there's lots of smaller groups. Those are the rogue groups and they all have their own chosen name."

"The rogues are given a choice on who they want to follow, which of the two big packs they want to be in," I continue. "Rei's 'pack' will find and rescue abused wolves, witches, warlocks and I think even humans and animals. King's rogues are the ones that attack packs for no reason other than entertainment."

"I think all the rogue's in Rei's group have a gold chain necklace, that lets them mind-link anyone else wearing one," Raiden adds. "No matter the species, or if a wolf has wolfsbane in their body, they can mind-link if they're wearing one of the necklaces."

Mom nods, understanding. "So it's like an actual kingdom, with a King and Queen."

"Basically, yeah," I say.

Another short silence.

"Hey Asher," Zander says. I look at him. "You may not be my son biologically but I want you to know that I do see as mine."

I nod, smiling. "I see you as a father figure, too... That doesn't make it weird if Rei and I are mates, does it?"

Zander chuckles softly. "No, not to me anyway. You'll be my son-in-law anyway."

I nod again.

As my mind drifts to my mate, I think of how I could try to make up for snapping at her. I'm not the best at being a good mate but I want to be at least good enough for her. I want her to be comfortable with me and not worry about me hurting her.

I... want to make better memories with her, want to make her happy.

I want her with me forever.