Previously on Wolves of Roma (Chapter 17)

The lone wolf was nursing his drink, it was a little early to drink but he had nothing better to do, he thought bitterly. He gulped his drink in one go and indicated to the bartender to fill it up.

A man walked up and sat next to him.

"Drinking does not solve your problems, you know" the man next to him said.

He didn't even bother looking at this guy, he was simply not interested.

"Neither do strangers, so, fuck off!" he said dismissed him.

"Sometimes, they just might" The stranger added.

For the first time he looked at the stranger. Old, wrinkly face, mostly grey hair and eyes, this old goat was close to his expiry date.

"Listen grandpa!" He said "You don't know me. I don't know you. You don't know what my problems are and I don't give a shit what your problem is. So, if you think we can sit and exchange sob stories well you can try for the next looser you see in the bar down the road. This one is simply not interested"

The old man just smiled, it was more of a smirk "I know who you are Beta Crawford or...should I say ex-beta."

The beta froze, realization dawning on him, he again took a close look at the old man and his surroundings and he realized that the old man was not alone. There were two guys near the door. They looked like typical guard dogs. But as he analyzed them he realized they were anything but typical and he had a feeling he would have a hard time taking them down. Of course they were wolves and so was this old goat.

"Who are you?" he asked, this time cautiously, he as such was in shitload of trouble. He didn't want more to be added to his pile.

"A stranger, who can help you" he extended his hand.

"You can call me" he said with a small smirk. A trademark of his.

"Charles"

Chapter 8

-------------

He entered Colorado from Wyoming. He had stayed at the Knapp's Wycolo lodge, which was very close to Colorado border, acted like a regular tree huger who usually visited this place and in the name of hiking he visited the border every day of the week, he did not find any patrols, guards or sight any wolves. So after a week, he checked out, walked in to the forest transformed and entered Colorado.

Beta Crawford was on a mission, he technically was not a beta anymore after his uptight alpha kicked him out of the pack. But his new pack, if he could call it that, always referred to him as beta Crawford. His current pack was a rag-tag of misfits and other losers and he was recruited to keep them in line, train them and put some discipline in to them. Even though they called him 'beta' he was an alpha to these bands of misfits. He was proud of what he achieved with them in a few months, him being a beta was invaluable as Charles had said and he was given a free hand in how to run his show.

He was finally happy again, at a point when he had nowhere to go, Charles had shown up and there was no looking back and the best part. The best part was if Charles plan succeeded, he had promised him his ex-alpha's head in a platter. Now, that was something to look forward to and knowing Charles as he did in the last few months that was a promise he could deliver on. That old goat had balls of steel.

So, here he was on a special mission from Charles. His objective was to infiltrate Colorado and see what kind of defenses that new alpha of Colorado had put in place. Till now nothing, he had not encountered a whiff of resistance. The forest lands were devoid of any werewolves. He knew that the Rogue attack had seriously depleted the packs in Colorado but this was like totally deserted. Either the alpha was careless or they did not have the required resources.

He ran through forest for days, resting in the night and hunting and eating the wildlife until he reached the borders of Roosevelt national forest. Here for the first time he picked up scent of werewolves, so he took a detour. His current assignment was to track, not to engage, he changed his direction towards the nearest town which was Walden. He would start the phase two of his plan from there.

***

"Why are you smelling like my mate?" Maxwell questioned as Alex entered the room.

Max was sitting at the dining table going through his e-mail and having a toast as a breakfast when Alex entered the room in an awfully good mood, what was unsettling was that he had Evelyn's scent all over him.

"What can I say, your mate can't resist me! She jumped me as soon as she saw me" he said grinning and planted himself in the chair opposite to Maxwell.

Maxwell narrowed his eyes, he knew what Alex was doing but he could not help his reaction.

"What on earth were you doing at her place early in the morning?" Maxwell demanded.

"I wanted to catch up with my girl" Alex said smugly.

"Your girl?" Maxwell asked with disbelief.

"Yep, after all I did take her out on a date before you" Alex said with a twinkle in his eye.

Maxwell gritted his teeth while Alex wondered if he had pushed him a little too far. Mates were finicky that way.

"I should have had you strung from the ceiling of a dungeon for that!" Maxwell spat.

"How medieval!" Alex exclaimed nonplussed. While Maxwell derived mental orgasm from imagining such a fate for Alex. That Bastard! Maxwell still hated the fact that Alex dated Evelyn, even if it was for only one time and she kicked him to the curb at the end of the date. But still, his lower brain did not like that fact.

"But if I were you, I would be worried about my mate rather than getting kinky with me in a dungeon." Alex said cryptically.

Maxwell's brow turned to a question "What do you mean?"

"Oh! Nothing, wouldn't want to bother you un-necessarily" Alex said wiping imaginary dirt on his shirt.

Maxwell wanted to punch that bastard in the face...and break his nose? Or even a teeth or two maybe?

"Spit it out Alex!" Maxwell said barely controlled voice.

"I spent some quality time with Evy you see, getting reacquainted and all, we had breakfast before I dropped her to school" Alex paused as the silence stretched between them.

"And?" Maxwell growled impatiently.

"I learnt some interesting things." Alex declared.

"Interesting?" Maxwell parroted in question "What interesting things?"

"I am not sure you would want to know, it would only upset you and I don't want to face the brunt of your fury" Alex added.

"If you don't tell me what the fuck you are talking about, the one thing you will face is the goddamn floor!" Maxwell threatened.

"Alright, Alright!" Alex said putting up hands in surrender.

"As I said we talked about stuff and some of the stuff we talked about included mate related stuff" Alex hedged.

"What mate related stuff?" Maxwell growled. His patience was wearing thin.

"You know stuff" Alex evaded.

"I swear to god Alex..." Maxwell started.

"It's about what needs to be done to complete the mate bond" Alex blurted out.

After a minute of silence and of them staring at each other Maxwell spat out in barely concealed fury "You spoke to my mate about sex?"

"Well not explicitly but implied" Alex clarified.

"Implied?" Maxwell repeated ridiculously.

"Listen do you want to talk to me about technicality are do you want to listen to what I have to say?" Alex demanded.

"All right, I am all ears" Maxwell conceded, dying of curiosity.

"Listen when I brought up the topic of completing the mating, she simply shut me off, I don't think she is interested in mating with you" Alex voiced out.

"She is not interested in mating...of course she is interested..why wouldn't she be?" Max mumbled. is mind going on an overdrive.

Alex was trying hard to control his grin.

"Maybe she just didn't want to talk to you about it, with you" Maxwell said.

"Don't know dude...I didn't feel the vibe" Alex muttered unconvinced.

"Vibe? What vibe exactly?" Maxwell asked confused.

"You know...the vibe...the vive which says she is going to do it" He couldn't believe the bullshit coming out of his mouth and to his utter pleasure Maxwell was buying it. The mention of mate and all reason flew out of the window. This was priceless.

"You are talking nonsense Alex" Maxwell declared.

"Yeah, maybe" Alex muttered with doubt. "Anyways, I just wanted to tell you what I thought you know, looking out for you. The rest you need to work it out between you and your mate."

With that he walked in to the bedroom and closed the door behind him and settled himself on the bed and waited and started mentally counting

Five...

Four...

Three...

Too...

And right on que the door swung open "What do you mean you didn't get the vibe?" Maxwell demanded and Alex simply shrugged and added "I told you what I felt, rest you figure the shit out." Alex said and picked up an iPad lying on the bed and pretended to go through it

"Unbelievable!" Maxwell muttered. string at Alex for minute and walked out of the Room.

The smile that Alex was holding, spread on his face and he couldn't hold the glee. Messing with Maxwell was so much fun, it was wrong of him to mess where a mate was concerned but what the fuck, he deserved some fun too. He knew this would come back and bite him in the ass when Maxwell realized he was just fucking with his head but until it lasts he would enjoy it.

***

Jeff was in meeting with Nick, they had been going over the pack resources, finances and plans for the coming months and as the meeting concluded Jeff added "And there is one more thing."

"What?" Nick asked.

"Alex mentioned something we need to look at carefully" Jeff started "We need to start planning patrols in areas where there were packs previously, now that our responsibilities extend to whole of Colorado. We need to start creating some border patrols, especially keeping in mind our relations with our neighbors"

Nick leaned in with concern "Is there something specific they are worried about?"

"Yes" Jeff stated "Max & Evy"

"I see" Nick said leaning back in to his chair, he did see. The prince and his mate were high value targets and the last thing he wanted was something untoward happening to them under his care.

"What are they suggesting" Nick asked.

"They want to bring in extra men in to our pack to provide security for them and the rest of Colorado, they left it to us to decide what we want to do and are ready to help us any way they can" Jeff said recalling his chat with Alex during Evy's training.

"I see" Nick said contemplating.

"What's on your mind" Jeff asked, seeing his alpha in deep thought.

"Technology" Nick stated "Technology is in my mind."

Jeff looked at him confused.

"We don't have the man power to guard our borders, trying to man our pack border itself is stretch and to guard what's left of the other packs is next to impossible. Right now everyone is busy rebuilding their life, but that will leave us exposed as well. The Roma wolves are right, we need to look at building defenses and that brings me back to my point. What we need is technology Jeff." Nick said looking at Jeff in earnest.

"Do you remember how the Roma wolves tackled the rogues? The sensors, the land mines, the guns. Imagine what we can do with technology. We would immediately know if someone breaches our border so we can launch a concentrated attack rather than playing hide and seek."

Jeff's eyes shined in realization of his alpha's plan "Would they give us this technology?" Jeff wondered.

"We are a part of Roma aren't we? Let's just find out how integral part of Roma we are." Nick said.

"What do you suggest we do?" Jeff asked.

"I will talk to Sebastian today" Nick said "and we can take it from there and meanwhile, lets contact the others, let's see if we can set some kind of patrol duties with the other packs. I think its time to get our defenses up." The American council would not sit idle for long.

Jeff nodded his consent agreeing to what his alpha was saying and with that they closed their meeting, going their separate ways.

***

As Evelyn walked out of the class she saw the SUV waiting for her. As she came near, the man standing outside patiently quickly opened the door to the back seat and without a word she got in. It was a short ride to the hotel and she had butterflies in her stomach at the thought of seeing Maxwell again.

She was not sure how much of it was due to the mate bond. She hated that part, sure she liked Maxwell, what was there not to like? But she could not be sure how much influence the bond was having on their relationship. She just knew that the more time she spent with him, the stronger the bond got. She did not want to do something because of a stupid bond, she wanted time to know her mate, go out on dates with him and then take the relationship forward on their own terms rather that something stupid a bond would dictate.

She put a stop to her thoughts as the SUV reached its destination and as she was gathering her bag, the door was opened for her. She got out of the car and walked in to the hotel. She had not been back since the day she was claimed and had a feeling of Déjà vu.

As she approached the elevator she saw there was a guard there, but instead of stopping and questioning her, he held the elevator for her.

"Good evening Ma'am" He greeted her politely as she got in to the elevator, he had even pressed the button for the floor she had to go to.

As the elevator reached the top floor, there were more guards but none of them stopped her or questioned her but greeted her politely as the guard on the ground floor.

"Please go in ma'am, he is expecting you" The guard at the door politely informed her.

She gave a small smile and opened the door and walked in to the very room that Roma had occupied during her stay.

He was lounging in the living room, sitting on a sofa his legs planted on the coffee table and carelessly flipping through an iPad. He got up as he saw her, smiled and walked over. Gave her a kiss on the lips which she responded to with lack of enthusiasm, her thoughts from the journey were still on her mind.

He frowned at her lack of response, pulled back and tried to read her face, trying to decipher as to what she was feeling "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing" She sighed and moved over to the sofa to sit down.

"Something is wrong clearly" He persisted, Alex's morning conversation playing in his mind. Was she having second thoughts about this whole thing? He panicked.

She looked away for a moment, trying to figure out how to tell him what she was feeling without him getting the wrong message.

"I am not sure myself" She confessed "This whole relationship thing is new to me and I am trying to get my head around it."

"What's worrying you?" he asked coming over sitting next to her. Dread building in the pit of his stomach.

"I.." she hesitated "I like you Max, a lot" she said in all honesty "but I don't know how much of it is because of the mate bond"

He looked confused "How does it matter?" he asked, they were mated after all and thinking about something that would not change was a moot point.

"Because I don't want our relationship to be based solely on a stupid bond. I want our relationship to progress and develop on our terms and not as some bond dictates" She voiced out her fears.

Maxwell was known to be a pretty levelheaded guy, look at facts before jumping to conclusions. But when it came to his mate, he could not help screwing up.

"So, Alex is right" he whispered. Jumping to a conclusion without thinking it through.

Now it was her turn to be confused "Right about what?" and why were they even talking about Alex.

This should have given him a clue or made him pause but he blurted out "That you don't want to have sex with me."

Her mouth opened in shock as her cheeks reddened "What?!?" She asked absolutely mortified and shocked.

One look at her and Maxwell knew he had been played by Alex.

Soon to be dead Alex.

***

Nick just got off the phone with Sebastian, the conversation still ringing in his head. He had called him to ask for what he and Jeff discussed earlier in the day, but what was offered was much more than expected. Apparently Roma had huge plans for Colorado but also they had a good reason. American council would not let Colorado get out of their control, not for long. At this point they were licking their wounds but they would soon gather and make plans. One of the most likely plan Sebastian has said was to remove Nick and replace him with someone more loyal to them.

Keeping that in mind. Sebastian told about his plan to Nick. Nick would be involved in them, they could not afford to keep him in the dark as it impacted him too. To begin with they were sending in about two hundred Roma wolves as reinforcements, who would stay in Colorado for foreseeable future. To start off, they would protect the prince and his mate and him as well, but eventually would also help him build one of the most technologically advanced werewolf pack in the world. They would train his wolves in the use of their weapons and methods. Sebastian had told him that a lot of work already began and more details would follow.

***

In the awkward silence that followed Maxwell's statement, he was trying to contemplate how to get himself out of the hole he dug up.

"Can we just pretend the last five minutes conversation never happened" He asked sheepishly.

Her mouth opened and closed as she was still reeling from his remark.

He moved a little closer "Alex was messing with my mind and I stupidly fell for it" He confessed.

"So you thought...I didn't want to..." She trailed off too embarrassed to say it.

"No, not really. It's just...plain stupidity...I am also new to relationships Evelyn, I am bound to say and do stupid things. Like you, I am insecure as well and even I like you too, a lot" he confessed.

Her heart jumped a beat at his confession and a warmth spread through her body.

"But you do want to right...I mean eventually" he asked with hesitation.

She groaned and closed her eyes in embarrassment, this was such an awkward conversation to have.

"You don't have to answer..."He started.

But she cut him down "Yes" she responded firmly to her own surprise, she was now looking at him "Yes Max. I Do" she said her cheeks red "But when the time is right and when we are at that stage of the relationship" she said and added "Which we are not, right now."

He still couldn't help grinning "Ok, that sounds good, Um...I mean great!"

"However" he said moving closer making her hear beat wildly.

"Yes?" She whispered.

"I hope you are ready for this" and with that he leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips which after a moment she responded.

He pulled back after a long wet kiss and looked at her, her lips swollen and open, her chest heaving.

"So I hope you don't mind?" He asked

"Mind?" She asked dumbly, right now her mind was a mush as it was dealing with sensory overload of the kiss.