I had fallen asleep during the long drive back to the Black Lupis Pack territory, and, even when we reached the pack mansion, I did not awaken. The events and emotions from the night exhausted me to the point where I could not be roused by anyone.

Although I was asleep, I was still conscious of the things happening around me, and when the car stopped I felt somebody's arms lift me from the large car. The feeling of their skin against mine felt foreign and odd, to the point where it was almost uncomfortable.

Suddenly, a rumbling growl erupted from nearby. It was a sound that made my insides tingle uncontrollably with eagerness and longing.

"Sorry boss, I was just getting her out of the car for you," a carefree voice came from the man who was holding me, "Here you go and I am out. No need to get defensive."

Stirring warmth overcame my body as I felt a new pair of arms pull my cradled body into their chest, and I knew it was Nolan. My body molded against his, and I could feel every ridge and curve along his chest muscles.

The movement of his stride was almost comforting to me as I slept in his arms, and, before I was ready, he laid me down on a bed and his arms were no longer surrounding me.

Someone placed a blanket over my small body and I could hear Nolan's dark voice instructing someone, "Raegan, I want guards outside of the door. Get Sophia to come watch her, and only Sophia, got it? I am going to go research... this."

The way he said 'this' made my half-conscious-self cringe inwardly. His tone was incensed and clouded, like he had no clue of what to do with himself.

Raegan, the beta of the Black Lupis Pack, spoke in a quiet voice, like he was just as bewildered as Nolan was, "Yes Alpha...What do you think happened?"

Nolan spoke softly, "She is my mate, there is no question about that, but..." The voices trailed off as they walked out of the room and I could no longer hear anything.

With nothing else to listen to, I quickly succumbed to sleep in this foreign environment.

I woke up to the sun creeping in from the window, extending across the bed and warming me up after a cold night's sleep.

I groggily opened my eyes and looked around, and, at first, a feeling of panic arose inside of me as I took in my new surroundings, but then the previous night's events caught up to me and I calmed down.

The room was large, with an off-white theme and black furniture. The bed I was lying on was huge and nicely decorated, with great pillows and blankets surrounding me like one great cushion.

Glancing across the room, I saw a girl with long, brown curly hair watching me intently, a small smile on her face as I woke up, "Great! You are awake... I will go tell Nolan."

I must have looked confused because she laughed slightly, "I am Sophia, Alpha Nolan's half-sister and greatest advisor."

I nodded slightly, "I'm Charlie. It's nice to meet you. "

I eyed Sophia carefully. She shared Nolan's dark hair and blue eyes, but their similarities ended there. Sophia didn't seem to notice my stare, offering a simply smile before heading to the door.

Before she walked out, she turned to me, "Oh, and there are some clothes in the bathroom that should be your size. I want them back though." She laughed at the last part before leaving me alone in the room.

After she was gone, I slowly crawled out of bed, my feet hitting the cold floor and the icy air giving me a rude awakening. I could only hope that the clothes Sophia gave me were more substantial than the small dress I was wearing at the moment.

When I reached the bathroom, I looked in the mirror, horrified at the way I looked. My dark brown hair had fallen out and was lying in matted curls around my head while my makeup was smeared across my face.

I immediately turned on the shower, which began to steam up the bathroom in a matter of seconds while I stripped down. Once my dress was off, I was vaguely aware of dark marks across my arms, and I bit my lip when I realized that Nolan had inflicted those marks on my arm last night.

I shook off the feeling of fear that crept into my stomach and stepped in to the shower, letting the warm water rejuvenate my skin. I stayed in the shower for longer than I should have while I washed my hair and skin.

When I was out, I dried off quickly and grabbed the clothes Sophia had laid out for me. I grabbed the black tank-top and slipped it on over my bra after pulling up the tight, dark jeans as well. There was a light jacket to the side that I wore, just to keep me warm in this cool environment.

Sophia was waiting in the same chair she had been in before for me to emerge from the bathroom. When I walked out she stood up, an approving look in her eyes, "Black Lupis looks good on you... And, as much as this pains me to say, you look better in those pants than I do."

I laughed slightly; glad to know that Sophia seemed friendly enough.

Before I could say anything, she continued, "I talked to Nolan and he said you could go downstairs to his office. He may not be out of his meeting yet though, so you can wait outside."

I nodded, "Where's his office?" I tried to hide the shake from my voice as I thought about seeing him again.

"I will take you to it," she laughed slightly; "I am not allowed to leave your side anyways, Alpha's orders."

I looked at her with wide eyes, slightly dismayed by what she said, "Um, what?" I tried to let out a laugh, "I don't need a babysitter." Especially a babysitter who was probably younger than I was. Sophia looked almost sixteen years old, whereas I was eighteen.

She gave me a look that said that she understood how I felt before opening up the door and walking out, leaving me to follow her.

"Not according to my brother. He thinks your number is up or something," she said with a slight eye roll, but I just laughed at her terminology.

"I don't plan on dying any time soon, can you tell him that?" I said sarcastically as we walked through the long hallway that led down some stairs and onto the main floor.

She glanced at me, her hands in her pockets as she shrugged, "That's what his old mate said too."

Her words stopped me in my tracks and I had to speed up to catch up with her. I was about to ask her what she meant but we turned in to a room with a group of pack members in it.

They all turned their heads toward me, but Sophia just kept walking through the room like it was no big deal.

A few of the male pack members were scanning my body and Sophia snapped her fingers as we passed, "Hey boys, eyes off. She's off limits and out of your leagues." A couple of them laughed before returning to the TV program they had been watching.

When we exited the room Sophia gave me a smile, "Nolan is the protective type. I just saved their skins."

My heart began to speed up as we neared a room with closed double doors and I knew that Nolan was in there.

Instead of knocking, Sophia walked straight in to the room as if she owned the place.

I was surprised to find a girl with a tight, blonde bun sitting at the desk instead of Nolan.

She glared up at Sophia, "You cannot go in there right now. He is about to close on a very important business deal."

Sophia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Oh yeah? Well, you can tell him that his mate is waiting out here for him, and then we will see how important this business deal is." Her voice was so loud that Nolan was bound to have heard it through the door that separated him from us.

The woman, whose name was Felicity based on the engravings in her desk, shook her head, "You two need to wait outside."

Sophia did not argue and instead she turned toward me and motioned for me to leave the room as well, muttering some rude things about

Felicity, "She thinks that because she is my brother's pretty secretary and little play toy she can do whatever she wants."

I was a little concerned about the fact that Sophia said "play toy" but decided to brush it off. We closed the door behind us and waited outside of the room for about ten minutes. The entire time my heart was beating out of my chest and I paced back and forth while Sophia chattered aimlessly.

Finally, a middle aged man walked out of the room carrying a briefcase and Felicity immediately followed.

"Alpha Nolan is ready for you now." She said it smoothly, with an almost eerie expression on her face.

I walked in to the secretary's office with Sophia behind me, but before Sophia could enter, Felicity stopped her.

"No, he only wants to see her," Felicity said with a small smirk. Sophia rolled her eyes but obeyed, nonetheless.

I waited for Felicity to come back into the room, but she never did. Instead, she closed the door to her office so that I was alone in there.

Adrenaline was coursing through my veins as I took a few hesitant steps toward the door before placing my hand on the cold handle and turning it slowly until I heard a click and opened it.

Immediately, his scent overcame my senses and I breathed in sharply to take it all in. It was husky yet sweet in a sharp way, and the abundance of it made my knees go weak.

My gaze fell on his huge figure, which was facing away from me while he looked out of a window.

He wore a nice white shirt that contrasted his tan skin with what looked like a black tie that was strung loosely around his neck. His pants were black and tight, showing off his powerful legs and figure.

He brought a glass of what looked like whiskey up to his lips before he turned toward me and said in his dark, hungry voice,

"Charlotte."