"Be careful, Hound Dog. This puppy could have you on a leash faster than you could say 'Whoof'."

He wanted to say 'woof' at that moment. His buzz was kicking in as he teased the beta. Now that he thought about it, and had sobered up some, the guy really did look like he had been pissed off beyond belief. But his drunk brain was too occupied with how fun it was to tease him rather than anything else that his senses could pick up. He was always fun to tease.

And now, he was a tease.

Alex walked into the empty bar. It was dawn now and they were closed for the night. He had been walking around to try and calm himself down the rest of the night, so he didn't try and chase after him.

That scent was absolutely maddening when he smelt it. He was wondering why Geo had been running from him. At first, he thought that he actually did take it too far. But once he caught onto his scent, he knew it was more than that. Geo was smart, that was for sure. He caught onto it before even Alex. Sure, he enjoyed being pinned down by him. It was a fun game that he enjoyed having with him. But he in no means thought that Geo was going to be his mate.

All the playboy and fucking around aside, he had really wanted a mate. Someone to actually spend forever with, rather than a few flings here and there. That was why he hadn't made relationships with people. Because then it would only be a matter of time before he would have to break it off when his mate finally came.

Well, his luck had mainly been the other way around. Usually all of his flings found their mates before him. Luke was a great example of that.

No wonder Geo always seemed to catch his eye. There was always something magnetic about him, even when he was battling. There was always something about him that made him look his way, even when he had no clue that he was even there. He had started to see him on rooftops more often than not working for his dad, for instance.

But he was trying to run away from him. And that just wasn't something Alex was going to let happen. After so long of not having a mate, he would rather deal with the annoying toils of waiting to mark him than to never be able to see him again. That moment when he realized what he was smelling and why Geo was running was the moment when he got the most desperate. He was lucky he caught him. If he had left the building then there would be no chance of him finding him.

He never knew what having a mate would feel like. His past relationships held nothing on the feeling of having him in his arms. Just holding him was enough to make him lose control. And when he kissed him back it was a fiery, passionate one that left him hungry for more. It satisfied him, yet left him unsatisfied. And it took all of his control to actually back away from him when he told him to.

"Jett," he mind linked with his friend. "I have an emergency."

"It's five, Alex," Jett responded. He sounded tired, even in his thoughts. "What kind of emergency is it?"

"A personal one," he told him.

"If it involves one of your flings, I'm going back to sleep."

"I found my mate."

"You found your what?!"

"Good," Alex smiled to himself. "Now that I got your attention, meet me at the bar."

They cut off communications at that. The fun thing about mind linking is that any pack member could mind link with their pack in the city. Since they had agreed that the city was shared for all of them to attend school and protect, it was a shared territory spot and allowed them all to stay connected with their packs.

Mind links were weird. But at least this was a fun perk.

"Alex," Sophie gave him a stern look. "I'm not giving you anymore drinks."

"I'm not here for that," Alex sighed and sat down. "Although one would be nice right now."

"What happened to those guys you hanging out with?" She asked, cleaning up some dishes. "Weren't you trying to get the one that I had to kick out or something?"

The thought of that made his stomach twist. He was thinking about hooking up with one of them. He was a rowdy guy, but he thought it might have been fun. But then he saw Geo angrily getting out of his car at the community center, and all of those thoughts just flew away.

"I sent them all on their drunken way."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "What happened? Finally got bored of the player lifestyle?"

Alex groaned and buried his face in his arms on the table. Now he was finally sober, and the tiny hangover was turning into a huge one. This meant that he was going to have to tell Geo all the people he went out with and all the in-betweens. He knew that Geo had been in a relationship before with that rude omega, but he didn't strike Alex as the type to get around. And he was sure that the beta wouldn't like the fact that Alex had gotten around pretty often.

"Sophie," Manny's voice came from the other side of the room. "Did you give him more drinks?"

"I know when to stop serving him," Sophie said. "It's not like it's my first time, Manny."

"I'm so fucked."

"Why?" Manny sat next to him. "What happened?"

"Actually," Alex looked up. "I'm not fucked. That's kinda the problem. I swear I'm going to die of blue balls."

"Pfft," Manny laughed. "This is why your being dramatic? Because someone didn't want to fuck you? You really must be drunk for it to make you this whiny."

"Oh, it goes so much farther than that," he shook his head. "Oh, but you reminded me: please tell me that either of you know someone who's good at math."

"One of my brothers were pretty good at it," Sophie said. "I'm sure I could probably give him a call. Why?"

"Because I was given something to pass time," he handed her the piece of paper with a math problem scribbled on it. "The answer's apparently his number."

"You're trying to get a nerd?" Manny snickered. "That's new for you. You usually just go with the easy ones."

"Yeah, well this one's my mate, so I kinda have to try," he muttered.

"Wait, what?!"

"Okay," Jett came in, fully clothed and everything. "I'm up. This better be a damn good story, Alex."

"Dreaming of your prince again?" he smirked at him. Other than Jett, Blake and Bree walked in as well. Both of them were used to waking up this early due to kids. The only reason Alex was up this early, though, was because he didn't go to sleep yet. He was too busy trying to figure out what the fuck to do.

"Yes," Jett rubbed some sleep out of his eyes. "Now what's this about a mate?"

"Do I get to guess?" Blake asked. He was smiling like he had just won the lottery at him. It was driving him insane.

"You already have an idea?" Manny looked shocked at him. "This guy has probably slept with every gay and bi man in the city, that was single, that is. How can you possibly guess?"

"Because there's only been one guy that he's been talking about nonstop," Bree set down a bunch of coffee onto the bar. "Here, Sophie. I figured you would need this."

"Do I get one?" Alex asked.

"I don't know how it's going to cure a hangover," she sighed. "But sure."

"It's too early for all this talking," Jett yawned. "I don't know how you're all so talkative right now."

"That's because Blake and Bree are now enslaved by their children," Alex joked. "And the rest of us still haven't slept."

"We mainly sleep when the kids are in school," Manny said. "But, now that it's summer time, it makes things a little more difficult."

"Can we just get on with this?" Jett said. "Who is your mate? And why is it such a big deal that you have to wake me up for it?"

"To be fair," Alex put his hands up to defend himself. "I did wait until morning. I could have woken you up right at midnight when I found out."

"It was Geo, wasn't it?" Blake leaned in.

"Congratulations, Cowboy," Alex rolled his eyes. "You've got the answer!"

"I knew it!" Blake laughed. "Aww, this is going to be great! I can't wait to see how he whips you into shape."

Oh, he might not use whips. But that leash kept popping up in his head. Every time he remembered that, he couldn't help but smile. Geo liked flirting right back with him, even if he wouldn't admit it.

"That would be fun to see just how little he whips me into shape," Alex said. "But now I'm in the same predicament as Jett."

"What do you mean?" Jett asked.

"He doesn't want you to mark him," Sophie piped in. "Does he?"

"Nope," Alex shook his head. "Not until Shiro gains his title. I shouldn't be surprised though. He seemed pretty head strong about keeping Jett from marking Shiro at that party."

"Uh, why not though?" Blake asked. "Do you think they would try and push him to go to our pack or something? Isn't that usually up to the next Alpha in line to decide?"

"Something's fishy about this pack," Manny shook his head. "I mean, they've always been fishy, but this just doesn't seem right."

"Oh, I think you guys are a little too harsh on that pack," Sophie shook her head. "Do both of you forget that these two just became adults? Don't either of you remember how difficult it was for you two when you were first gaining your titles, or dealing with your parents who were still trying to parent you? Now add on a mate that wants to make things more stressful."

"Sophie has a point," Bree sighed. "The Reverence Pack are also keen on teaching their children responsibility at a young age. I can see it being stressful."

"This is stuff that alphas and betas are built for," Jett argued. "And, from what Shiro told me, the main reason seems to be with his father. Nothing else."

"This is going to be the worst two weeks of my fucking life," Alex groaned.

"Man," Blake shook his head. "Two weeks have already passed. Isn't it crazy just how fast time flies?"

"Not fast enough," he muttered into his arms. He had dropped his head onto the table again. "You won't believe the shit he gave me right when he walked away."

"What did he say?" Jett asked.

"Oh, this has got to be good," Blake chuckled. He was enjoying his misery a little too much. But Alex couldn't blame him. He had pissed him off plenty of times before.

"I told him to give me his number," Alex said. "So, I could actually have something. And you wanna know what he does? He gives me a damn math problem and tells me the answer is his phone number."

"Ohh!" Manny said, holding up the piece of paper that he showed Sophie. "So, that's what this is about."

"How the hell do you solve a problem like that?" Blake squinted at the piece of paper. "This looks like hieroglyphics. Was he in college calculus or something?"

"I have no clue," Alex said. "All I know is that there's no way I can solve this on my own and I'm going to lose it if I can't at least talk to him."

"Man am I glad Shiro didn't do this," Jett looked at the problem. He looked just as confused as everyone else. Math wasn't exactly their packs strong suit. "I would have died before I solved it."

"Let me call Nick," Sophie pulled out her phone. "I bet you he knows how to do this."

"He better," Alex said. "Because, if he doesn't then I'm fucked."

The phone rang a few times after Sophie dialed the number. Alex remembered her youngest brother. He was one of the best partiers of her old pack. He couldn't drink the last time he talked to him, but he was still absolutely great to talk to, even if you were plastered drunk. He could tell a story to a monkey and still entertain it somehow.

"Sophia!" the familiar voice came from over the phone. "How's my favorite sister?"

"Nick!" Sophie's face lit up as soon as she heard her brother's voice. She must have really missed him. Alex remembered all the times she would mention all of her siblings when he would drink at her bar. But recently, it had been Nick that she had talked about the most. He guessed she was still worried about him after an accident that he had gotten into.

"Hey Nick!" he yelled to the phone. "It's Alex, remember me?"

"Whiskey Alex, or Vodka Alex?" Nick asked, his voice was light and playful.

"Worse," he smiled. "Hungover Alex."

"Ouch," Nick said. "You aren't usually hanging around my sister when your hungover, though. That typically happens after you visit her."

"We're kind of having a little early morning hang out," Jett said. "And we need your help."

"Alpha Jett?" Nick asked.

"Nice to hear from you," Jett smiled. "Glad you're doing okay, by the way."

"Oh yeah," Nick said. "I'm doing fine. You missed out on a bunch, man."

"You'll have to catch me up on that some other time," Jett said. Another thing that they all loved about Nick was that he was probably the only omega that didn't act completely terrified of anyone of a higher rank. He would be respectful, but he never acted like you were going to beat him up or anything. It was a huge relief meeting him way back when.

"Right, so what did you guys need my help with?"

"Do you remember anything from your math classes, Nick?" Sophie asked.

"You guys need help with a math problem?" the man sounded so confused over the phone.

"Long story short; I found my mate, and that's how he decided to give me his number," Alex said. "Now please tell me you can solve this."

"Sounds like you found a tease," Nick laughed. "It's the perfect fit for you."

Sophie sent him a picture of the math problem while Alex merely prayed that he would somehow be able to solve it. He doubted that he would be able to see Geo in the city after tonight. And this was probably his best bet towards getting him out of that cage of a house that the Reverence Pack always trapped themselves in.

"You guys made this seem way more difficult than it is, you know," Nick laughed. "Come on, Sophia! You especially should know how to do this!"

"Nick, do you know how long it's been since I've been to school?"

"Does this mean that Manny picks up the kids all the time?"

"Quit it, brat," Sophie rolled her eyes. "Or I'm going to tell them all about your little love story."

"All I'm saying is that it's not that hard to do," Nick said. "I mean, Georgia's probably going to be learning this in school soon!"

Georgia was one of Sophie's daughters who was in middle school.

"Yes, Nick," Alex sighed. "We get it. We're all dumb. Now can you please solve this for me?"

"Speak for yourself, Dickweed," Bree rolled her eyes. "We're all not dumb. It's just difficult to remember math when you don't use it all the time."

"Do you guys want the answer now, or in a year or two?" Nick's voice came over the phone. "I could give it to you as a speech for Christmas too, if you want."

"Now, please," Alex said. "Although you should definitely come over for Christmas. I'm curious about that love story that Sophie mentioned."

"I'd probably turn into a popsicle there," Nick said. He was in a pack that had a much warmer climate than theirs. Alex remembered when he went with Jett to visit them the first time and how much he wound up sweating just from an hour of being outside.

He slowly gave him the number as Alex wrote it down on a piece of paper.

"Have fun," Nick laughed again. "I hope you guys don't tease each other too much."

"It's going to be fun seeing just how quickly he bends to the guys every will," Blake laughed. He was getting a kick out of this, and Alex wasn't too happy about it.

"I owe you one, Nick!" Alex yelled over the phone. "Tell Max we all said 'Hi' from the Valor Pack!"

"Will do," Nick said.

After they all said their farewells and Sophie hung up the phone, everyone peaked over his shoulder as he punched the number in.

"He's always a blast to talk to," Manny said. "He's, by far, my favorite brother-in-law."

"You're just saying that because he got you out of the deep end with Sophie's mother," Bree laughed. "You're lucky he's a momma's boy."

Alex ignored them all and sent his text. Hopefully this was actually the right answer to this dumb problem and he didn't just text a random number.

"This is just so weird," Jett shook his head. "The Moon Goddess rarely pins two alphas together. Now she mated you with the next Beta of the same pack?"

Alex stopped texting for a second. This was pretty strange, come to think of it. That was the whole reason why he hadn't thought that Geo was going to be his mate in the first place. He might have been a fun person to talk to, but there were hardly any cases of two betas being mated when they were helping to lead other packs.

"Dad said that it would be a great way of binding our packs together," Bree said. "So that there would be peace between us for a long time."

"Or so a war wouldn't break out," Alex looked ahead of him, focusing on nothing. There was an electric energy around the Reverence Pack. It was like they were getting ready for something that he couldn't describe. And it didn't feel like a pack getting ready for a new leader either.

"You think that's why the Moon Goddess paired you guys?" Sophie asked. "You really think they would start a war?"

"I believe that Sakdah and Kenji would," Alex said. "And we were talking about that just a little bit ago."

"Alex," Jett stopped him. "You're being ridiculous. There's no way that's the reason."

"Am I?" Alex looked at Jett. "Why are both of them so against being mated? Why did Jin look that sad when he saw Manny's kids and was asked if he wanted some of his own? Why is Geo hiding his sexuality to his dad, as well as the rest of the pack, by the looks of it?"

"You think they aren't allowing them to accept their mates?" Manny leaned in.

"If they were, I'm sure that that Miki chick we saw with Shiro at the carnival would have marked her mate already," he said. It was obvious that the two were dating after watching them a little. Her and the human that had originally been hanging on Shiro's arm quickly disappeared into the crowds together that day. "Somethings not right with that pack, Jett. It's as clear as daylight."

"But why would he want to start a war?" Jett asked. "None of the surrounding packs like him. No one's friendly with him. They all like his son more than him."

"I think the first question," Blake stood up from his stool. He had a serious look to him for once. Times like these were the only ones that the delta really looked like this. "Is who they would be trying to start a war with. If we can figure that out, then we can figure out the why."

"I'm going to have to call Roger and Nir," Jett sighed. "Looks like we have to do an investigation."

A pack investigation hadn't been done for a long time. It was something that the other Alpha's of BlackCreek did when they thought that one pack wasn't following the rules set in place. If they found the pack guilty of breaking their laws, then the Alpha would be punished.

The last time they had an investigation, it resulted in a war. And it wasn't too pretty.

"We need to do it subtly," Bree said. "If they catch on, then they could hide or destroy evidence."

"Alpha Roger is probably the best person when it comes to this," Manny said. "He's got a good chunk of his pack in the police force already. If they wear some charms to hide their scent, then they could drive around their territory without them thinking anything."