Theon sat in the living room of his home with his mind submerged in his thoughts. The house was too quiet and usually, that was how he liked it, but not today, because it made the wait feel longer than it should have. He had been expecting his mother to call or come over by now, but now that he was actually waiting, it was starting to get on his nerves.
He glanced at his phone again, then set it down on the table in front of him. For a moment, he leaned back into the couch, exhaling slowly as he tried to stay patient. He didn't want to call in case Azaria and his mother were still together and Azaria saw the caller ID. He was paranoid and the last call he had with the security personnel he assigned to watch Azaria (Nathan needed to get back to work), they were still together at a park near Azaria's building.
Lenora was not someone who rushed things, especially not something like this. If she said she would handle it carefully, then she would handle it carefully. Still, he wanted to know how it went.
Then his phone rang and Theon reached for it immediately, barely letting it ring twice before answering. "Mum! How'd it go? Did it go well?"
Lenora's voice came through calmly, the total opposite of what he was feeling. "Calm down, dear. It went well."
He sat up slightly. "Well?"
There was a small pause on her end. He could hear whooshing sounds and knew she was being driven back home. "I saw her. We bumped into one another as planned."
His grip on the phone tightened just a little. "And?"
"It went well enough," she said. "I did not stay too long. I didn't want to make her suspect anything, but I was very tempted to hug her. She's beautiful, Theon!" Lenora sounded excited. "I'm going to have beautiful grandchildren!"
Theon almost blanched. He wasn't even on the line of being friends with Azaria. He wasn't even thinking about children at the moment. They hadn't even had a conversation without him pissing her off one way or another. He shook his head. "Mum, focus please. Did you ask her anything in particular?"
"Not much," Lenora replied. "Nothing that would raise suspicion. I kept the conversation light and she even introduced herself first. She kept apologising when we fell. Oh! She's such a darling, Theon."
Theon let out a soft breath. That was something.
Lenora continued, her tone was the same. She was genuinely falling in love with Azaria. "Ih! She has a dog."
Theon blinked. "A dog?"
"Yes," she said. "A puppy."
He frowned slightly. "Since when?"
"She mentioned she got him about two days ago. I assume that was when Nathan returned and wasn't keeping an eye anymore," Lenora replied.
Theon leaned back again, his expression thoughtful. But this wasn't anything special. Humans and even some wolves kept pets, so he didn't really need this to be reported to him, but Lenora continued before he could say anything.
"It was a Siberian husky," Lenora said. " And she named him Wolf which I found very peculiar. It's like fate is playing a little game," she chuckled.
Theon went still for a second. Then he let out a short breath that almost sounded like a laugh. "Wolf?"
"Yes," Lenora said. "It's a funny coincidence."
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "That's one way to put it." Theon shook his head lightly, though there was a small amusement in his expression now. "She has no idea." He looked ahead, his gaze distant for a moment. "But hopefully, that will change soon."
"It will all be alright, my dear. You can win her over eventually," she said after a second. "She is human. This is not something she will understand easily, so we must be careful."
"I know that too," he said and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
There was a brief silence between them. Then Lenora spoke again. "What do you want to do next?"
Theon straightened slightly. "I'll come by later. We'll talk about it properly."
"Alright," Lenora said. "I'll be home soon. I'll need to pick up your sister first. See you soon."
Theon nodded once, even though she couldn't see him. "Bye."
They ended the call and for a moment, he stayed where he was, the phone still in his hand as he stared ahead. The room fell quiet again. He let out a slow breath and placed the phone down.
Things were moving, but not fast enough. He stood up from the couch, running a hand through his hair as he walked toward the back of the house. He didn't bother turning on any lights. He didn't need them anyway. His backyard stretched wide, open and empty, leading straight into the line of trees beyond. It was private, cut off from the rest of the world where only his pack members could run, just the way he preferred it.
He stopped for a second, looking out toward the woods then he reached for his shirt. One by one, he removed his clothes, letting them fall to the ground without care. There was no one around to see, and even if there was, it wouldn't matter.
His body shifted and the change was quick, and not as painful as it used to be. His bones adjusted, his muscles tightened, and within seconds, the man was gone and in his place stood a large black wolf.
He shook out his fur, then lifted his head slightly as he took in the air around him. Everything felt clearer like this. His senses were sharper. Without hesitation, he started toward the line of trees.
His pace was slow at first, a steady trot across the yard, but as soon as he reached the trees, he picked up speed. The ground beneath him turned from clean grass to rough earth, leaves crunching under his large paws as he moved deeper into the woods.
There was barely any sound except that of the birds and whatever creature was roaming the woods. He ran faster, the wind moved through his fur as he cleared his mind. This was where he thought best.
Azaria.
His mind kept circling back to her. Everything about this situation was complicated. He needed her back in the company. That part was clear. What she had built there mattered, and he wished he had seen that from the beginning. Even if she hadn't been his mate, he understood what they'd done was not right. And now, without her, things were already starting to fall apart.
But it wasn't just about the company.
He slowed his pace.
Bringing her back into Aldrith Corp would be the easiest step, at least on the surface. There were ways to do that, but keeping her close after that…
He needed her to trust him. Now that part… that part wouldn't come easily. He moved through the trees, his eyes focused ahead. He passed two other wolves patrolling the area and they acknowledged him.
Just sending his mother to speak with her wasn't enough. It was a start, yes, but it would take too long if that was all they relied on. And time was something he wasn't willing to waste.
He slowed to a stop for a moment, standing still as he looked around. The woods were quiet now, the only sound was his own breathing.
Azaria was human and that alone made everything more difficult. Human mates were rare. Extremely rare. He had read about them, studied what little information existed, but most of it was old. Stories and records from centuries ago. There was nothing recent, nothing he could rely on. From what he understood, it had never been simple.
He started moving again at a slower pace.
Humans didn't understand their world and when they found out, the reaction was never predictable. Fear was the most common. Rejection came after that and then they lost their sanity.
He exhaled through his nose. He wasn't confident about it either and that was saying a lot. He was a CEO and an Alpha. Confidence was in his blood. Introducing her to his world wouldn't be easy. There was no clean way to do it, no perfect moment where everything would just fall into place and be perfect. Yet, he didn't have a choice.
She was his and he was hers. She just didn't know it yet. That fact alone scared him a little… if she knew… would she accept him?
Everything was so complicated and uncertain!
He lifted his head slightly, looking ahead through the trees. He would take it one step at a time.
There was no other way.