Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Manhattan, New York

“Not fucking happening,” Kale said, shaking his head as he rubbed his hands roughly down his face, really hoping that this wasn’t going to take all fucking night.

“Mr. Quinn-” the shifter sitting behind the massive oak desk began to say only to clear his throat as he fiddled nervously with a button on his Armani suit while he regarded Kale warily.

“Kale,” he said flatly, cutting the other shifter off as he scented the air, absently noting that the Alpha was afraid, but given the circumstances, Kale really couldn’t blame him.

“Kale,” Vane said, clearing his throat with a nod before he continued, “What I’m offering you should more than make up for the unusual task that I’m asking you to do.”

Kale held up a hand, stopping the younger man. “I’m not a fucking babysitter, Vane.”

After a slight hesitation, Vane picked up a thick folder off his desk, no doubt on him, making Kale’s eyes narrow dangerously on the other shifter as he opened his mouth to argue before reluctantly nodding and putting the folder in one of his desk drawers while Kale studied him. If he didn’t know better, Kale would have guessed the man sitting across from him was twenty-five years old, but his senses placed the other shifter at around a hundred and fifty, making Vane his junior by almost eight hundred years. From what he’d heard, the Alpha was a crafty son of a bitch who’d overindulged his only son. This little meeting was only proof of that.

“I did my research, and from what the other Alphas and Masters have said, you’re the best man for the job and worth every penny of what I’m offering you.”

“I’m well aware of my worth, Vane. The problem is that you’re attempting to hire me for a job that a thirteen-year-old girl with acne could do,” Kale drawled, making the other shifter’s lips twitch.

Clearing his throat, Vane said, “I realize that this is a rather unorthodox request, but quite necessary, I assure you.”

Kale leaned back in his chair and studied the other shifter for a moment. “Why are you trying to hire a mercenary to babysit an eighty-year-old werewolf?” Kale asked, trying to ignore just how fucking exhausted he was right now.

This meeting was already proving to be a huge disappointment. He’d passed up two other jobs and cut his week of rest short to catch a plane at three this morning to make this meeting. He was exhausted, hungry, pissed, and the only thing that was keeping his ass in this chair was the prospect of two million dollars, that and the chair was surprisingly comfortable.

Vane pushed a second, much thinner folder towards him. Kale sighed as he reached over and picked up the folder. He sat back and opened it. On the top was a picture of the famous playboy Andrew Vane, the reason that he’d dragged his ass across the country and the man that was going to make him five million dollars richer.

“My son…well, his lifestyle has caused a few problems in the past,” Mr. Vane said, clearing his throat uncomfortably as he tried to bullshit him.

“He fucks around with mated females and doesn’t care who knows it, and from what I’ve heard, he likes to shove it in the male’s face as much as possible. He has a huge gambling problem and has been known to go out of his way to fuck with Masters for shits and giggles.”

Vane shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Kale added, “Basically, your son is a spoiled little brat who hides behind his Alpha daddy’s power and purse strings. If he’d been born to anyone else, he would have been taken out by now, but you keep protecting him.”

Ignoring the man’s stunned expression, Kale continued. “And this time, he’s gone too far and now a Master, hundreds of vampires, shifters, demons, and minions are after your son with the order to take him alive. Did I miss anything?”

Kale watched as all the color drained from the other shifter’s face. “H-How did you know that?”

Kale chuckled harshly. “I was contacted a half-hour after your son fucked with the wrong Master with an offer of five million dollars to grab him. There’s not much that I don’t know, so how about we cut the shit and stop playing games?”

“He’s innocent,” Vane said, making him chuckle.

“Don’t waste my time with bullshit. Either tell me why I should take the job or lose my fucking number,” Kale said, not mentioning that he’d already decided to take the other job for the easy five million. He’d grab the little prick and turn him over so that he could find a better job that would take him that much closer to his goal.

“Yes, of course,” Vane murmured before clearing his throat and continuing. “I need you to take this job because he’s my only son and I can’t lose him.”

“I don’t fucking care,” Kale said, leveling a look on the shifter that told him that he was running out of patience.

“I know my son’s an asshole, but-”

“You need him to find his mate so you can have an heir with some balls to lead your Pack one day,” Kale guessed.

“Exactly,” Vane reluctantly admitted on a heavy sigh.

“And is he currently looking for his mate?”

Vane cleared his throat. “He hasn’t found his mate yet. It could take years before he finds her.”

“So, I’ve heard,” Kale said dryly.

The man had the good sense to look embarrassed at the slip, but Kale ignored it. He didn’t fucking care that he hadn’t found his mate for one simple reason. He didn’t want one. Mates weakened a man. They made males soft. He wasn’t about to be led around by his dick. He liked having control over his life. Everyone assumed that he was searching for his mate, but the truth was, Kale went out of his way to avoid unmated females. If he’d ever come across his mate, he didn’t know and didn’t care.

“I’ve decided to send him where no one would ever think to look for him,” Vane announced with relish.

Kale waited for the other man to continue only to end up gesturing for him to get on with it when he hesitated.

“They’re currently searching for Andrew at luxury resorts, hotels, and villas. They’re expecting him to continue living the high life, so I’ve decided that he should do the opposite.”

“Meaning…”

Vane’s lips slowly curled up into a smug grin. “I think it’s past time that Andrew communed with nature.”

“I see,” Kale murmured, seriously wondering how the man sitting across from him had made it this far without his Pack turning on him.

“It’s the perfect solution,” Vane said, nodding in agreement to his own suggestion.

“You’re going to hide a shifter with absolutely no skills in the woods when there are hundreds of shifters, demons, vampires, and minions searching for him this close to a full moon?” Kale asked slowly, deciding that the man truly was a fucking moron because he would have been better off keeping his son in the city where he could hide his scent behind the stench of humans, garbage, and pollution.

“Yes,” Vane said with a firm nod. “I have a cabin in Washington that can’t be traced back to me.”

“I see,” Kale said, keeping his gaze locked on the shifter sitting across from him even as he mentally cataloged all the exits in the room, including the door to his right dressed up as a bookshelf, the fact that they were on the tenth floor, and the demons Vane had posted at the door as well as the ones that he’d spotted at the end of the hallway. He calculated the odds of grabbing the little prick and getting him out of here alive and decided that they were good.

“You’re not taking the job, are you?” Vane asked after a heavy pause as he sat there, shifting a nervous glance to his left at that hidden door when the first chime alerted Kale that he had a text message.

“No, I’m not,” Kale said absently with a heavy sigh as he pulled his phone out, hoping that it was an offer for a better job and found himself almost smiling when he saw the message waiting for him. “But luckily for you, something better just came up.”