Filed to story: Maleah The Angel Of Death Novel
The Mate-bond has always been something that held my interest. Our Wolves or our Lycans can feel a connection to another Wolf or Lycan, and from there a true Mate-bond can be formed. It will take a few days for the Mate-bond to form after a Wolf or a Lycan has felt the connection, but once that bond starts to form, it is nearly impossible to ignore it. Throughout history, there have only been a handful of Wolves and Lycans that were able to resist it.
It is very different from the old days when, on a Full
Moon, a Wolf or a Lycan could find their fated Mate. I am not sure which way I would prefer to find my Mate. Both situations have their ups and their downs. I believe that finding your Mate on a Full Moon makes it difficult for both parties to determine whether they want this Mate-bond or not, and that has everything to do with the fact that in the old days, Mates usually marked and Mated within hours of meeting.
Nowadays, you can get to know the Human half before you make that decision, and if a Wolf or a Lycan agrees with their Human half, it is easier to ignore the forming of the bond. That usually happens when the Human half or both halves are known for abuse or sleeping around. There isn’t a female or a male that wants a Mate that doesn’t cherish the Mate-bond or a Mate that has no respect for another living being.
Knowing all this, you might understand why I doubt there is a true Mate-bond between my Mother and Alpha Bradley. The more I think about it, the more I am inclined to accept the fact that my Mother made a deal with Alpha Bradley. The only question that remains is what either one of them will be gaining with this Mate-bond.
If either one of them thinks they can get access to my fortune, they are in for a huge surprise because after I bought my second boutique, I made sure that large withdrawals from my account needed an extra verification, and I doubt my Mother will be able to find out what or who that extra verification entails. The reason I put that second verification in place has to do with my Mother’s remark on staying in my life until the day I would become useful to her.
I know Mother has tried in the past to get access to my fortune, but she always tried in the same way and never figured out that it was nearly impossible for her to get into my account. Mother had opened an account for me after I bought my first boutique, and I know she had hoped that I would use that account for the money I made with my boutique. I had been smart enough to contact the bank and ask who has access to the account – not surprising to find out my Mother had full access to the account.
Dad helped me to open my own account, and it is the account I am still using to this day. Dad never asked me for anything even though he knows I have a huge fortune in my bank account. Mother, on the other hand, has asked on multiple occasions for money or for me to pay her bills, and it took me several years to make her understand that I would never give her money or pay her bills for her.
Maleah’s p.o.v.
“Pauline, I need a meeting with the team. Set it up for tomorrow night and make sure it is a secure location. We need to talk about my next targets,” I say after she has answered her phone. I know I will have the details for the meeting by the time I wake up in the morning. I place the tray with empty dishes on the small table outside my room, and I place the “Do not disturb” sign on the door, hoping I can sleep in a little.
The persistent ringing of my phone wakes me in the morning, and Fortune growls in the back of my head at the lack of respect – she hates being woken up by anything other than the sound of my alarm. I join Fortune in her growling when I see my Mother’s name on the caller-ID. Instead of ignoring it, I answer the call: “What the fuck, Mother? Do you have any idea what time it is?” I growl into the phone, and I hear Alpha Bradley growling in the background.
“Tell that Mate of yours to shut it. You know I hate being woken up,” I say, and I hear him growl even louder. “Sweetheart, we are in Albarr and we will be expecting you at one o’clock in our suite. I will send you the information of the hotel where we are staying,” she says. “Mother, I have a business meeting in two hours, and I am not sure when I will be done. I will let you know if I can make it to lunch,” I reply. The next voice I hear belongs to Alpha Bradley.
“You will do as you are told. Be here at one o’clock. No excuses,” he yells before he ends the call. Now I have a laughing Lycan in my head – she really thinks this is funny. “It is funny. He doesn’t seem to understand that an Alpha order doesn’t work on us. He seems to have forgotten we are an Assassin, and an Alpha order doesn’t work on an Assassin,” Fortune says as she is still rolling around in my head.
I send Mack a message about my wake-up call, and within ten minutes I get a call from an unknown number. “This is Maleah D’Angelo,” I answer. “Maleah, this is Dax. I will pick you up at your boutique, and I will join you if you go to lunch with your Mother – no arguments,” I hear Alpha Dax say. I tell him I appreciate his offer. “I think Alpha Bradley will be really pissed off when he sees you with me, but he can’t deny you as an Alpha accompanying a Pack-member,” I respond.
“I don’t care what Alpha Bradley thinks about me coming along. I will tell him straight to his face I don’t trust him anywhere near you,” Alpha Dax says. Fortune is already looking forward to lunch. After discussing what time he will pick me up, I break the connection. I get ready for my morning meeting with the two designers, and Fortune tells me to wear my hair in a braid – she really wants to annoy our Mother.
I park my car at the back of the boutique in one of the spots that is reserved for my employees. As I walk in through the backdoor, I hear Pauline talking to my contractor – they are discussing the new floorplan. I had sent it to Pauline last night after I had made a few small changes. It would serve my idea much better, and I knew my contractor wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.
“Good morning, Miss D’Angelo. I have gone over the changes you asked for with my crew, and we will be done tomorrow around noon,” the contractor says. I thank him for his quick adaptation to my new floorplan. Pauline and I walk into the office in the back as he returns to his crew. “At first I didn’t understand why you wanted to meet both designers, but after seeing the new floorplan it all made sense. Albarr is an excellent town to experiment with – if it doesn’t work here, it won’t work anywhere,” Pauline says.
Half an hour later, we are sitting at the table with both designers. I ask them to show me proof that their designs are their own. Both grab a sketchbook from their bag to show me what they can do. Pauline and I watch as they look at each other’s work from time to time. When they are done, both designs complement one another. “That looks amazing. This is exactly what I had in mind for the boutique. You are allowed to design whatever you like, but I would like the two of you to collaborate from time to time – or when a client has a special request,” I say.
Neither one of them is surprised about the contract I want them to sign. After going through it from start to finish, we sign on the dotted line. Pauline shows them the new floorplan, and both have a few ideas on how to make the most out of it – something that is up to them as they will be here running the boutique. From the way they are talking, I don’t need to worry about anything.
“Hello, Stan. I heard you moved to Albarr last time I visited the store,” Alpha Dax says. I quickly learn that Stan worked at the store they always get their suits and tuxedos from. “Looks like we will have to take our business elsewhere. I got the impression that you quit because you didn’t like making suits anymore,” Alpha Dax continues.
Stan explains that he wasn’t allowed to design – that his employer told him his designs would never sell, and that no one would give him a chance to sell his own designs. “I will get you your first order, but I think you need to talk to Maleah. She is designing the dresses for the Spring Ball, and maybe the two of you can come up with the right outfits for us males,” Alpha Dax says. From what I saw just a little while ago, I know Stan will do just that.
I tell Stan I will show him my designs in the morning. After we say our goodbyes, Alpha Dax and I walk out to his car. I am ready to face my Mother and Alpha Dipshit.
Alpha Dax’s p.o.v.
I open the door to the passenger seat for Maleah and I hear her giggle as she gets into my car. I walk around the front of the car to get behind the wheel. I ask her what is so funny and she tells me that she thought chivalry had died out. I chuckle when she tells me that most males aren’t this thoughtful anymore, and that I should pay more attention to my surroundings.
We talk some more about her plan for her new boutique and I am surprised no one ever thought of her concept before, or about combining suits and dresses in the same store. It seems like Wolves and Lycans are more about showing the difference between males and females than efficiency. I pull up to the front of the hotel and decide to keep an eye on the two cars in front of us, just to see if Maleah was telling the truth.
I see a male getting out of the first car and giving some orders to the bellboy before he walks towards the entrance of the hotel, leaving his female companion to get out of the car herself. The male from the second car does the same thing and I look at Maleah who has a look on her face as if to say, “I told you so.” Both males are waiting by the entrance as another valet walks to my side of the car. I get out of the car to walk around the front and as I look at both males, I open the door for Maleah.
I hold out my hand to help her out of the car and I place her hand on my arm as we walk towards the entrance. “You were right, males have no respect anymore these days. My Father would kick my ass if I hadn’t opened a door for a female in his presence, and my Mother would have been right behind him,” I tell Maleah as we walk past the occupants from the two cars. She tells me she is glad my parents raised me to respect a female.
Mack told me that Maleah has a protection detail with Assassins that can hide their scent and I look around me to try and find just one of them. “I want to go up to my own room first, I don’t want to use their bathroom if I can avoid it,” Maleah says as she steps into the elevator. I noticed she called down an elevator on the side of the hotel that holds single rooms instead of suites.
“Why would I take a suite that costs at least double if a single room is big enough for just me? I am not a cheap skate, I just prefer to use my money for other things and one of them is investing in boutiques,” she answers my unspoken question. I get this idea she was planning on adding another remark, but thought better of it.
I follow her into her room and sit down in one of the armchairs while Maleah walks into the bathroom. A file lies on the side table next to me and as I want to open it, Maleah steps back into the room. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Alpha. It might put you in a tight spot if you do, and I’d rather not have anyone aware of it,” she says, but she doesn’t take the file from my hand. Curiosity wins over common sense.
I slowly open the file, giving Maleah time to take it from me if she really doesn’t want me to read it. As I look at the first page, I recognize the names of two males that I hate from the bottom of my heart. “We will talk about this after lunch. I think it is time you understand why our Pack hates Alpha Bradley,” I say as I place the file back on the table and I get up to guide her out of the hotel room.
