Braxten POV (pictured above)

"Say that again and slowly," I ground out as my fingers dug into the whiskey glass in my hand.

"A rogue wants to meet with you," Caleb cautioned slowly.

A few thoughts ran through my head as my angerslowly bubbled up inside me. One, how did a rouge get on our lands? Two, why are they asking to meet me? And three, why the fuck wasn't is informed as soon as they crossed our borders?!

I snapped.

I threw the glass across the room and watched it shatter into pieces. I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself and questioned, "When did they cross our borders?"

"This morning."

"Then why the fuck am I only now being told about it?!" I seethed as my hands slammed down on the large oak desk in front of me.

"I'm not one to rat on someone but," Caleb said as he held his hands up. "Roman said he would handle it."

Of course Roman said he would fucking handle it, I swear that boy is incapable of following orders and just does whatever he pleases.

Me and Roman go back as far as I can remember. No one wanted to be friends with the Alphas kid so I was on my own for the first two years before Roman came along and he hasn't left my side since. Roman thinks that because we're friends that it gives him the right not to listen to me even when I give orders for the better of the pack, such as tell me when there's a fucking rogue on our land.

Even though he feels the need not to follow anything I say, he has always been there to back my decisions and has helped me run this pack for 4 years. He has proved himself since he took over as Beta at 19, doesn't mean I don't want to kill him every chance I get.

"Yo guys, I gotta tell you about this girl I met today!" Roman excitedly says as he bounds through the doors to my office, his eyes glued to his phone. "She's an absolute sort!"

He takes his eyes off his phone and takes in the scene in front of him.

"Ah fuck, what have I done now?" Roman questions earning a chuckle from Caleb as he reached across my desk to pour himself a drink.

"Do you not think I should know about a rogue on our territory or did you just forget to tell me like you usually fucking do?!" I shouted as I sat back in my chair waiting for him to try and worm his way out of this.

Roman's eyes grew slightly wider at my tone and as if realising something his glare darts straight to Caleb, "You snitch! That's the last thing I ever tell you!"

"Hey man, I've had my face rearranged by him enough times covering for your bullshit," Caleb argues back and proceeds to neck the contents of his glass.

Roman scoffs as he takes the seat next to him and leans back in his chair avoiding any eye contact with me.

"Well?" I ask impatiently.

"Okay so," he leans forward and rests his fore arms on his knees. "Y'know Tom Bennett?" He questions and I respond with a short nod slightly recalling that he was friendly with my father when they were younger.

"To cut a long story short, Tom told your father that his family were coming back here to live from America and your dad couldn't be arsed to tell you and Tom though your dad was still the Alpha, which your dear dad didn't correct him on. So you can see where the confusion was," Roman explained.

My wolf became unsettled at the though of my dad as Alpha. I will not let his fate become mine. I won't be as weak as him, the fact that he didn't correct anyone who called him Alpha got my back up. I didn't trust him.

"So as the caring and responsible Beta I am, I decided to check them out when they crossed into our territory and have been following them since they got here this morning. Which leads me onto the girl, you gotta see her dude," Roman's eyes lit up as pulled his phone from his pocket and started tapping away at the screen.

My impatience grew stronger and I snapped again," Focus, you dickhead!"

"Oh yeah sorry, um he's outside," he warily explained.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I sighed as I rubbed at my tense temples. "I hate you, Roman."

Caleb laughed and stood from his chair, "Want me to send him in, boss?"

"If it's not too much to ask. I'm warning you two for the last time, go against me again and you'll balls will be on the chopping block." I warned lowly, careful not to let the stranger hear outside the doors.

They both nodded realising I was being serious and made their way out.

"You can go on in, he's just in there," Caleb said as he gestured for Tom to enter.

Knowing that the man was friends with my father I decided to be respectful and give him the benefit of the doubt. He wasn't to know any better if he still though my dad was the Alpha but a few things had changed around here since I had taken over.

"Alpha, I'm glad we finally get to meet," Tom extended his hand and I give him a firm shake. "I'm Tom Bennett, I'm an old friend of your father's" He continued.

"Yes, I remember," I replied, gesturing for him to take a seat opposite me. "Would you like a drink?" I offered as I turned and grabbed two glasses from the shelf behind me and settled them on my desk.

"Sure, thanks."

I nodded and raised my glass slightly as he returned my action as I asked, "So what brings you here?"

"Firstly, I just want to apologise for not coming to you. Had I been aware that your father was not the Alpha anymore I would have made arrangements with you prior to coming here." He clarified, his voice filled with regret. "Please don't take it as a sign of disrespect, that is not how I want to come across. The last time I was here was 7 years ago, which your father was still the Alpha so I thought it would be fine if I just turned up."

He seemed genuine in his words but I couldn't stop thinking about why you wouldn't check before moving to another county. I studied him as he sat across from me, average height, looks after himself but the greyness around his hairline was telling me he's been through a lot of stress lately.

i let a few silent moment pass before speaking, "You know you're technically a rouge, right?"

"Yes, I'm aware," he said as he hung his head low. "It's probably less confusing if I explain the whole thing. My wife is human and when she fell pregnant she didn't want our child to grow up as a werewolf and as you know there's a 50/50 chance with these things. She thought that if baby didn't grow up in a pack there would be less chance of her becoming a wolf. So we moved to America while she was pregnant and raised our children there." He took a breath before continuing, "Seems like her plan actually worked because neither of my daughters are wolves."

"So why are you back here now?"

"We had to move back here to support my parents and will be living here for at least the next few years. I wanted your permission to live alongside your pack while we stay here."

"So you don't want to join our pack? But you want to live on our lands and among our people?" I questioned and narrowed my eyes slightly at him.

"Yes," he said with a a firm nod. "This is not me disrespecting you pack by not wanting to join but I have responsibilities elsewhere and my wife has expressed her feelings of our ways and doesn't want anything to do with it. "

I leaned back in my chair contemplating my options. I would not allow a rouge to live on my land without joining my pack and leaving our territory. It was hugely disrespectful in my eyes, it's not my problem if his wife does not like they way a pack lives. It's the way things work when you have a human mate, they adjust to your way of life.

"Is your wife your mate?" I asked and he sighed.

After a few moments he answers hesitantly, "Yes."

"Then it's not a question, you either join my pack or leave my territory," I say firmly and bring the tumbler to my lips, liking the feeling of the liquid burning my throat.

Running a hand down his face, he asked, "There's no other option?"

"No."

"If I don't have any other choice then I'll join but I want my family left out of it as much as possible. My girls don't know what I am and I would like it to stay that way," he said as he rises from his seat and I follow suit.

I extended my hand as peace offering and he firmly shook it. "Pleasure doing business with you, Alpha."

I nodded as he turned and made his way out of my office.

The pack rituals were silly in this day and age. Back in days where there were no homes, jobs or responsibilities, it was fine to call your pack together to welcome the new member but now we just settle for a mind link.

I mind linked everyone making them aware that Tom Bennet was now in our pack and to treat him as one of us. A few seconds later the door burst open again as Roman popped his head around it, "Dude, fancy coming out tonight?"

Thinking over the alternative which would be sitting here in the large quite house on my own and using our gym. I opted for, "Why not?."