#Chapter 3: A Bad Match

Logan

Two days before that life-altering encounter with the peasant girl on the street, my assistant had dropped a file on my desk.

 

“Sir,” she started, clearing her throat. “I thought you might want to know that Edrick Morgan’s daughter, Ella, has relocated to the city. She’s working at a local law firm.”

 

A smirk tugged at my lips. “Thanks, Susan,” I said, taking the file with excitement burning in my fingers.

 

Susan, my ever-loyal secretary—a young, pretty woman with a roundness to her body in all the right places, more eye candy for myself than anything, if I was being honest—smiled and walked out of the room.

 

I flipped open the file and grinned with satisfaction.

 

If there was one thing that would put me ahead of my brother in the never-ending game of power and influence, it was Ella. My brother was always better than me, always quicker to accomplish major goals in life.

 

But he hadn’t married anyone of any importance yet, despite the fact that he had already been married and divorced three times. All of those women were good-for-nothing harlots, Betas and Omegas, dark marks on our family’s pride.

 

Ella Morgan, on the other hand, was an Alpha from one of the most affluent families in the country. Her father, Edrick, was the CEO of WereCorp. Marrying her would not only be a leg-up over my brother just because of the fact that she was an Alpha, but it would also give me an enormous socioeconomic advantage.

 

Marrying the next heir to WereCorp and the Morgan family fortune? Marrying the beloved adopted daughter of Moana, the Golden Wolf? It was a goldmine waiting to be struck.

 

I had instantly devised a plan. It was simple: I would hire her as my lawyer, provide her with some easy wins for her career, boost her status, and eventually, I would win her over.

 

But now, as the car sped away from the fated apartment building on the dark street, I felt my control slipping. The unexpected meeting with that captivating woman had thrown all my plans into disarray.

 

“You imbecile,” my wolf’s voice echoed within, filled with a mix of anger and longing. “A date, Logan. A simple date. But instead, you demean our mate with an offer to be our mistress?”

 

“She’s not our mate yet,” I responded in my mind, but growled under my breath as I tried to calm the agitation bubbling inside me. “And we don't even know her name.”

 

“That’s on you,” my wolf retorted. “Did you even see the fire in her eyes? The pride? The strength? That's what a mate should be.”

 

My wolf was right. This strange girl, this peasant who I happened to stumble upon in the middle of the night, was an enigma. She was drop-dead gorgeous, with icy gray eyes and a head of golden hair. A sharp jawline, slender shoulders, and long limbs.

 

If I ignored her cheap clothes for a moment, she had a great body, too: athletic and toned. She had been holding her own, somewhat, when I found her fighting those Rogues. I would have been curious to sit there and see what would happen, but there were too many Rogues.

 

She would have been killed. And because her scent made its way through my open car window, I shouted for my men to stop. I was acting out of character. Normally, I couldn’t give two shits about what happened to people in this city.

 

I saw muggings all of the time. Hell, I even instigated some of them. If it weren’t for her scent, I might have driven past or, at the most, settled somewhere nearby to watch the spectacle like it was a good TV show.

 

And our kiss was electric, too. Her round lips tasted like cherries, and her fingers tangled themselves in my hair, tugging gently, her body begging me for more. Fuck, I thought to myself, leaning my head back against the car seat. I could have at least slept with her before I made her hate me.

But no. I couldn’t.

 

“We have a plan,” I hissed back at my wolf, feeling the weight of responsibility bear down on me. “Ella Morgan. Influence. Power. Remember?”

 

“Since when did you put power over our heart's desire, Logan? Over our mate?” My wolf’s words were tinged with sadness, and for a moment, I felt vulnerable.

 

My wolf knew me better than anyone. He knew how, when I was a kid, I used to imagine what it would be like to meet my mate and have a whole litter of Alpha pups. But I wasn’t a kid anymore, and I was smarter now. Reality wasn’t a fairytale.

 

The scent of her lingered in my mind—intoxicating, heady, and maddening. “She’s just a peasant,” I mumbled out loud, trying to convince myself more than my wolf.

 

“And yet, she refused a million dollars a year without blinking an eye,” my wolf snapped. “Did you see how she sneered at you and stormed away? How many so-called ‘nobles’ in our circle would have done that?”

 

I had no answer. The woman’s rejection stung more than I was willing to admit. Country girls like her typically jumped at such opportunities, but she had been different.

“Did you hear her, Logan?” my wolf continued, pressing his point. “She said if she cared about money, she wouldn’t be here. She's genuine, authentic. Not like the rest. Not like the good-for-nothing gold diggers who your brother marries time and time again.”

 

“Enough!” I roared, the car’s interior muffling my outburst. Up ahead, my driver jumped slightly in his seat, but said nothing. I reverted to speaking in my mind, somewhat embarrassed by my sudden shout.

 

“I can’t... I won’t. She’s a nothing. A nobody. An Omega. We have bigger responsibilities. Our family’s legacy, our lineage—it’s more than just a fleeting attraction.”

 

My wolf sighed deeply. “Attraction? Logan, that’s our mate out there.”

 

Silence settled in both the car and my mind, punctuated only by the hum of the engine. My mind replayed our encounter—the fire in her eyes, her defiant words, and that electrifying kiss. A battle raged inside me, a battle between duty and desire.

 

I rolled up the window, catching a last glimpse of her silhouette as she entered the building. As the end of her golden curls disappeared behind the iron gate, a sense of loss gnawed at me, mixed with regret and a yearning I hadn't felt in ages. My resolve to pursue Ella Morgan wavered for the first time.

 

“See?” my wolf whispered, almost gently. “You feel it too.”

 

“I have my duties,” I replied, rolling up the window, but I couldn’t deny that I sounded defeated even to myself.

 

“There's always a way, Logan. Always a way to balance duty and heart. You just have to be brave enough to find it.”

 

As the car turned a corner, the weight of my wolf’s words settled heavily upon me.

 

Would I let duty dictate my life, or would I chase after what my heart—and my wolf—truly desired? The road ahead seemed uncertain, but one thing was clear: I couldn't ignore the pull I felt towards her, no matter how hard I tried.

 

The night stretched on, the city lights a blur, but in the depths of my thoughts, her image remained sharp and clear.