Ashley drove down to the Bacardi residence after visiting Isaiah and his family.

As she navigated the winding road, she still had a silly smile plastered on her face. Isaiah Iron... Gosh, that man wrapped her up in knots- the kind that she never felt before. He was a bit slow on the uptake but she knew that he'd figure it out soon. She was sure that she wasn't the only one who felt the connection between their wolves, when all through breakfast her wolf kept a close eye on Isaiah.

The breakfast she brought was to thank them for helping her last night. But the moment, she walked past the door and found Isaiah watching her with those steel grey eyes, she gave up trying to keep it formal. She couldn't help herself from flirting with him, he was too gullible in her eyes.

Although, it was hidden, she definitely noted a streak of danger in him like a flash of lightning amidst storming clouds. He was a mystery to her that she was more than happy to unravel, but Ashley knew that it wasn't going to be easy. So, she'd ask her friends for help. Czar and Veronica were close friends and people that Ashley relied on since her parent passed away. They didn't have a child of their own, so they always treated Ashley like she was a part of their family.

Driving up the sloped hill towards the gate, she rolled her window down and was greeted by the security team that recognized her immediately. The White Wolf pack lived on a great estate that was guarded by Alpha Czar's enforcers. For outsiders, this property was an intimidating fortress that was heavily protected and under surveillance at all times. However, Ashley never saw this as a problem since it was for the well-being of everyone that lived here. Czar Bacardi was a ruthless alpha who protected his pack and that's why he was respected all over the world.

Ashley passed the first checkpoint and drove inside the gates once they opened. She drove up the long path towards the Victorian mansion at the top of the hill, it was perched like a crown on a head. Since her father was a business partner with Czar, they'd visit quite often, and each time, Ashley was in awe of this house. Parking on the side, she got out of the car and viewed the mesmerizing sight of the beautiful home, which had tons of windows and the mansion itself was the softest beige colour, that contrasted against all the vivid green hedges surrounding the property.

However, Ashley knew the truth behind this great mansion. For a long time, Czar had been living alone here and this place was just a vacant space with no light. Until, he met his mate, Veronica Bacardi.

Ashley climbed the stairs all the way up to the front door and rang the doorbell. Without a moment's notice, the door opened revealing a tall, stern butler, Mr. Riggs. He viewed her with his silvery gaze through his round spectacles and his white-gloved hand gestured for her to enter the house.

"Greeting, Ms. Hartling," Mr. Riggs said.

"How many times have I told you to call me Ashley, Mr. Riggs?" she remarked with a chuckle.

Mr. Riggs was quite strict about his role as the butler in this household. Despite, everyone in the house telling him to take it easy. He never listened and continued being a domineering helper with infinite rules to follow.

"Lady Veronica will be down shortly," Mr. Riggs said. "Would you care for any refreshments?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you," she answered.

"Ashley!" Veronica's voice boomed from the top of the grand staircase. The lady of the house came running down the stairs. Mr. Riggs was alarmed and asked for her to slow down immediately, which she never heard.

Veronica was enchantingly beautiful with long brunette hair and silvery-blue eyes that were a prominent feature on her face. She had rosy cheeks and a comfortable smile that always reassured Ashley whenever she was having a hard time.

"I'm so happy to see you," Veronica exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Ashley.

Ashley welcomed the warmth. "Sorry to just pop in like this," she said, "but I need some help."

Veronica's charmed smile fell as she pulled back. "Is everything alright?" her strict tone showed that she was undeniably an alpha-female.

"You have no idea what happened to me yesterday," Ashley said.

Veronica was quickly intrigued, but before she asked for details, she took Ashley to the large living-room and asked Mr. Riggs to bring coffee for them, which was brought promptly and quite enjoyable once Ashley was immersed in the story of how her car's tire popped and Isaiah swooped in being her knight in shining armour.

"That's Isaiah for you," Veronica admitted. "He may look dangerous with those tattoos but he's a complete softie."

Ashley sighed dreamily. "Don't remind me of his tattoos," she confessed.

Veronica raised a brow. "Why are you so interested in him anyway?" Ashley couldn't control it when she blushed terribly after Veronica asked her that. And of course, Veronica caught her reaction which resulted in her dropping her mouth open. "Is he your mate?" she exclaimed.

Ashley hadn't considered that option deeply. She merely thought it was a simple attraction between them that pulled her to him. "No-" she shook her head- "that can't be."

"Why not?" asked Veronica.

"Aren't wolves supposed to know right away if they're mates?" Ashley asked in return.

Veronica shook her head. "It took me weeks to realize that Czar was my mate," she said.

Ashley crossed her legs then like she usually did when in thought. "It's not impossible," she mumbled after considering the connection she felt with him and his wolf. Mate, she held onto that word which made everything a lot clearer.

Veronica gathered Ashley's hands in her own. "I'm so happy for you," she said. "Your parents would be so proud that you found a strong mate like Isaiah."

"It's not confirmed yet, Veronica," said Ashley.

"Oh, you can't confirm these things," Veronica swatted her hand showing Ashley that she enjoyed this way too much. "If you feel attracted to him, then there's no doubt that he's your mate."

"He doesn't seem interested in me though," said Ashley. She knew she sounded confident while flirting with him earlier, but she was probably more nervous than he was.

"Isaiah's had a tough life," Veronica believed. "He probably doesn't know the first thing about mating or finding love."

"I've heard about him," said Ashley. "He left his father's pack, right?"

Veronica shook her head. "He didn't leave anything," she alleged grimly. "Czar told me that Isaiah singlehandedly massacred the entire family- his father, uncles and aunts included."

Ashley stiffened as a chill crawled down her body. "Why did he do that?" she asked.

"Isaiah's father, Ivan Petrov was an evil man, Ashley," Veronica explained. "He abused his kids and tortured his mate. What made it worse was that all of Ivan's brothers and sisters were the same. They grew up in a prison rather than a home, and that changes a person."

Any humour on Ashley's face fell. She knew now why Isaiah and his pack were severely guarded during the time she spent with them. They were carrying the weight of this traumatic past in their hearts.

"He changed his last name," she pointed out.

Veronica nodded. "They changed their last names right after they left their old home," she said.

"This might be harder than I thought," Ashley considered. She didn't want to pester someone who needed time and peace to heal.

"No, it won't be," reassured Veronica. "I think it's time that those boys got some happiness in their lives. They deserve the world for how loyal they are to each other and I think that if Isaiah finds you as his mate, then that'll help the others to find one too."

"I first have to convince that alpha to go out to dinner with me," groaned Ashley.

Veronica laughed. "Don't worry, he'll agree," she said. "It may not look it, but Isaiah's looking for his own happy ending too. You just need to be willing to fight for him."

Ashley's thoughts started to wire around planning what to do next with this mysteriously, intriguing alpha. "Do you have his cellphone number?" she asked Veronica.

"I can get it from Czar right now," she grinned artfully before she ambushed her husband in his study to get what she needed. She returned to Ashley with a piece of parchment that had Isaiah's phone number scratched down in blue ink.

"Thank you," Ashley hugged Veronica.

"Give him a chance," said Veronica as she patted Ashley's back.

Ashley chuckled. "I'm not going to stop until he does."

Both the ladies separated at the door after they enjoyed their conversation for another hour or two.

Ashley drove to the hotel with Isaiah's number in her purse. It was a long shot seeing this through, but Ashley needed to know if her mate truly was, Isaiah Iron. Although, her smug wolf already seemed to know the answer.

-Isaiah's POV-

Lazarus followed Isaiah attentively as they entered the vacant warehouse. The had gotten intel that the men they were hunting were camping out here. It has been a couple of months now that Isaiah has been hunting Vito Donovan. He was a low-time thug that stole from Isaiah's private arsenal of weapons. Vito had disguised himself as a dealer and ran off with Isaiah's weapons. Isaiah didn't really care for the weapons, it was the fact that someone dared to steal from him.

Zeiden and Ronin had surrounded the empty warehouse from the opposite side. Adrik and Lazarus secured the other exits, before Isaiah strode into the dingy place the thugs made their home.

"Six men," Lazarus's voice spilled through their ear piece.

"Each of you grab one," instructed Isaiah, "leave one alive."

Isaiah didn't waste a second of their time, his wolf didn't need another chance either. All of them except Adrik transformed into their wolves. And like they were trained, once their wolves locked their eyes on their targets, there was no running away or surviving from them. The old warehouse filled with screams, beer bottles shattered, bones cracked and limbs were dismembered. All through this, one was left alive to watch his friends being slaughtered ruthlessly.

Once they finished, Isaiah transformed back into his human form. He grabbed the fallen chair and took a seat in front of the man who turned sickly pale from what he just witnessed. Ronin handed Isaiah a cloth allowing him to wipe the blood off his face and hands.

"I'm only going to ask you once," warned Isaiah. "And if you don't answer truthfully, I will feed you to that wolf-" Isaiah indicated towards Lazarus's dangerous wolf, that none of them had any control over expect Isaiah.

"I'll tell you-" the man sobbed- "I'll tell you anything."

"Where did Vito send my guns?" asked Isaiah.

The man stuttered over his words. "Vito sold them," he choked out, "to some dealership, that gave him loads of cash."

"Where's Vito right now?" questioned Isaiah.

The man shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "Vito just told us to take it easy because he's out of town for another deal."

Isaiah's frown deepened. "What deal?"

The man dug through his head because he was desperate to answer to save his neck. "He's going to steal more weapons and give it to the same dealership," he said quickly.

"Who's the dealer?" questioned Isaiah.

"Some group named the Calvary," answered the man.

Isaiah looked over to Ronin because they both knew who this group was. Calvary was a secret dealership that many used to exchange cash for weapons or the other way around.

"Lazarus," Isaiah's angered voice alarmed the man on the floor.

"You said you'd let me go!" shrieked the man.

"I lied," Isaiah said ruthlessly before Lazarus attacked the man and killed him. He turned to Ronin. "I want the Calvary taken down before Vito goes there again. I don't want that asshole getting shit from anywhere."

"You got it," Ronin said.

They were all just about to leave when Isaiah's phone rang. He took it out from his pocket and checked the caller ID but didn't recognize it. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hi," a bright voice streamed through, "it's me, Ashley."

Isaiah was befuddled and looked down at the private caller ID to make sure this wasn't a joke. "How'd you get this number?" he asked her out of genuine curiosity.

"Don't worry about that," she simply shrugged it off. "Your number is safe with me and I just wanted to give you mine. So, make sure to save it-" Isaiah laughed in disbelief- "Well, you have a great day." And just like that Ashley cut the phone leaving him bewildered again.

Nonetheless, he saved her number in his contacts like she asked without thinking too much of it.