Duncan was a child when his father, Thorin, was killed. He was not aware the role his uncle, Bradley, played in Thorin’s death. There were two things his uncle wanted: Galicia, who was Duncan’s mother, and the pack. Duncan couldn’t believe his uncle held such jealousy in his heart to kill his own brother. No one spoke of how his father died. It was forbidden, punishable by death to even mention his name. After Thorin’s death, Bradley approached Galicia and offered to be her mate, but Galicia turned him down. Bradley became furious and punished the pack instead.
When he got older and found out what happened to his father, and that his uncle was the one that killed him, Duncan acted by challenging his uncle. He was only eighteen when he took over the pack. Galicia who was still depressed because of her mate’s death moved to Virginia to live with her sister. She was too heartbroken at the loss of his father to stay in the pack. His mom looked happy when he saw her a few months before Mari died. Duncan and Mari were ecstatic when she announced that she had opened her heart again to the possibility of love and finding a new mate. Her mate was gone, but there was nothing wrong with having someone to love again in her life.
After taking over the pack, Duncan was ridiculed by the same pack members he saved from his uncle’s tyrannical rule. That was so long ago, but at times it still felt as if it were yesterday. It took him quite a while to gain the trust of his pack members. Duncan was one hundred and fifty years old but looked like a man in his late thirties. After taking over the pack, he appointed his best friend, Ryland Burnett, as his Beta. Ryland’s father was also killed by his uncle for being an opposition to his uncle’s tyranny and for the color of his skin. He and his mother were allowed to remain in the pack because she was the right color and his uncle was not afraid of a weak-minded woman.
Duncan also named Ryland’s three cousins, Parker, Charlie, and Sebastian, as his enforcers of the pack. They had been more than just his Beta and enforcers; they had become his family. Duncan worked hard on building up his pack and changing their image. He attended community college and studied business and finance. He used his smarts and invested money into the pack and ultimately his company.
Before Duncan took over, the women in the pack were not even allowed to better themselves, such as attending school. The men were considered the authority apart from the Alpha. Little things were seen as punishable offenses, such as associating with humans. Duncan had done a lot to change the image of his pack. He felt the more the pack stayed hidden, the easier it would be for them to be found out. They had a target on their backs, no matter if they stayed hidden or not. Duncan wanted his pack to live in the light instead of staying hidden.
There are other organizations like the Blackburn hunters who would stop at nothing to try and eradicate his pack and others like him. However, they are not as organized or well-funded as the Blackburn Organization. Duncan felt hiding would bring more suspicion. Living in the spotlight also has its disadvantages, one would be his appearance. Duncan reinvented his image so that it would not draw too much attention or questions from reporters. Duncan had lived a long time, and if others looked close enough, there would be questions as to why he hadn’t aged in his early thirties and how he was able to keep his youthful appearance.
To the humans of this world, he was Duncan Pryde, the fourth who took over his father’s company after the man died. No one seemed to question why he looked almost the same as his father. The easy answer was the strong genetics that ran in their family. The Pryde pack had come a long way. He had to work hard to get over the emotional scar that continued to hang over the pack. Duncan prided himself, knowing that his pack was more accepting than others. A few years after he took over, the pack started to grow. Members were finding their mates and having pups. Duncan prided himself on being an open-minded Alpha and allowed his members to voice their likes and dislikes with respect. He practically bought the entire island of Cypress, so that his pack could expand and his members could live in peace.
Coming back to the present, Duncan looked down at the files resting on his lap. He needed someone he could trust to take care of the twins when he had to travel out of town or when he had to work late at the office. Duncan knew he had to be selective. It would be easier to choose one of the female lykosians from his pack. But in the past, he realized they were using the pups to get close to him. Being the mate of the Alpha came with a lot of privilege. The pups they would have would be powerful, and the next to become the Alpha of the pack, no matter the gender. Duncan was not above naming a female as the Alpha of his pack. Strength came from how an Alpha cared for the members of its pack and not how well they could thrash his or her opponent in a match.
As old as he was, Duncan was not ready to settle down with a mate; which was why he was not looking or pining for one. Duncan was aware of his obligation to provide Alpha pups for the pack. As crazy as it might sound to others, he wanted to be in love and not be forced to sleep with a female lykosian because of the needs of the pack. Love mattered to him. He wanted what Mari and Ben had. He saw and felt the love between them, and at times it made him jealous. But he was also happy for them.
Duncan sighed as he flipped through the file of Jordan Sutton and Samantha Jones. Both candidates answered his questions truthfully, he did not smell any deceit coming from them. Also, their references checked out, as well as their background check came back clean. Decision made, Duncan made specific notes on each folder as to who was hired for what position. The next morning, he would send the documents off to his human resources department and have someone contact both applicants, informing them they got the job.
Chapter Two
Jordan
Jordan placed his groceries down on the counter. It had been a couple days since his interview with Duncan Pryde, and he kept wondering if he got the job. Even though he tried to keep himself busy, he couldn’t help but think he blew it by being too pushy. After his interview with Mr. Pryde, Jordan thought about the way he spoke and hoped he did not come off too honest or brazen with his answers. His mother always told him to be himself and never conform to anyone else's ideals. As a precaution, Jordan continued to send out his résumé and apply for other jobs, hoping that someone would give him a call. He was putting the last of his groceries away when his cell phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he answered it without paying attention to the caller ID.
“Hello?”
“Can I speak with Mr. Jordan Sutton, please?”
“This is Mr. Sutton.” Jordan whispered a curse, he knew he should not have answered the phone. Nothing good ever came from conversations that started out asking for name clarification. “Listen, I told the last rep that called that I would have a payment—” Jordan didn’t get the chance to finish his words.
“Mr. Sutton, my name is Mrs. Marsha Paris, with the human resources department of Pryde Industries. I am calling on behalf of Mr. Pryde.”
That stumped Jordan for a few seconds.Wait, who the hell works on a Saturday? Well, it's plausible that I’ll be doing the same if I start working for Pryde Industries.
“Mr. Pryde would like for you to meet him at his home on Monday morning, eight o’clock.”
Mrs. Paris went on, not realizing or caring that she cut Jordan off. He also did not hear anything else that Mrs. Paris had to say, his only thought was that he got the job.I got the job!Jordan screamed mentally. Before applying for the job, Jordan researched a ball park of how much personal assistants made.
His first paycheck wouldn’t make him wealthy, but it would be the start to getting him out of the rut he was slowly slipping into. He mentally worked out all those bills he would be able to pay with his first paycheck and hoped he would have some left over. Jordan was very close to begging his parents for money. Granted, they would have given it to him if he asked, but he didn’t want to run to Mommy and Daddy before trying to fix the problem on his own. Jordan came out of his musing in time to hear Mrs. Paris tell him “welcome to the Pryde team” before hanging up the phone.
He looked around his one-bedroom apartment and thrown-together furniture, and smiled happily, dancing around his small kitchen as he put away his groceries. Maybe after working at Pryde Industries for a bit, he’d be able to get some new furniture or move. Either way, he was happy to finally be working. Jordan decided that he wanted to celebrate. Picking up his phone he dialed the one person he knew would be willing to go out and have some fun.
“Yo, what’s good?” his best friend and partner in crime, Bronx Harrison, answered. They had been friends since middle school.
“I got the job!” Jordan yelled into the phone.
“What job?” Bronx asked.
Jordan heard the genuine confusion in his friend's voice and rolled his eyes and answered, “The personal assistant one, I’ll be working for Duncan Pryde.”
Bronx whistled. “That deserves a celebration.”
“I know, right!” Jordan was so excited he could not hide it. “So how about we go out and celebrate, my treat.”
“Can you afford it?” Bronx teased.
“Funny, I think I can splurge on a drink or two.”
