My father glowered at me, before rising to his feet. Even though I was at least a head or two taller than him, he emanated power. He was the Alpha after all. Well, not for long, I thought, bitterly to myself, dread twisting my features. What's the point of all that responsibility if it's no fun?

"Aiden, there's no point hiding what time you returned to the house last night. And that you're hungover as well." No surprise there. "I'm tired of dealing with this sick excuse you call a life — you're an adult, not a child. But if you keep acting like one, I will treat you like one."

"Whatever." I leaned against the counter top coolly. . "You'll either kick me out of the house or you'll force me to bond with Lisa — my new 'mother.'" Pushing myself back onto my heels again, I stared with hard eyes. "If I get a choice in the matter, I'll be leaving." Raising the cigarette to my lips, I inhaled purposefully and partially swallowed some of the smoke, letting the remaining tendrils curl from my parted lips.

"That's it." He exploded. "I've had enough of your insolence — your constant attitude and blatant lack of respect. I would have though your mother had taught you something, Aiden. Or perhaps those values mean nothing to you now."

I flinched.

"I still have those values, father. I simply demonstrate them to people I care for."

"Care for? Well, I guess you must have no—one in your life you do care for."

I scowled at him.

"And put that cigarette out. You can smoke until your lungs wither up, blacken and die, but do not do it in my kitchen, understand?" Pouting, I raised both hands in surrender and took one last exhale before crushing it in the ash tray.

"Happy?"

He glowered at me in response. "If you think I'll stand for this, think again. You have one week to sort your act out, maybe actually make an effort to find your mate and leave. The holiday here is over — this isn't a frat house, it's the pack house. And I am the Alpha, not just your father, so disrespect me or Lisa again, and you'll be exiled from this pack. She's the Luna, not a toy for you to play with and then throw away."

I nodded, tilting my head to one side. The only reason I was even at my father's house was because we had several Silvermoon pack meetings that required every member to attend. It was an excuse for a good time for me.

"If you do not follow my rules or make the effort to participate in this pack for the right reasons, all alcohol and parties will be banned — at least in this house." I must have not looked fazed, because he carried on. "You will not become Alpha for the Silvermoon pack and you will not get the last thing your mother left for you." At this I truly flinched.

I controlled my words, tight as a wire. "You can't take that away from me. It's not your right." I took another breath, struggling to compose myself. "You don't even love mother anymore so you don't have the right to make decisions for her. If you did, you wouldn't have moved on." I said pointedly, my lips pressed together so tightly, I though they'd turn blue.

At this he sighed, his anger leaving him as quickly as it had possessed him. "I still love her Aiden. She was my mate — I'll always love her, but I had to move on. She'd have wanted me to. I have the right to speak for her because she is your mother and the former Luna of this pack and she's not here anymore. I know she'd be ashamed to see you as you are now. Drunk all the time, sleeping around and not having a care in the world. Once you find your own mate, everything will change. You are 18, turning 19 soon." I scoffed and rolled my eyes away from him. "Every wolf finds their mate before the age of 21 — I want you to find yours and be happy with your life, not just content. Don't return until you have. Only then will these punishments be lifted."

I felt the muscle in my jaw twitching. "I don't give two fucks about the Alpha thing. But I care about my mother — that was her last wish to me — the only fragment of a memory I have left of her." I paused, watching his expression. "And that's why I have something to tell you." I was on a roll now, a small idea forming in my mind. A devilish smile tugged at my lips but I widened my eyes and paused for effect. My four friends has appeared in the doorway and were watching the commotion, their eyes dancing with silent amusement.

"I have found my mate." I lied.

Silence filled the room. My father glanced at Diego, my closest friend, the one who'd been there for me since we were kids, beaten the bullies away and taught me how to talk to girls.

"Is he lying? Has he really found his mate?" His tone was blank. He turned to me again, his eyes hard. "Aiden, don't lie to me."

Diego intercepted smoothly. "Aiden has found his mate." Diego replied, winking at me as my father turned back to me in incredulity.

"Well, why did you not say this sooner? I could have congratulated you, son." His expression was a mixture of apprehension and relief. "Still — having a mate hasn't made you any less of a prick you know. She will change you with time though, I know it." Now, smiling slightly at me, he said: "You must have found her recently, because otherwise your attitude would have changed — I must say, I'm looking forward to meeting her."

I ignored the rest of his words, the noise, the lights, the commotion — everything. The only thing that was now on my mind was finding a girl. Damn. Like that would be hard, I thought to myself.

But God knows it would be.

********

It had been two hours and me Diego, Beau, Carlos and Daniel were all in Diego's van, debating about who was the best choice of girl to convince my father was my mate. Alas, Carlos was adamant on me truly finding my mate, but there was an easier chance of me ascending to heaven than of that.

There was no way in hell I was going to find a mate and the boys knew that, so I simply sat back in the seat and closed my eyes heavily, allowing their voices and the sound of the wind through the window to mould into a static of muted background noise. In the end, their bickering got too much and I abruptly opened my eyes, intercepting, a small grin on my face. Once I had finished explaining my idea, their faces were blanched and pale. Okay so sure, my idea was dangerous and would ultimately ruin someone's life, but that did not matter to me. Not yet, anyway.

I sat forward, ready in my seat, clutching the door handle as I did so, my eyes watching out for the next girl I saw on the road. In the distance I saw one — a brunette to be more specific, and waited until we were level with her, ordered Diego to slow down and then reached out, grabbed her firmly and pulled her inside the van.