Mated in the shadow of my sister by lady gwen
Chapter 201

Chapter 0201

(Derek POV)

I already mentioned that I take on side jobs. Almost all human celebrities do; that is where the real

money comes from. The most common side hustle is to endorse products and film commercials, but I

find most commercials demeaning, and I legit could care less about what brand of soap some f&&ing

human wants to use.

After trying-and failing to fake my way through a few bullsh&t commercials, I discovered almost by

accident that I was uniquely qualified for a very different type of side hustle. Even better, it pays a ton

better than commercials.

Specifically, desperate wolves from around the world pay me big money to travel around human

territories, enter populated areas, and locate missing (or hiding) werewolves.

Here is why it makes sense, and why I am uniquely qualified: Werewolves are inherently social

creatures, and while in human territories, our subconscious tends to draw us to any other wolves that

may be nearby. Given that subconscious draw and the fact that I typically go to 5-10 different cities a

week for various public events and races, I have good luck just accidentally running into wolves.

Just as importantly, as a celebrity, I am considered by most to be “non-threatening.” It is amazing the

amount of information that people will voluntarily give me about themselves and others around them

without a second thought. I once even had a mother give me her adult daughter’s phone and phone

password within ten minutes of meeting her.

Generally speaking. I can generally locate a missing/ hiding wolf within around nine to twelve months or

so… sooner if the customer can narrow down places that the wolf is likely to go. I am only paid if I am

successful, so it is a risk-free proposition for the customer and the work only increases my travel slightly

overall.

The only dangerous or uncomfortable part of the job is the “secure and transport” part–especially with

uncooperative targets who have been in hiding– but I have figured out reliable methods over the years. I

have not lost one yet.

Anyhow, as I already mentioned, just before I left for the gym’s grand opening, I received a new

assignment. This one was to keep my eyes out for a she-wolf named “Lillian, Lillibet, Lillith, or something

like that” who “looks a lot like” a picture the customer would send me and “probably went to human

territory outside of the western part of the United States”

It was very little to go on, but that was why the pay was so good. And I have worked with less. I agreed

to send over a proposed contract the next day.

I was floored when the picture came through my text messages thirty minutes later. Assuming I was right, it would be the first time I found a missing wolf BEFORE I had even been hired.

I was pretty sure that the missing she-wolf was Charlotte’s friend, who had been fighting with some soccer players about not being “Daisy” when I got to the bar. (I barely glanced at her friend as I approached Charlotte that night, but I have a photographic memory, which is another really big plus for the side hustle work.) The resemblance between Charlotte’s friend and the picture was uncanny. Unless Charlotte’s friend has multiple doppelgangers running around human territory living under fake names, I

was pretty sure Charlotte’s friend was my target.

At that moment, it became even more important that I track down my mate, because she could of course lead me to her friend. That meant that I could reject Charlotte and make a ton of money all at once. Two

birds, one stone.

my utter delight, Charlotte attended the grand opening event that night and ended up approaching me there. Every inch of me wanted to take her to the bathroom and ravish her, but I knew I had to be sensible

about all of this. I continued to act like I was mad about the scene with Cody Wilson, and then I told her

that I would only consider spending time with her if she brought her “Daisy” friend out with us.

It sounded like nonsense even in my own head, and I had no idea how I was going to explain wanting her

friend to come, but thankfully Charlotte did not ask any questions. Instead, she was ecstatic and

immediately agreed to set up a double date.

The next day, I arrived at the restaurant roughly ten minutes late. I was immediately curious who

Charlotte’s friend who I was introduced to as “Lily”- had with her. The male introduced himself not

only as James Anderson, but also as Lily’s mate. He had the distinct smell of an alpha wolf, and he

seemed to be a pretty powerful one at that.

I

Despite being an alpha, I could tell James was a fan of mine, and that made my ego very happy. At the

same time, I was immediately suspicious about what was going on and what my customer was up to. I

may locate missing wolves for money, and my moral compass may be broken, but again I have limits. do not cheat on the mate bond, and I do not intentionally break up fated mating relationships.

–

I discreetly texted my customer to get some more information about who James Anderson was. The

response surprised me. James Anderson was actually Lily’s sister’s mate. My customer-who seemed surprised that James and Lily were together– then explained a little more, saying that Lily lost her wolf after she caused her sister to get attacked by a group of rogues in an effort to steal James away.

In other words, Lily was a mate-stealing b&tch. No wonder they were hunting her down. That was good news for me. It meant that I could bring Lily back to whoever was looking for her without feeling guilty.

I started taunting Lily and James about their relationship. Their weird responses to some of my taunts seemed to confirm that what my customer said was true.

Great. We were back on track.

Unfortunately, somehow during all of this, Charlotte had gotten under my skin. I tried my best to ignore

I her all night, but when James and Lily went to dance, I could not avoid her anymore. Believe me, wanted to and I tried. But all it took was one look in her beautiful, expressive eyes and one heart-stealing

smile from her, and I was h ooked.

That made me even more desperate to put distance between us.

That is why I said all those things about her breasts. Goddess knows Charlotte is perfect as-is. The problem was that she was too perfect. I just said those things to make her hate me. Instead of punching me, Charlotte proposed getting breast implants. I could tell from Lily’s reaction that this was very

uncharacteristic of Charlotte.

That meant that the mate bond was making Charlotte just as st upid as it was making me. It also meant that I was right that rejection was the only fair option for both of us.

Eventually, Lily and James left the restaurant early. I was not surprised that they left; I knew that I had pushed things too far. But I was also not worried; all I had to do was get the contract signed with my customer and then find out how and where my customer wanted Lily delivered.

Then, once all the paperwork was done and the logistics were decided upon, I would use Charlotte to

bring me back to Lily. That meant spending a few more days with Charlotte, but I was willing to make the

sacrifice.

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