The Alaskan Alpha

Grief and a Mix of Play

Brooke

I heard Ky’s voice speaking to someone over the phone. I groaned, grabbing the side of my throbbing head. “Ky, who was that?” I asked as I pulled myself up and leaned against my headboard.

“It was Dimitri. He and his parents are on their way. They… saw the news too.” He shot his gaze to the floor and sighed. “I’m sorry, Brooke. He said he needed to see you.”

Elaina and Hyatt, my aunt and uncle essentially. We were all practically family. I thought back to the good ole days when we were kids. The story my mother told before I was born, how she and Elaina were from White Moon pack before she met my father, and how Dimitri and I are not far apart in age. A couple of years, at the least.

*2003*

“Hey, Brooke, catch!” Dimitri’s voice called from behind. The smoosh of snow beneath his boots gave away his position.

“Hey! I thought we were going to team up against the others!” I pouted. I turned as quickly as I could in my snow gear, nearly missing the snowball Dimitri had tossed my way. Leaning down, I rounded up my own set of snowballs with my mittened hands.

“Brooke, watch out!” Calvin called as he dove in front of me to take the impact of the snowball thrown by another pack member.

I stood in a daze. Calvin was the gamma’s son, and he was cute. Strangely, there was some sort of invisible pull between us. I was drawn to him like strong silk on a spindle, constantly being reeled in.

The voices around me muffled as our eyes connected. Is he... my mate?

*2009*

The bell rang for my last class of the day. I rose from my chair and grabbed my belongings, stuffing books into my bag as I grabbed my coat off the chair's back and headed towards my locker at the other end of the school. I was not too fond of days like this. I wore my favorite purple hoodie and skinny jeans, and knee-high boots. Walking through 4 feet of snow was the most annoying part of the day. Besides having to deal with Celeste and her gang of bitches. They never really picked on me, but their voices alone could make the dead turn in their graves.

Being a freshman in high school was much different than middle school. I happened to hit puberty a little earlier than I anticipated. Going from flat chested to small melons and these things called hips, jeans would never fit the same again.

I groaned as I approached my locker, “Thank god, I am so ready for a nap.” I opened my locker, placed the books I wouldn't need onto the top shelf, and shut it, only to be surprised by Ky.

“Ayo, you ready to go? That storm is gonna get worse.” Ky jutted his thumb towards the exit.

“Yeah,” I pulled my hood up before putting my jacket on. “I just want to sleep.” I yawned.

As Ky held his arm out for me, I interlocked us together and skipped towards the exit like a bunch of goofballs. A pair of eyes bore holes into the back of my head. I turned to see who it could be and was pulled into the staircase.

My heart raced as Calvin brought his face inches from mine. I swallowed hard. “Oh, hi, Calvin.” I squeaked. I had to admit, I liked him. Hell, I even had a crush on the guy. But I wasn't sure if I was his mate, so I never pushed it. See, our generation has the ability to get a “hint” of who their mate would be at 15, and we both turned 15 weeks ago.

I was dragged away from Ky and into a nearby stairwell. My back hit the metal door. But out of pure shock, I was unable to move.

Calvin placed both hands on either side of my head, holding the door shut as Ky attempted to push it open. Without hesitation, Calvin brought his lips to mine and kissed me with a sense of urgency and sorrow, like this was the last time we were going to see each other. Little did I know, it was. My breath hitched. He took his sweet time, inhaling my scent. As he pulled away, his eyes turned black. “Calvin… What are you doing?” I huffed as I placed my hands on his chest. “Please don’t,” I begged.

Mate… Kali barked.

What?!

He’s going to reject you… She whined.

Calvin’s eyes met mine as I tilted my head up to face his. “I am so sorry, Brooke,” he whispered as he stepped back, putting space between us.

“I, Calvin Moore, reject you, Brooke Whiteflower, as my future mate. Do you accept?” He stood in front of me in the stairwell.

I sobbed, my hand over my mouth as my other hand clutched my breaking heart. “I...Brooke Whiteflower… Accept your… rejection.” I hesitated to speak. My heartbeat slowed, sending waves of pain throughout my body as I fell to the floor.

Ky was the one who saved my life that night. When Ky finally got the door to the stairwell open, he found me sobbing, more heartbroken with every tear I shed... He contacted the school nurse, who then contacted my parents and brought me home for the last few months of the school year. The stress of school plus a rejection could have killed me. Thank god my father, Alpha Georgio Whiteflower understood.

Calvin ended up moving to Europe to run his father's pack after he turned 18. From what I've heard, he's doing just fine. Happy, healthy, and he even found his second chance mate.

I even tried to date after the rejection, but Lowell, our relationship ended long ago. We only dated for a few months until I walked into his room one day and saw how bad his obsession was with me. I confronted him about his obsessive behavior, but he refused to speak, so I dumped him. My father allowed him to remain in the pack but under the supervision of his Beta, Ky's father, Maxwell.

*Present time*

The bedroom door swung open, pulling me from my thoughts. It was Dimitri. His eyes were saddened, and tears stained his cheeks. He slowly approached me and picked me up, hugging me tightly. “I am so sorry, Brooke. I can’t believe they’re gone.” He rested his head on my shoulder.

Sparks ignited with every touch. I knew then that Dimitri was my second chance mate. Kali was running circles in the back of my mind.

“I know I can’t believe it.” My raspy voice croaked. My grip on Dimitri’s shirt tightened as a wave of sorrow wracked my body. I pulled back from him and plopped back onto my bed, my head in my hands. “I don’t know how I am going to do this,” I whispered, shaking my head. “How do I lead a pack? How do I manage all of my pack members? I was never taught any of this!” I cried.

The bed dipped on either side of me. I knew Ky and Dimitri had both sat down. Each had a hand on my back, rubbing in circles. “Brooke,” Ky sighed.

Hunter is here… we should… go for a run? Clear our heads. Kali barked at me.

I am so tired, Kali, not now. I sighed

I’m not. It’ll give you a chance to relax. C’mon, let me out. She whimpered.

Fine. I’ll tell the guys. I replied.

I lifted my head and leaned into Dimitri. “Kali wants to go on a run. She wants out.” I sulked. “Ky, call Lowell and let him know I am going out for a run. Also, have your father keep an eye on the perimeter. I don’t want to run into anything out there.” I sighed loudly and began to rise from the bed but was held back by Dimitri.

“Ky, can you give us a minute? I need to talk to Brooke about something.” Dimitri asked, pulling me into his lap.

Ky chuckled and quickly rose from his seat, “Yeah, sure, no problem. You sure you only need a minute?” He teased.

Both Dimitri and I shot him a glare. Given the message, Ky ran out of the room, closing the door behind him.

“What the hell was that, Dimitri?” I turned to face him, only to be surprised when his lips crashed into mine with a sense of urgency. Our tongues fought for dominance, sparks igniting between our bodies as our hands explored one another.

Dimitri pulled away and pressed his forehead to mine. Both of us are short of breath. “I had to make sure I felt what I thought it was when I hugged you earlier. And that just confirmed that we are mates.” He smiled.

I could tell I was blushing by how hot my face was at that moment. “Second chance, mates,” I whispered.

A knock on the door caused me to roll out of Dimitri’s lap and onto the floor with a heavy thud. “Come in,” I called.

The door opened slowly, Elaina and Hyatt walked into the room. Elaina’s hands were clasped together. “Honey, I’m so sorry we came as soon as we….” She paused. “What are you doing on the floor?”

I scratched behind my head. “Ah, you guys startled me.” I blushed once more and scrambled to my feet. “It’s nice to see you guys again.” I approached her, my arms opened, and engulfed her in an embrace.

“We missed you too, hon,” Richard spoke. “Now, we have to plan your alpha ceremony. Did you want to sit down and talk about it now or tomorrow?” He asked.

“It’s too much for me right now. We can talk about the whole thing tomorrow.” I turned my gaze to the floor.

“Well, we were going to go for a run, you wanna join? Mom, dad?” Dimitri asked.

“Oh no, you two have fun. We are getting settled into a room next door. We will see you downstairs at dinner, Okay.” Elaina smiled, kissed my cheek, and pulled away.

“Okay, see you guys at dinner.” I gave them an awkward wave and pivoted towards Dimitri. “Ready to go?” I jutted my thumb towards the door. My spirits were slowly restoring after their quick visit and… the surprise kiss.

My core knotted as I thought back to Dimitri’s lips, the sparks between us and… oh my god, Brooke, get your head out of the gutter.

“You know I can smell you from here, right?” Dimitri raised an eyebrow at me.

Damn it.

I rolled my eyes and him and placed my hands on my hips. "Mmhm, I bet you can. Let's go before the others wonder what we are doing."