The Lost Alpha

Ultimate Goal

MICHAEL

We were silent until Alpha Morris began to chuckle.

“Well, she certainly knows how to command a room.” He sighed. “We need a plan.”

“Michael,” my father looked at me. “You are her mate. You have to convince her.”

“No.” I shook my head. “I will have no part of that. I will not have my mate resenting me because I used my mate bond influence to sway her decision.”

“He is right.” Alpha Morris spoke over the look of outrage on my father’s face. “I will not allow him to endanger their bond.”

“Then she must be guarded 24/7.” Beta Theo said more calmly.

“I can already tell you, she won’t agree to that.” I said.

She might if she doesn’t realize she’s being guarded.” My father raised an eyebrow at me.

“She’s not stupid. She’ll know.”

“Then we compromise.” Alpha Morris interjected. “As you said, Andy is not stupid. In fact, she is very logical. So, while she is in the pack house and within the fence line, she can move about freely. We have enough guards here to not have to attach someone to her. But if she leaves the premises, she does not go alone.”

“She’s going to want to attend her classes this week.” I told him.

“I’ll figure something out for her and talk to her myself about it.” Alpha Morris nodded my dismissal.

“You have responsibilities to attend to.” My father muttered as I passed him.

“Yes, sir.”

Out in the hallway, I took my first deep breath in over an hour. I was still in the same clothes from last night. I hadn’t showered yet. Of all the responsibilities that I had, that was going to be the first.

With the hot water pouring over my head and down my naked body, I was able to start to sort through the events of the last twenty-four years.

I was twenty-three years old. Xavier and I had been waiting for our mate for the last two years. Before I got my wolf, I was known for sleeping around. Whenever I felt like it, I would easily find a girl who was more than willing to satiate my needs. But once Xavier awoke, he was very firm. Our next s****l encounter would be with our mate. And that is what we had held to.

My relationship with my wolf was unusual. We didn’t need to talk often. More so reading each other’s emotions than anything else. And when we saw Andy, our emotions were perfectly in sync.

Andy.

Today in the Alpha’s office, Andy’s Alpha strength had begun to come through. She didn’t have to yell. She didn’t have to showboat to exude her influence. It was as natural to her as breathing.

Just thinking of her, I started to get hard. I dropped my head against the cool tile and wrapped my hand around myself, rubbing one out. I had to. If I didn’t get a release soon, I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself the next time things got heated between Andy and me.

I turned off the water and towel dried most of my body before wrapping the towel around my waist.

In my room, I stopped and sniffed. Lavender. I turned and found her sprawled on my couch, a book in her hands, looking like she belonged there.

“What are you doing?” I was shocked at how comfortable she looked.

“Reading.” She didn’t even look up from her book.

“Yeah, I see that. But why are you doing it here?” Andy dropped her book on her chest and looked at me with her gray eyes.

“Are you saying you don’t want me here?”

“I didn’t say that.” My eyes roved over her stretched out body. She was dressed in leggings and an oversized sweater and looked so incredibly sexy. “I just wasn’t expecting you to be here.”

Andy stood, dropping her book on the couch, and swayed over to where I stood. She placed her hands on my bare chest and looked into my eyes.

“I think you need to start expecting the unexpected.” She grinned, pushing up on her toes to press her lips against mine.

My hands grabbed her hips and pulled Andy against my body, deepening the kiss. The towel around my body hit nothing and allowed me to feel every inch of Andy’s hips rolling against me.

I moaned softly as Andy’s lips trailed my jaw and neck, and onto my collar bone. Her hands reached for my towel, and I grabbed them, stopping her.

“No,” I said through gritted teeth, my eyes closed. “I will kiss you, and touch you, and hold you. But we will not go below the belt until a decision has been made.”

“What if I commanded you?” Andy asked, only half serious. I chuckled.

“Mate bond trumps Alpha powers.” I told her. “The Alpha stuff doesn’t work on me.”

“All right.” Andy sighed and gave me a playful push away from her. “Go put pants on.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I grabbed a pair of jeans out of my drawer and pulled them up. I also picked out a black tee shirt. “Unfortunately, I have a list of things I have to do today.” I tugged the shirt over my head and bent over Andy, who had settled back on my couch. “You are more than welcome to stay here as long as you want.”

“Thank you.” She smiled up at me. I kissed her gently. “But I have another meeting with Alpha Morris in an hour.”

“Are you mind linked?” My brow furrowed. Mind link was only for pack members.

“No,” Andy laughed, showing me her phone. “Grant texted me.”

“I think that’s a number I need to have.”

Andy smiled and reached around to my back pocket where I had put my phone. She entered her contact information, texted herself and slid the phone back in its place.

“Now you have it.”

“Perfect.” I kissed her again. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, you will.”

ANDY

“You did very well in the meeting this morning.” Alpha Morris mused, studying me. We were sitting across from each other in his office. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this meeting, but I knew what I wanted out of it. “I was very . . . impressed with how you stood up for yourself. If you decide to stay, you will make a tremendous Alpha.”

“I haven’t made that decision yet.” I reminded him.

“I know, and please don’t think I’m trying to pressure you. You had a life plan before you discovered you were a werewolf, and I respect that.” Alpha Morris was calm, gentle. Fair.

“I need you to be completely honest with me.” He nodded and I took a deep breath. “What is the rogues ultimate goal? What do they want?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“It wasn’t a coincidence that they attacked on my first night here.” I crossed my legs and folded my hands in my lap. “And it’s not a coincidence that Douglas Wesson was the only person who knew I was going to be here, and he was the one who jumped the fence.”

“You are truly smarter than I expected you to be.” Alpha Morris chuckled. “You are right. It wasn’t a coincidence.” He paused as he gathered his thoughts.

“You know his real name.” I took my opportunity and challenged him before he could make something up.

“And what gives you that impression?”

“Because you told me last night that his real name isn’t Douglas Wesson.” I told him. “Which leads me to believe that you know his real name.”

“Jarod Baylor, but as I said earlier, we refer to him as Bane.” Alpha Morris to me without hesitation. So, he was going to be honest with me. “Many years ago, he was a part of this pack. He tried to lead an uprising against my father and me. He was defeated and banned, and that is when he became a rogue.” I paused, taking this part in.

“What is his ultimate goal?” I asked again.

“Bane wants to abolish the pack system.” Alpha Morris explained. “No more Alphas. No more Betas. No leaders or hierarchy. Every wolf would be ‘free’. Every wolf would be a rogue.”

I rolled this around in my head, considering the ramifications, if this was a good or bad idea.

“Pack systems have existed since the beginning of time. Wolves, fish, horse herds. Even humans have developed their own governments off the idea of the pack system. It gives order to a naturally chaotic world. Otherwise, there would be anarchy.” I said slowly.

“Rogues thrive on anarchy.”

“And not a pack system, and yet, their leader is downstairs.” I narrowed my eyes, confused.

“When he attacked last night, did you see any other wolves with him?” Alpha Morris asked. “Did Bane have any back up?” I shook my head. “He isn’t a leader. He’s simply pursuing an idea, and if he succeeds, then others may copy him and work in their own way towards what he wants.”

“What about the wolves that caused the diversion?” I asked.

“Most likely just some others that wanted to cause trouble, and the timing was right.” Alpha Morris didn’t look to concerned, but I made a mental note.

“Do you think they’ll try and break him out?” I asked. Alpha Morris shook his head.

“There are no loyalties there. To them, Bane being caught was his own fault. He is on his own.”

“So, he came here last night for me.” I said, looking down at my hands. “He wants me to steal my potential power to do what? Kill all the pack elite?” I asked. The look on Alpha Morris’ face told me I was right. “Tell me why his plan didn’t work with my mother.”

Alpha Morris took a deep breath and sighed, preparing his words carefully.

“I need you to be honest with me.” I reminded him.

“All right,” he sighed again, shifting in his seat. “The easy answer is that they waited too long.”