Two Mated Alphas

James’ POV My whole life I had prepared for this: the meeting of the Alpha’s Circle when I came of age to take over as Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. My father had been attending this annual meeting for as long as I could remember as Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. He would leave us for a few days with his mate and Luna, my mother, along with his Beta and Gamma and their mates. As a young pup I would pout, wanting to go with him, wanting to be a part of this famous circle of powerful wolves. After countless years of training and preparing, finally, I was coming along to this meeting. This would be the moment I took my place among the other Alphas from packs around the world as the official heir to Blood Moon Pack. The first female Alpha to ever join this elite circle and the first female Alpha of a werewolf pack. There were no laws against it, hell, there were female alphas in regular wolf packs in nature. Mysoginist tradition and sexism just made it unthinkable for our kind: Men were always supposed to be Alpha....But that was about to change because of my mother and father, and me. My father, Alpha Easton Laurent, longed for a son to take his place as any Alpha would. He got three daughters instead: Myself, and my two younger sisters Irina and Inez. Alphas with only daughters either passed their pack on to their firstborn daughters’ mate (essentially giving the pack away to another family) or passed the title to the next highest-ranking male (essentially giving up their power as Alpha and demoting to a Beta or a Gamma…. again, giving the pack away to another family). Sometimes there was even in-fighting between the daughter’s mates to determine who would be Alpha. Aside from all of this, it is extremely rare for an Alpha to ONLY have daughters.....almost unheard of in fact. My father and mother may have been the first Alpha and Luna in centuries to only have daughters. Passing the title of Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack to someone outside of my family was something my father nor my mother could bare. My family, the Laurent family, had the longest line of Alphas in our species’ history; some say even dating back to the beginning of our kind. Having a son as an Alpha’s firstborn was almost expected, so I was a surprise to everyone. My sisters even more so. My mother bore my father all daughters, no sons. And while most Alphas would have been disappointed that their firstborn, let alone any child, wasn’t a son (especially with a history like our family) my father and mother decided something radical on the day I was born. They decided immediately when I was born that I would not be denied my birthright as firstborn. They would not have the future of our pack placed in the hands of another family, through my mate or our Beta. They put their hopes for the pack’s future in me: Their firstborn child, of the Alpha’s own blood, would take over as the next Alpha regardless of gender. The Moon Goddess had given them a daughter as their firstborn, and they strongly believed it was for a reason. So, from the day I was born I was declared to be the next Alpha of our pack. My father and mother even named me after the strongest Alpha our pack has ever known: my great-great grandfather, Alpha James Brooks Laurent. From my earliest memories I was told stories of his strength and power, and also of his justice. I was told how he was rumored to be the largest and most powerful wolf that has ever existed; and how because of his leadership we solidified our place as the strongest pack in the world even during a time of war for our kind. Starting at a very young age I trained, studied, and prepared to become Alpha. I wanted to prove myself worthy of the honor of carrying on the Laurent legacy. I trained harder than any other male in my training classes, to the point where I could out-spar and out-wit any of my classmates. I quickly became stronger than both my soon-to-be Beta, Wren, and my soon-to-be Gamma, Mason, thanks to my Alpha blood and ruthless determination. They always hated when I outdid them in training, but they fiercely respected me for it and it drove them to train even harder. From an early age, we solidified our trio and we were a force to be reckoned with. They both were the eldest children of my father’s Beta and Gamma, Francis and Cedric, respectively. The three of us grew up as best friends, like our fathers before us. Ironically one of my sisters, Irina, ended up being the mate of my Beta and will be our Beta female. My youngest sister, Inez, has yet to find her mate, just like me. It bothers Inez that she hasn't found her mate, while it doesn’t matter to me that I haven't found mine. This year I turn 25, meaning I will be of age to take over the pack as Alpha WITHOUT a mate. A werewolf is at their strongest when mated, therefore, a werewolf cannot take over as Alpha before turning 25 unless they have found their mate. It is one of our oldest laws. Alphas have to be strong to protect their packs and uphold alliances, and they are only strongest when they are mated....or 25 years old. Since I remain unmated, I have had to wait to take over until I turn 25. While most wolves who are next in line to be Alpha rush to find their mate, I have had absolutely zero interest in finding mine. I want there to be absolutely no question over who the Alpha of Blood Moon will be. A mate could only hand over our pack to someone else since most males are dominant and power-hungry. Many werewolf males wouldn't respect me as the rightful leader of Blood Moon if I were their mate. For a while the thought of having a mate excited me. When I was younger, I thought I had found him and he was the perfect partner for me. I was so sure that my Gamma, Mason, was my mate. For years there was an attraction between Mason and me. From the time we were in middle school we were convinced that we were mates. We daydreamed about the two of us, Alpha and Gamma, running the pack together. He never once tried to climb the chain of command or demand the title from me. He respected me and my destiny to be Alpha, and we loved each other deeply. When we both turned 18, we were the age when werewolves begin to feel the mate bond. When you meet your mate, the bond makes it feel like every cell in your body is being pulled to the other person. Everything about them draws you in and their scent is specific, powerful, and irresistible to you. Irina and Wren knew they were mates the day she turned 18. Wren had even felt the pull when he was 18 and she was only 16. The morning of her 18th birthday the two of them broke down doors to find one another, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. That is how powerful the mate bond can be. Mason and I were extremely attracted to one another, but we didn’t feel this mythical, overwhelming pull to one another. Not enough to break down doors at least. We were in love, the human kind of love, long before we turned 18 and we figured that somehow affected how intensely we felt the mate bond once we turned 18. We loved each other’s scent, we were constantly drawn to one another, and he made me feel over-the-moon happy. We were perfect together. But after almost three years had passed after we both turned 18 and we still didn’t feel anything more magical than just our human attraction to one another, although it was strong, and we couldn't mark one another, we knew that the Moon Goddess had not chosen us to be anything more than Alpha and Gamma. A huge sign was the fact that no matter how many times we tried, we couldn’t complete the mating process. The mating process is when mates are intimate and bite into each other’s necks, producing a special mark for everyone to see, letting the world know they have a mate. We were both devastated at the realization but promised that we would never let it change our relationship. Despite this, my heart was shattered. It still ached sometimes at the thought of what could have been. Since going through that heartbreak, I have been totally content with not finding my mate. I will be the first female Alpha of our kind. I am going to be 25 in a few months, and therefore won’t need a mate in order to lead or protect my pack. The pack has always welcomed me as their future leader. They trust in my father’s judgement and the Laurent name. Our bloodline is one of the oldest and strongest in the world. A Laurent Alpha must always lead Blood Moon Pack, as the saying goes. But even with all the faith in me from my family and pack, my gender remained an issue because of the outside world. My father used his power as one of the most respected and feared Alphas as a way to conceal my gender, so not much was known about me outside of our pack. He knew that it would be safer to reveal the truth about our line of succession when I was older, stronger, and ready to take my place. Any sooner and it could have left us vulnerable to a coup, especially from any rogues or power-hungry wolves trying to force their sons on me as my mate, seeing me as nothing more than the key to the Blood Moon Pack and its legacy. Our entire pack supported my father’s decision and swore their allegiance to protect me at a ceremony weeks after my birth. Blood Moon was a fiercely loyal pack, and it was part of the reason why we were so powerful. They vowed to protect my identity until my father felt the time was right. Because of my father, the other packs around the world did not know that I was a woman, while the name James worked perfectly to help hide this “weakness” while I was still a child. I always hated that my gender could be considered a weakness for our pack. It’s only made me train harder to be stronger than any male Alpha heir. But not every pack is as forward thinking as ours. And not every male werewolf would honor the line of succession with my father only having daughters and his wishes. This meeting of the Alpha’s Circle will be my first time interacting with other packs face to face. I’ve done correspondence over the past few years, but my father has handled the in-person affairs. Until now. He feels that as my 25th birthday approaches, it is time for me to step up and begin taking over in matters outside of our pack. For the past few years I’ve been back and forth between serving the pack in my duties and getting degrees in politics and international affairs. Now, I’m done with school and my Alpha training is complete. I’m ready.