The Alpha's Daughter

Chapter 2: Viviana Strong

Most people would be happy to be me. I am the only child of our Alpha. My father, Vincent Strong, is the Alpha of the Black Mountain Pack. I like my father have Alpha blood and have a strong wolf. If it were not for some archaic rule, I would be the next Alpha of this pack. Instead, the pack law has decreed that I cannot be Alpha, but my future mate can be.

My father ensured that I was trained accordingly alongside our top warriors, even if his Beta fought it every step of the way. My mother had not been a warrior, and the skills she passed on were different. She insisted that I know all the womanly duties that I would be expected to perform as a Luna. Everyone loved her, and even though I resembled her, I was not meek in nature. Unfortunately, my mother was killed last year, and instead of working on my Luna training like she would have liked, I only rebelled more. If she would have learned to defend herself, she would still be part of this pack. This drive gave me the desire to prove that Viviana Strong would never find herself at the mercy of some man waiting for a big, strong Alpha to save her. I rose easily through the ranks, despite what others, like Beta Rex and Gamma Ray, wanted. I was assigned warriors to my own Alpha squad last year, overseeing their training. There were four of us who commanded Alpha Squads. Mine might not be the best warriors in the pack, but they are mine, and I could not be happier with them. Together, we have grown and fought hard to be recognized amongst the others.

Currently, I am supposed to be on the training field with Beta Rex and the rest of the Alpha squad leaders. No doubt he would be running us through some sort of useless drill. We all trained better when he was not there. It was also less degrading for me. However, as I stand in front of the mirror looking at myself, I find I lack the motivation today. I worked hard this morning with my own squad. I brush my hair and tie it into a high ponytail. As usual, I'm wearing a black tank and loose-fitting shorts that are easy to remove for shifting. Instead of going to training, I am here looking into the mirror and contemplating if my life is ever going to feel like my own.

I should be happy. I have everything I could want or need, yet I cannot find joy. In three days, I will reach my eighteenth birthday, at which the pack expects that I will find my mate who is destined to be the next Alpha. If one believes this, I for one hope I do not find a mate among my pack, and the pack will have no choice but to make me the Alpha. My father believes my mate is likely to be from one of the top families. This leaves me with my choices; the pack would likely accept only Victor, Max, or Zander. Each is hoping the task will fall to them.

None more than Victor, since he is the largest and strongest black wolf in the pack, second only to my father, Alpha Vincent Strong. He believes he deserves to be Alpha based on that fact alone. If I were not the rightful heir, I might agree. Yet I know he does care about our pack, and most of the time, I believe he genuinely cares about me.

Max cares about position and superiority and would likely make me stay at home like a good little she-wolf. That thought alone is sickening. He used to be lovable and sweet, but since he became of age, he has turned cold and violent. His father encourages this behavior, which is needed for a strong Alpha.

Then there is Zander. He is lovable in his own way, but would easily be challenged for his position. He is the most loyal and compassionate man I know. He has a strong wolf, only Victor is his match as a warrior.

Our pack may not be the largest, but we are strong and close due to our very secluded way of life. The mountains offer considerable natural protection from enemies, and my father rarely allows our people to leave.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, which I knew, without even opening it, was from my father. “Viviana Strong, open the door or I'll open it for you!” His commanding voice came from the other side, leaving me with no choice but to respond.

I laughed to myself at his Alpha tone, as I hurried to open the door. Although it would not be the first time that he had broken down the door, I did not want to replace it again or see the look on his face if he had to break it down again. Trying to appear as innocent as possible, “Yes, Alpha,” I said as he took two steps inside the room and turned back to face me.

After looking me up and down, my father spoke. “Viviana, I see you are already dressed and ready for training. Is there a reason why Beta Rex has informed me that they're waiting for you?”

“I was on my way there,” I tried to cover my tardiness with a smile.

My father shook his head, “Viviana, do us both a favor and don’t waste our time being dishonest. Why are you up here sulking?”

“I am not sulking, just thinking,” I answered with irritation.

“When you're supposed to be training, it's not the time to be up here thinking about it while shirking your responsibilities. You were not made a leader to set a poor example to the rest of the recruits. What is so important that you skip out of practice anyhow?” He asked pointedly.

“Alpha,” I stared down at my feet, thinking that sometimes I do not know how to address him. It's weird seeing how he is my father, yet most of the time the word 'Alpha' comes out instead of 'father'. “I was...” I tried to think of a reason that was different from what I was actually doing. I did not want to fight with him about this topic again.

“Viviana,” his voice softened, but his face was still quite firm.

“Father.” Guess I guessed wrong this time. I replied in a voice a little above a whisper. “I was thinking about my birthday,” my voice trailed off on the word “birthday.” We both knew it was a sore subject.

“Viviana, we have been over this a hundred times,” he sounded annoyed.

“More like a thousand, and you know why.” Every time we had this conversation, I could not help but feel more irritated with him than I had the previous time.

“Enough, now is not the time, Viviana,” his voice starting to rise.

“When is it ever the time?” I yelled back.

“Viviana,” his alpha tone cut me off. As if that were not sufficient enough, it was also accompanied by a very stern look and a few steps forward, which had me reflexively backing up. “You will do exactly what is expected of you, as will every other member in this pack. As my daughter, you know how your behavior reflects on me. I will not have my daughter questioning my orders. If you cannot figure out a way to do what you are ordered, that is acceptable to me; you may stay in this room till you can.” With that, Alpha Vincent shook his head and started to leave. However, pausing and pointing to the door, asked, “Will this room need a lock, Viviana, or will you be meeting Beta Rex on the training field?”

“The training field, Alpha,” I answered and waited for Alpha Vincent to leave the room completely. Before huffing under my breath, “The last thing I want to do is walk out to that field again today. Beta Rex has it in for me; I know it. I don't know what I did to make him so upset; I mean, if it comes out that my mate ends up being his son, it's only going to advance his position in the pack. I don’t even want to imagine what will happen should his precious favorite son not be my mate.”

I forcefully grabbed my water bottle off my dresser before stomping out of the room. I slammed the door, letting the whole pack house feel my frustration. This would probably earn me words of reprimand from my father later on, but at this point, I did not care. After all, he never seemed to care about how I thought.