The Alpha's Daughter

Chapter 4: The Alpha’s Request

After a full afternoon of training, I lazily dragged myself back to the pack house. I could still hear yelling coming from the alpha's office. As I got closer, I kept quiet, knowing my dad would be able to sense me. I heard his voice, “Viviana does not think any of the three you are training are ready to be the next alpha, Beta Rex.”

“My son is more than ready,” Beta Rex sneered, “instead of choosing the rightful heir; you have determined to use the mate of that girl.”

“That girl is my daughter! If she had been a son, we would not be having this conversation, as he would have been the rightful heir to this pack. Even as a girl, she is more prepared to be Alpha than any of the three of them.”

“But she's not a male,” Beta Rex continued, “we should be protecting our pack, not your daughter.”

“I have you training four would be Alphas; how is that not taking our pack's protection as the top priority?” The Alpha yelled.

“No, you have me training three alphas and a Luna! No matter how hard you try, Alpha Vincent, Viviana could only ever hope to be Luna of this pack!” Beta Rex screamed back.

“Remember the agreement that's laid out, Beta Rex, even you can't change pack laws,” the Alpha stated calmly. “You're dismissed. Be on time tonight for dinner, we have tournament details to go over with our top warriors. We are done for now.”

I stumbled back as I heard footsteps approaching the door. Shoving myself back into a corner to stay out of sight, I held my breath. Beta Rex threw open the door and stomped out. I cannot believe my dad allowed this behavior from him. The Alpha spoke from his office “Don't hide in the shadows, Viviana, it's rude. I’ve taught you better than that. Come here!”

Slowly and cautiously, I made my way inside the office and slumped down into the chair in front of him. I did not speak. I was unsure of what to say since I was intruding on a private meeting between the Alpha and his Beta. I know how my father felt about these things.

“Viviana, Beta Rex is preparing to challenge me for the Alpha.” He began simply.

Excuse me. That caught me off guard, “Is he crazy?”

Ignoring my question, he just continued. “He is likely to try before your birthday, Viviana, and you need to be ready.” His voice did not seem as strong as it usually did. It was almost like a little bit of fear was lying underneath the surface.

“For what reason! Surely, he can't expect to take on the Alpha and win!” I exclaimed. I cannot believe my dad was concerned about this.

“He wants his son to be the next Alpha, and you need to be ready for if that happens.” He spoke confidently.

“Are you afraid he will be my mate?” I asked. Thinking of how I would feel if Max were my mate.

“I’m afraid his father will not take the chance he’s not.” He stated. “There is only one way Beta Rex can guarantee his son will be the next Alpha of the pack, and that is through me.” His eyes were focused deeply on me. His face was without the hint of humor. He was completely serious. “By becoming Alpha himself, he guarantees that Max will become the Alpha, even if he does not deserve it.”

I looked at him blankly. “I can't believe you! Why would you think that you would lose to Beta Rex?” It was almost humorous, though I dared not laugh, even Victor’s wolf was stronger than Rex, and the whole pack knew it. My father was not a weak man.

“Ever since Beta Rex was injured in a rogue attack last year, he has blamed me. He also blames me that I was not able to keep your mother safe.” He answered regrettably.

“That's ridiculous! Beta Rex is the one that failed. He was guarding the pack house and her,” Viviana responded, annoyed.

“Perhaps if I had trained my Luna as I'm training you, we would not be having this conversation, and he would not be so concerned about pack safety. I neglected training warriors due to being up here in the mountains and having so much natural protection. We hardly ever needed to fight. As Alpha I should have done a better job to ensure we were ready.” He had a faraway look in his eye as he talked like he was holding something back. It was possible he even had tears glistening in the corners of his eyes, but I had never seen my father cry except for the day we lost my mother.

“But now you have four top warriors and at least thirty other qualified fighters, counting the women,” I added, defending my father and trying to call his attention to the good he has done.

“You know Beta Rex does not count the women; he does not respect them as warriors. If Beta Rex had his way, women would not be trained as warriors alongside the men. His limited respect for you is only out of being the Alpha's daughter.” He paused, looking at me, “and possibly the mate of his son.”

“You're worried about something else, though, Father, I can see it in your eyes,” my voice was cautious. I do not want to start a fight with my father, but I could tell he was not telling me everything.

“As a father, I have to worry about what will happen to you, Viviana. Because of this, I've made other preparations for your future that you did not know about,” he paused, pulled out something from his jacket pocket, and handed me a business card. I turned it over and saw there was a name written on the back: Kaleb Black.

“Who is this?” I asked, confused. Whoever it was is not part of our pack, and I do not recall hearing the name before.

“I will not tell you that now. Should something happen to me, you are to find him. Do not share his name with anyone, Viviana, for your own safety and his.” He answered.

“I don't understand, Father.” I was trying to hide my annoyance.

“I hope you never have to. You can go freshen up for dinner, Viviana.” Then he looked me over and he added, “Looks like Victor got the better of you today.”

“How do you know it was Victor?” I laughed.

“Please,” he laughed, “I may sit in this office while you train, but the whole pack knows Victor is the only one who ever finds you.” He laughed harder. I was glad to hear his laugh after such a serious conversation. It helped to lighten the mood.

“He caught me; that's true, father, but it took him twenty minutes more than it did yesterday,” I boasted proudly.

My father laughed, “I guess your tracking skills are improving after all.” Then he paused, thinking for a moment, “Viviana, if you ever are forced to run for your life, an hour will not be enough of a head start to avoid capture when on the run.”

“I only have to get past Victor, Father, the other two never had a chance,” I laughed, thinking of it.

“That won't be true, Viviana, if one of them ends up being your mate. You will need hours and Kaleb's help,” he added. “Even Zander, as directionally challenged as he seems to be, would be able to find you more easily if you are his mate.”

“Yes, Alpha,” I replied with a smile.

“Viviana,” he smiled.

“Yes, Father, I will keep what you said in mind.” I rose from my seat and went behind his desk. He hugged me and kissed my forehead.

“Go get ready for dinner, Viviana. I would not want you to appear late for the second time today. Change and put some ice on that side. We can’t have you showing any weakness in front of the other warriors.” My father spoke gently as he released me. “Keep that card safe and do not lose it.”

“Yes, Alpha,” I replied.

“Viviana,” he shook his head.

“Yes, father,” with that, I turned and walked out of his office. I slowly climbed the steps to my own room, thinking over all the things my dad had just filled me in on. Although if I were being honest, he had not really told me anything useful. At the same time, who was Kaleb Black, and why was he so important? Upon reaching my room, I went to my closet. Pulled apart the panel to find my hidden stuff. Not a lot, just a small box with a couple of hundred dollars in cash in case I was forced to run. I slipped the name inside the box. Then, lifting my shirt, I stared into the mirror as the badly bruised ribs and abdomen showed various colors of purple. At least he did not break anything. It would heal in a day or two at the worst. Turning away, I changed, showered, and forced myself to go down to what was sure to be another unpleasant dinner.