The Alpha’s Star

~Nova~ Opening my eyes each morning has always been a struggle - my desire to sleep my life away battling my self control again and again until self control comes out on top and I resign to waking up and living out another day. Currently my brain is locked in this battle even though I KNOW I’m going to be late for school. I’ll just skip breakfast and maybe my skincare routine and I probably won’t be too late if my brain would ever stop negotiating with itself and just let me get out of bed. Once the battle finished, with my hygiene, nutrition, and timeliness lying dead on the battlefield as depression’s daily c*****e, I dragged myself out of bed. It’s not like I hate life or anything, I actually really love my life when I’m living it and can distract myself with tasks, school, people, anything, but for me the mornings are hard. Just convincing myself to get up and be a part of society, a part of the pack is hard. Usually I don’t talk about it much, most people in the pack just think I’m lazy or perpetually late. I know the human society went through the whole ‘mental illness doesn’t make you weak, you should talk about it openly’ campaign a while ago, but it hasn’t really reached us wolves yet. Something about sharing a presence with a fierce, strong predator should make your instincts and emotions more animalistic. My wolf, Ama, does help - a LOT - but some mornings she’s just another warrior on the battlefield. I threw together an outfit rather quickly - my clothes are mostly solid colors, mainly black, some whites and neutrals, so matching is fairly easy. Early on I learned to make my morning routine as easy as possible, and yeah maybe I’m not the most fashionable because of it, but it has saved me countless times. The one part of my outfit that slows me down is shoes, collecting sneakers is my guilty pleasure and I have a lot to choose from, but realistically I’m wearing my white AF1s like ninety percent of the time. After slipping them on, and checking the time, I headed to the bathroom to do my skincare and brush my hair and teeth. F*ck it, right? I’m late already anyways, might as well feel somewhat good about myself. While I went through the motions, I stared at myself in the mirror and took in my image. I was pretty enough, I guess. I had long black, wavy hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. My body had nice curves to it, but it wasn’t very athletic. I’ve never really enjoyed exercising even though I know it’s supposed to help my mental health. Sometimes I wished certain things were different with it, but I didn’t spend much time pointing out things that weren’t perfect cause most days I just couldn’t bring myself to care. Finally heading out the door for school I saw a smoothie and a note on the counter from my older sister ‘Sorry I couldn’t wake you up today, I know you’re probably late so here’s breakfast! Love you Thankfully since it is my last semester, during first period I am a library aid and Mrs. Cox, the librarian, is f*cking amazing and lets me slip in after the bell. I snuck into school through the library entrance and was quickly greeted by Jazz, my best friend. “Do you know how late you are?” Jazz huffed, obviously annoyed. I took a glance at my phone, reading 8:43AM, and replied “uhh yea, 13 minutes.” She simply rolled her eyes in response. “Oh come on Jazz, I’ve been pretty good at being on time lately! AJ just had to leave early this morning so no one was around to make sure I actually got up. I’m sorry you had to shelve on your own” “That’s not why I’m upset Nova, I don’t mind some quiet time” “Then what’s wrong?” She narrowed her eyes at me inquisitively. “Did you really forget? Some guests from another pack are supposed to tour the school today with the pack leaders. They made a really big deal about all students being on their best behavior, and here you are sneaking in a side door.” “Sh*t I definitely forgot about that. Have they come through here yet?” I asked, honestly hoping I would miss them. I’ve been told I don’t make a great first impression. “No, I haven’t seen them yet. I’m glad they didn’t bump into your truant ass in the parking lot!” Jazz joked while giving me a little push. I’m glad I have Jazz around, she has such a bright energy and always keeps me in check. She and I have been friends since middle school, and she watches out for me on days like today when I almost get myself detention. “Why are these people touring the school anyways?” I ask her while we shelve books away. “From what I heard, someone important from another pack is moving here temporarily, and wants to show their kid around the school” Jazz explained. She always knew everything going on in the pack since her dad was the Beta. “Do you know who it is?” She lowered her voice to a whisper “Actually no, I don’t. Dad won’t tell me, he says the Alpha wants to keep it hush hush until the pack meeting tonight.” “That must be very difficult for you,” I said through laughs while patting her on the arm. Her curiosity is insatiable, so I know if her dad wouldn’t give in, this must really be juicy. “Do you have any guesses about what’s going on? I know you must have been brainstorming away since you heard.” I’m surprised she didn’t get dizzy from the eye roll that came next while huffing “I don’t have anything concrete, but if the Alpha wants it kept secret, it may be something about his transition. He probably doesn’t want to worry pack members with rumors until he’s ready to announce it”. “Yea that makes sense, I guess we’ll find out tonight,” I responded. Alpha Ryan was getting to be retirement age, and there had been a lot of talk around town about who his successor would be. Usually, the new Alpha would be his first born son, maybe a daughter if he had all girls though that was rare. What was more rare was that the Alpha never had any children, so there was not an inherent succession plan. Everyone is thinking he will most likely pick a young male in his family to take over, so the leader will at least have Alpha blood. This is important because if he chooses a weak successor, we will be more susceptible to rogue attacks, or to other Alphas challenging them and taking over our pack. Of course he could always choose a Sigma, or a second born son of an Alpha from an allied pack. Even though the pack all agrees he will probably choose a relative, nobody can agree on who he would choose. Jazz and I spent the rest of the period discussing the options: There have been a few potential candidates people have come up with. I know it sounds like we’re all depraved gossips or something, but in a town like ours everybody knows everybody, and you really just can’t stop the whispers from spreading around. Alpha Ryan has quite a few younger siblings, all of whom have kids around 18, so narrowing it down hasn’t been easy, but our pack was up to the challenge. First we have Scott Foster, the Alpha’s nephew from his oldest sister. He is highly intelligent and has lived in the pack his whole life; he would be the obvious choice. However, many of the older, more traditional pack members need to see a huge, unstoppable force when looking at their Alpha - someone who commanded respect by merely existing in front of them. And well, Scott just wasn’t that guy. Scott was soft and kind, the type of guy that knew everyone in the pack, and comforted someone when they were sad, but these were qualities pack members valued more so in a Luna than an Alpha. Next up was Braden Thomas, the Alpha’s nephew from his oldest brother. Braden was charming and strong; he had been going to warrior training since he was a kid. He definitely would make the pack members feel protected, but he lacked a lot of knowledge on pack law which was a concern. Also, if Alpha Ryan was really announcing his replacement tonight, Braden was no where near being eligible. He just turned 17 and you have to be at least 18 to take over the pack. Lastly, and most likely, was Daniel Thomas, Braden’s older brother. He participated in warrior training as well, and though he didn’t take to it as well as Braden, he was strong and commanding. He had graduated a couple of years ago, but I remember being intimidated by him in the hallways at school. He also was intelligent, not to the near genius level that Scott was, but enough to be a good leader. Jazz and I agreed though that Daniel’s anger could be an issue. The Alpha has other nephews, but most of them are mated and/or have ranks in other packs, so they aren’t really considered. As the bell rings, Jazz and I hurriedly push our cart up to the front desk and gather our things so we aren’t late to our second period, Calculus. Mrs. Pillans is not as forgiving as Mrs. Cox and I do NOT want to be late and have to lead the warmup exercise. In front of Mrs. Pillans’ room there’s a group of people talking: a school administrator talking with her hands telling the group about the math offerings the school has, the pack Delta, Keaton, a maybe 14 year old boy who the tour was most likely for, and a young man. He was definitely older than the boy, older than a high school student for sure. I know werewolves are naturally muscular, or whatever, but there aren’t any students here that look like him. But he also didn’t look anywhere near old enough to be that kids parent, maybe he was his older brother or something. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he looked strangely familiar. Jazz pulled me into the room insisting we were about to be late, giving me very little time to try and place him based on his side profile, rude. You would think little miss curiosity would be all over the group outside, adding clues to her theories, but Jazz also cares deeply about school and her perfect attendance record. I was mulling over where I might know that face from while I settled into my desk, and pulled out my notebook and calculator. I turned slightly and looked out the door to see if I could get another glance, and was met with the most striking deep blue eyes I had ever seen. Why was he staring at me? He must have noticed me eyeing him down earlier. After overcoming the shock of this stranger’s beautiful eyes, I quickly looked away embarrassed. ~Asa~ This was going to be a long morning. My brother, Cyan, decided to come with me to stay at this pack temporarily. So I got the pack leaders to arrange a tour for him to get acquainted, but I had not planned on joining him. The kid was usually outgoing and confident, as he should be with Alpha blood coursing through him, but being dumped into a new environment had him a bit on edge. So, I took a break from meeting with the Silver Crescent leaders to join him. I suppose it wouldn’t be the worst thing for me to meet some members of the community, though I know Alpha Ryan wants me keeping everything on the down low until tonight - he says his pack has a bit of a rumor problem. The school administrator woman, Sarah I think, had been flirting with me since I arrived and she saw I was unmarked. She may not know who I am or why I was here, but she knew I must be important. Maybe the rumor mill in this town really was onto something. I turned 21 last month and still hadn’t found my mate, but I would rarely date or hook up in the pack where I lived. It is just inappropriate and from stories I’ve heard from other Alphas, can cause trouble when you find your Luna, I guess ‘if’ would be a better choice of words. I checked my phone while the administrator waved her arms, excitedly stopping us at the next tour stop, Mrs. Pillans’ room. She explained that Mrs. Pillans was the school’s math teacher, and started talking with Cyan about what courses he’s already taken, and options for him to enroll in. Delta Keaton and I got an email from Alpha Ryan with a meeting agenda for tonight. I turned to ask Keaton a question and got a faint whiff of mint and eucalyptus. I could barely make it out from all the other scents in the hallway during the passing period. Long, black waves flicked before my view as they passed me and went into Mrs. Pillans’ room, and I got another burst of the mint and eucalyptus. I snapped my head towards her, and watched as she got settled in for class. She couldn’t be my mate could she? Her scent was beautiful, but it wasn’t very strong, it didn’t draw me to her, my wolf wasn’t jumping in my head, screaming ‘mate’. It didn’t make me swoon like I thought it would from all the stories I’ve heard from my friends, parents, mentors. Regardless, I couldn’t stop studying her. Her facial features were delicate and small, I think she had to have like clinically small ears or something, but they were cute. Same as her nose and mouth with full, pouty lips. She looked up at me all of the sudden as if she could feel my eyes on her. She met them with her own, piercing light blue eyes, clear and sharp like ice. She jumped a little in her seat when she realized I was staring, her fair skin reddening, and she turned back to her work. She didn’t seem to think I was her mate either, I mean she wasn’t climbing over her desk and running into my arms while her wolf said ‘Mate’. I mean she could still be under 18, but I should still be able to tell even if she couldn’t, or maybe it just wasn’t her. Even if she wasn’t my mate, I could see myself breaking my no dating pack members rule if I stayed here too long, there was just something about her and the look in her eyes when ours met, like someone who had lived a much longer life than this teenage girl before me. “Keaton, who is she?” I found myself asking before I could stop myself.