The Alpha's Hybrid Luna

You Know I'm Alpha, But You Don't Respect It ...

-- Landon

Ugh. As I pulled up to the packhouse I was still struggling to figure out how I was supposed to explain the challenge to my dad. Since I was planning on passing the pack over to my younger brother, Luca, I figured I should loop him in on the conversation too. Now that I think about it, it's probably better if I talk to him first. He's always been very level-headed. Dad wasn't a fan of the mate Luca kept sheltered off from the rest of us, but male wolves can be pretty possessive. As long as Luca left me alone and still agreed to take the pack from me, I couldn't care less about whatever she-wolf was occupying his time. We've always been like that with one another though, unquestionably loyal. This is why I knew that if he was hiding something, he had his reasons and I wasn't going to be the one to push. 

"Hey bro, I just pulled up. Where are you?" I mind-linked Luca.

"Draco wanted to get out for a run. I'm just getting back to the pool area. Meet me outside or can it wait for me to change?"

"No, I'll come around back. Stay there." I shut off the link and walked into the packhouse. By human standards, it was definitely a mansion. 

If I thought the apartment my dad made me get was excessive, the packhouse itself was beyond grand. The very first alpha of the Black Forest pack built this packhouse a few hundred years ago. Some of the original pack texts say that it was large for the time but it definitely was smaller than what we have now.  Their space had been just big enough to house the alpha, his luna, and their two pups. It continued to stay more on the small side with pack members living in surrounding cottages but my grandfather decided that it made more sense for the ranked members to live in one large space together.

As wolves, we thrive on the togetherness and close community that a pack brings. So when my grandfather decided to join the homes of the ranked members together and create one large packhouse, it made sense. Since then, my father has modernized the current packhouse and added on more than his fair share of renovations.

I was used to it since it was all I ever really knew, but walking through it now just reminded me of how much I didn't want to take over as alpha. This was just all too much attention. I'd much rather live a lowkey life.

The first floor is the communal area where the main kitchens and dining rooms are. Just passed the main kitchen and formal dining space where the ranked members tend to have meals visiting packs is the den area. My dad likes to say that no wolf pack is complete without a proper den. There's tons of seating space with the large black leather sectional and couch space. Most don't plan on doing much sitting though with the pool, foosball, and air hockey tables taking up the middle of the room as the main focus. The back wall has a bar area that's usually stocked with snacks and sodas and a few dart boards lining one side. Below the first floor is the soundproofed basement where we have a bowling alley and extra pantries full of food as if the one on the first floor wasn't enough. 

The individual offices of all the ranked members, a large conference room, and a couple of smaller guest rooms are on the second floor. The gamma and beta each have a wing on the third floor, and the alpha's family takes the entire fourth floor. He had hot tubs and lounge space put in on the roof back when my mom was still alive. That area was always set apart for the ranked members, or at least the adult ranked members. I'm glad it was just for the adults because goddess knows every pup dreads the day they walk in on their parents' special playtime. 

My father just recently completed the last renovation by upgrading was his upgrade of all the electronics, appliances, and pretty much anything else that could be upgraded. I was definitely thankful for a comfortable life but I definitely liked simpler. 

Just as I opened the back door leading to the pool area, I saw Luca shifting back from Draco and yanking on the sweats he'd left behind. As he put his shirt on, I realized just how different we were. Luca was the spitting image of my mother, which is probably why my dad was always less harsh on him. He was on the smaller side for a male wolf,  especially one with alpha blood, with his thin frame standing right at 5'11. He had our mom's same hazel eyes and strawberry blonde hair. His complexion was pretty pale compared to my olive tone but he could still get a bit of a tan in the summer. What Luca lacked in size, however, he made up for in brains. He was definitely the smartest wolf I knew. Luca never went to human school for it but was the equivalent of a biotechnical engineer and pretty much ran the company with my dad that brought in almost 90% of all pack revenue. 

"What do I need to fix for you now big brother?"

"Any other time you feel like being a d**k Luca, be my guest. But not today. We've got a problem. A big one."

Because Luca was the genius of the family and I was the rebel, he had definitely had to get me out of a few tight situations over the years. He might be loyal and help when I need him but he has no issue with reminding me about it.

"My bad. But seriously, what's up? What problem do WE have?"

"Scanlan's son challenged me for the alpha title during practice."

"Wait. He did what? Scanlan's son, as in Blue Woods Scanlan? Hold on, he challenged you? Did you say at practice? As in, in front of humans? What the absolute hell is going on? What did you do? Oh goddess, did you kill him?! Goddess, Landon! I can cover up a lot of things, but I can't get you out of human prison for murder if they actually witnessed you kill him! Wait, where is his body? Why are you here?"

"Geez Luca. Calm down, will you? Let me respond to at least one question before you rattle off another mile in a minute." I wasn't the official alpha yet but my aura was strong enough through pack magic that I was able to use it to get him to shut up. I don't usually like using my aura on anyone, especially my own brother, but I thought he was going to make himself pass out from asking so many questions so fast without breathing. 

"Well, you need to hurry up and say what happened. You can't just say that one statement and pause."

"So, Todd challenged me on the field at practice. Before I could even try to stop him I could feel the pack magic already sealing it. Wolf law says that the issuer of the challenge can officially rescind without penalty if there is an extenuating circumstance, which I'm pretty sure being in the middle of a bunch of freaking humans would count as. Of course, he's too stubborn to rescind."

"Oh goddess, did you forfeit the alpha title?! What the hell Landon?! Dad is going to kill you himself!" 

"No, i***t. Shut up and let me finish?!  He didn't rescind but before I had to break his neck in front of my teammates, I remembered that a counter challenge could be issued."

"But don't the stakes of the counter challenge have to be of a greater value than the original challenge?"

"Again with the interrupting."

"Sorry, but this is nuts! I come back from a normal run and feel like I stepped on the set of a freaking telenovela."

"How do you think I felt?! I know we talked about me giving you the alpha title once I have my ceremony but you didn't actually feel the power of the pack magic from the challenge to lead the pack. I could barely hold Bain back from ripping Scanlan's head off right there." I'm sure my eyes were turning black with anger just remembering the anger that Bain felt from having his birthright to lead the Black Forest pack challenged. I may not have wanted to take the title but Bain definitely doesn't agree with me. He is probably bigger than a lot of the alphas that I've encountered and definitely has bigger anger issues at times.

What do you expect? I'm an alpha. We're an alpha.

Duh. I know that. I'm not questioning your rank Bain. 

But you don't respect it. You don't respect me or our mate.

It's not that I don't respect it. It's just all too much. You saw how crazed dad got when he lost mom. He's still not the same. He's a shadow of who he once was and only pushes on for this pack. It literally drains him. He's a complete robot. 

That won't happen to us. 

You don't know that Bain. I can't bury myself under the weight of leading a pack. 

You won't have to. Our mate will help us. 

I'm not taking a mate. And before you start growling at me, you know how stressed out mated males are. I would literally die if I couldn't protect her. And then having to deal with a pack on top of that?! 

Our mate will help us. 

There was no convincing him so I shut him off before he had the chance to do it to me again. Deep down, I know he's right but it's hard to explain human emotions to your wolf spirit. They think purely based on instinct. The responsibility of a mate and a pack is beyond scary. If I had them, I know I would be broken beyond repair if I ever lost them. It only made sense to just never take them, to begin with.

But now I'd seen her. I'd smelled her scent. It took everything in me to keep Bain from trying to mark her just from standing a few feet away. He was as protective as you would expect from an alpha. Knowing that she's human only made it worse. That means she's even more vulnerable in our world. 

Our mate is strong.

I have no idea how Bain can push through my block like that when he really wants to. It's beyond annoying, especially when he just make one statement and then goes right back to the block. Luca broke in before I could try and yell at Bain again.

"I can only imagine what that must've felt like. I can tell Bain must be annoyed too because of how much you keep linking with him." Luca chimed in since he would've been able to see my eyes cloud over like they do when we're either linking another wolf from the pack or our own.

And then he asked the dreaded question. Luca's really sensitive about the topic so I know he's going to flip out. 

"So what did you add to the challenge and did he accept?"

"I added my mate and yes. He accepted taking my mate."