The Alpha Queen

The drive from the Northern Mountain Pack to the centre of London was always a long and tedious journey, but this time I wished the journey would take longer. This is the first time I would be meeting all other Alphas, not only from the surrounding packs, but from neighbouring countries, and I knew I would be the only female Alpha among them. The Alpha's Court only happened every 10 years, or when there was a need to bring the Alphas together such as in times of war, a threat to werewolf kind or the death of the Alpha King. This Court was for the later - the old King was dead and the new King must take his place, and the Alphas must gather to promise their allegiance. The period of mourning was over, and the Alphas had been summoned to London to meet in person, and this would be my first time attending. "Alpha Alice, we are 15 minutes away. When we arrive, I will have our bags taken to our suites and your evening wear sent to be pressThe drive from the Northern Mountain Pack to the centre of London was always a long and tedious journey, but this time I wished the journey would take longer. This is the first time I would be meeting all other Alphas, not only from the surrounding packs, but from neighbouring countries, and I knew I would be the only female Alpha among them. The Alpha's Court only happened every 10 years, or when there was a need to bring the Alphas together such as in times of war, a threat to werewolf kind or the death of the Alpha King. This Court was for the latter - the old King was dead and the new King must take his place, and the Alphas must gather to promise their allegiance. The period of mourning was over, and the Alphas had been summoned to London to meet in person, and this would be my first time attending. "Alpha Alice, we are 15 minutes away. When we arrive, I will have our bags taken to our suites and your evening wear sent to be pressed, cleaned, and placed in your room. Court will begin in 2 hours and I will wait for you outsi-" "You will come into court with me Irina, you are my Beta, and will most likely be the only other woman there. I need you with me to keep me sane, and you don’t have to talk so formally to me you know." I turned to Irina, who looked as nervous and as uncomfortable as I felt. She was a powerful fighter, commander of an army of warriors, and could level any challenge or out-of-line comment with a single look, but conference meetings in suits scared her more than any fearsome opponent. She looked at me, eyes pleading momentarily, then huffed when I didn't let her back out. "Fine! But I will be demanding a room upgrade when we get back home". "Deal, although I was meaning to do that when we got back anyway, as the new Beta you should have a bigger room, even if it is so your gaming set up can fit next to a bed!" I laughed. "Hey, I take pride in my set up, even if it meant sleeping on the sofa downstairs for a couple of months! I can't wait to sleep in a big luxurious bed for 5 nights though!" "Your spine will be very grateful, I'm sure!" “Says you! Your room is more library than bedroom. How many books do you have now? I see my guards dropping off your parcels from the gate every afternoon!” “Hey, I’m a collector and you know that I pref-“ “”Prefer the feel of real books” I know I know, but e-books will at least let you get your walk-in closet back” I shrugged while Irina sat back in her leather seat, content with having the last word. I felt more relaxed now, Irina has always made me feel better, surer of myself, which is why I chose her 6 months ago to be my Beta. We had been long-time friends with her father acting as my father's Beta when he was Alpha, so I knew she would be the right choice for me and the pack. “So, do you know who this new Alpha King is?” asked Irina. “No idea, I’ve heard only rumours. I will not indulge in any of it until I can see for myself. Hopefully, the old King didn’t rub off on him too much.” The old King Alpha Mitus was a stickler for the old, sexist rules and saw no place for a female leader of a pack. Lunas were pup-making machines to him and should only concern themselves with such family matters, nothing of business, defences, or pack alliances. My family always feared him and what he might do if he found out I was to be named Alpha of the Mountain Pack. They breathed a sigh of relief when he passed away but prepared me for the worst when it came to the Alpha Court. “I heard he’s huge… in a few different ways” said Irina, smirking at me sideways. “Get your head out of the gutter! I can’t be having you mind-linking those thoughts to me mid-meeting.” I retorted, while Irina just chuckled. “We’ve arrived, Alpha” said the guard from the driver’s seat. We both quietened down, looking out of the window at the looming skyscraper above us. The London skyline is forever changing, but this was the latest instalment of tall high-rise buildings in the financial district. I took a breath before opening my door and stepping out onto the street, Irina following close behind. “Goddess! Why do these meetings always have to be so far off the ground?” mumbled Irina, as she turned to instruct the guards where to take our bags. “Maybe the new King wants to be closer to the Moon Goddess” I joked half-heartedly, knowing how dizzying these buildings could be. One strong breeze and- Stop thinking like that Alice, you’re only gonna make yourself feel worse. Think happy thoughts! Said Runa, my wolf. You never know, we might finally meet our mate! Great! Another person who might threaten my position as Alpha. I will not become anyone’s submissive Luna. I thought back. Ever since I turned 18, Runa would not give up talking about finding our mate. I couldn’t blame her, it was all-natural instinct that called to her and me, but I’ve had more important things to worry about, like proving to these boys a woman can run a pack too. I was 21 now and happily un-mated, although Runa protested greatly. Don’t think like that! Our mate just wants to protect us, look after us, support us and pound us until we scream their name. What is so wrong with that? I couldn’t disagree with that, it sounded nice, and my wolf sat back, proud that her point had been made. But right now, I needed to focus, get into that conference room, and make them respect me as a female Alpha. I looked over to Irina for support, who nodded and looked to the building entrance. “Let’s go” I mind-linked, and we both headed towards the large glass doors. The doors were opened for us, and we were greeted by a young man in a black suit. He handed Irina the keys to our adjacent rooms and escorted us to the elevator. As the doors closed and the man selected our floor I thought to myself: What could possibly go wrong?