Stand-In Alpha

Prologue [five years ago] Emma The forest flew past me in a blur of greens and browns as I raced toward the waterfall. I could hear it in the distance, but it seemed so far away. The wolves behind me seemed to only be getting closer. My wolf, Artemis, was pushing herself as fast as she could and it didn’t seem to be enough. “Come on Artemis! They shouldn’t be this close to us.” I pushed her in my head. “I know,” she growled back. “I am doing my best. Something doesn’t feel right.” She didn’t want to get caught either. Her head had been on a swivel since we shifted and I could feel her unease grow the closer we got to our intended destination. As the trees started to give way to the riverbank, a pair of chocolate brown wolves flanked us on either side trying to force us away from the waterfall and into the raging river itself. They had finally caught up to us and were forcing themselves into our sides to collide with us. The three of us barreled closer to the river with them inching closer by the second, it was a game of chicken; either we collided, or someone was going to be swept away. Artemis pushed us harder and I knew exactly what she was going to. “You really think you can pull this off?” I laughed to her, knowing she was a cocky wolf. “I know I can, just trust me.” She stated confidently with a huff. The riverbank was only a short distance in front of us and the wolves almost had us pinned, it was now or never. Artemis launched us across the river with all her might. We landed with our back legs in the water and pushed out immediately. I could hear the two wolves behind us growling, looking for a way to safely cross and continue the chase. Artemis gave them a wolfish grin and sprinted in the direction of the waterfall. We could feel someone watching us intently in the dense trees. Immediately it felt like they were trapping us between the river and the tree line with nowhere to go but forward. Artemis caught the scent of another wolf and pinned her ears down, growling in warning. We had almost reached the cliff’s edge when a copper wolf jumped in our path and lowered themselves to pounce on us. Just as we reached the wolf, Artemis jumped over it sending us flying over the edge of the waterfall and straight down into the lake below. I watched through my wolf’s eyes as the crystal blue water came closer and closer at a dangerous speed. Right before we hit the water, I shifted back into my human form. I swam as fast as I could under the raging waterfall and into the secret cave behind it. The hum of the water became quieter as I made my way to the back of the cave. This had been my hiding spot for years and I always kept clothes in here for emergencies. I threw on my neon green bikini and waited. I knew they would come looking for me and it was only a matter of time before I had to face them. It had only taken them a few minutes but one by one I heard all three wolves splash into the lake. I stood in the middle of the cave waiting for them to find me. The three of them emerged laughing and play fighting. I smirked and threw their bathing suits at them as they had yet to look my way. “Oh, don’t you look so smug Em!” My best friend Aurora laughed at me. She and her twin brother, Thomas were my father’s Beta’s kids and we had grown up like siblings. She and Thomas had been the chocolate brown wolves trying to capture me. Thomas pulled on his swim trunks and just smiled knowing he wouldn’t get in the middle of us girls. “She always finds a way to outrun us every single time we play this game,” My other best friend Theodora added to make Aurora stick her tongue out at her. She was the Gamma’s daughter and completed our little group of friends. We were all the same age and our parents had all been best friends long before they became the leaders of the pack. My father was Alpha Oliver of the Emerald Moon Pack. Their fathers were Beta Patrick and Gamma Noah. Affectionately, they were known as the “Big 3” throughout the werewolf community. Our pack had prospered for many years and had little enemies. They had worked hard to accomplish that especially after the war of the vampires. Once they had gotten their clothes on, we swam back under the waterfall to enjoy the lake. It was late August in New England and there wouldn’t be many more days to enjoy it before it froze over. The sun was high in the sky and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect as we laughed and rough-housed in the water. We were laying on the small beach sunbathing when my little sister and Theodora’s siblings showed up with a picnic basket lunch for all of us. “Alexandra, what are you doing out here? It’s such a long walk from the packhouse! You could have mindlinked me to come and get you guys!” I half scolded her. “I had dad and Noah bring us out here. We wanted to bring you lunch for your birthday!” She stuck her tongue out at me. We knew there was going to be a small party at the packhouse tonight but it was a sweet thought that my sister and her friends had put into a lunch for all of us. She even packed a cupcake and a candle for me stating “you can never have enough cake on your birthday”. They sang a loud, offkey rendition of “Happy Birthday” and I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Spending the day with my closest friends and my little sister was all I ever wanted to do. All that was missing were our parents and my younger brother, then it would be complete. After lunch, we swam some more and we showed the kids the cave behind the waterfall. The pack knew about the lake but no one really came out here as it was in the far corner of our territory near the start of the mountains. But only the Big 3 families knew about the caves behind the waterfall and where they led. Even now, I didn’t know where all the caves led. Although, I did know they had been spelled long ago so no one could access them but those that had been given permission by the Alpha. My father didn’t think my friends and I needed full access to the tunnels yet as the parents always seemed to have trouble wrangling us all at the same time. We let the younger kids explore as much as they could while we gathered everything to head back to the packhouse. ROGUES IN THE TERRITORY rang across the mindlink loud and clear. The four of us froze, staring at each other, silently debating what to do next. We had been trained as warriors growing up and had practiced as a quad our entire lives. The younger kids came running to us with a slight fear in their eyes but they tried to hide it. They didn’t have their wolves yet and it would be harder to fight without them. We had to get them back to the packhouse safely and efficiently. “Emma, are you still at the waterfall and is your sister with you?” My dad’s voice rang through my head. “Yes, all of us are still here. What do you want us to do?” I answered quickly knowing my time was limited since he was going to fight. “Go to the cave and stay there. I will send someone to come get you. Stay quiet and stay alert. This shouldn’t take long but be careful. I love you.” “We are here and I’ll make sure everyone is hidden and out of sight. Be safe, I love you too.” With that, the mindlink was cut and I turned to the group ready to give instructions. “Rory and Theo, take the kids to the farthest part of the cave and hide away as best you can. Guard them and keep your mindlink open.” I barked the orders as the girls nodded to me and wrapped their arms around the kids while swiftly moving them away from the entrance. “Tommy, you and I will stay here and listen for anyone in the area. Dad said they would be sending someone but you know how long it takes to get out here. Let’s stay out of sight and wait it out.” Tommy gave me a crooked smile and said “Yes Alpha” while he gave me a salute as he shifted. I shook my head with a silent laugh and I shifted into my wolf. He was always the comedic relief and tried to keep every situation light. He was also the most ruthless warrior in our age group. Artemis was on high alert listening and sniffing for anything out of the ordinary but it didn’t seem like anything was near us. The minutes ticked by slowly and it felt like an eternity before Artemis stood up and started pacing the cave. “What’s wrong? Has something happened?” I asked but I already had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that wouldn’t go away. “I can’t reach Zeus, it’s like he’s there but I can’t talk to him, almost like he’s muted.” She sounded very confused but I also heard the fear in her voice. Zeus was my dad’s wolf and he was always available for his wolves. A true Alpha through and through. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they are just tied up in a fight or maybe they’ve captured the rogues and are questioning them. I’ll try my dad.” Even I could hear the worry in my voice and the feeble attempt to soothe us both. “Dad? Artemis is worried about Zeus. I just want to make sure you’re both alright.” I called to him but I felt the same thing she did. It was like he was there but also so far away. I had to chalk it up to him being busy and left it alone even as the dread was starting to consume me. It had now been an hour since I heard from anyone and I started to get worried no one would find us. I shifted back, threw my bathing suit back on and went to check on the rest of our group. They were sitting at the back of the cave, Rory and Theo shifted and the kids were petting their wolves. It was a funny sight to see; their big bad warrior wolves being pet like a human dog. I giggled and Theo’s wolf, Athena, quietly growled at me in warning. She knew exactly what I was thinking and did not approve. I gave her a pat on the head and she nipped at me as I quickly made my way back to Thomas at the front of the cave. “Theo, tell Athena I’m sorry for messing with her and I appreciate her keeping them calm.” I said with a smile. “She said next time she’s going to bite your arm off but she will always watch out for the kids” Theo laughed loudly in my head. Artemis perked up in my head as she caught a whiff of something, I stood stock still as did Thomas’ wolf, Apollo. His nose was straight up in the air trying to scent whether it was a friend or an enemy. We caught it at the same time and looked at each other for confirmation. I nodded and he shifted back to grab his clothes. I mindlinked the girls and told them to bring everyone to the front of the cave. We dove under the waterfall and came up on the other side face to face with our head warrior, Gabe. He was flanked by several others who looked a little worse for wear but unharmed. We swam to shore and greeted him quickly waiting for the briefing he would hopefully give us. “Kids, are you okay? Everyone is unharmed?” He asked looking us over one by one. “We are fine, no one was even close to this area. We haven’t heard, seen or smell anything the entire day.” Thomas answered quickly, I knew he was just as anxious as I was. “Good, we need to get back to the packhouse quickly. Your parents are worried sick.” He remained emotionless but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was hiding something. “Gabe, what is going on? What aren’t you telling us?” I pressed knowing he probably wouldn’t tell me but I had to try. “Emma, you’ll know everything as soon as we get there. I promise. Now I need you four to shift. Girls, put the kids on your backs and Thomas follow behind them. I’ll lead and the others will fall in around you.” Gabe left no room for argument and shifted quickly. We all followed suit and left in the direction of the packhouse moving as quickly as possible without throwing the kids around too much. We made it back in a half hour but it felt like it had been hours. When the house came into view, I didn’t know what to expect. When I saw the Beta and Gamma parents waiting on us with only my mom and younger brother, I knew something was very wrong. I let Alex climb down and run to our mother. I shifted in the tree line and took clothes from an omega who had been waiting for our return. Each of us went to our respective families but I felt my friends’ eyes on me as I slowly approached my mom. Her face was tear stained and her eyes were bloodshot. She was hugging my siblings with all her might and reached her arm out to pull me in too. I could feel her sadness coming off her in waves. Sniffling, she turned to an omega and asked her to escort all the children to the Alpha floor, bring them dinner and watch them while we had a meeting. Alex looked at her for answers but my mother just held her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You will know soon my love. Everything is alright, we just need to talk. Can you please keep an eye on your brother and I will come get you in a bit?” She asked softly. Alex nodded. She took Lucas’ hand in hers and made her way upstairs. Fitzgerald and Melly followed behind her. Theo and Rory came to either side of me and threaded their arms through mine. Thomas was behind us with his hand on my shoulder. Our parents looked at us with sadness and turned to walk inside. Noah led us all to a conference room on the second floor and we piled in taking the available seats and giving him our undivided attention. My mom sat next to me, grabbed my hand and squeezed. I gave her three squeezes back and took in a breath. “Let me start by saying the threat was taken care of and is no longer a worry for our pack. It was a group of rogues that entered at our southern border and seemed to be very unorganized. We learned that they were used as a distraction to let something far more lethal slip onto our pack lands. A witch made her way onto our land in an attempt to kidnap the Alpha.” He paused to look at each of us before he continued. I could feel my heart in my throat and my eyes filled with tears. My dad was unstoppable, invincible and I knew the next thing Noah said was going to break me. “She underestimated our training and ability to fight, and it ultimately cost her her life. But before we killed her, she put a spell on Oliver. He is in what we think to be a magically induced coma but we aren’t sure. He isn’t dead but he’s not quite here either.” The tears rolled down my face and I could feel my mother’s shaking hand in mine. So many thoughts were running through my head; I couldn’t focus on one. “We have a witch we already contacted to see if she can reverse the spell but it will be a few days for her to get here. We also do not know why this other witch was trying to kidnap him but we intend to find out. In the meantime, take the night to spend with your loved ones and we will regroup in the morning.” The sadness in his voice hung heavy in the room. Not only had I lost my father, but he had lost his best friend. Our pack had lost their beloved Alpha. I let go of my mom’s hand and walked from the room in a daze. I made a beeline for my room, ignoring my sister’s questions and shutting the door behind me. I couldn’t face her and I knew I wasn’t strong enough to tell her myself. I laid down on my bed silently crying well into the night. I had heard my mom come upstairs and tell my sister the news as well. She didn’t believe it at first but when it finally sank in her cry broke my heart all over again. We had lost our father and our pack was without an Alpha. There was a slim chance this could be fixed in a few days but something in my heart told me this wasn’t going to be easy. Or even possible. Who would do this and why? My father had no known enemies and was a just and fair man. It just didn’t make sense. My mind went through everything he had ever taught me, every meeting he had let me attend and every book I had ever read. My dad trained me to be an Alpha even though I never could. Women are Lunas. It was the way our world worked but he didn’t think that way. He said whoever was right for the job should be the Alpha. But society would never accept it. So, I stayed behind the scenes and absorbed as much as I could. My little brother was only 5 and it would be a long time before he could take over. There was no harm in gaining the knowledge and it would help if I were ever a Luna one day. Now it all seemed so silly. I didn’t care if I’d ever be an Alpha or a Luna. I just wanted everything to go back to how it was this morning. I wanted to have a birthday dinner with my loved ones, laugh and eat cake. Fresh tears started to roll down my face as I pictured what tonight should have been. I pulled the blankets to my chin and eventually fell into a fitful sleep.