Alcateia - The Alpha's Nightmare

CHAPTER 7 - THE PRINCESS

I can feel my father’s anger.

My name is Cecilia Sá, I’m the daughter of one of the most powerful Alphas in Portugal, and maybe Europe. I’m also his heir; an Alpha-princess. But I suppose that’s not surprising. My mother is an Alpha as well, but one that bows before my father and has no pack to rule… I mean, formally. Sometimes, I feel like she’s the one ruling this small piece of the Jóia Branca pack, not dad. Of course, I’ll never say that out loud.

In this moment, I can feel my body tingling. Fire runs through my flesh , feeding the desire that grows in my soul. I can feel a sweet smell in the hair, It’s the smell of that blonde man sitting before me. The American Beta, the one that arrived with that terrifying Alpha. His blue burning eyes are glued to me, piercing my soul with no mercy. There’s no doubt, he’s my half. The piece that was missing on my soul.

I feel my legs weakening and the triangle between them taken by a warm sensation. God, this is so embarrassing. I should behave, I should control my instincts. But here am I, like some stupid animal, desiring to mate with that stranger.

I close my hands over my lap, trying to avoid every feeling in my body and soul.

“Cecilia is too young”, I hear my father saying with a husky voice.

“I will respect her, Alpha” the man says and I can’t keep my eyes far from him. I look at his face. His pale, nervous. I can sense it. Still, he’s fighting his fears and also the Alpha’s authority. And that’s not an easy task for a wolf.

I then look at my father. His eyes turning black, hate hardening his face. I quickly move my hands to grab his. He looks at me, all the hate and anger vanishing. There’s sadness in my father’s eyes, and lost. I know what he is feeling, he thinks he is losing one of his beloved princesses. But that… that would never happen.

“Dad… please… I’m eighteen… I will behave. Let me at least know him”, I beg, blushing right away.

My father let a pained growl escape. “You’re too young and he could be dangerous…”.

“I won’t hurt her. Never. I’ll keep my distance. I’ll respect her and your pack, Alpha Mário. Please, let me just… protect her”. This is ridiculous. His insistence makes my heart flutter. Just that simple act.

Suddenly, I notice a dangerous energy in the room and I know exactly where it comes from. Mother…

“Is this how you do it in the United States?”, mom’s voice is harsh, cold. She’s the one everyone in the room should fear. “You smell in the air your halves and you try immediately to jump into bed with them?”

The Beta gets sickly pale. But this time, he says nothing. He lowers his gaze, swallowing every emotion. I look at the man by his side. Alpha Xander was an incredible scary man. Tall, big muscles, dark skin and deep black hair, with two terrible silver eyes. He was analyzing every single one of us. His thoughts were so obvious… To him, we were just a bunch of stupid puppies that he could crush at any moment. We were not worthy to him. He makes my wolf growl, crave to fight for dominance.  I take a deep breathe just to hear with horror the Alpha’s words.

“We came here with the best intentions, Alpha Mário. You’re asking me to keep an eye on your sister, which I obviously accept, still you don’t accept my Beta as your daughter’s half. Perhaps you think of us as inferiors…”.  God, I feel every inch of my skin getting cold. What is that man doing? Does he want a bloodbath?

I search for my mother’s figure. In her expression a thousand shadows; It’s like she’s holding the entire hell in her eyes. Without taking my eyes of her, I squeeze my father’s hands.

“Dad… please…”, I beg in a whisper, feeling Alpha Xander’s gaze on me.

Dropping his shoulders, dad sighs. “I’m just protecting my daughter, Alpha Xander… One day, if you have a daughter, you’ll do the same”, he says in a hoarse voice. “If it’s Cecilia’s desire, Beta Kai can watch over her… But! With one condition!”.

“Which is?” The leader of the Endless Night pack is piercing my father with his hard and scary gaze. For some reason, I feel he’s like some sort of monster.

“The same as yours. Keep your hands to yourself.”

My half raises his eyes to find my smile. I’m relieved. I know the Americans will accept my father’s condition, as I also know my mother won’t go against this… for now.

“I will respect her, Alpha Mário”, my half says. My heart bursts in flames as his velvety voice penetrates my ears and gets inside my flesh.

The pack always taught me that when we find our half we feel the deepest emotions and sensations, but this is nothing I expected. It’s like I’m losing my humanity. I want to be his. I want him to be mine. I want to be transformed in his eternal partner, have his seed marking me, telling the world I’m his property. How can I desire this? It’s just… disgusting… Unhuman…

I take a deep, silent, breath. I must control my body and my soul.

“Yes, you will respect her, Beta Kai… I’ve no doubts…”. My mother growls in a clear warning before getting lost in the kitchen. She’s not happy at all.

Dad clears his throat, uncomfortable with the whole situation and I can see how each werewolf there share the same discomfort. “Well, that was all I wanted to say… And… thank you, Alpha Xander…”

The smirk on the American Alpha’s face made me want to throw up. Poor aunt Teresa… Is this the man she is destined to be with?     

“Don’t mention it”, I hear the man say with that deep voice full of darkness. How many lives had he taken? He smells like death. “Your sister is my half. And your daughter is my Beta’s half. I think we can call each other family”.        

My father shrugs his shoulders. “I guess…”, he says with notes of contempt in his voice. “Well, now you’ve been all informed. You all know the situation and how things will work in the next days. So… let’s go have a nice dinner!”

Every werewolf howls and growls with satisfaction. But not me. My eyes are still on Kai, that looks at me with an expression full of desire.

I’m burning.

As we were heading to the dining room, my father approaches the Alpha of the Endless Night Pack, asking him if he likes codfish. How Portuguese… Isn’t it? While he was chatting with the other Alpha, I stay behind, trying to contain myself. That’s when I feel a warm breath on my ear.

“You smell way better than the food… I can’t wait to take a bite…”

Without thinking twice, with a sudden anger taking over me, I grab the man’s balls with my right hand, squishing them. I hear him gasp. He’s in pain. An awful pain. “Oh, does something hurt, dear half?”, I mock, looking at him. He was so close. The warm temperature of his body was driving me crazy. But, apparently, the dear half of mine was a little bit of an i***t, so it was also driving me crazy in a very dangerous way. “Talk dirty to me again and I will feed the boars with your balls”, I let him go, escaping to the dining room.

As I take the sit on the right of my sister Ana, I see how the pack is looking at Kai with intrigued expressions. The Beta sits right by the side of his Alpha, that was on the other end of the table. He’s face was extremely pale, his eyes full of tears.

Suck it.

“Is everything okay, Beta Kai…?”, my dad asks, glancing at me. Oh yeah, dad knows me. When I was five, I kick a fourteen years old werewolf’s butt. The poor guy and his family left the pack a few months later, claiming that I ashamed the family. Too bad.

“It’s just… an emotional moment… finding my half… I’m just too touched” he stutters in a funny high pitch, barely breathing.

“Uh… Ok…”, dad answers and I hear Ana trying to not laugh.

I look at her, mind linking what happened. Her face is turning red, but she can control her emotions. She’s fifteen, but she’s has more self-control that I will ever have.