Your Alpha Mate

Chapter 2

Every day after the attack was a day filled with labour for everyone in the pack as we picked up the pieces. We spent since the sun rose above the horizon until the late afternoon putting fixing doors and walls. We threw so much furniture that was beyond repair. I almost gulped when I saw the total cost of the damages to our packhouse, not to mention the training arena that had been ravaged too. Equipment had been bashed or stolen. My stomach dropped and I cursed under my breath. How can I be so concerned about the money when we lost five pack members to the attack. f**k the money, f**k the labour. There were families that had been deeply impacted by this attack, the mourning didn’t just go away after five days.

I stopped and thanked the Moon for sparing my sister. We’d been so lucky when it came to her. Her healing took all of two days before she started to walk again. Today she would attempt to shift into her wolf before we head North for the Winter Summit. I had already planned on speaking out about the rogue attacks but now I had Orson eagerly backing me up, his pack had still not recovered from the attack.

I made my way through the west wing of the packhouse, the smell of fresh pain invaded my nostrils. The day was gloomy and dim light seeped through the open windows that lined the hall. I stopped when I reached the last door and knocked on the door lightly.

Willow’s nervous look confirmed my suspicion, I was right to come check on her.

Her brown hair was scrunched at the top of her head in a messy bun and her green eyes, almost identical to my own, seemed troubled.

“Did you even sleep?” From her ruffled state, I could tell she had been twisting and turning.

“A bit,” she said as she stepped back to let me into her room. The grey walls matched the gloomy sky and her bedsheets were bunched messily across the bed. A set of neatly folded spare clothes sat at the edge of the bed and the sight alone filled me with relief. If she was getting her spare clothes ready she probably believed she could shift and wasn’t going to back out.

“There’s nothing for you to worry about, you know,” I said casually trying to keep my voice from shaking.

Her shoulders sagged as she sighed. “I know that, I just don’t know why the whole pack wants to be there,”

“They’re worried for you, Willow. You had us worried for a moment, even I didn’t think-“ I cut myself off before I could finish the sentence and refused to let my mind wander back to the day I found her lying in her blood next to the rogue she had managed to take down somehow.

Willow sat on the bed. Her shoulders still sagged. I could tell she was still tired from recovering. Her usual bubbly and sarcastic personality nowhere to be found. For a moment I sent the Moon a silent prayer to help her get back to the person she was.

“I know I can do it, I don’t know why I’m worried,” she shrugged and let herself fall back onto the bed.

“It’s normal for you to feel unsure after what you went through,” I said as I plopped down next to her, head resting on my propped arm, “but I want you to know that you are safe and I’m going to make sure you get trained by our very best, this is never going to happen to you again, I promise.”

Willow nodded, her eyes strained on the ceiling. I could’ve sworn her bottom lip quivered slightly, but then she looked back at me and smiled.

“It was about time you let me start training.”

❈

Willow sat in the back seat next to me as we headed north. Her aura had lifted after shifting into her wolf. Maybe she just needed to reconnect and let her wolf run free. She was twirling a strand of her curly brown hair between her fingers as she mouthed the words to whatever song was playing. Her eyes had regained their spark and her cheeks finally had more colour on them.

Maia sat in the passenger seat and Logan, my cousin, drove the car. We had two more cars on in front and one behind, for safety. They were driven and occupied by some of our best wolves, should we need any protection on the way.

The car ride took five hours. Five hours of obnoxiously loud music and chattering between Maia, Willow, and Logan as they decided which song to play next. I skimmed through some paperwork I had brought for the road. Contracts to sign, modifications to packhouse rules and staffing, and other pack affairs that required my urgent attention. I had been putting off many of my official duties to help in the reconstruction of the packhouse.

I finally put down the paperwork as we pulled up to the gathering centre. It was located in neutral land, presided by native tribes that refused to join any pack but that protected and served nature within the bounds of this small territory.

One of our sentinels opened the car door and I took a deep breath as I emerged from the car. The scents of hundreds of wolves hit me right away. I could hear them speaking from the reception of the building. It was shaped in a dome-like way with sand coloured walls and a small set of stairs that led to its entrance. Two buff men stood on each side of the door and bower their heads respectfully as I walked in, my family in tow.

I spotted Orson chatting with another man who was tall and pale yet there was warmth in his eyes. I approached them and bowed my head in greeting and they did the same. The day had cleared up but as the sunset, the warm yellow light flooded the reception through a fogged glass that extended over the length of the ceiling.

“Alpha Cali,” Orson said in acknowledgment.

“It seems I made it just in time,” I said and tilted my head to where the rest of the Alphas were entering the main conference room.

We followed them into a room with a long oval table, with enough room for fifty people and the walls were lined with more chairs for the company of the Alphas. Most Alphas only brought their Betas, and those lucky enough to have found their mates also brought them. But me, I brought my Beta, and my only two living blood relatives. People that I trust with my counsel and life and I couldn’t even attempt to appear embarrassed for bringing all of them.

Everyone took their place around the table and sat. You could tell we were all Alphas by the squared shoulders and the puffed chest. Being the only female Alpha did not phase me, and save for a few older, more traditional alphas, it didn't seem to phase the others either. After all, they were no one to judge the decisions of the Moon. It is not something we simply believe, it’s a fact, that once the Alpha passes, the Moon will choose someone within the pack to take their place. This individual may not even be related to the former Alpha, they may be female or male, though the occurrence of a female Alpha being chosen is extremely rare.

All the seats, but one were taken. At one head of the table and empty seat awaited for an Alpha. This spot was usually saved for Tyto, the Alpha of the Silver Dawn pack. He was the most intimidating Alpha I had ever met and at the same one of my biggest role models. He had been alpha of his pack for nearly forty years, he had led his pack into victory in a war that took place five years before my own birth. No one spoke of the war now, but I had done some investigating and found that not only did they survive and win the war, no- his territory grew exponentially overtaking other territories that perished during the war. His pack territory alone covered almost every inch of the Western region. it is known to be the richest and most progressive region of the land.

And so everyone’s shocked reactions were justified as somebody else other than Tyto strode into the room and took a seat at his chair. My wolf stirred within me as his scent hit me. An intoxicating combination of ocean breeze and mint grass and something woodsy. And it made my mouth water.

I looked at him then, really looked at him. His broad shoulders tensed and his sharp jaw clenched as his face angled towards mine. When his ocean blue eyes met mine, there was no ignoring the deep purr and the words my wolf repeated over and over like a song.

Mate