Northwoods Alpha

Sleeping Beauty

    Kennedy Carlilse woke with a start as sunlight streamed in through the large windows of her office and onto her head, which had fallen onto stacks of papers scattered across her ornate, white-marble topped desk. She jumped slightly when someone suddenly spoke.

    "Excuse me, Alpha, I didn't mean to disturb you, but we do have a meeting that was scheduled to start about two minutes ago."

Kennedy whipped her head up and saw her Beta, Andrew Collins, looking down at her with an eyebrow raised and a slight smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

    "Oh s**t!" Kennedy exclaimed, "Andrew! I'm so sorry. I was working late last night trying to prepare for the Summit, and I must have fallen asleep at my desk! Just give me two minutes to use the bathroom and freshen up."

    Kennedy stood quickly and rushed into the bathroom adjoining her office. Luckily, she had a spare toothbrush in here, along with some hygiene essentials. She quickly relieved her bladder before washing her face and brushing her teeth. At 5' 9'' with a toned, yet curvy figure, Kennedy was among the tallest females in her pack. Her ivory skin had a slightly rosy hue to it, and her long, chocolate-brown hair fell in curls to her waist. She hastily pulled her hair into a ponytail on top of her head. Staring into the mirror, she assessed her face; her big, green eyes looked tired above her high cheekbones. Her full, pink lips were starting to chap a bit, and she could see some frown lines attempting to set in between her lush brows. Kennedy sighed and silently hoped the spa day she had booked this afternoon would help her face look more presentable before all the other Alphas arrived.

    Suddenly, Kennedy heard voices back in the office, which jolted her back to the task at hand. She glanced down at her wrinkled blouse, blazer, and pants from the day before. These would have to do for now -- after all, she would have time to change after her meeting with Andrew, her Beta, and one of her oldest childhood friends.

    As she walked back into her office, Kennedy was greeted by the wonderful aroma of eggs, bacon, and pancakes made by her favorite cook, Miss Daisy. Andrew grinned at the look of longing on Kennedy's face and the audible rumble of her stomach.

    "I hope you don't mind, Sleeping Beauty," he said, with that s**t grin growing wider by the second, "but I took the liberty of ordering you some breakfast from downstairs. Daisy brought it up almost immediately. I thought our meeting might be more productive if you had some food in you." 

    Andrew was right -- Kennedy was infamous among her ranked members for the hanger that almost always accompanied her empty stomach. She felt a grateful ping of love in her chest for her best friend who knew her so well and waved her thanks to him as she sat down and stuffed her face full of the glorious food. After she had devoured a few mouthfuls, Kennedy rummaged through the piles of papers to find the agenda for their meeting.

    "I've got a copy here, if you need it, Alpha," Andrew said, this time with a full-toothed grin playing across his honey complexion. 

    At 6' 3'' and 245 pounds of rippling muscle, Andrew was one of the largest males in the pack. His wavy brown hair flowed above his hazel eyes and playful mouth. Andrew was a month older than Kennedy, and their parents had been best friends. As a result, Kennedy and Andrew grew up as close as siblings. Andrew's entire family had become hers; Kennedy lost her parents in a rogue attack four years ago, and as an only child she had no other blood relatives left in her pack.

    Kennedy thanked Andrew and grabbed the extra copy from him. "I'm so sorry, Andrew. I meant to be more prepared for this morning, I really did, but I wasn't anticipating sleeping most of the night away at my desk."

    "You know, Alpha, you might want to actually make getting your beauty sleep a priority over the next couple of days if you're going to find your mate at the summit," he said with a playful note of teasing in his voice. "It's like I can see the stress in your face, and I don't care how strong the mate bond is...that's not a good look."

    Kennedy rolled her eyes as she replied, "Haha, Andrew, very funny. You know how long I've waited to find my mate. At this point, I almost wonder if it's even worth trying to maintain physical appearances. As each day passes I keep thinking I'll have to take a chosen mate. The Elders won't let me wait much longer, this pack needs an heir."

    Most werewolves find their mates when they turn 18, or shortly thereafter. Kennedy, at 23, was one of the few members over the age of 18 who had yet to find her mate. It frustrated her beyond measure that she hadn't found hers yet. Most of those in her pack of 500 had been lucky enough to find a mate within the pack. As technology allowed the region to do business via internet meetings, Kennedy hadn't interacted physically with many outside her pack since turning 18. While there was definitely a possibility her mate could be in another pack, Kennedy's hopes weren't very high given the amount of time that had passed since she turned 18. The elders might allow her to wait until 25 to find her mate but eventually would force her to choose someone so she could continue to the Alpha bloodline.

    Andrew mumbled an apology as he put on his glasses. Kennedy knew he was frustrated because he wanted her to find a mate almost as badly as she did. Andrew found his mate, Christine, just after he turned 18. He waited almost a year for her to come of age before they claimed and marked each other on her birthday. Andrew had been happily mated for the past 5 years, and Kennedy sometimes wondered if he felt a slight twang of guilt knowing he found his mate while she was still waiting for hers.

    "Ok, the first order of business," he said, reading from the agenda, "do we have rooms assigned for all the visiting pack members? Mrs. Barrow needs the list of assignments as soon as possible so she can make the necessary personalizations."

    "Yes, I've got it here somewhere," Kennedy replied as she began moving piles of papers around on her desk again. "Aha! Here it is!" She triumphantly held the sheet of paper in the air before passing it over to Andrew.

    Their meeting continued this way for the next half-hour or so, discussing all of the details for the upcoming Alpha Summit. The Summit was held every 5 years, and each pack took turns hosting the event. It was started so that all the packs in the region could gather their Alphas in-person to catch up on important events, sign any necessary treaties or agreements, tour another pack and its territory, and physically check on one another's health and well-being. Not only was this the year Northwoods pack would be hosting again, but it was the first-ever Summit Kennedy was allowed to attend, as well as her first summit as Alpha.

    The last Summit was held at the Silver Moon pack, another pack of about 500 members just over 50 miles to the east. Led by their Alpha, Richard Stone, they were trusted allies of the Northwoods pack. Kennedy had been grateful for Richard's guidance over the past 4 years as she abruptly took on the role of Alpha after her parents were killed. She was looking forward to seeing him again so he could see all the progress her pack had made thanks to his coaching and support.

    As they were wrapping up the final preparations, Andrew seemed to perk up as they both heard a knock at the door. 

    "Come in!" Kennedy called out.

    Christine Collins walked gracefully into the room, dressed in a light-yellow sundress and tan wedges. Her long, flowing blonde hair cascaded in waves around her shoulder and down her back. Her light makeup accentuated her baby-blue eyes, button nose, and lovely coral lips. Andrew, sensing her scent from the other side of the door, jumped up before she had even fully entered the room. He playfully dipped her in his arms and planted a kiss on her cheek as she giggled in response. As he pulled her back to an upright position, she pushed him away and wagged her index finger in his direction.

    "Not now, Mr. Collins," she said with a faux-stern look on her face. "I'm not here for you today! I'm here to make sure Kennedy makes it to her spa-day appointment. She deserves an afternoon of pampering and relaxation after all the hard work she has put into planning this Summit!"

    Kennedy smiled and felt a surge of warmth toward Christine for taking the initiative to make sure Kennedy actually took time off today. Christine had become one of Kennedy's closest friends after finding out she was Andrew's mate.

    Andrew looked at his partner with mock indignation, "What am I, chopped liver?! I've been working just as hard as Kennedy at planning this event! Where's my special afternoon?"

    Christine rolled her eyes at Andrew and poked him in the chest as she said, "You get plenty of special treatment for all your hard work, so don't complain."

   Andrew winked as he exclaimed, "Yeah I do!"

    "Gross, Andrew," Kennedy responded. "C'mon, Christine. You and Andrew can have 'special treatment' time later. What's the pampering plan for the afternoon?"

    Christine blew a kiss to Andrew before hooking her arm in Kennedy's, outlining the afternoon plan as they walked toward the door. Andrew pretended to be hurt, but smiled and waved them off. Kennedy was excited to be done planning for the Summit and looked forward to the opportunity to relax until she had to be on top of everything again.