Falling for the Alpha

Allison's POV I finish putting the last of my things into a cardboard box. I glance around the apartment I've lived in for the past 5 years with John. There's no hard feelings between us. We just woke up one day & we agreed we just weren't in love anymore. The only argument we had during the break up conversation, was who would get Stormy, my dog. She is my dog. I was the one who found her, took her in, & trained her. It took some convincing, but John finally agreed to let me keep Stormy. I picked up the box I had been packing & walked to the bedroom door. I gave it one last look before I walked out for the last time. Stormy followed my steps out the front door to my car. I opened the back door, she hopped in, then I put the box in behind her. This was the last of my stuff. I had been slowly moving my stuff out into my own apartment for a few days now. John wasn't moving, so there wasn't a rush. I just wanted to be done so I could move on. I climbed into the driver's seat, started the car, then left. My new place was about a half hour drive. I found a nice little place right by a county park. The park butted up to a nature reserve, which just meant more nature for me and Stormy to roam around in. I pulled into my driveway and parked my car. The place needed a little fixing up, but I couldn't afford to rent anything more expensive in this location. Stormy seemed to love it though. It was still early afternoon, so I grabbed the box from the back of my car, letting Stormy jump out, and headed inside. I brought the box to my bedroom, dropped it on the floor, then turned around and walked out the back door, leash in hand. Stormy rarely wore a collar, let alone a leash. I had trained her to come when called and she rarely strayed too far away, but law said I needed to have it for her, so I carried them anyway. We walked the path through the woods behind my new home that led to the county park. There was so much exploring to do, so I let Stormy lead the way. We finally picked a spot in a clearing by the woods and we laid out under the sun. I watched the clouds flow across the sky, and Stormy kept her eyes on the wood line. I must have dosed off because I sat straight up when I heard Stormy growling. She was standing up with her hair raised and she was growling at something in the woods. It was still light out, but I couldn't see what she was growling at. "What is it Stormy? What's wrong? You never freak out like this." I stood up from the ground, brushing off any dirt from my jeans. Stormy continued to growl, taking a step forward. I jumped when I heard a howl coming from within the woods, followed by several more howls. Stormy seemed to calm down after that. She turned around, put her nose in my palm, and let me know she was okay. I rubbed her head, took one last look at the woods, then headed back home. I'd have to do a little more research on the area & see what animals were in that nature reserve if Stormy and I were going to be wandering around here more often. Luca's POV I have had enough of these friggin rogues coming onto my territory. My warriors notified me the second a rogue came onto our land and I bolted out of the pack house & changed into my wolf, Desmond. I was running the perimeter when the smell of rogues hit me. My Beta, Ryan was right behind me and my Gamma Jay was not far behind him. As I got closer to the smell, my anger increased & a howl ripped itself from my wolf's throat. Ryan, Jay, and several others from my pack responded. I kept running as hard as I could. Rogues would not be tolerated on my territory. Desmond started to get anxious and he wanted to stop, so I motioned for Ryan and Jay to keep going. This was part of my boarder that butted up next to a county park. Being a "nature reserve" meant hiding my pack in plain sight. Desmond stuck his nose in the air and sniffed. A wave of lilac and fresh rain hit my senses. It was intoxicating. I had never smelt anything so good. Desmond crept to the tree line, looking out into a field. I could see a woman and a dog walking toward a trail on the other side of the clearing. As we stepped toward the edge of the field, a stick snapped and the dog looked back. "Mate" Desmond said. "We must go to her! She can't be safe with rogues in the area!" "Desmond, if I change back, I'll be naked & I'll freak her out more than if we go up to her with you in control." "Mate is not safe!" I mind linked Ryan & Jay and asked for an update. "I think the rogue was just passing through. He didn't stop anywhere & he didn't leave anything behind. I'll double patrols in this area tonight just to be sure" Ryan informed me. "Good. I'm heading back to the house to change. Something came up." I rushed back to the pack house & got dressed. Where should I start? Should I head back to the clearing & try and track her down from there? Should I drive around the county park & see if she's still there? Desmond wasn't making this easy. His pacing was gonna drive me nuts. I decided to grab my keys and drive the area. I'd stop at the park and back track to the clearing where I sae the woman. I hopped into my Denali and pulled out of the garage. It took almost no time to get to the parking lot by the trails. I parked & jumped out of the car. 30 minutes later and there was no one walking the paths. s**t. I'd missed her. Of course. I've waited been waiting 7 years for a mate, and I lose her the second I find her. When I turned 18 and Desmond introduced himself to me, I thought finding my mate would happen right away. Then when I turned 20, my father stepped down as Alpha and I took over. The mood goddess would surely give me a mate now that I was an Alpha, right? Wrong. 5 more years and I am just now finding out I have a mate. And she isn't a wolf. It just couldn't be easy. The moon goddess really wants me to work for it. Fine, if that's how it has to be, then I'll work hard and prove that I deserve my mate. I head back to the clearing and walk to the path my mate was walking the last time I saw her. I could barely smell the lilac and rain smell, but it was there. I followed the smell, thanking the goddess for my wolf sense of smell. The path kept going but the scent went off onto a smaller trail that was barely there. I pushed passed branches and bushes blocking the rarely used path and pressed on. The smell getting stronger until the path opened up into a yard. There in the yard was parked a modest sedan, next to a small house. I heard a dog bark and scratching at the door. I stepped back into the bushes. I didn't want to scare my mate if she happened to come out back and see an unknown man in her yard. I was having to reign in every ounce of control I have to not just bang on the door, pull her into my arms and claim her. The back door opened & out ran the dog I had seen before. She ran right up to me, but my eyes were on the door, which closed without my mate even looking out. My heart sank. I looked down and my mate's dog was sniffing my shoes. I reached out to touch the dog, but she was too quick. She bounced back, gave me a look, then walked back to the back door and barked to be let back in. This time I saw my mate. Long brown hair, thrown into a ponytail, a beautiful smile, she was shorter than me by about a foot, she seemed so delicate. If only I could get a better look at her face. I wanted to know what color eyes she had, the shape of her nose... the shape of her lips. She must have heard my thoughts because she looked up at that second and I saw deep blue eyes that looked like the ocean after a storm. Eyes I could drown in. They seemed to be searching for something. I could barely breathe. I just wanted to go to her. She looked around the yard, closed the door, then she was gone.