The Childless Alpha

My Parents

It wasn't until my phone began to vibrate in my pocket that I realised I had fallen asleep on my bed. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, while grabbing my phone with my free hand. It was Mandy, one of my friends from uni was calling.

"What's going on?" I mumbled sleepily, not wanting to open my eyes fully.

"Not much!" Mandy's voice was preppy, "Did you make it home safe? I thought you got home hours ago!"

"Sorry, sorry," my apology didn't seem sincere, "I just fell asleep on my bed when I got back and I forgot..."

My voice trailed off when I realised that I was meant to be meeting my parents.

"s**t!" I exclaimed loudly and jumped out of bed, phone still in hand.

"What is it?" Panic woven through her voice, "Al, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," I pushed the panic down and began brushing my hair so I could look presentable, "I was meant to meet my parents hours ago, but I fell asleep..."

My voice trailed off. None of my friends, Mandy included, knew the truth about my family and my home life. Most people preferred to believe that wolfs and the like were just a bunch of stories that they were told. Whenever they asked about my family, I couldn't exactly tell them I came from a pack of wolves. Instead, I told them that my parents owned this fancy tech place. Thankfully, none of them asked for more details, however they gathered that this made them wealthy and important. It wasn't exactly a lie, my parents did oversee a tech company, which specialised in security systems. It was a good way to generate an income for the pack, while also helping others out with our state of the art security systems.

"Oh, are you finally taking over the family business?" Mandy inquired, "But what about practicing as a lawyer?"

"Oh, you know," I tried to hide the sadness in my voice, however it leaked through, "I don't exactly get a choice, besides having some knowledge of law will benefit me overseeing the company I'm sure."

I got the feeling that Mandy didn't believe me, but she wouldn't let it show. She knew how much I loved studying the law subjects, but she also knew I wouldn't be able to practice as I was set to take over "the family business". The first year or so, she did try to convince me to not take over the family business, however I told her it wasn't that simple and left it at that.

"Well," Many sighed, knowing she couldn't change my mind, "If you're sure about this. We'll have to catch up in the future, once you've settled into your new role and whatnot."

"Definitely," I agreed, not knowing when it would be, "Look, I got to go, we'll talk soon."

"Good luck!" Many said as she ended the call.

I didn't allow myself to dwell on the "what ifs" of running the business - running the pack, I mean. I was born into this role, I have been trained for this role. Besides, I always knew that I wouldn't do much with my law degree, I studied it for my benefit. Although, part of me was hoping to implement some changes in the pack when I took over. I pushed the thought aside and rushed to the bathroom to finish getting ready.

I had already brushed my black hair back, so at least it didn't look like a bird was nesting there. My hair fell down to my hips, and I secured it out of the way into a ballerina bun. I quickly brushed my teeth to remove the fuzzy feeling from my mouth. I fished through my bathroom drawer looking for the spare lipstick I kept here as backup. I rummaged through until I found a nice nude lipstick. I also grabbed the mascara and swept it onto my eyelashes. I caught myself looking at my grey eyes, which looked like there was a storm brewing in them. I didn't hate my eyes, however I found myself wishing on more than one occasion that I inherited my dad's emerald green eyes or my mother's sky blue eyes.

Once I was satisfied that I looked presentable, I changed out of the clothes I'd worn on my way here and slipped into a dark blue summer dress, that stopped just above my knees and had three-quarter length sleeves.

'Dad?' I mind-linked to him, 'Are you and mum in your office?''

'Yes Al,' his voice came through clear in my mind, which was a much needed change from when I was away at university, 'We've been waiting for you. Come up to the office.'

Instead of a reply, I made my way down to his office and entered without knocking.

"Even though we're your parents," Dad didn't even look up from the paper in front of him, "It is always customary to knock before entering."

"Sorry Dad," my face flushed red as I spoke.

"All is forgiven child," he made it sound like I'd committed a crime rather than just barged into his office, "Regardless, it's good to see you Alice."

"Dad, you were there at my graduation two weeks ago, it hasn't been that long," I assured him.

"Ah, well, you know how things feel for an old guy like me," Dad rose from his desk and embraced me in a hug, "Your mother and I are so proud of the wolf you've become."

"Thank dad," I mumbled into his shoulder, "Speaking of mum - where is she?"

"Right here Alice," came her voice like wind chimes from the doorway, "oh how I've missed you my baby."

I felt mum join in on the hug and I realised how much I had missed them while I was away. Sure, we spoke all the time and we visited, but it wasn't the same. As much as I loved my independence while I was away at university, I felt at home here with my pack.

'But you're not home, not really,' Storm's voice came from the back of my mind, 'We don't want pups, remember? We don't fit in.'

'Shut up!' I growled at her, 'Don't ruin this for me.'

'As you wish,' Storm replied lazily, and curled back into a ball and began to snore.

I immediately felt a pang of guilt. I shouldn't have spoken to Storm that way, even if she did irritate me with the truth. I'd have to make amends later with my wolf, right now, I had to see what my parents wanted to see me about.

The hug from my parents probably lasted ten minutes, but it felt like thirty seconds and I wanted more. I wanted to enjoy their company a little longer before we got down to business. Dad returned to his desk and mum pulled up a chair and sat beside him. They held hands as they sat, and dad nodded for me to take a seat.

"So, Al," Dad began, "You've lived away from the pack, studied alongside the humans, and now you're back. I'm sure you know what will happen now."

I felt a lump form in my throat. I always knew this day was coming, and I thought I'd be prepared. Instead, I felt immense guilt and shame. Not because I believed I would be a bad leader, but because I wouldn't be carrying on the line of alphas... not that my parents knew this, of course. The only one who knows of this is Storm, and that's largely because you can't conceal your thoughts from your own wolf. Luckily, Storm felt the same way that I did and would never ought us.

"What's wrong honey? You look worried," my mother's face creased with worry, probably due to her thinking the worse.

"Nothings wrong!" I assured her quickly, "I just wasn't expecting it so soon... are you two really ready to retire?"

"I think we are," dad said, "However, since you currently don't have a mate, we'll still be here, helping."

"Really?" My voice sounded hopeful. I thought that my parents would set off to travel and enjoy their retirement once they wanted me to take over, and I wouldn't get to see them as much.

'It makes sense,' Storm yawned as she spoke, 'We're without a mate. While we could do it on our own, it would be beneficial to have our parents assistance until we find our mate.'

"Really, Alice," mum smiled warmly at me as she spoke, "I think we should start preparing the Alpha Ceremony."

"Now, more traditional packs, would have their Luna organise the ceremony alongside the female Beta and Gamma," Dad explained, even though I already knew this information.

I nodded along to show that I was listening to what he was saying and taking note.

"But, we aren't traditional, we're having a female Alpha," his eyes sparkled with pride when he said this, "So we think it is only fitting that both the Alpha and Luna have a hand in organising your ceremony."

"Really? You'd both do that?" I know it didn't seem like much, but it meant the world to me to have both of my parents organise one of the most important days of my life.

"Of course we would honey," mum assured me, "And we'd like to invite some neighbouring packs too. Maybe you can find your mate then too."

"And give us some grand-pups," dad winked as he spoke. My stomach tied itself into a knot, but I made sure to keep my composure.

"Where should we start?" I asked, forcing a smile and prayed to the Moon Goddess that it my parents couldn't tell it was faked.