The Alpha’s Weakness

“Let’s move it ladies! I don’t think your mates would appreciate it if you came home late!” I yell. I hear all of the boys groan as they start to pick up the pace for the end of the day. They know I am serious about this threat. I remember how many angry texts I received from their mates that night when they all came home over an hour later than usual. I train all the wolves that are in my command. It helps me decide who deserves being one of my generals and who doesn’t. I have to give it to them though… They have all been working incredibly hard to get the spot. Knowing I will be picking four candidates tomorrow morning has put them all into overdrive. “Alright boys, I’ve got a few things to say. Go and get cleaned up and then report back to me in ten minutes”. They all run towards the showers while Ryker walks over to me. I smile when he starts walking towards me. I’ve been best friends with him since we were two. He’s never taken it easy on me since I was the crowned princess, which is why we are so close. Over the past few years, I’ve come to discover that I’ve got feelings for him, but I’ve never acted on those feelings because I’d rather discover my mate first. “Why do you have us working like horses?’ Ryker complains to me “You know how serious this is Ryker. With the death of General Samson we may come across as weak. The quicker we fill it the better off we will be in the long run.” Ryker knows why, since I’ve told him about a million times already. Other kingdoms already think we are weak since my father never had a son. Just two daughters. My older sister is 23, and the Moon goddess blessed her with a very strong Alpha on her 18th birthday. He has the respect of the entire werewolf kingdom so it wasn’t very hard for her to gain their respect either. Their match was definitely a blessing. Me on the other hand, I had to gain my respect quickly. Being the second daughter, I was in line for taking charge of the royal army as soon as I turned 18. Which by the way, was in a week. I was nervous. Once I turn 18, I will gain my wolf, and find my mate. It will definitely be a long day full of excitement. Not only will I gain my wolf, but my birthday lands on a full moon. So I will end up shifting for the first time. It’s never happened in the lineage of my family. Not once has an ancestor turned 18 on a night of a full moon. When a werewolf of an already powerful family shifts on the same day as a full moon, they are said to gain special powers. It is very rare and I have never personally met anyone with these powers, but I will soon when I travel the packs. I know lots of people turn 18 on the full moon, but the Moon Goddess only grants people of alpha bloodlines or higher with powers. No one knows why, but I’m sure she has her ways. With me turning 18 in a week; to say my family is excited, is an understatement. “All I’m saying is just take it easy on us”, Ryker adds. “Well I hate to break it to you Ryker, but the job isn’t going to be easy. They will be working with me on battle strategies and will be first in battle if we ever get into a war. So if they can’t handle it here then I know they can’t handle it out there.” I sigh frustratingly. Ryker gives me a sweaty hug. I take a deep breath and the scent of pine trees helps me relax. He knows it helps, and I appreciate it more than he knows. “I know you’re stressed about your birthday and everything that is going to happen. You will be just fine I promise. You’re doing an amazing job already.” He says rubbing my back gently. After a couple more seconds he lets go and joins the boys in the shower. I train the women too, but they train before lunch while the men train after. Only on Fridays do they train together. That way they have most of the day together to start their weekends off right. Since tomorrow is Friday, and they all will be together I will pick the four candidates. Two women and two men. They will then go into a few trials that will help me pick the top one and they will then become the next general. The men soon all come out of the lockers and surround me waiting for my announcements. Most of the men are still young, but I train a few of the mature Werewolfs as well. We all stop aging at about 25, and die only if someone kills us. A year ago most of these men thought it was foolish that a woman of my stature could train them. I had to prove myself the hard way and they all found out quickly that I was not to be trifled with. I look up at them all. I was tall for human standards at five foot nine, but for a female werewolf that was pretty small. Most females pass a little over six feet. Men reach almost seven. “Alright men, you did a great job today. You know what tomorrow will bring, I will pick two of you to go into the trials after conditioning and sparing. Then the first task you will be given is group leaders in ‘Kings and Queens’.” I hear a few people cheer. It’s definitely one of their favorites and they don’t get to participate in it very often. “I don’t want any of you to worry about whether you will be picked or not. If you are picked then it is a great honor to even be a part of the trials. If you are not, then keep your heads high. Just because you didn’t get picked this time doesn’t mean that you won”t ever get picked. You are all amazing warriors. You don’t need a title to prove that.” I pause for a minute to let the words sink in. I can sense their nerves. All of them have really stepped up their game and I’ve tried to make sure and every one of them knows it. “Training starts at seven thirty sharp. Don’t be late. Now get going and get some rest because we will have a long day tomorrow”. I let out a small sigh and then went and got my stuff. Ryker meets me at the doors to head back to the castle. His father is my father’s right hand man, and his closest friend. He lives two floors below me with his parents and his twin brother Matthew. “So do you know who you are going to pick?” He asks curiously. “Yes I have an idea on who I will pick and no I’m not going to tell you.” I laugh as he starts to pout. “You will just have to wait until tomorrow to find out. Just like everybody else. My dad doesn’t even know.” He holds the doors open to the castle and we slowly start making our way to dinner. The first floor consists of the dining area, kitchen, theater, game room, bowling alley, and the commons area. All pack members are at liberty to use it. Including coming in for meals. They just have to let us know a day beforehand that way the kitchen omegas know how much to make. Every once in a while, I’ll go in and help them cook breakfast in the mornings or make desserts for supper. The pack enjoys it when I come in and make desserts, and I enjoy doing it so it's a win-win situation. The second floor consists of the throne room and the council hall, where all of the meetings take place with my father. Council members consist of members from all of the outside packs. And there are different members elected every five years. The packs elect their own council member. We find this to be the easiest and most effective way to make sure all the packs are happy. The third floor is all the council members' rooms. Sound Proof of course, since most of them move in with their mates. The fourth is for Matthew and his family. It’s basically a full house, just on an entire floor of the castle. They have a kitchen if they feel like cooking for themselves and a living room, dining room, and of course they all have their own bedrooms. The floor above theirs would be my floor once I turn 18. Then once I have a mate and we start having kids, they will be there with me. The fifth floor is for my sister and her family, and the sixth floor is my parents' floor. Same concept as Ryker’s family. Ever since my sister moved out of our floor my parents have been trying for another baby since they have three more empty rooms. If they are successful then once that baby grows up they get an actual house somewhere in whatever place they want it. Since they won’t be inheriting anything major. Once we make it to Matthew’s floor we stop in front of the huge double doors. “Are you going down for dinner in a few hours or staying in?” He asks me every night so he can join me downstairs if I decide to go. “No, probably not tonight. I have too many things on my plate as it is. I don’t want to go down and listen to everyone trying to get in my good graces in hopes they will have a better chance at getting chosen.” I sigh a little. “But if you want I think that my parents went out on some business if you want to come up and have dinner and watch a movie! We can watch anything you’d like!” I plied. I was not looking forward to another boring night alone if he said no. “So you’re saying that we can watch a thriller?” He asks with an eyebrow raised. “You really must be desperate for some company.” I smack his arm playfully while he starts laughing at me. He agrees to meet me upstairs in a few hours for dinner. As I walk upstairs to our floor, I receive a text from my mom. I roll my eyes knowing it’s about my party that they are throwing for me. It’s more of a ‘let’s invite all of the packs to find out which one is your mate’. My parents are definitely not like normal parents. They can’t wait for me to find my mate. Dad wouldn’t dare say this out loud, but so would he. We are inviting all of the single pack leaders and all of the soon to be pack leaders who haven’t found their mates yet. With over 150 packs in North America, there were quite a few more than you would think. Once I get upstairs and put my training equipment away, I head to the kitchen and start making one of my favorite dishes. Homemade chicken alfredo with some cheesy garlic bread and blueberry tea cake. This just so happens to be Rykers favorite meal too. While working I can’t help but imagine what it would be like to have Ryker as my mate. With his tall structure, dark brown hair, and green eyes. He was definitely easy on the eyes. He had a medium build, but don’t let him fool you. He is one of the strongest people in the guard. He was also incredibly smart. This was one of the reasons why I was going to pick him tomorrow. His wolf is also beautiful. His wolf had dark brown hair, but he had a single white patch on his left front foot. I’ve only seen it once but I made sure to commit it to memory. On one of my first days training, I had a lot of complaints saying that I was too young. That if they were to shift I wouldn’t be able to protect myself since I didn’t even have my wolf yet. So Ryker helped me out by letting me kick his hairy a##. He didn’t even take it easy on me, which I appreciated more than he knows. After that, everyone started to actually treat me seriously. For as long as I can remember, all I did was train. I would get pushed down and bullied a lot when I was younger. So I worked twice as hard as everyone else. I ended up graduating high school when I was 15, and I shut every single werewolf and human in that school up. I wasn’t someone to mess with and they quickly found that out. Before I knew it I heard the front door open as Ryker strolled in. He comes over so much he doesn’t usually knock anymore. “Did you make my favorite?” “I sure did”, I replied back with a smile. I notice there's a small package in his hands. “What’s that?” “It’s your birthday present. I know it's still a week away but I wanted to give it to you when we were alone so you can open it in private. But you can only have it after we eat!” He says quickly pulling it out of reach when I go to grab it. “Fine. Let’s eat then. You have impeccable timing and it just so happens that I just finished it.” I giggle when I see his eyes light up from this.