The Nymph’s Alpha

Chapter 6

Callan POV

I hear the front door closing and look up from the pile of paperwork laid on the table in front of me to see Micha walking in, I glance at my watch and notice he has been gone for the last 90 minutes. His face has a smug look plastered on it, piquing my interest in what he has been doing for the last one and a half hours.

“What’s made you so happy?” I ask.

“I’ve just met Iris and Wyatt’s daughter, Ayla, and she is.. interesting.”

The name Ayla makes my wolf stir and my heart race, but it also ignites fury deep inside of me hearing it come from another man’s mouth. I sit up straight, feeling uncomfortable with what is happening to me from hearing some girl's name.

“She’s just moved back in with them, and f**k she’s sexy, I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better. Where’s Eric?” Micha continues as he moves across the penthouse, pulling the fridge door open. Fury pumped through my veins, making my blood boil. I can feel the heat of rage consuming me. I clenched my fists together and shook my head, shaking the anger away. This was something I had been doing for a long time now. I had to learn to control my fury for my mother's sake, because if I lost control just once, I would lose her. Micha thankfully had his head in the fridge, so he didn’t notice that I felt uncomfortable by his topic of conversation, which was confusing to me. How could a name make me feel rage like I’ve never felt before?

“Something came up at the new site so he’s having to get the archaeologists in, so it’s just me and you tonight.”

“So when do you want to go?”

“I will just finish up this, then we can leave.”

Tonight we had to attend a mandatory pack meeting. Alister did this regularly to flex his muscles, he would order everyone to attend, and if they didn’t he would make their life hell until he found his next victim to terrorise. I glanced down at my watch, noticing the meeting should have begun by now, but I was in no rush, and knowing my turning up late would píss him off just made me want to drag my feet more. Alister always pushed his weight around, even when he was dealing with the humans in the town, but he had been extra authoritative lately, especially towards me and it made me think he felt it too, the shift that had occurred in me, my need to no longer be at his beck and call but to lead the pack into greatness without him. Micha threw himself down onto the sofa and switched the TV on. I looked over at him, but he was too busy flicking through the channels and sipping on a beer. I dropped the pencil I was using down onto the table and stood up, stretching my back out as I did. I had been crouched over the table for a few hours now working on the building plans for the plot of land I had just purchased, I planned on making some houses that I would rent out or sell, but I had been staring at the paper for far too long now and it was all starting to blur into one.

“Let’s go now.”

Micha looks back over his shoulder at me and flicks the TV off.

“I’ll drive.” He shouts.

I see him grab the keys to my car, but I don’t mind. Micha was not only my best friend, but he was like a brother to me. He and Eric were my family.

I followed him out of the door, closing it behind myself and made my way down the stairs. I had restored the stairs myself carving all the detail back into the original wood that had been panelled over when this house was used for the old miners. As I reach the landing below the penthouse I stop dead in my tracks, an intoxicating scent fills the stairwell forcing me to inhale the sweet scent. My mouth begins to fill with saliva, I have never smelled anything so delicious in my life, I inhale again wanting to commit the scent to memory and I feel my wolf pushing forward. The heavenly smell has awoken him once again and I can feel it invoke something inside of me, my feet move now but I have no control over them, my wolf has taken over wanting to find the source of the exquisite scent.

“Cal, what the fùck are you doing? Come on.”

My self-control snaps back as my wolf slips back into the recesses of my mind, but I can still feel him wanting to break out. I turn to look at Micha who is standing by the next staircase, his eyebrows are scrunched together as he shakes his head slightly while watching me. I can feel something deep within myself stir. Something is calling out to me, it is beckoning me, daring me to find it and it is hard to resist the call. I force my body to turn away from this mind-blowing scent that is making me want to tear the place apart until I find it and urge my legs to move toward Micha who is watching me carefully. With each step I take down, the overpowering, and all-consuming pull I feel begins to subside, giving me my self-control back and pushing my wolf deeper inside my mind.

“Are you ok? What were you doing?” Micha asks as we get into the car.

“I thought I could smell something, abnormal.”

“What?”

I look at my friend, not sure what else to say. I don’t have a fùcking clue about what just happened in there, but I know my wolf would have gone wild if I had stayed there any longer, and technically I’m not lying. There was an abnormal smell, the most tantalising, mouth-watering smell ever to drown my senses and send me into a frenzy.

“I’m not sure. Do you wanna grab a drink after we’re done at the pack house?”

“Yeah, sure.”

He pulls out of the old barn that is now a garage for all the cars of the residents of the building, as we drive to the pack house Micha fills the silence with small talk about the day and where we will go for a drink after the pack meeting but my mind isn’t concentrating on Micha, my mind is consumed with that heavenly scent that came from somewhere inside the building, it was like oriental roses and orange blooms with rich dark amber tones, even thinking of it makes me and my wolf excited. I find myself nodding along to what Micha is saying, but I have no clue what I’m agreeing to, all I can think of is where that smell came from, what could possibly create something so stimulating and enchanting.

I don’t need to look out of the window to know we are getting closer to the pack house, I can feel the melancholy already starting to push down on me. Before we can go anywhere tonight, we have to make it through a pack meeting with the egotistical alpha of the pack that I happen to once call father, and that is a challenge in itself. He always somehow manages to make these meetings about himself, even if it is about something that has no involvement with him, and I know he has invited some of the alphas from the surrounding area to tonight’s meeting, which means he will be showboating even more than usual. I also happen to know thanks to my mother, the angel who is the reason I’ve not killed Alister yet, that a Minister from the werewolf council would also be attending, making me think something big is going down in the supernatural world, and my bet is it’s the creature we chased last night. The werewolf council are like royalty in our world, they are a group of powerful ex-alphas who govern over us and make sure we abide by the laws of the wolf but I am more than positive some of them are in Alister's pockets, the shít he’s gotten away with should be punishable by death but he never gets reprimanded for anything.

A large arch made from stone stands at the very beginning of the pack territory. On the arch are three stone plaques with a coat of arms on each one, it’s difficult to see what the coat of arms is though because the harsh British weather has washed it away over the decades and Alister refuses to waste money restoring it but if you look closely you can just make out a howling wolf. Two guards open up the large metal gate allowing us entry into the pack territory. A large stone wall runs around the land giving us protection and sanctuary from the humans. But over the years we have had more and more humans trying to get a peak at what we hide inside so Alister had to invest some of the money into securing our walls and adding CCTV around the property. This house is older than the one I live in. It's been in our family since the 14th century when my ancestors were given the land for our pack to live on, then the country was ruled by King Edward III. He was a mighty king who led many battles, claiming victory thanks to my ancestors' help. Then it was just a small house and as the centuries went on it became larger and grander. Now the pack house looks like a large stately home, and thanks to Alister’s dirty contacts and the guards I suggested we station at entry points we are more than protected. The large house looks grand, Ivy and purple Wisteria spread across the front of the house, almost camouflaging it against the green trees that surround it. A large green field sits at each side of the drive that leads straight up to the front of the house. The large field to the right is where Alister holds pack training each day, a stream runs through the land and when the weather is at its worst, Alister uses that stream as punishment making whoever has annoyed him sit in it for hours at a time. As we drive down the long drive that leads to the house I can see some of the pack on the training field fighting, he allows for the field to be used at all times, insisting we have the strongest pack by pushing everyone harder than they deserve. He especially makes the pack train if we have visiting alphas, which he does tonight. Micha follows the drive around the house, where a large car park sits. We get out of the car and wave to some of the wolves walking past. The pack house houses most of the pack, all the warriors are made to stay here so they are at Alister's disposal and most seem content with it, others live in the town which is close enough so Alister can mind-link anyone if needed. I walk in through the front door. In front of me is a grand staircase, large steps run up onto a small landing where the grand case fans around, Hanging on the beige walls are pictures of all the mighty alphas of our pack. A red carpet runs up the centre of the steps but it is outshone by the beautiful handrails that catch the eye. They are made from ancient oak which my ancestors carved themselves; the thick panels that run up the staircase show all of their victories when they fought for King Edward III. I immediately look up at the ceiling. I have done this since I was a child. Above me, on the ceiling, is a painting. It’s of a fierce wolf fighting with its foe. Its claw hangs in the air and blood drips from its claws. This is apparently how we got our pack name, The Bloodclaw Prowlers. My ancestors were mighty warriors, fighting for their king and country and now they cower from their alpha, who leads them with an iron fist.

“Callan!” My sister squeals and dashes down the stairs, leaping into my arms.

Her long, dark brown hair bounces as she moves, but her dark brown eyes look dull.

“Freya.”

I catch her and hold her tight, pushing as much love into the embrace as I can. I hate that she and my mother are stuck here with Alister, I feel like I have abandoned them when they need me. But if I had to stay with him for longer than I needed, I wouldn’t be able to control myself.

“I wish I could come and stay with you. I hate it here.”

“You turn 18 in 3 weeks and then you can do what you want. If you want to stay with me, you are always welcome.”

“Really?”

“Yes really,” Micha adds, smiling at my sister making me growl at him.

Micha holds his hands in the air and steps back, but I can feel his amusement as his smile spreads across his face. Thundering footsteps descend toward me, and the air becomes stuffy and oppressive, making it difficult to breathe easily.

“It’s about time. Where’s Eric?”

Micha bows his head, but he doesn’t drop down to the floor, making Alister snarl.

“Working,” I answer and push past him into the large banquet hall.

This room is one of the oldest in the house, a beautiful example of Tudor craftsmanship. Thick rich wooden beams create beautiful arches above our heads, the beautiful wood which no longer holds its earthy smell but has seen every great alpha of this pack address his pack runs down the walls creating the typical Tudor look associated with every Tudor building in England. Running across the wall to my right is a beautiful wooden balcony made of a rich east Baltic oak that had been imported hundreds of years ago, only the alpha and his higher ranks are allowed up there, it leads to the private quarters of the higher ranking members, the floor is the original stone that was used all those centuries ago I can’t help but think of all the great men that have walked the same path I have and I hope with everything I have that I can live up to their greatness and that the only thing I share with Alister is his DNA, that my mother's genetics wiped out all the cruelty I may have inherited from that prick. This room is used for pack meetings and grand feasts but we haven’t had any of those for a long time now, Alister was good at burning bridges. Most of the pack members sit on benches facing the grand fireplace where Alister has a large grand chair he sits on whilst he holds his pack meetings, he did lord it over everyone on the balcony but he couldn’t see everyone’s faces from above and how can he punish those who mock him if he can’t see them, the chair has a plush red cushion and comfortable armrests letting him dominate and intimidate everyone. Beside it is a small wooden stool for my mother, there’s no cushion or backrest so she can relax during these tedious meetings instead she has to sit straight and be alert otherwise she will have to explain herself to Alister later, and even though my sweet mother knows if she answers him back he will retaliate and hit her, she is still a feisty alpha wolf, I just wished she could see how much stronger than him she was. Myself, Freya, Pedro who is Micha’s father and Alister's beta, and Ron who is Eric’s father and Alister's gamma have to stand behind him like good little puppies. I walk to the front and look at the faces of the pack. They all look at me with hope and I feel the weight of what lies ahead of me rest on my shoulders. Micha stands beside me. He places his arms behind his back and looks ready for whatever is going to be thrown at him.

Alister walks in, followed by my mother. As my eyes land on her my heart drops and my stomach rolls. She looks so frail and weary as she limps down the aisle the benches have created. Her beautiful face sports a fresh black eye, and her lip looks thick as if she has been stung by a herd of bees. I clench my fist tightly as rage flurries inside of me. I step forward, but Ron grabs me and pulls me back.