The choice of an Alpha

Chapter 2 - Mother’s wish

Chapter 2

{Athena POV}

As the days passed, the ball of the Alphas was coming closer and I was already mentally exhausted. There was an Alpha meeting 2 days ago that my uncle attended at a neighboring northern pack, the Red Moon pack. When he returned he told me that there was already a rumor that I was unmated and looking for an Alpha to lead my pack, and there has been a rivalry between the older Alphas on whose son will become my chosen mate. They were all eager to make an alliance with Black Sea pack and so was my uncle. He himself was unmated and never took a chosen mate and deep inside I think it was because of my mother. I think he was secretly in love with her, but never showed it to her or spoke a word of it because he cherished his brothers’ bond with her, my fathers’ bond with his destined mate. Uncle felt it was his fault that he couldn’t save his Alpha and Beta and told me multiple times as time passed that he wanted to turn back time and die himself but save them.

I remember the night of the rogue attack clearly as it was yesterday although I was only 10 years old, but old enough to have sufficient memories. 

~ Flashback ~

“Athe run to your mother and hide” my father yelled at me as the sirens indicated that we are being under attack. I was scared but didn’t want to leave him. I was such a daddy`s girl and we were almost inseparable, he even started training me a week ago. 

“But daddy I can help” I pouted.

“I said go to your mother and run to the bunkers. I will come get you when I deal with the rogues,” father yelled at me and I had to obey, I didn’t want to cause him trouble at this moment.

“Promise?” I asked, my eyes pleading “I promise, now go” he said firmly.

“ATHENA” I heard my mother yelling, she was searching for me “Athena, where are you? we need to go NOW” 

She sounded almost… afraid, but rogue attacks were a natural thing the last couple of years and we had no problem fighting them off. They usually came in groups to try and take our territory or at least a pup or two to enlarge their pack but our pack consisted of more than 200 members and the rogues weren’t strong and usually were just a dozen of them so normally they didn’t do much damage before they found their deaths by the hands of the Alpha and Beta and sometimes some guards. So why was Mother afraid? 

“There you are! Come now, Kalena and Seth are waiting for us. Don’t bother your father he is the Alpha and has his responsibilities” Mother said firmly as she saw me and daddy having our little argument. Kalena was the Beta female at that time and Seth was hers and Beta Ramos`s son and also my best friend, he was just a month older than me. Mother andBeta Kalena were best friends and their utter dream was me and Seth becoming destined mates. Mother knew that if she brought Seth I will go with them without complaint, me and him made a vow when we were 4 to always have our backs and follow each other when in hard times.

We went to the bunkers and I saw that there were all the female pack members and their pups and also some of the older pack members. The bunkers were large and could accommodate us all without a problem and had everything we could need for staying there for at least 3 days if a large attack was to happen. I knew that Beta Kalena and Seth were already there, so I went to find him. I saw him giving orders to some of the pups around him to barricade the doors and I smiled. He was going to be a fine Beta someday to my unborn Alpha brother. I moved closer to him and when he saw me he endeared me in a brotherly hug. “ATHE! Im so glad you are here” he cried “Help me out please and use your mojo, there are a lot of frightened pups and only you can soothe them, they listen to you” he pleaded as he unhugged me. He was right, I had it in me, the type of aura that calmed people down in tough times. Seth used to call it my “mojo” since he couldn’t come up with a better name for it. 

I saw an Omega pup crying in the corner. Just as I was about to go to him I heard the unthinkable. The crying roar of a female who just lost their mate. I turned to see who it was and saw Beta Kalena on her knees, her hands covered her face, which was almost touching the ground. She was crying out loud, pulling her hair and shrieking when my mother went to her. My mother was the Luna of the pack and she had the duty to help with the loss of a pack member and tо support their mate through the loss. I have heard that the loss of a mate is the worst feeling in the world that scatters your heart into million pieces that could not be put together again. It was like losing a part of your soul forever and could lead to a mental breakdown from which one may never recover. I tried searching for Seth but couldn’t find him anywhere, he was gone. I needed to find him and be there for him throughout this whole thing, he shouldn’t have been alone. No one should be alone with the loss of their father.

And then I heard it, another roar, more powerful and agonizing than the last if it was even possible. I felt as I was being suffocated, as there was a rock stuck in my throat. I didn’t need to turn and see who’s cry that was, I just needed to get away from the bunkers. I found the hidden hole that me and Seth made in the back of the bunker, which was about to take me into one of the closets in the packhouse. When I got there, I hid in the corner and hugged my knees as I felt I could not hold back my tears anymore. This could not be happening, there should have been a mistake. And just then the pack siren went numb and was replaced by a long howl of a horn, which indicated the loss of a ranked member. 

The attack was over.

My father was dead.

~End of flashback~

I was sitting in my office deep in thoughts when there was a knock on my door.

“Athena, can I come in, please” I heard the voice of my mother on the other side. I didn’t want to deal with her right now, because I knew what she wants to speak about.  I sighed. 

“Come in and close the door behind you.” She slowly walked in my room and the look on her face was questionable. She wasn’t feeling comfortable being here and so was i. When my father passed the relationship that I had with my mom grew even distant 

“Im trying to rest mother, can’t it wait for another time” I greeted her coldly. 

“I am sorry Athena but it cannot” she furrowed her brows at me. She never accepted the feisty, talking back part of my nature and our talks usually ended in her getting angry, me slamming the door on her face, then not talking back for a week or two. 

“As you are well aware,” she started with a serious tone, “your Alpha, Kona...”

“He is NOT my Alpha!” I retorted.

“Don’t interrupt me Athena, you know it isn’t polite and I didn’t teach you that way” she snapped at me. “As I was saying, Alpha Kona had recently gone to a meeting with other senior Alphas of our region and one of their top discussed matters was the ball that is coming next week” I grunted. “I am here to remind you again of the responsibility that you have in this pack and I know for a fact that you still haven’t gone shopping for a dress with Yara” 

Yara was my closest female friend and the Delta`s daughter. She and I became close when my father died and Seth wasn’t around. The death of his father broke down Kalena and she became a shell version of herself. Seth became an adult at the age of 11 and has been looking after his mom ever since then, the first couple of years we barely spoke. I had to befriend someone to not feel that lonely and Yara was the best choice, she was really nice to me, a little quiet rather the listening kind of person, shy but very emotional and we just clicked. She was my complete opposite and being friends with her was hard sometimes and we argued a lot, but she had her perspective of life and opened my eyes to see things in other ways. She was a good looking she wolf, long blond sleek hair, baby blue eyes, slim figure and a D cup that made the male wolves in our pack turn their heads in her way and she was also the daughter type that I think my mom secretly wanted me to be. I was a little jealous, sometimes I wished I could just be like Yara, then everything would have been easier for me and I would have had a better relationship with my mom.

“I don’t know where you got your information from, mother, but I spoke to Yara this morning and we agreed to do the shopping thing this weekend” we didn’t, but mother needed to hear this lie or she would have bothered me more. I quickly mind-linked Yara.

Yara?

Yes, Alpha

Please, stop calling me that, how many times do I need to..

Sorry Athe, whats up?

Do you want to… um… go shopping this weekend?

YES! – I heard her squeal with excitement, she was typical girl, loved going shopping

Thanks, I will tell you the details later in my room, my mother is here and I told her that I spoke with you this morning or she wouldn’t gotten off my b**t

Sure Athe, no problem, you know i`ve got your back and I love doing it over a new dress... or shoes? I need a new bra aswell and...

I cut her off when she started getting overwhelmed.

“Athena are you even listening to me?” I heard the voice of my mother and I slightly trembled “I asked you if you have already gone through the list of Alpha candidates and seen anything you like?” I grunted again. I knew this conversation will lead to this which is why I tried to stall it.

“Yes, mother, i`ve seen it already” lie “There are several options that I find suitable, but I will wait and see what they will be like when we meet.” another lie. But mother seems to be happy with my answer as she stands up and finds herself at the door. 

“I know that you think that I don’t care for you Athena but believe me when I say that all I wanted, all your father ever wanted was for you to be safe and sound, which is why it is so important that you get your mate as quickly as possible, before another rogue attack. We don’t know how much more we can withstand. Your uncle is not an Alpha by birth given right and he is weaker. We need this alliance. Your pack needs its true Alpha” with that she left and my heart broke again

She was never going to see me as a true Alpha myself, no matter what I did.