Alpha's Surrender

Il Mia Gattina

How had I missed this part of her--?! I swear I had watched her go from a bookworm devouring knowledge at speed to a quiet, observant young woman. Every time I thought I had her figured out she would switch it up on me!

Luna was everything good in this world and I had watched her grow since her father Ivan had brought me into the pack on her 16th summer. I had watched her grow from a young woman not sure of herself, intent on keeping her nose in a book, pigtails, and limbs which were too long for her own good. I had captured every detail of her to memory from her long, midnight black hair which fell to her beautiful waist. Her mocha skin, beautiful expressive brown eyes, cupid bow of a mouth, with the beauty spot that lay just right of her nose, the cute little lines that formed above her nose when she was deep in thought, 2 firm beautiful breasts that swept down to a womanly slight stomach, 2 beautifully rounded hips made for my hands to hold, her beautiful ass made for my knuckles to knead. Everything about her fascinated me, interested me, and if I'm honest kept me as the beta to her father despite knowing full well that my wolf was calling to be the alpha if not here then elsewhere. But we both knew - we weren't leaving without Luna.

Ivan had found me starved, thirsty, and near-death just outside of Bologna, Italy. A rogue pack had swept through and left my former Alpha Justin, his bond-mate Krishana, his twin girls, my pack and more importantly my fiance Sarah dead. The screams still haunted me. Ivan had taken me in with his bond-mate Rachel, their son Tommy and Luna. I had spent much of the first month outside in my wolf lying in a foetal position. Ivan would come out every night and leave a plate and food and water in the barn. I refused any nourishment fully believing that I was not worthy of life. I could not understand how they had all died and I was still here. Ivan tried everything from cajoling, reasoning, anger to coax me back into life but none of it worked until a slip of a girl came out on the 29th night.

"H-h-hi." She stammered nervously.

My wolf had reacted immediately to move just next to her hand. It was the first time since I had arrived that I had moved so my joints were a little stiff.

"Listen, I know that you're hurting but... The thing is that..." Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she calculated her next words carefully... "well, my Dad. He never, ever, ever brings anyone home. Well, that's not strictly true ... He brought home a red rottweiler once. He had found the pup alone in the snow so he put it in his pocket. We named her Lorna. I don't know why I'm telling you this but my Dad's a good man. And if you're here then you must be a good man too. And I know you're hurting but --..." "Don't give up."

My wolf's interest was piqued! I had heard that mentally, not physically. This waif of a girl had mindspeaked to me on a private mental pathway with words. Very different from the wolfspeak of the pack which spoke in images. This was something no-one else had done, not even my fiance Sarah. Don't get me wrong - Sarah and I could read each other's face and body language as well as wolfspeak but never mindspeak. Ahhh Sarah - that hit me harder than a physical punch to the gut. My head sank down guilty that I was here and she was not. Self loathing hit me like a freight train. I reached out to the only one I could - Luna.

"Don't give up what -?! And why are you even out here?! It's cold, it's wet.... You are putting yourself in unnecessary danger right now. You know that, right?!" I know I was ornery but it was the first contact I had had with anyone since the village.

"Holy Mother! Are you always this rude?! Whatever! I just came out to ask you to not be an ass to my Dad but I can see now that I wasted my damn time!" She said. Father take me! For a 16 year-old waif, she was definitely stubborn. I had to give her that.

"I apologise il mia gattina. This is the first time I have had contact with anyone since... since I found my alpha, his bond-mate, their twin girls, my pack and my,... my,... my Sarah dead --." There. It was out there. She could do with that what she would, but somewhere deep inside I prayed that she wouldn't leave.

"It is me who should apologise John. I didn't, I didn't realise. Dad never told us what happened. He just said that you would open up in your own time, not in anyone else's. I'm really s-s-sorry."  I could feel the tremor in her voice and I looked over to see wet splatters on the ground beneath her eyes. She was lying body flat on the ground with her eyes looking sideways at me - in a position of subservience. I felt like she was melting away the layers of ice that had settled in my chest and kept me safe from feeling over the past month.

"I think mia is my in Italian. But what is gattina?" She tentatively asked as she tried to build a sturdy bridge to reach out to me.

"Kitten. You are running out here to the barn in little more than a night shirt, slippers, and your hair is wet down by torrential rain. You look a little like a sodden kitten - even you have to admit that!" I said with genuine laughter which got an actual giggle from her too. She dialled up her physical temperature to dry out her clothes, slippers, body and dried her hair with her hands. Yet another gift that Mother Earth had given us.

That night I spoke about my old life for the last time, explaining it all in great detail. Luna sat patiently listening to it all, laughing in all the right places, and even shedding tears. In the telling of my past I had managed to put enough distance between me and the ghosts that were my life. Luna had helped me to let go enough to embrace this new life a little. She had fallen asleep next to my wolf. I quickly shifted and lifted her back inside to her bed. The last thing I wanted was to piss off my new alpha by betraying his trust with his daughter. It was from that day forward that I made the conscious choice to accept this family as my own. I quickly ran back outside to the barn to get a couple of hours sleep before I would rise and begin my journey back to the person deserving of a life.