The Alpha’s Only Daughter

Chapter 2

Layla’s POV

My mother looking down the hallway as if she was deciding to knock or ditch.

Her long, curly red hair swished as she looked towards me. Her face used to be bright and excited to see me, but I had only seen sad and concerned for the past three years.

“Layla,” she paused, clearly gathering her thoughts. “You mind-linked me earlier, but I had nothing to report.”

I raised my eyebrows and gave a small smile, thinking that maybe she had just come to see me for a change.

“I came by to see if you had chosen between the three outfits I sent by for your—” she stopped clearly not ready to say my eighteenth birthday, “the celebration on Friday?”

I sighed, so she was not here just to see me. “I have.” I stepped back into the office and picked up the two garment bags holding the discards and handed them to her. “I chose the silver dress.”

She just nodded, “Oh.” A small meaningless smile, eyes still wide and concerned, “Good, good. That will look beautiful on you.”

Every interaction with my mother had become more and more painful as we got closer to my birthday. This was no exception.

I honestly still cannot tell if the interactions are strained because of the implications of my growing up, or if her mate bond has changed her so significantly since my father’s health began to decline.

“Thank you for picking them out for me. I’m sure the celebration will be beautiful on Friday.” The only thing I could do at this point is reassure her.

She smiled tightly and pointed down the hall as if to excuse herself. I stepped out into the hallway and watched as she climbed the stairs back to the Alpha’s room.

Where are you? I felt Cami mind-link me.

Oh, sorry. Coming right over. I closed the connection and jogged down the hall through the great room and dining area and made a beeline to the kitchen.

As I made my entrance through the swinging door, I saw Cami going through the refrigerator looking for something to heat up or make. I noticed a bowl of grapes laying out on the counter, pulled one off of the vine, and threw it at her back.

She whipped around, her chestnut, straight hair getting in her face, ready to yell at whoever threw the grape until she saw that it was me.

Cami’s face lit up as she smiled and came over to hug me. It had been a week since I had last seen her. She had arrived back to the pack house last night after her honeymoon with Lou.

Her hug was warm and exactly what I needed. She always had a comforting way about her.

“How was your honeymoon?” I asked as I grabbed an apple.

She visibly blushed, her blue eyes getting wide as she turned back around to go through the fridge again.

I laughed, “Still not going to share what happens when you find your mate, I guess.”

She turned around with deli meat, cheese, and condiments in her arms and placed them on the counter. She was blushing still, “All I can say is it is nothing like anything else I have ever experienced.” I turned around, retrieved the bag of bread from the bread container, and threw it in her direction. She caught it, took out three plates, and began making the sandwiches.

A pang of worry entered my thoughts again as I stared at the three sandwiches. Our old routine of sandwiches for us as we gabbed about various happenings within the pack would forever be changed by Lou’s presence. My real concern was if it would change our friendship if I never found a mate of my own.

As I was spiraling in my mind, I noticed Cami look up as Lou walked in. She smiled and he came over to her, encircling her waist with his big arms and began kissing her neck. Her eyes flitted over to me as she blushed and giggled.

I decided to lighten my own mood, “Lou, you dog!” I said with a smile and wink at Cami.

He stopped kissing her neck to look up and grin at me, “Hi, Layla. Any news since we’ve been gone?”

I sighed, my mood dampened at the thought of the two lives that were lost since they had gone and returned. “Nothing good, unfortunately. Two days after you guys left, one of our elders, Richard, was on night patrol and died. We are unsure of the cause on that one still, whether it was old age or something else. But then last night, Layton was killed while on patrol. We found his body near our perimeter. It was,” I stopped to swallow and looked down, “very evident what killed him.”

Cami looked up at Lou, probably imagining what it would be like to lose her mate, “Poor Ana. And those pups.” She looked back at me, “Is there anything that we can do?”

I smiled, that was such a Cami thing to do. Offer to help when she was barely back from her honeymoon. I’m sure she was not even unpacked yet. “I’ve requested that the omegas prepare some meals for them, but maybe you could offer to watch her pups for a day or two while she visits our counselor to manage her own grief?”

I normally would not ask, but our pack was tight knit and I knew she would find a way to help even if I did not supply her with the way.

She smiled and nodded.

Lou nodded his head as well, “It’ll be good practice for when we have our own pups.” Cami blushed again. “Is there anything I can do?”

“I’ve doubled up on patrols at night and brought our perimeter in so that we can potentially avoid whoever is harming our pack. If you could take over scheduling that, I’m sure James would appreciate it.”

I could see Lou’s eyes glaze over during his mind-link, presumably to James. When he came to, he grabbed a sandwich and started to head towards the door, “Thank you for the sandwich, Cami. I have to go meet with James now.” He nodded at me as he left the room.

Cami stared at the door for a moment, clearly yearning to still be close to her mate. When she looked back towards me, she smiled. “So what are you going to wear to your birthday party on Friday?”

I used to get excited about clothes and makeup before I started working in the Alpha’s office daily. Cami and I used to dream about our 18th birthday and commitment ceremony outfits together. Cami had worn a beautiful crimson dress to her birthday and a pale pink, fluffy full length dress at her commitment ceremony. She was genuinely beautiful inside and out and it showed both days.

“Well, you remember my mom picked out three dresses so I wouldn’t have to tear myself away from my duties. I chose the silver dress.”

She oooo-ed and she had every right to. The dress was stunning. My mother had chosen a full length wrap gown covered in silver sequins with feather sleeves coming down to my elbows, the bottom had a small train, and a slit going up my thigh to show off my long legs. If I was not so worried about what would happen on my birthday and what would come after, I would have been more excited.

I looked at Cami intently, “Were you scared or worried before your birthday?”

She thought for a moment, “I was worried it might take a while to find my mate, but I wasn’t scared. Are you scared?”

I nodded.

She looked at me and said, “I think there are more pressures on you finding your mate than there were for me. You have every reason to be concerned, though if I were you, I wouldn’t think about it too much. The Moon Goddess has your mate in mind already.”

“I really hope so.”