The Alpha’s Only Daughter

Chapter 15

Zane’s POV

Shortly after our conversation I was kicked out of the office when Cami came bounding in with unbridled excitement over planning our commitment ceremony.

I didn’t mind as I was walking on Cloud Nine thinking about the fact that I had essentially proposed to my Goddess-given mate.

Take that, Aiden, my brain wanted to scream at him from afar.

Then I stopped. I hadn’t proposed in any sort of romantic way. I had just let the s****l tension of the mate bond seduce both of us in that moment and had managed to forget to do something sweet to commemorate the moment. But would could I give her? What could I do for her?

I was walking through the hallway contemplating all of these when I ran into Lou. I internally groaned, I felt like this guy already hated me.

He nodded at me and tried to pass me. I tried to keep moving, but something told me that I needed to make things right with him before it progressed too far.

I turned around, “Hey, man—.”

He only turned his head as he spoke to me in a gruff, “It’s Lou.” He began to start walking again.

“Lou, please. I know we started off on the wrong foot. And I know I only made that worse this morning.”

He paused in the hall and turned around to face me, his big arms crossing over his chest. He was nearly as big as a Lycan and I swore that he vaguely smelled like one too. I would bet money there was a Lycan in his lineage recently.

“Lou, our mates are clearly best friends—they’re in there planning our commitment ceremony right now and—.”

He stiffened and interrupted me, “Wait, you’ve set a date?”

Cautiously I responded, “Well, yes.”

“When?” If looks could kill, I would have been slaughtered.

I swallowed, I was sure this would not go over well, “This coming Friday.”

I could see the rage bubbling up in his eyes, “Why so soon?”

Do I tell him the truth? “Lou, I need your confidence and I need your privacy here. Can I request that of you?”

“It depends on the nature of what you tell me.”

“I promise you that I mean absolutely no harm to Layla. And I want what’s best for this pack.”

He thought for a moment and then nodded his head, “As long as the secret doesn’t hurt the pack or Layla, I will keep it.”

Nodding, I decided to tell him the truth, “I’m not sure how to say this without sounding like an asshat.” I softly chuckled, but Lou didn’t seem amused. “I’m from the Southern Lycan Kingdom. My brother is the king.” Lou’s eyes got wide and I could sense fear flashing through him. “But I left because my brother insisted on me marrying the Western Kingdom’s Lycan Princess because I had not found my mate. And I’m afraid that even though I have now met my mate, he will still push for me to marry that simpleton and reject Layla. And honestly, with the death of Alaric here, it would benefit us both to commit sooner rather than later. Neither of us want to be stripped from one another.”

He looked relieved, which then revealed how tired he looked, “So, you’re not taking her away? And you’re staying?”

“I can’t say that we may not leave for a short period in the future, but not permanently. I’m staying. She wants me to take on the Alpha duties,” I sighed and chuckled, “but honestly she seems more suited for the job than myself.”

His face lit up, “You think so, too?!”

I nodded quite enthusiastically, “I’ve never met someone quite as strong as her.”

“I wish she would realize that. How is it that a stranger notices it, but she doesn’t?”

I shrugged, “Your guess is as good as mine!”

He smiled, it was the first time I realized that he was not a threat. Was this what my gut was trying to tell me? “I’m really glad you showed up now. I’ve been so afraid that her future mate would just plow her over and try to make this pack into something else entirely. But she’s created something so amazing these past few years. I’m sorry if I didn’t come across very pleasantly at first.”

“Oh, what? You don’t always have your men hold down your Alpha’s mate upon first meeting them?”

He gave an embarrassed chuckle, “Uh, yeah, sorry about that!”

“It’s not a problem, I’m glad you were that concerned about your Alpha’s safety.” An idea came to me with that last word, “Speaking of which, I noticed you have a patrol?”

“Yes, I’m currently in charge of scheduling.”

I winced, hoping he wouldn’t get angry, “I promise I’m not trying to make changes this soon, because I only say this out of concern for my new pack and my mate.” He looked concerned, but I continued, “This pack is not nearly as safe as it once was. Dante might be a threat.”

Lou’s eyes glazed over and I knew he was mind-linking either Cami or Layla. When he came back to, he growled, “Dante. What did he do?”

“I caught him sneaking around the pack house before the party while the patrol was on break. Due to the party, right?”

He nodded, “Taking a break during parties and ceremonies has never been an issue before. He must have been watching the last time we had an event and taken advantage of that lapse in patrol this time.”

I dipped my head in agreement, “For our commitment ceremony, I think it would be wise to either use our own patrol or a neighboring pack you trust to patrol for us.”

He thought for a moment, “The Beta at the Stone Creek pack owes me a favor that I may be able to call in. Is there any other reason than Dante being a douche?”

“I think Dante means to take over the pack as Alpha.”

He looked shocked, “But he was there to see Layla mated to you.”

It was my turn to growl, “He didn’t seem to care when I mentioned that. And I’m not so sure that my threat really stuck despite all the blood.”

He laughed, “That reminds me of this pack’s origin story.” I looked at him curiously, “You’ll have to ask Layla about that. Unfortunately, I have to get to the kitchen before our Alpha comes down with my wife for dinner.”

“Hey, put me down for the next available patrol. I’d like to help as much as I can.”

He chortled looking me up and down, “You could be the entire patrol and we’d never have an issue again.”

“I could say the same about you.” He smiled at my compliment, “I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Meet me in the field Monday at 7am!”

“You got it.”

As he walked away, I felt inexplicably better about this mating and this pack.

•••

After dinner, which was full of lingering and longing stares from both me and my mate, Layla was held up by various congratulations and questions from the pack. I was itching to swoop her upstairs and satisfy both of our needs. But if she wanted me to be Alpha, I needed to show that I could handle interactions with members of the pack cordially and patiently.

As the last pack member moved away from us, she looked up at me and smiled, “Thank you for standing through all of that.”

I teased her, “As grueling as the work was, it needed to be done.”

She scoffed and laughed, “You are too much.” She leaned up to kiss me, and as we kissed, I wrapped my arms around her waist and brought her even closer. A soft grumble started reverberating throughout my chest.

She gave a small, excited mmm sound, when she looked up at me, her eyes were shining brightly, “I may have a surprise for our first night in the Alpha Suite.”

“Well, then, lead the way,” I gave her a wink and she blushed.

She grabbed my hand and we jogged down the hallway giggling, excited for what was to come.

When we got to the Alpha Suite, she paused with her hand on the door before entering. She looked up at me and gave me a cautious smile.

“Hey, if you would rather us sleep in your old room until the commitment ceremony, I wouldn’t mind.”

She gave me a thin smile and shook her head, “We already moved my mother in there temporarily.”

She looked so tired and worn down. My mind flashed back to Lou’s face. I began to notice that most of the faces of this pack were showing signs of weariness.

Right then I decided that this look would stop with my beautiful mate starting tonight. I picked her up bridal style and she giggled and squealed. She twisted the doorknob and I did the rest with a swift quick to the bottom of the door opening it swiftly.

We crossed over the threshold and I set her down. I looked down at her and leaned in for a quick kiss. It amazed me how one touch of her could send pleasurable sparks of electricity through my body.

When we parted, I took in the room. It was much larger than her old room. It was similarly decorated and I noticed a few staples had transferred over like her comforter and the lounge chair.

“Welcome to your suite, Alpha,” she said with a grin. “Would you like your surprise now?”