The Alpha’s Only Daughter

Chapter 7

Zane’s POV

I followed her trail back to where she started and found her cinch bag hanging on the tree. I saw the pack house in the distance, but decided I still did not want to be seen. At least not like this. I was sure I was dirty from my weeks of traveling here. I had no idea even where “here” was.

I trotted, continuing along the tree line and hid a little further in, making sure to not travel too closely to the perimeter marked by multiple werewolves’ scents.

Eventually the pack of five came back into view. I caught another whiff of the roasted nuts and caramel and saw her come into view. She hid herself behind a tree from the others and shifted. Her hair was long, dark, and wavy. She was tall with a medium build. Her body was quite honestly perfect. Her round ass beckoned me from here. My could feel my loins beginning to stir and burn even as she put her clothes back on. These feelings did not necessarily mean she was my mate, though. I would have to get closer to her to know for sure.

I must have moved forward once she was done dressing, because she looked my way. But in human form, I would have been undetectable from this distance. Another man from the pack earlier jogged up to her.

They were talking and he seemed familiar with her. I felt a pang in my chest and jealous start to grow. I stifled my growl so that I would not be heard. He jogged to the pack house and I watched her.

She looked directly at me. Or so I thought. She averted her eyes and then walked back to the pack house herself.

I laid down on the ground to rest. I had seen the second patrol running off through the same trail as the others, but suddenly I smelled another werewolf on the other side of the tree line. One that didn’t smell familiar to the pack’s trail.

Keeping away from the pack’s trail to ensure I didn’t run into them, I made my way to the foreign werewolf. As I approached the smell, I noticed the werewolf shift into a human and change his clothes before sneaking around the pack house. He appeared to be scouting the area. For what, I was unsure.

I watched him until he met some people getting out of a car out front, grabbing a bag from the vehicle, and going inside the pack house. I found this strange. I wondered what his motive was for coming early and sneaking around before the others arrived. Whatever it was about, if I managed to talk with the Alpha here, I would bring it up just in case.

After some time passed, I noticed that the patrol that took over for the one I encountered earlier shifted back into their human forms and went back to the pack house without another patrol coming to take over. If anything my time in the palace taught me, it was that you should always have a patrol going. But I couldn’t ask them why they stopped. I just had to watch as multiple guests began driving up or coming up in their wolf forms and entering the pack house.

A party. There must have been a party for a high ranking member of this pack. I was curious, but not enough to be seen yet. I decided to patrol the area for this pack while they celebrated whatever occasion was more important.

I trotted slowly through the area, knowing that the party could take a few hours. I noticed that the pack’s smell was actually further out, but faint. They had changed their perimeter recently. But why?

I followed the outer perimeter in case they sent out a new patrol for the inner perimeter I saw them using when I first arrived. I had made my way around full circle, when I suddenly felt like my heart was breaking. I felt like I was being led back to the pack house and began running as fast as I could.

Barely noticing the small tri-colored wolf from earlier bounding towards me until it was almost too late, we both skidded to a stop right in front of each other. Her hazel green eyes stared up at me in shock and I knew she felt what I was feeling.

MATE! THIS IS MY MATE! my whole mind, body, and soul was screaming at me that she was it. She was frozen, so I took a step forward.

She immediately jumped up, turning around to sprint back toward the pack house. I don’t want to lose my mate after just finding her, so I begin chasing after her. As she crosses the tree line, I see more werewolves heading in my direction from the pack house. I slow down, but it doesn’t stop the pack from taking me down and holding me against the earth. I can tell the wolf who knew her earlier is in charge of the others holding me down. My leg twitches and I feel one of them nip me.

She turns around, I’m sure realizing the predicament she has put me in and also feeling the deep mate bond that forbids one mate from letting harm come to the other.

I can see that they are having a conversation over their mind-link. I saw her eyes being drawn to me.

We were both in wolf form, so I reached out to her hoping she was like other werewolves I had met and would hear me: Tell them.

I hear the brown wolf snarl and bark, I am almost sure that I am living in my last moments before he kills me. I close my eyes, prepared for the worst.

My eyes pop open when I hear her voice and feel her presence has shifted, “Because he is my mate.”

The pressure pushing me into the ground lightens as her pack lifts off of me and begins to back away. I stay lying on the ground, not wanting to move until the pack has shifted back and I know I will not be immediately killed.

The brown wolf shifts back first. He walks over to my mate and I notice another woman has helped her into a long silver dress and given him some pants. He touches my mate’s shoulder and I audibly growl.

He looks over at me and then back at her, “Are you positive, Layla?”

Layla.

Her name is Layla. My mate has a name.

She nods her head and seems to be holding back tears as she looks over at me. All I want to do is shift back to my human form and comfort her. I notice the others in her pack begin to shift back close to where they discarded their clothes. I take my chances and shift back myself, quickly pulling my clothes out of my bag and putting them on.

When I stand back up, she looks around at the crowd and then quickly to me. I can feel her heart beating so fast from here. It’s taking everything in me to not take her into my arms and immediately mark her as my own.

But I am an outsider, and I was unwelcome up until a few mere moments ago.

I notice the werewolf who was sneaking around earlier in the back of the crowd, my instincts screaming that I should annihilate him immediately.

Before I can act on my instincts, I hear her voice again. My mate. She speaks to the crowd.

“Alpha Alaric passed this morning,” her eyes are filled to the brim with tears and the crowd begins their loud murmuring, I hear a few people asking who will replace him. I realize I have walked into a serious pack issue and feel how much of an outsider I am in this moment.

She sucks in a deep breath and I am yearning to be by her side to comfort her, but then she looks at me, staring deeply into my eyes and says the unthinkable to the crowd while gesturing towards me, “Please give a warm welcome to your new Alpha.”