The Queen Alpha

Unpacking

(Emma)

Anthony and I are literally scarfing down these omelettes, Kara has gotten up and made everyone seconds. I have a mate that’s incredibly sexy and can cook. It’s like I’m in heaven. A small part of me is upset over Carter and an even smaller part misses him. He was my first love, and I haven’t really had time to grieve that relationship. I think mostly I’m going to miss his father and the relationship we had. He was always kind to me, even if the rest of his family wasn’t.

“So Emma, how do you feel about hunting?” Kara asks, taking a small bite of her food.

I raise an eyebrow. “Like with pointy things and guns?” I make a shooting motion with my thumb and finger.

Anthony snorts, a few pieces of egg falling from his mouth.

Kara seems amused by me too. “Yes babe, like with bows. Guns are loud. They scare off the other prey.” She imitates shooting a bow with her arms, playfully mocking me. Kara’s nose scrunches each time she smiles or laughs. I try to keep my mind on the conversation and not her looks but when someone is so naturally gorgeous it’s difficult.

“I’ve never been. My moms a big animal lover and Carter preferred the office over outdoorsy stuff.” I say, stuffing another mouthful of food in my mouth. It’s been nearly two days since I’ve eaten anything and this omelette is addicting.

“I was thinking tomorrow Anthony and I could take you and Darlene hunting.” Kara glances from me to Anthony, who shakes his head immediately. He throws his napkin onto the table and sits back in his chair, repulsed by the very mention of it.

“No way. I’m not taking Darlene. She’s six months pregnant and would have me carrying her off to pee every five minutes. She’ll take my coat because we know she never comes prepared for anything, and talk the entire time.” Anthony whines.

Kara takes a drink of orange juice and I can’t help but focus on the way her tongue swipes across her lips as she cleans the juice off them. “Anthony, it’ll be fun. We won’t go far out, I’ve never been on a double date. I also want Darlene to meet Emma.”

Anthony starts to argue but one look from Kara and he knows there’s no point “Fine, I’ll go tell her.” He finishes his food and goes to put his plate in the sink. “Emma, it was very nice to meet you, I’ll see you two around 5am tomorrow, be prepared for Darlene to complain the entire time.”

Kara smiles at him and we watch him leave. “Darlene and Anthony found out they are expecting a girl a few weeks ago and Darlene is thrilled. But she’s not as excited that she’s got a small melon sized baby growing in her and squishing her organs.”

I laugh at her and rest my head on my arms, staring over at her. “So what will we do the rest of the day?”

She stands and takes our plates over to the sink. “Well I was thinking first a shower since you’ve had very long few days and because I’d like to watch you jump up and down like a little kid again.”

My mouth forms an o as I feign being offended. “Excuse me I did not act like a little kid!”

She begins rinsing the plates and washing them gently with a sponge. “Oh yes you did. Anyway, after that I figured we’d get your clothes put away then I’d show you around the town? It has a wonderful dress shop, maybe we can get you something for our coronation.” She runs the last plate under the water and stacks it neatly with the others. “I think you’d look stunning in gold.”

I bite my lip to keep from smiling. I must be dreaming, there’s no way this is going to be the rest of my life. Kara motions for me to follow her upstairs to our bedroom, and my hearts racing.

We climb the gray stone stairs and reach a short hallway with four bedroom doors to it. She opens the one closest to us and I’m not disappointed by what I see. The bedroom is styled similarly to the downstairs, gray and black tones throughout with a California King sized canopy bed in the center, a large tv hanging on the opposite wall so we could watch tv in bed if we wanted. Off to the corner is a bathroom, no door but rather a grand archway that reveals the double sink counter and I can see the corner of a deep bathtub.

“Holy sh*t Kara, how much did this place cost you?“ I ask but I’m not sure I want the answer.

She chuckles at me. “I’m not sure how much the house itself cost but to renovate it was well over 200,000.”

“How the hell did you afford that?”

She shrugs and goes to the bed where my suitcases are laid out. “I own 9 crab boats, a gold mining company, an oil company, as well as the cargo ships you heard us talking about at dinner that first night we met.” Kara begins unzipping a suitcase and pulling out my new jeans, refolding them and stacking each pair neatly on top the other. “I’ll never forget any detail of that night, you know. I remember the way your eyes were practically glowing when they met mine. I remember every word that came out of your mouth. I remember the way my world snapped into place when I kissed you for the first time.”

She seems almost lost in a daydream, picturing our first encounter perfectly in her head. “I remember everything about that night too.” I tell her, stepping closer. “I remember how sad I was to see that You were right in front of me and I couldn’t have you. I remember thinking to myself that Carter would never leave me, not until I gave him what he wanted and even then i could never leave.” I lean in and give her a soft, gentle kiss.

But to my surprise she pulls away, a curious look on her face. “I don’t understand, you were never properly trained how on earth could your magic be of use to him?”

I realize I’ve never told her much of our relationship. “Carter and I were supposed to get married and have babies. Hybrids always inherit the best from both parents, a strong Alpha wolf with the powers of a dark witch? They could rule the world. His mother told me I had to get pregnant as quickly as possible or she would do horrible things to my mom.” I’m embarrassed by talking about having babies to her and I turn away, opening another suitcase and then feeling more awkward when I discover it’s my undergarments.

Kara side steps closer and wraps me into her muscular arms. “Well you don’t need to ever worry about that again. You’re safe, your mother is going to be here first thing tomorrow and everything’s going to be okay.” She let’s go of me and grabs the stack of jeans. “Let’s get your clothes put up and make this feel more like home for you, okay?”

I nod and follow her to a massive dresser, and she looks at me. “Alright, which order do you put your clothes away in?”

We spend the next hour or so putting away my clothes and talking a bit more about our likes and dislikes. So far I’ve learned Kara’s favorite color is dark green, and my eyes have only reinforced that love for her. Ironically mine is blue and her eyes have done the same for me. We talk about her hobbies, which are pretty much limited to hunting, fishing, and ‘camping’- by that she means going out with the absolute bare minimum and seeing how long she can stay out before she has to go back home. She has always been a bit of a loner and finds comfort doing things that don’t require multiple people. Kara argues that she prefers it that way, her life is much simpler and less complicated if she doesn’t allow herself to get close to anyone but I don’t believe her. I think she’s just always been an outcast because of her title and power. So instead of the possible rejection she could experience by trying to make friends, she’s completely closed herself off to everyone. Hopefully I’m able to show her that having relationships and connections with other people is so fulfilling and important for leading an entire race.

“What are some things you like doing?” Kara questions, her eyes glancing up from emptying out a nightstand drawer so I have one to put my things in.

“Like hobbies?” I ponder the question. “I guess I enjoy reading, I loved being a secretary for Alpha Jeremy, he was kind to me. I also enjoyed going out with Carter and his friends. Everyone was really mean to me back home unless Carter or Jeremy was around.”

“Your old pack didn’t like you?” Kara furrows her brows. “I suppose weak minded people probably struggle accepting someone as powerful as you.” She seems frustrated and angry that my previous home wasn’t as welcoming as hers. Kara’s kindness and protective attitude towards me makes me feel special and valued, something I’ve been lacking in my life.

“I’m not powerful. My magic is nothing but a burden.” I protest, although I don’t truly believe that. I love being a witch, I just wish I was better at it.

“You are my mate Emma, that title alone makes you powerful. If you want your magic to get better, I’ll find you books and lessons on how to channel it better.”

“You would do that? Aren’t you scared of what I could do?”

Kara scoffs. “The only people who should be scared of what you could do are the ones that piss us off.” I smile down at the empty suitcase in front of me, Carter would never let me practice magic, he said I didn’t need to know how to use it. There were a lot of things Carter said that I now realize should’ve made me leave a long time ago.