The Fated Alpha

Always be, my Parents

'Rileyyyyyyyy' I heard for the 7000th time 'we are going to be late!' my mother screamed. 'okayyyyy' I shouted back in a huff and made my way to the bathroom. As soon as I open my door, my brother Marcus thrashes through the hall like a fish out of water, slamming the bathroom door shut. 'oh Marcus for f**k sake!' I groan. 'you snooze you loose kid' he shouts back, amusement dripping from his tounge .

I plod my way sleepily back to my bedroom, opening my perfectly organized closet and picking out an outfit for the day. 'hmm, tights, boots, burgundy leather dress' I pointed out to myself. 'BATHROOMSSSSSS FREEEEEEEEEEEEE' another painful reminder I have an older brother. I storm to the bathroom and lock the door, hopping out of my clothes and into the shower. My eyes inspect every inch of my own body, judging every imperfection as the warm water runs over my pale, cold skin. I finish up and jump out, wrapping my long hair in a towel and covering all of my gentle carves with another. I brush my teeth and head back to my room to get changed.

10 minutes go by before I hear it, yet again 'rileyyyyyy come onnnnnn' my father moans, mum laughing at him for finally getting impatient. 'Coming dad'. I shouted back, hearing my mother mumble 'huh, so you, get a response' under her breath. I skipped down the stairs and into the kitchen, 'I heard that' I teased, pecking my mum on the cheek, her warm laugh in response.

' Okay, are we ready now?' dad groans 'yes love, all ready'. The 4 of us and my little brother Kyle hop into the car and head towards the pack house. we arrived in minutes and piled out, Marcus rushing off with Lucas, The alpha's second born son and my brother best friend. 'mr docherty, mrs docherty' he nods politely 'good morning, Lucus' my mothers soft voice echos 'lucus' my dads firm voice spits with a pat on the shoulder 'dad in his office' my father asks 'yes sir' lucus smiles. 'hey ry' 'hey luc' we exchange with a grin. Lucus has always been like another big brother to me. 'lucaaaa' Kyle screeches and she jumps onto Lucus's back, knocking the wind out of him. I walk off before hearing the rest of their boys talk and almost walk flat into Elijah, the alpha's first born and heir. 'Riley' he smirks with a flirtatious grin 'Elijah' I return, blushing. The gold flakes in his large brown eyes, illuminated in the sunlight, the smell of alcohol and cologne, intertwined with cigar smoke and last night's bad choices linger in the air. The red lipstick on the collar of his white shirt turns my stomach. His small grin widens when he notices my reddening cheeks, but I wonder if he notices my jealousy.

'Elijah!' the alpha bellowing voice comes from his office as I snapped out of my daydream, his beautiful eyes flick at the door in a stern gaze and back at me before he disappears through the large oak double doors.

I tried to ignore the burning feeling in my hips and the butterfly in my stomach, walking through the large hallway of the pack house.

I take a moment to admire the beautiful structure of this grand building, from the marble floors to the grand bifurcated staircase, the artwork in the ceiling and the golden details along the banisters and around the dark oak door frames. The paintings on the ceiling have always distracted me, one half a forest setting with a beautiful sunset beaming through the trees and a small girl with long golden hair looking into a river, her reflection a majestic midnight blue wolf with a shining white star shape on her forehead. The other half, the side of the wolf, a midnight sky, a full moon and thousands of stars. It represents the connection between our human selves and our wolves. 'it's beautiful isn't it', a soft voice calls as I turned to see our Luna, Talia. I smile in return. 'she reminds me of you' she whispers, nodding to the small girl above us. 'its the hair' I tease. 'not just the hair' she replies, with a knowing look. 'okay, so what else' I question, not sure I want to know the answer. 'one day, you'll see' she smiles as I look at her with a puzzled expression. 'come on, no time for questions. time for breakfast' she trots off towards the dining hall.

It's the day before my 18th birthday. For female werewolves, this is the biggest day of our lives. The day we finally secure our wolf connections and can find our mates. As soon as the clock hits midnight under the full moon, I will begin my first turn.

I entered the dining hall, filled with the official status pack wolves, Alpha Seamus, Luna Talia and their heirs, Elijah, Lucus and Belle, the pack Betas including my father Andrew, my uncle Derek, my Uncle Mateo, Samuel Pierce, my best friend Ciaras dad and the Alphas brother Jason - our pack warriors including my brother Marcus, lucus and Elijah among many others, our pack doctors and hospital staff.

I make my way to the beta table to sit with my family. 'RILESSSSS' Ciara shrieks, silencing the hall as the attention turns to me. My eyes flicker across the room to meet a familiar gaze as I feel my cheeks heat while I notice those beautiful family eyes. My neck cracks back to my table as the room continues, the motion of eating, drinking, talking, shuffling like a pack of dogs drowns out my embarrassment. I take my seat and feel two cold arms wrap themselves around my neck, 'excited for tonight?' an eager Ciara shouts, her mouth full of cornflakes. 'ugh, kinda' I mumble, my mind filling with the anxiety my first shift brings and the thought of the pain I will be in. Ciara is Human. Her mother and she are the only 2 humans I know of that know about us. Ciara's mother, Sarah, was the love child of a wolf and a witch. Had Sarah been a boy, she'd have been a wolf. The witch gene is stronger when the child is female. Because of Sarah's blood line, she was mated with a wolf. This was after she had Ciara, whose real father died when she was only 6 months old. Samuel adopted Ciara as his own when he married Sarah and the two had a son together, Brady.

' You're nervous, aren't you?' a gentle whisper in my ear. Malia, my uncle Derek's wife. I nodded gently at her as she shot me a reassuring smile' 'you have nothing to be worried about, Riley' my mother chirps up. 'we will all be there with you', Malia added. 'its really not as bad as it sounds' Jason chirps up. 'yeah and once the transformation starts, your wolf will guide you' Derek adds.

I look around the table, taking a moment to appreciate the people around me. Derek is my dad's younger brother. Their father was a Beta before them and best friends with the Alpha at the time, Martin Stonebrook. In turn, my father and uncle grew up with Alpha Seamus and his brother Jason. My dad's sister Lillian is mated to Mateo and they all went to school with Samuel. My mother, Sophie, was best friends with Luna Talia and, and Samantha Stonebrooke, the Alphas' sister.

These people aren't just my pack members, they're my family. And I thank the moon goddess for them every day.

I just hope my mate is in my own pack, and I don't have to leave. Samantha's mate is Martin Mountford, Alpha of a neighboring pack. Her marriage bought us alliance and strength, but she had to leave her family to get that.

I frowned at the thought of finding a mate outside of our pack and someone picked up on this 'Talia, a word'. A stern voice echoed as the hall once again came to a halt. I gulp, looking up, but my nerves ease when I see my alpha smile. My parents' friends have always been like aunts and uncles to us, but the alpha and Luna took me into their pack when they were ordered to dispose of me. They fought for me and protected me like their own. My parents initiated me into the pack, asking them to be my goddess parents. 'yes, sir', I smiled, stepping up from my seat and following my gentle alpha.

We walked into his large office, one wall filled with old books and pack memorabilia. A large ladder attached to the shelf from the floor to the ceiling. Large red drapes hung elegantly over the huge bay windows, a fireplace to the left and the bookshelf to the right, a dark brown leather chase lounger in front of the fireplace. I walked past this to a long black glass desk in the middle of the end of the room, two brown leather chairs in front and a large brown leather chair behind. 'Take a seat', he mumbled, and I sensed he felt slightly awkward. I sat down, anticipating what was to come next. He sits in the chair opposite me, his features softening with my presence, but serious, like an alpha.

'Riley, the day your father found you' he paused with a sign 'yes, in the woods'. I smiled, encouraging him to get on with it. 'ugh, well yes' he mumbles. 'forgive me alpha, where are we going with this?' I gulp 'well, riley' he starts 'oh spit it out will you, for goodness sakes' Talia chuckles storming into the office like a women on a mission. 'T i was trying' he rolls his eyes with a chuckle and my nerves increaseas i wait for either of them to pluck up the courage to spit it out.

' What this lump is trying to say, Riley, is 2 days before you arrived I suffered a miscarriage'. Talias eyes sadden as Seamus's fall to the ground and my heart drops for them. 'we.... we lost a.... a little girl' she breathes and I feel her heartache all these years later. my chest hurts thinking about the pain my Alpha and Luna must be in. 'i, im so-s-sorry' i stutter, my eyes filling with tears. 'oh, no, sweet girl' she wisperes softly, pulling me into a hug. 'we were devastated, beyond devastated. but then a little pup turned up on our territory, just as alone in the world as we felt and in need of a home' she smiled as her eyes filled with tears to meet mine. 'we were jealous of Andrew for finding you first, but we knew you were in the best hands and he and Sophie were in a far better position to take on a little pup with emotional needs far greater than we could give at that time' Seamus Croaks, his cracking voice soothes me as I see the raw emotion from my alpha for the first time. 'we promised eachother and your parents we would do anything we could to keep you safe, and when you come of age help you find your heritage if that what you choose' suddenly my world freezes 'my heritage?' i repeat. 'Yes' Talia confirms 'we discussed this with your parents. if you would like to know about your routes. well, your biological routes. we have connections to do that for you. if you wish.' i breath heavy, not knowing what to say. the idea of finding my biological family has never crossed my mind. until now. 'can i think about it?' i ask. 'of course' they say in unison with a smile. 'whenever you are ready' Talia whispers, finally letting me go. 'but i do want to thank you both, for taking me in and for being another set of parents to me. i really appreciate everything you did for me, everything you put a risk for me' I croak, tears in my eyes and gratitude in my heart. 'i love you both' i smile and they both pull me into a hug 'oh we love you too' Talia smiles 'always, kid' Seamus whispers.

We exit the room and head back to the dining room, each heading off to our tables. My parents look at me with a worried expression. I cant help but wonder if they hope I don't try to find my birth parents, through fear I may find something I don't want to, or fear I will leave. I stood behind both of them and wrapped my arms around their shoulders. 'I love you dad' 'I love you mom' I whispered to each of them, reassuring them that no matter what happens, they are, and always will be, my parents.