Alpha Rising: Her Revenge

2: Harvest Moon

Rowan

"Hey, Rowan! The Alpha is looking for you!" My best friend Mason called out as he left the dining hall. I stopped mid-stretch in the front yard, plans for a morning run shot to hell.

Ugh. Of course he was. My father was always tracking me down to lecture me or drill me on different tasks related to the position he wouldn't yet entrust to me. Do you really have to yell like an i***t? I linked him in frustration.

Of course he does, my wolf Doran rolled his eyes in my head.

Of course I do, it's mandatory, Mason echoed cheerfully, thankfully via mind-link this time. Mason was almost always smiling and joking around, sometimes to the point where I questioned his being my Beta. Then I remembered how fiercely loyal and dedicated to our pack he was and felt reassured.

Still, he knew how to get on my nerves sometimes.

What's mandatory, yelling or being an i***t? I joked as I jogged back toward the packhouse. Mason shoved my shoulder with a grin as he passed on his way to the training field. You know me, Ro. Always both.

I could still hear him chuckling in my mind when I mounted the large front porch, so I cut the link and threw a t-shirt on before striding inside. My father was bound to be in his office this time of morning, so I didn't bother linking him to ask his whereabouts. His office was on the fifth floor, where the Alpha living quarters were. My office was up there too, right between his and the Luna's office. It was a little lonely though, with me being an only child. Luna Dianne, aka Mom, put way to much focus on me, especially nowadays as she constantly hosted parties and get togethers with plenty of she-wolves from nearby packs, hoping to help me find my mate. It was downright exhausting. Plus, it didn't help that my father fully supported her attempts, as he felt I wouldn't be able to take over as Alpha without my mate and Luna by my side.

It's not that I didn't want to find my mate. But I firmly believed that I could take over as Alpha already. I was born to be an alpha, and trained for it my entire life, both physically and mentally. I knew how to strategize and maintain alliances with other packs, how to keep our pack economy strong, and could take down any warrior during training without breaking a sweat. I was already twenty-two years old and have had my wolf for seven years. I should be Alpha by now.

Unfortunately my father saw things differently, and as the reigning Alpha, he had the last word.

I arrived at my father's office and knocked. "Come in," Alpha Rhys boomed from the other side of the door. I swung the door open and strode purposefully inside, sitting in one of the deep brown leather chairs by his desk. The Alpha's office was huge, with a luxurious seating area, large mahogany desk, and three walls of bookshelves full of important books and binders full of pack business details going back years and years. My favorite part, though, was fourth wall, made entirely of glass with a spectacular view of the rolling fields and gardens on our land. We were involved in many different types of business, but agriculture was one of my favorites. It was unexpected for a pack to be involved in farming, but it's actually what gave our pack its name of Harvest Moon.

"Rowan," my father said impatiently.

I jerked myself out of my reverie and peeled my eyes away from the window behind him. I couldn't wait until this office was mine. "Sorry, what's up ?" Ugh, i***t. Being too relaxed and informal didn't make me look like I was ready to be Alpha.

"The Gathering is in a month's time, and we have a lot to do to get ready for it," He looked at me reprovingly. "How is the work coming on fixing up the guest houses on the west side of the fields?"

"It's right on schedule, should be done by a few days before," I responded promptly. My father had given me a lot of responsibility to get our land and buildings ready to host all the packs in the country for this year's Gathering. It had been seventeen years since it was last hosted here, and several of the buildings hadn't been used since then. Whether he was testing my readiness for becoming Alpha or setting me up to fail, I wasn't sure. Either way, I was working my ass off to show I could handle anything he threw at me.

My father shook his head, dismissing in my answer. "Not good enough. They should be done at least a week before, in case some delegations come early. What about the main event building?"

"It's getting there. The exterior meeting rooms needed some new electrical, and that set them back a bit. I put an extra crew on it to make up the time."

"Menu planned out? Food orders placed?"

"Yes and almost yes."

Alpha Rhys looked at me over the rim of his reading glasses. "You need to be on top of this, Rowan. The Gathering is very important. The whole country's pack leaders will be here. All of the Elders. This is your opportunity to show them what you can do as the next Alpha of Harvest Moon. Normally your Luna would manage a lot of this type of work for you, but—"

"I can handle it, father. When I find my mate she will take over management of tasks like that, but for now I'm more than capable."

My father eyed me skeptically. "What about the eastern borders?"

"Patrols are already doubled and will be tripled during The Gathering," I replied. About seven years ago our neighboring pack was overtaken by rogues that have since made their home there, under the guise of the so-called Blood Red pack. We offered asylum to any wolves from their pack that needed it, but none ever came. The heathens killed the entire Alpha line and had a nasty wolf named Silas as their leader. They tried to attend Gatherings every year all over the country, but were always denied entrance. Packs may go to war with one another, but it must be for a good and valid reason, and Silas had none. Because of that, he was barred from making Blood Red an official pack. This year with their land bordering us to the east, we had our work cut out for us to make sure they didn't set foot across our territory lines to try again.

"Good. Make sure the shifts aren't so long that our warriors get overtired, and that shift changes have adequate overlap," Alpha Rhys ordered, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. Like so many other times lately, I noticed how tired he was looking. We had a lot of similarities, our 6' 6'' height, sandy blond wavy hair, deep brown eyes, and broad shouldered builds. Lately though, my father's eyes had started looking dull, and his face showed visible strain. I saw the worry clear as day on my mom's face as she did her best to support him, but he was getting on in years, and Alphas very rarely held their position into old age, or even much past their prime. They would still be around to impart the wisdom earned from years of leadership, but no longer responsible for the physical and mental hardships that came with the title. Alphas were best in their prime.

And here my father was eating into my best years.

I stood to cover the sudden rush of anger that filled my chest. At this rate I'd be forty before my father relinquished his title, and I would never be as strong a leader as I needed to be. "I'll see to it. Anything else?" I bit out, needing to get out of there.

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

My father brought his long fingers together contemplatively under his chin. "I know you're...disappointed that I haven't passed the role of alpha to you yet."

I raised my eyebrows. "Your point?" At my father's quelling look, I backed down. "Sorry," I muttered.

After eyeing my for several seconds, he spoke again. "My point is, I've come to the decision that, while you don't yet have your mate, you've proven yourself to be strong, smart, a hard worker, and dedicated to the safety and prosperity of this pack."

Wait. Is he saying what I think he's saying?

Even though I didn't say it out loud, my father confirmed my thoughts with his next sentence. "Because of what I see in you, I've decided to officially give you the Alpha title. This is of course, contingent on the Gathering going off without a hitch and your continued search for your mate. The ceremony will happen on the last night while other packs are here, to bear witness to the occasion."

I was so excited I leapt out of my chair. "Father, are you serious?"

Alpha Rhys cracked a smile. "Yes I am, Rowan. I know you're fully aware of my views on alphas without mates, but..,I'm getting older, and so are you. I figure you can handle the job now, even though it will be an extra burden. Just remember. The Gathering must be successful, and you must keep searching for your Luna," he ticked off on his fingers.

"I will! Thanks...Alpha," I said, unable to keep the ear-splitting grin off my face.

"You're welcome, Rowan. Just remember, being alpha is a big responsibility, especially without a Luna," my father said with a serious look on his face. "Now, off with you. Plenty to do to make sure the Gathering goes well."

He didn't have to tell me twice. I all but ran out of the room and down four flights of stairs to the back door of the packhouse. I flung it open and stripped off my shirt and tossed it in the grass on the way to the fields. It's finally happening, Mason! I'm going to be sworn in as Alpha! I linked him as I slipped behind a row of corn to yank my shorts off and shift into my wolf.

Awesome, man! When? Mason screeched through our link.

At the end of the gathering. Get ready, Beta.

I'm always ready!

Where are you? I asked, bounding down the lane in wolf form.

On the north edge of the wheat field.

Race you to the west boundary, I linked, throwing myself forward. I could feel my wolf's joy at the limbering up of our muscles as we ran. Doran had sandy fur like my own hair, with darker fur around my eyes and at the tip of my tail. He towered over everyone else, although Mason came close to my height as a Beta.

I still couldn't believe what my father said in his office. Soon to be our office, Doran reminded me. Hell yes! I said, turning around the northeastern edge of the near corn field and heading west between the corn and beans. We had six different fields here, all with different crops that we sold or traded, plus two orchards, four large gardens where we grew food for the pack, and a trio of greenhouses where we grew herbs, spices, and some rare plants that turned a tidy profit. It was the fields, though, where I liked to conduct my morning run.

Alpha. It was finally happening. I hadn't forgotten my father's words—I knew the Gathering had to go perfectly—but I was sure everything was going to be fine, and I'd be taking over in a little over a month.

I passed the bean field and was running by the oats when I spotted Mason's chocolate brown wolf on the other side of the field headed in the same direction. I couldn't let him beat me! I pushed my wolf harder, racing past the last of the fields and into the trees. The west boundary line was a river that we piped in water from to irrigate our crops, about a quarter mile through the forest. I banked left and right around the trees and made a beeline toward a small waterfall, and flat outcropping of rock, our understood finish line for races since we were eight and could only run in human form.

We were neck and neck when we reached the rock, but I couldn't let him win. I had to do it. Just when Mason thought he won, I crashed into his side, making him skitter off the edge of the rock and fall into the river, the waterfall beating down on his head.

Asshole! He shouted through mind-link, swimming to the riverbank and shaking water out of his coat. He climbed up the twelve feet to the rock outcropping, where I was sitting back in my human form. "Asshole!" he repeated after he shifted, plopping down on the rock a few feet away from me.

"I win," I said smugly, leaning back to take in the weak rays of sunlight that filtered through the canopy of trees above. It was a bit chilly, being fall and harvest season close at hand, but our wolf forms helped us run hotter than regular humans and kept us from feeling cold as badly.

"Only by cheating! That's no way to lead, Alpha," Mason joked.

I furrowed my brow at his word. "My father might say the same thing," I said, thinking about how he didn't really want to hand over the title with me still being unmated.

Mason punched my shoulder. "Stop it man. That whole tradition of Alphas needing their Lunas is super old fashioned. It's a new age! You'll be great."

I breathed deeply and let my shoulders drop, relaxing a little. "Sorry, Mason. Just thinking too much. I want to do right by our pack is all."

"And you will," Mason said firmly. "I have zero doubts."

"Thanks, man." We sat in companionable silence for awhile, the sun moving slowly through the trees as it rose in the sky.

Finally, Mason stood. "Well, I've got training soon, I better get back. Coming?"

"I will in a bit. You go ahead," I said, looking at the rushing water. Mason shifted and bounded away, leaving me alone on the ledge. I knew I had to get back to keep the preparations for the Gathering going smoothly, but I just needed a minute to let it all sink in. I was going to be Alpha soon. It was surreal. I was having a hard time believing my father was serious, that he would follow through. Whether he was or not, there was no going back now. I wouldn't let him.

I only hoped I could live up to his—and my—expectations.