Kate POV
Rolling over in bed I look at the ceiling. It was already two weeks that I had spent in my room ignoring the outside world. My mom, my dad and Lily had been trying daily to visit me. Aside from accepting limited amounts of food, I just could not stomach conversation.
That day two weeks ago I had visited my father in the afternoon as we had agreed. He and my mom had both been there. They both hugged me tightly whispering words of comfort as I had felt those tears coming back. Wiping them away I quickly moved from them not wanting to shatter any more in front of them or anyone for that matter.
My mom took my hand as we moved to sit in the two chairs Rafe and I had occupied earlier that day. The office itself had a lot of dark wood, influenced by a male as the Alpha. Another office down the hall was my mother’s office, one she had decorated herself. When I soon took the role as Alpha, I would seek my mother’s help in freshening up the office to suit my tastes.
My father sat on the edge of his desk just looking between my mom and me. “How are you doing Kate?”, he asked suddenly. I shook my head and stated I was doing alright considering the circumstances. I was still a little shaken by the rejection but I would be fine and wanted to get things underway so I could assume my role as Alpha of the pack.
My mom, who had been looking at my, suddenly turned her head away toward my father. My father paused for a moment and then shocked me with his next words. “Kate, I think we should hold off making you Alpha for six months to a year.”.
The silence was deafening. I looked between my mother and father in total shock. All that ran through my mind was that I had been rejected and was now going to be punished for it. Seeing the gamut of emotions running on my face, my mother tried to take my hand again, but I pulled away. My father continued, “Kate – an alpha needs to be strong. The pain you have suffered will not go away in a month. You need time to heal and determine whether you can or will want to take the Alpha role.”.
I could not contain myself anymore, I repeated what my father had said, “Whether I want to take the Alpha role?!? I have spent a lifetime training for this role. I have spent a lifetime always watching my actions, being a good leader, being among our top fighters and you question me, after being rejected, as to my desire to fulfill my destiny. The destiny that contributed to me being rejected?”. My voice had gotten louder as I tried to make sense of the conversation we were having. I did not care, I was hurt. Hurt by the rejection, hurt by the sudden doubt in my abilities and hurt that my mother did nothing to support me.
“Kate – you know rejections make us weaker. An Alpha will feel that stronger than others. I am sorry but I need the confidence to know you can handle this responsibility. The pack is my responsibility today and I would be irresponsible in not taking that into consideration. Six months will fly by and then we can revisit where things stand at that time,” my father concluded.
I stood up looking between both my parents as I felt tears prick the back of my eyes. “I admit father, I am disappointed with everything that happened today but what disappoints me most is your lack of faith in your ability to have prepared me for whatever came my way as an Alpha.” As my father started to say something I put my hand up preventing any further conversation and went to my room.
And so here I had sat for two-weeks. Maybe it was childish, maybe it was necessary, but I felt betrayed by two people who should never have betrayed me – my mate and my father. The first few days had been a blur. I had been in pain, but I could not tell what hurt more. I did not get up aside from using the bathroom the first few days.
As the pain subsided, I was so angry. Angry at anyone and everyone. I had spent a lifetime doing the right things and being the right person, never disappointing and always being reliable Kate. I had missed a lot of what most would consider a childhood because I had my eye on a very special prize. A prize that was my birthright.
Yes, six months was not long but it made me feel like I was weak and that I would look weak to the packs in our alliances. Everyone knew I was to take over shortly after my 18th birthday and now there was a rejection to consider along with a delay in taking my spot as the Alpha to the pack.
Well as I neared the end of week two, I had decided it was time for me to enter the land of the living. I got up early, had a shower, put my training clothes on and tried to decide what I wanted to do first. I still could not speak with my parents – I felt the pain of their doubt deeply and I would not hide my feelings any longer for the comfort of everyone else. I would be civil, of course, but I could not be my old self.
I was not the girl I was two weeks ago before the birthday party.
Kate Training had become my main focus for the month after my two-week sabbatical from life. I trained in the morning one on one with Reid, my Beta and John Langille, our head warrior, and head trainer. Both of them ensuring I was in peak fighting condition. I loved training with them – they never held back. They weren’t afraid I would break and understood the only way I could protect myself was by fighting me with everything they had. The balance in power and ability was tight. Some fights I won, some I lost. When I lost, we went over the same scenarios until I got them down and won. Losing was not acceptable to me. I needed to be the strongest warrior so I could protect everyone within my pack. I also had to know I could rely on my top people
Kate POV “Katie let’s do an adult girls’ night,” Lily says. Pausing to wonder what exactly that means Lily continues, “You know – adult refreshments at an adult party location? Maybe in town at the Club?”. The “Club” is a hot spot for a lot of locals as well as people from neighboring towns. Mostly people in their 20’s and 30’s frequent the club, but it’s been known to attract a diverse group of people. They have great music, great dance floor, and cater their selection of alcohol to werewolves as well as to humans. The humans do not know that we exist, but the Club is owned and operated by werewolves. We can scent our own kind in any environment and it is no
Katy’s POV As werewolves, we were also recognized at the door as VIP’s when we went to the Club. Which was awesome as there was always a line up waiting to get in. Listening to the groans as we went around the line, we smiled to the Bouncer, who we had knew from our Pack, and walked on in. The place was crowded tonight. There were a lot of people on the dance floor. The music was thumping, perfect for dancing and the bar had a slight line up. Looking at the crowd dancing, and the bar, we all agreed to head up to the bar first. As we got there, it turned out not to be as crowded as we had thought and were able to get our drinks right away. Looking around we found a table toward the back, where we could see everything but also catch up or head to the dance fl
Drake’s POV After wrapping up my late meeting with Kate’s father, I happened to see Kate and her friends climbing into a car and heading into town. I admit she intrigued me when I had bumped into her earlier coming out of her father’s office. Her eyes were captivating, and she was downright beautiful. I had heard she had been rejected by her mate, but I was impressed with how well she was handling things. And, like many, shocked she had been rejected. She came across as a confident young woman. I had heard of Kate at various tables and had met her father a few months back at another joint meeting. Being an Alpha was a privilege but being an Alpha without a Pack to lead, was challenging and often frustrating. I had joined the Blue Moon Pack as a child
Kate POV Getting in pretty late last night, I can’t help my curiosity surrounding the man named Drake. He was good looking, confident and there were some questions around what his dealings were with my father. I enjoyed a couple dreams about the mystery man, his hands on my body and us swaying to the music. However, Saturday morning came to quickly. Dragging my butt when I did finally crawl out of bed, I make my training session for 9 am. I always spar and train with my Beta, Reid, and the Head Warrior / Head Trainer John. However, with John on vacation it would just be Reid and myself this morning. Although I had been out late the night before, it did not take long to get into the swing of fighting
Drake’s POV I had made my way home on my motorbike and arrived home shortly after three in the morning. Blue Moon Pack was roughly an hour or so from Golden Moon Pack. Not too far but far enough to warrant doing business with them. I lived in the Pack house along with a lot of the single, unmated members. My room was on the third floor – as an Alpha I had a higher standing in the Pack; however, would never be assuming the role of the Alpha for the Blue Moon Pack. My room was spacious, with its own bathroom, sitting area, workspace, and separate bedroom. Grabbing a quick shower, my thoughts lingered on my meetings today and the end of my evening. Drying off, I walk naked to my bed, turning off the light as I go.I was exhausted yet meeting Kate had piqued my curiosity.&n
Kate POV As we wrapped up the day of training around 3 pm, I had to decide what I was going to do with my father. I did not want to keep dragging this up, but to consider moving Reid to Beta before me going to Alpha was wrong and unprecedented in most packs. As I pondered what to do, I grabbed my stuff up, starting to walk out the door of the training centre. I waved goodbye to some stragglers as I went out. The day was beautiful. I had almost missed it with the intensity of the training today. We had a couple groups do double training shifts on Saturdays as they had more time available for training at that time than they did through the work week. During the week many worked and could not dedicate as much
Kate POV I was exhausted. We had three rogue attacks in the past three weeks. We had minimal casualties thanks to our aggressive training regimen. However, we were also cautious. The number of rogues coming to break through our barriers were increasing. We had stopped them just as they crossed, a couple escaped our warriors by not crossing the border as they saw what was happening to the other rogue wolves. those we caught were destroyed. With the exception of one rogue per group – we kept them for interrogation. This had always been our strategy, to learn what we could from the captured rogue. It often included torture as they were quite committed to their missions. After three rogues were captured during various attacks, interrogated, and destroyed we were no further ahead in under