Alpha's Tension

Daliah Luciano

The sound of the plane jolting against the terminal brings disgust to my throat. After all I've done to get away from this god forsaken city, and here I am. Crawling back to its doorstep. 

I don't get off the plane right away. I let an older couple go in front of me with a wave and a smile of appreciation. Then a group of teenagers who laugh and giggle with excitement to be in here for their school trip. When the last person finally walks in front of me, I step behind them to waddle my way behind the crowd. 

Each step is dreadful as I await the meeting at the end of the terminal connection hall. Every passing second increases my already raised anxiety, and my hands start to fidget with the leather of my computer satchel. 

I had brought it with me to work on networking with some city businesses, preparing myself to jump into the wolf's den when I land. Instead, I spent the entire flight going over every instance that could happen once I see him.  

When my feet cross the threshold of the boarding area, there he is. Arms crossed gruffly in front of his chest with a grimacing expression that makes even the mundies around us cower. 

"Hi, Dad," I say with a practiced smile plastered on my face. His lips slightly curl when I move in for a hug, which is the most excitement he would ever be caught expressing in public. 

To the world, he is Antonio Luciano: CEO and founder of Moonlight Entertainment. While the average person would assume that to be a movie company, it's rather much more gruesome. Moonlight Entertainment is a string of nightclubs that are used for black market sales for the mafia of NYC. 

To the supernatural world, he is Alpha Antonio: pack alpha of the Bloodmoon pack in North Carolina. 

To me? He's an asshole. 

"What took them so long?" He asks in a rough voice while patting my shoulder and pulling me along with him. I internally roll my eyes as we make our way out of the airport to meet the driver who opens the door to his limo. 

"You know how the mundies are, Dad, you can't expect them to be perfect." I groan with a bit of my annoyance slipping out while we climb in the dark cab. 

"Anyways," he starts, and I want to put my hands on my head to block him out. I really don't need his input right now. 

"Our beta has a man in his pocket, owner of a real nice practice out here. Thought it'd be a good place for you to start- you know, get on your feet and all," he says while taking a swig of his freshly poured champagne. 

"Why are you here anyway?" I ask, nearly biting my tongue from trying to hold in my frustration. 

"Benny had a meeting for us," he says casually. 

"Don't let anyone hear you calling him that, Dad. He'll have us both executed," I tell harshly, and watch his shoulders shrug. I don't want to talk rudely to my alpha, but my father putting my life or future in jeopardy is different. Benjamin was not the kind of man you wanted to mess around with, not with the stories that I have heard. He used to be so kind, and now...

"Alpha Ben, whatever. Y'know, I used to change that kid's diapers! Now he's jerkin' my chain around," he says with displeasure and a swirl of his glass, his original New York accent thick. His deep sigh fills the silence of the limo, because I don't bother asking about his current business affairs. 

I don't want anything to do with Benny, not anymore.

"When are you going back?" I ask him with my arms crossed and my gaze trained on the skyscrapers that pass us through heavy traffic. God, I didn't miss this city.

"Soon as we get you settled at the pack house," his words are *matter-of-factly* and I furrow my eyebrows. The last thing I need is to stay in the New York pack mansion. While it's Alpha Ben's pack house, he has designated wings for visiting wolves to stay in. 

I get those special privileges because I am my father's daughter. Not that I wanted them. 

The rest of the car ride is silent, thankfully. Antonio drinks nearly the whole bottle of champagne before we arrive, and when we finally step out of the low-seated car, he stumbles with a grin. 

"Ah! The perfect palace for my princess!" He shouts, throwing his arm around my shoulder and making me cringe at the contact. I try to wiggle out of his grasp, but I can't. His Alpha strength is still prevalent, even at his age.

His fingertips dig into my shoulder as we walk up the white brick stairs of the mansion, and I try to focus on the architecture of it. It's beautiful, with statues lining the exterior walls and green, lush gardens for at least a mile in all directions. 

"Dad, can I-" I try to pry his grip from my arm, but it only painfully tightens with his growing smile. 

"Now don't forget! This isn't a vacation, Daliah. You make nice with the pack, and we'll be sure to have a practice waiting for you back in NC," he says with a playful laugh. 

I don't even want a practice in North Carolina. If it hadn't been for my father's constant threats to blacklist me as a lawyer in California, I would have been perfectly content to stay there and build my own law practice. Living with the mundies was easy once you got used to their ways.

"Dad, your hand-" I try to say, but he keeps talking like I hadn't even opened my mouth.

"You make nice with this pack, and the Bloodmoon pack will be much better off. Fuck it up and-" his speech is interrupted by a loud, echoing growl that tears through the stone hallways. My eyes snap up to find the source of it stalking our way, as though we were his next meal.  

"What the hell is going on here?"