1. Not An Alpha

~NYRA~

“You're a woman. Not an Alpha, Nyra!”

“I completed my Alpha training, Uncle. I am an Alpha.”

“Completed?” Uncle Daniel snickered, his eyes narrowing with mockery. “The other heirs let you tag along because you’re a girl.”

“For fuck’s sake!” My voice cracked through the office. “I am the firstborn of this pack!”

“Nyra Lopez!”

His palm slammed against the wooden desk, splinters rattling loose. The sound cracked through the silence like thunder.

“You’re speaking to the Alpha of this pack.” His voice vibrated with his Alpha aura—heavy, pressing, choking the air. But it slid right off me, powerless.

Another proof I was worthy to lead. Another point he chose to ignore. All because I was born with a pair of boobs.

“Whatever, uncle,” I muttered, spinning on my heel. His voice chased me down the hall, dripping with command.

“Nyra! You better behave—”

I slammed my bedroom door. The scent of fake lavender and roses smothered me. My eyes burned with rage as I looked around—pink curtains, floral cushions, porcelain vases. A room screaming “princess,” not “Alpha.”

A snarl left me, as I tore the curtains down, yanked the vase off the table and smashed it against the wall. Shards glittered on the floor like broken lies. I sank into the couch—pink and fluffy, mocking me.

Two years of sweat, blood, and bruises in Alpha training. And this? This is what waited for me? A cage painted pink.

A reminder.

Woman. Woman. Woman.

That's all they fucking saw.

They won't allow an Alpha to claim his pack without his mate, but then they say women are useless.

Fucking hypocrites.

The door creaked open.

“Uh,” I groaned. “Not now, Aaron.”

“Chill, Alpha.” My cousin strolled in like he owned the place.

His gaze swept the wreckage. “Sixteen-inch table, curtains, vase. You didn’t throw it through the window, did you? Please tell me the glass is still intact.”

“Idiot.” I rolled my eyes, though my lips twitched despite myself.

Aaron flopped onto the couch beside me, elbows resting on his knees. “You and Dad should argue on the training grounds.”

“Why?”

“So you don’t waste the pack’s funds,” he deadpanned, pointing to the wreckage.

I barked out a humorless laugh. “Are you serious?”

“I am. Every time you two ‘talk,’ pack property dies. Open ground is safer.”

“If you’re so concerned, why don’t you talk to him?”

“Leave me out of it.” He raised his hands like I’d drawn claws.

“Alpha training?” I smirked.

His sigh was heavy enough to flatten him into the couch. “Don’t remind me. I don’t even want to be Alpha, Nyra. Why the hell should I waste two years away?”

“Uncle thinks you’d be the next Alpha.”

“He wants me to be." He groaned. "But you’re here. You’ve done it. It should be you.”

“But. I. Am. A. Woman.” My voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Are you even a girl?” he deadpanned.

“The fuck, Aaron?”

“I mean, why—”

My glare shut him up.

“They think you’ll find your mate and move to his pack,” he muttered.

“Why does everyone assume I’ll leave?” I shot back. “He can move here. If he wants me.”

“Because if he’s an Alpha, you’ll automatically be a Luna.”

“I am an Alpha.” I growled.

“Jesus, I know.” He groaned. “I want you to be Alpha more than anyone.”

He brightened suddenly. “Wait—I’ve got it. What if your mate’s, like… an old man? You could be Alpha and Luna. And if he complains—” his grin widened—“you could just fuck his brain out—”

“Aaron!” The book I hurled smacked his forehead with a satisfying thunk.

“Ow!” He rubbed the spot. “That was just an idea!”

“Keep it in your idiotic brain,” I muttered, pushing to my feet.

“Where are you going?”

“Alphas don’t answer.” I smirked before vaulting out the window.

The training grounds blurred past as I shifted mid-run. My bones snapped, stretched, reshaped until fur rippled across my skin. Nina, my wolf, burst free with a howl, her white-grey coat flashing under the fading light.

Freedom. At last.

The evening air kissed our fur, cool and sharp. My paws pounded the dirt, each step echoing with the rhythm of power. Patrol wolves dipped their heads as we passed.

“It’s me,” I mind-linked, and they returned to duty.

We ran for hours until the wind roared in our ears and the forest swallowed the world whole. For a while, it was just us—wild, alive, untouchable.

Until the scent hit.

Rot. Musk. Blood.

Nina slowed, ears pricking. My pulse kicked. Rogues. Three… no, four.

Nina’s growl thundered in my chest.

'Let’s remind them whose land this is.'

“Oh, you bet,” she snarled back.

Nina crouched low, claws digging into soil. The forest hummed, every sound louder in her ears—the rustle of leaves, the shift of paws, the sharp bite of rogue stench.

The first wolf broke cover, yellow eyes gleaming. I lunged, muscles coiling like springs, claws flashing for its throat—

Bang!

The crack split the air like lightning. Fire tore through my right leg, hot and blinding. I crashed into the ground, the taste of dirt and blood flooding my tongue. Pain radiated outward, throbbing with each frantic beat of my heart.

We rolled, snarling, Nina’s growl reverberating through my bones. I forced myself up, but my paw trembled, slick with blood. A bullet.

My head snapped up.

Not a rogue.

A man.

A human with a gun aimed at me, his eyes steady, his stance unyielding. Behind him, the rogues slunk back, letting him lead.

Cowards. Hiding behind a pathetic human.

Nina snarled low.

“We don’t kill unless we have to,” I reminded her.

His finger tightened on the trigger again. We launched. Dodging the shot by inches and landing behind him, claws raised.

My fangs grazed his throat, seconds from tearing him apart. Then his scent slammed into me—earth and smoke.

My body locked mid-strike. My wolf froze with me.

“Mate,” Nina whispered, awe tangled with fury.