I cracked my neck and took a drink of the energy drink I grabbed at the gas station. Honestly, these pack trips were getting old. I knew they wanted to throw their unmated females at me but having to leave my pack territory for more than a month was just ridiculous. Four weeks since I had been back in my own territory and I missed home. I was also still a good four hours away. My Gamma Sam was now calling me non-stop for the past week. Normally, I left Nate in charge as my Beta but he had been MIA for the past week. Sam stepped up but had zero confidence in himself.
Nate disappeared every so often but not when I was off the territory. He would at least wait until I got back before skipping out for a week or two but him being gone a week was worrying. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I took a deep breath. I had four hours. Four hours of peace before I was bombarded with a frantic Gamma, a missing Beta, and the mountain of paperwork I was sure was sitting on my desk. Being Alpha was not as glamorous as it was portrayed when I was a kid. My father looked strong and badass as he trained warriors. He fought battles and helped the pack grow. What he didn’t show was the amount of paperwork one had to do behind the scenes just to keep the pack running.
Groaning, I tossed the now empty can into the trash and got in my truck. Four more hours and I could snuggle into my own bed that I wouldn’t have to worry about if a woman had been snuck in to have pups with, tying me down. I could just sleep and get up at 4 a.m. for training without being molested.
Turning up the radio, I rolled down the windows and breathed in the forest around us. It was Spring and the trees were growing their green leaves back from the winter’s harshness. It was a sight after the bareness that winter brought. Next year was going to be a panic though. The Elders decided that I had until the end of the year to find a mate. They wanted a Luna and by goddess, they would try to replace me if I didn’t. Joke was on them, Nate didn’t have a mate either. He was twenty-nine, where as I was thirty-one. We were two wolves who the goddess had turned her back on. We didn’t have mates.
That wasn’t entirely true. Nate had a mate. My sister was his mate. She was taken from us by rogues when she was eight. My father, a year later, said that he felt her loss. He was inconsolable for a long time. He had already lost his mate, our mother. Losing Aelia tore him and he never full recovered. I took over as Alpha at sixteen, two years earlier than planned but the pack worried for my fathers sanity as he slipped further and further into himself.
Nate was convinced she was still alive after all these years. That he never felt their bond break. We told him that they never marked each other and he wouldn’t actually feel it but he was adamant. It was the reason why he would disappear. A whisper here or there would send him on another manhunt to find her. She was gone though. Despite their weird bond and her powers, she was gone. I had accepted it but I could never force that acceptance on him. He was my best friend and as long as he stayed my Beta, I had not qualms about him going on expeditions.
I, however, had no mate. More than that, I couldn’t mark anyone and no one could mark me. These Alpha’s, throwing their daughters or there Beta’s daughters at me like I was just not wanting a mate. That was never it. Ever since I was younger, I dreamed of a mate. Someone I could love and hold dear. After losing my sister, a hole in my heart opened. I felt like I failed her, failed to protect her. Nate and I watched as they took her. We had lost the fight and in losing, we lost her. I was twelve, he was ten, and she was eight.
When I turned nineteen, the elders had chosen one of our packs she-wolves for me. We would come together as a chosen couple. I took her to my bed and marked her as she marked me. The next day, neither of us were marked. They were infuriated. After five she-wolves, I was done. I refused all of them. If I couldn’t mark them, I couldn’t carry on the Alpha line. It was ending with me. This threw my father further into himself and the rare times I saw him from when I was sixteen to when I was nineteen weren’t exactly good memories. He was exiled on the outskirts of the territory in a cabin. Away from everyone. My father disappeared completely from my life when I was twenty and I focused my efforts solely on my pack for the last eleven years.
My phone rang and I looked at the caller ID. Sighing, I answer. “Sam, I am an hour away. You need to just hold on.”
“Alpha, Nate was spotted on the East side of the territory. I was hoping maybe you could keep an eye out for him while you drove in.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure Sam. I’ll see you in an hour.”
It was another twenty minutes before took a deep breath. I had finally crossed into Moon River territory, my territory. Pulling over, I took a minute to take stock in my pack. Nothing was on the territory that was out of the ordinary and the mind link was working, some chattering going on through the pack.
'Alright asshole, get in. I want to head home. It’s been a long drive.'
There was a chuckle over the mindlink. Five minutes passed and Nate came out from the trees, wearing sweats and a ripped t-shirt. He opened up my truck door and hopped in the passenger seat.
“Thanks, Silas.”
“Don’t thank me. Sam was the one that called.”
Nate shook his head, propping it up on his palm as his elbow rested on the window. “He needs to take some relaxants. He is way too strung up.”
“He’s twenty-one and he’s never really done any of this before. I chose him for his brain, not his skills in commanding an entire pack.”
Chuckling, Nate gazed out the window.
“Find anything?”
“If I did, you wouldn’t believe me anyways.” His bitter words made me bite back my usual sermon.
Sighing, I took the turn to head into town. “Just next time, wait till I get back. Sam is going to end up as my nagging wife.”
The trees passed quickly around us and I sighed. It felt good to be home. At least for the moment. I would most likely regret saying that as soon as I pulled into the pack house and checked my desk. For now though, I could enjoy going home. Nate was silent, looking out the window. We drove through the main town, a few of my pack members waving as we drove by. It was another ten minutes out of the town before we turned into the driveway for the house.
“Whatever you do, don’t blow a gasket. It’s not a big deal.”
I turned to Nate, but he had a bored expression on his face as he slammed the truck door shut. Getting out, I looked after him, confused. He patted Sam on the shoulder as he walked into the house. The look on Sam’s face made me regret driving faster than the speed limit.
“Alpha Silas, it’s good to have you back!”
I slung my duffle bag over my shoulder and walked into the house, Sam trailing me.
“It’s good to see you too, Sam. It seems everything is in order.”
“Yes, Alpha! I have a list of details that…”
“Sam.”
“…need you attention and…”
“Sam.”
“…a few of them you should be aware of…”
“SAM!”
My Gamma froze, my voice ringing through the foyer of the house. Meredith, our head Omega, came up to me, a smirk on her face. “Alpha, it’s good to have you back. May I take your bag?”
I nodded and handed her my duffle. “All of it can just be thrown in the wash. If there is something that was smuggled into it that doesn’t look like mine, please dispose of it. I don’t care and don’t need to know.”
She chuckled. “Yes, Alpha.” Her bow was quick as she exited and I turned my attention back to my gamma.
“Sam, I just walked in the door. I was gone for a month.”
“Yes, Alpha but…”
I held up my hand. “What is going to happen, Sam, is that you will come into my office in exactly…” Looking at my watching for a second, I looked back at him. “…33 minutes. You may tell me all the details on that, no doubt, multi-paged note. However, within these 33 minutes, I don’t want to hear a single thing out of your mouth, is that understood?”
He nodded, looking down at his watch as well. I turned and headed up the stairs to my room. I needed a shower. A nice long soak under my own shower, in my own room, without the worry of being bothered. Opening up the door, I slammed it behind me and started to pull off my shirt.
“Well, Alpha, it’s lovely to see you again.”
My eyes turned to look at the woman, naked, on my bed. She was sprawled out on top of the sheets. I had to keep my anger locked in. Eros was chomping at the bit in my head, wanting to tear this woman’s head off for defiling out space. We didn’t have women in this room. There was a room two doors down that if we did need to let out some aggression and pent up sexual frustration, it was there. This room was for me and my mate.“I will ask you only once, nicely, get the fuck out of my room, Veronica.” My voice was low and even.“But Alpha, I know you must be tired and I can help alleviate any stress that might have…”Eros took over and growled loudly. Veronica's eyes widened and she quickly slipped off the bed. I moved to the side, so she could open the door and Eros watched as she went.“Don’t fucking come back here, woman. Otherwise you will find yourself spending the night with the rogues in the dungeon.”Slamming the door shut behind her, I grumbled my way into the bathroom. In my an
I pulled up my truck into the parking lot in front of the bar. It was mostly empty save for a large delivery truck. The whole place looked like it had been taken out of some fantasy novel. Even the name The Wayward Tap, sounded like a tavern. Sam had been sitting quietly in the passenger seat afraid to say anything after I blew up yesterday. After sleeping on it, I tried to apologize to Nate but he said he won’t take an apology when I didn’t mean it. It led to another heated argument. Well, led to me blowing up in his face and him taking it with a bored expression on his face. I wondered if I was going to need to request for him to step down. That was the last thing I wanted but it was getting ridiculous. “Um…Alpha…” I turned off the engine and got out. There were two guys unloading a truck in the parking lot. They both were huge, the smaller of the two maybe a couple inches shorter than I was. I wondered if they had some Alpha in them. Taking a breath, I strode up to them. The smal
*** Solaris POV *** The truck peeled out of our parking lot and I burst out laughing. Noah rolled his eyes and walked over to the truck, hopping in with Finn to finish the unloading. Charles Pierce, the chief of police, was supposed to check over the security system and the emergency system. He just happened to show up at the right time. “What the hell was that?” Charles turned to me while I wiped a tear from my eye. “I have no idea but I didn’t think it would be THAT easy to push his buttons. Goddess, that was hilarious.” Charles shook his head. “I’m going to have to write this up. Did you want to press charges Miss Ulrich?” I shook my head. “No, no. While it would be funny to watch an Alpha like him go through the process of a human court, I wouldn’t put the humans through that.” He chuckled. “You’re probably right. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him lose control like that though. I’ve know him for years.” My smile fell for a moment. “He used to be a lot of things. Now, he’s jus
Surprisingly, the weekend had gone by fairly drama free. There was an issue on Saturday with some teenager wolves trying to sneak their asses into the bar with some fake ID’s. They were well done, except for the fact that they were stickers on top of their real licenses. It was comical. Luckily, I didn’t need to call Silas out to pick them up. Beta Nate took care of the issue and took them home in his Jeep. I inwardly cringed at the thought of how close he came to brushing against me at the door.“Everything alright over there?”I looked up at Noah who was lounged in bed, only in his boxes, a book in hand. He had his reading glasses on and was looking at me over his spectacles. Looking back down at the pancake in the pan, I flipped it.“All good.”“You think that’s all we will see of the Alpha?”I raised my eyebrow but shook my head. “No. He’s probably digging through our paperwork to try and find a fault in it. Or maybe trying to reach out to the Alpha King to expand his territory to
Charles got up and ran his hands through his hair. “You didn’t need to go this far, Solaris. Seriously. This is so much information I don’t think even we need all this.”I shrugged. “I want to make sure we are the cleanest bar in town. If this is how Silas wants to play it, we can fucking play all day. I feel bad though, at least we get a fight or two for them to watch. This weekend was quiet save for the three kids trying to get in.”He chuckled. “I hope Silas knows what he’s in for. I’m sure you don’t just roll over when a fight is being picked.”A wide grin spread on my face. “Oh, I’m far too petty to let sleeping dogs lie.”“The boys will probably be busy with that footage. Want to grab lunch? Or at least a drink?”“Sure. I’m sure you’re hitting your lunch time. You can eat and I’ll have a few drinks?”He smiled and nodded, leading me out of the room. We walked out of the station and he cursed. “My partner took the cruiser for lunch it looks like.”“Got an extra helmet, Chief?” My
*** Silas POV ***“We need to get a handle on this situation.”“I think we need to act now. Start putting our assets together. See what is available and the limit what we are willing to hand over.”Elder Calum looked at me for the first time in this whole meeting. “What do you think, Alpha?”I sighed and leaned my head in my hand. “I think it’s too soon. Our current flow of humans in the town isn’t enough ho warrant such drastic measures yet. I understand Alpha Alex and Alpha Reid have been implementing this within the past year but they are closer to more central hubs of traffic. While we are close to Jackson City, it’s just too small of a town. Everyone who works in the town can live in it. There is no reason to spread further out. So I think we are getting ahead of ourselves as long as the town is as small as it is.”The group of Elders broke out into another discussion and I sighed. It had its serious benefits to having humans allowed on the territory but I wasn’t quite ready for
I heard the door slam shut and I looked up at the time. It was 2 a.m. Rubbing the stubble that had grown in, I stretched in my chair and headed out of the office. With my eyebrow raised and my arms crossed, I looked at Nate trying unsuccessfully to sneak back into his room.“A little late, don’t you think?”He jumped and nearly knocked over a vase full of flowers Meredith had set there a day before.“Fuck. Don’t scare me like that.” There was the barest hint of a slur in his words. Meaning he was very drunk.“You didn’t drive home did you?”Nate groaned. “No Dad. I didn’t. Were you fucking waiting up for me or something?”“Would it matter?”“You work too much.” He pulled off his bomber jacket, and tucked a hand into his jeans pocket. “Go to sleep, Silas. I’ll tell Mer not to wake you up for breakfast.”Shaking my head, I watched him disappear down the left hall of the second floor. It was his wing, his office and room were down that way. Sam took the first floor left side with his off
All four of us pulled into The Wayward Tap’s parking lot. The front door was propped open and the biggest of the three rogues was leaning against the outside of the building, smoking. All of us backed up to the door so we could easily load the alcohol in. I got out, followed by the rest of the guys. Nate bounded up to the rogue, chatting with him. Dean raised an eyebrow but I shrugged. The female rogue, or Solaris, walked out smiling. “We will need to take a look, see what you guys want.” Nate followed her into the bar and I started to go as well. 'Dean, Ken, stay out with the tucks. Keep an eye on the one out here.' 'Yes Alpha.' They mind linked simultaneously. The two of them were some of my top warriors. We had quite a few guys with trucks but I wanted at least two of best here just in case. It may be business but I wouldn’t trust these guys even if you paid me. Walking in, the bar had a very medial tavern vibe going on. Everything that might have been electronic was covered o