The Alpha's Daughter

by Jane B. Night

  The Alpha's Daughter

  Written by Jane B. Night

  Copyright 2017 Jane B. Night

  BZ Publishing LLC

  Lancaster Ohio

  This book is a work of fiction. Any and all historical figures are used fictitiously. Other than known historical figures, the characters in this book are works of fiction and any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidence.

  This book is a copyrighted work and may not be reproduced or redistributed without the permission of the copyright holder.

  Chapter 1

  Tamsin Wolstenholme took one last look around the room that she had grown up in. Already, servants had removed the hangings from her bed to launder though they would not be replaced. Everything she owned was packed away in three trunks and once the hired carriage arrived and the trunks were loaded up there would be no remaining hint of her. She took in a deep breath and then let it out. Other women might be grateful for the chance to go to Hampton Court and mingle with King Henry and Queen Anne but she wanted more than anything to remain at home. Wolstenholme was where her parents were. It was where her twin brother was buried and her little brother would someday be alpha to the Wolstenholme werewolf pack.

  "The carriage is here." Tamsin hadn't noticed her mother entering the room. She and her mother had the same blond hair and blue eyes. Her twin brother had shared those traits as well though Tobias, her younger brother, had brown hair and dark eyes like their father.

  Her mother stepped forward and wrapped Tamsin in her arms. Tamsin snuggled against her wondering if she would ever see her mother again. Hampton Court was far from Wolstenholme. To Tamsin, Carlisle Castle had seemed far away though it was only a day's journey. She had gone there when she was still young and when Thomas was still alive. Her father had told her that she would likely live there for a time with a husband once she was old enough though now she never would. Many werewolf men spent time at Carlisle Castle protecting the borders. Those men would need wives who could produce pups for their respective packs. If she had become a werewolf maybe she would have been one of those wives.

  "I have it on the best authority that you are much prettier than the queen. Giving her husband another girl has surely displeased him after all that he went through to wed her. If he can put away one wife he can put away another. Not only are you prettier than Anne but I assure you that she lacks your skills in falconry, music, and storytelling. Any of those might be used to seduce the King," her mother said.

  "The Wolstenholme name will not hurt either even though in a sense it is a lie," Tamsin said looking down at her shoes. She had chosen to wear her poorest gown for the journey so that her nicer gowns would not be damaged. Her father had given her a coin pouch but she doubted that she would have enough money for a fine new wardrobe if she ruined her nicer gowns with days in a carriage on dusty roads. It was good of him to give her even that if he was not her real father.

  "It is not a lie. I swear to you that you are as much Wolstenholme as your brother was. Your father never doubted him and he should never have doubted you."

  "If he is truly my father and you are truly my mother why am I not a werewolf?" The question had bothered Tamsin since she started her monthly cycles and still had not turned. Thomas had barely sprouted chest hair before his change. She had expected to change shortly after he did but then it didn't happen moon cycle after moon cycle until even her mother had seemed resigned that Tamsin would never grow into a she-wolf.

  "I cannot say why. We have to believe that it was what God intended. Perhaps seducing Henry and becoming the next queen is the reason that you were born without the wolf gift," she said. Tamsin raised her eyes to her mothers and saw the doubt there. It had been her father who had hatched such a horrible plan. Her mother had no choice but to allow arrangements to be made for Tamsin to go to Hampton Court and serve Queen Anne. Tamsin was sure her mother wished she could stay by her side but even if she did not have to bend to the will of her husband she did have to follow the commands of her alpha. Tamsin's father had inherited the Wolstenholme pack when she was little more than a child and if Thomas had lived he would have been the next pack alpha. Now, the burden would fall on Tobias. He had become a werewolf two moon cycles before and Tamsin was sure it was a relief for her father to see that his other son also had the werewolf gift.

  "I have something for you, before you go," her mother said. She handed her a leather bound stack of papers. Tamsin opened to the first page and found them blank.

  "Am I to write in this?" Tamsin asked.

  "That is what it is for," her mother said.

  "What should I write?" Tamsin asked.

  "Whatever you like. It seems a shame that the stories you have in your songs will be lost to time if they are not written down." Tamsin nodded though she wasn't sure she wanted to write down the songs that had filled her heart and mind. Most she had written for Thomas and once he had died she intended that they join him in the grave.

  A young man came to the door. Tamsin could tell by his poor clothes and his thin frame that he was a servant though he wasn't one she had met before.

  "Are these the trunks?" he asked.

  She nodded in his direction. He lifted the first much more easily than she had anticipated.

  "You best go," her mother said. She bent down and planted a tender kiss on Tamsin's cheek then she straightened.

  "Is father downstairs?" Tamsin asked.

  "I believe he and Tobias left at dawn. Your brother was so excited to start training his new falcon," her mother said.

  "Of course," Tamsin said though she felt a sudden pain in the pit of her stomach. There had been a time when she and Thomas were her father's constant companions. Then, she had failed to become a werewolf. Still, she had joined her father and twin brother more often than not. She and her brother never liked being apart from one another and when her father had wished to leave her behind Thomas had always insisted she join them. Then, Thomas had fallen ill and died. She barely saw her father after that and Tobias didn't care if she joined them or not so she never did.

  "Your father will be proud of you once you become the queen," her mother said. Tamsin nodded but she wasn't sure that was the truth. Her father might think it easy to convince King Henry Tudor to set aside a second wife who had given him only a daughter but she doubted it would be that simple. It didn't seem as if the heart of a man should be such a simple thing. She might not have known the complexities of a man's heart if she had been the twin of a sister but her closeness to Thomas had taught her many things about men.

  Tamsin walked down the stairway and out of the front door to where a carriage awaited. It was not a fancy carriage but she could tell that it was sturdy and would hold for the long journey. Her trunks were tied on the back. Two horses were hitched to the front though she was not naive enough to think that those horses would pull the carriage all the way to Hampton Court.

  The groom held out an arm to help her into the carriage but Tamsin hesitated.

  "Can I touch one?" she asked indicating the horses.

  "If you would like," the groom said though his expression indicated that he didn't see why she would want to.

  Tamsin walked up to the horse on the left. He was a stout black animal with one white hoof.

  She reached her hand out so that he could give it a sniff. Then, she gently petted his neck. He was as soft as she had hoped. She touched his mane and was surprised by the coarseness.

  "We really should go," the groom said.

  "Of course," Tamsin agreed. She allowed the groom to help her into the carriage which was small and cramped. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. She had never touched a horse before and the experience was one she wanted to relish.
Horses and other animals were usually afraid of werewolves even in their human form. Near her home the only animals they kept were cats, dogs, and falcons. Tenants on the land raised other animals but her father had always kept the wolves a distance from those animals lest they upset them and cause them unintentional harm.

  She wondered what it would be like living in a world where she, a non-werewolf, was the norm. At Hampton Court she would be like everyone else instead of the mistake of nature she was in her father's house.

  She hoped Thomas was watching her from Heaven. There were so many things he had never lived to see and she knew she would need to do enough living now for the both of them even if Hampton Court was not a choice she would ever have made for herself. She wasn't sure she would be able to seduce the king and she wasn't even sure she wanted to. Still, there was no life left for her at Wolstenholme now that Thomas was dead. Hampton Court seemed as good a place as any to see what destiny held for her.

  Chapter 2

  Walter Crake bent down and scooped his youngest daughter into his arms. He held her against him wishing he never had to let go. Bess was his last child. She was just over one year old and he wondered if she would even know who he was by the time he returned.

  "It's time," Edward said softly. Walter nodded. He handed his baby over to his sister-in-law. His six other children were standing by her side. Jonathan, his oldest, was looking stoic though Walter had no doubt that his son was as desperate for him to stay as he was. Rachel, Miriam, and Naomi were all openly crying. Aaron and Joseph kept glancing at Jonathan and Edward. Walter could only guess that his boys were trying to figure out how men were supposed to act at such times. It might not have been so bad if his childrens' mother had not died when Bess was born. Mary had hemorrhaged after Bess's birth and nothing the Crake's physician or his apprentice son did could save her though Caldwell and Kolby had tried valiantly.

  Edward's rough hand on Walter's shoulder led him past the lawn and out of the sight of the children.

  "It was not right for father to send me on this mission. Not so soon after Mary died. It is breaking my childrens' hearts," Walter said.

  "The children know that Margaret and I love them as our own. I know that they will miss you but we will not let them feel abandoned," Edward said. Walter and Edward had married sisters named Margaret and Mary. Margaret had done her best to be a mother to his children since Mary's death. He couldn't fault her attempts but it was not the same to be cared for by an aunt as by a mother.

  "This is a fool’s errand. Why does the pack care what religion England is?" Walter asked.

  "I believe father's fear is that by severing ties with the church we are opening ourselves up to war. Spain is furious about England's treatment of Catherine already and having England divided over religion could destroy us. I do not entirely agree with father about England needing to remain Catholic. I want you to remain as neutral on the topic as you can. You are at court to represent pack interests, not Catholic ones. Do you understand?" Edward asked.

  "Father thinks we must protect England from itself. That was not what the Crakes were assigned to do. Our ancestors were granted this land to assure that England had no trouble from the Welsh," Walter said. The Crake family had been given land in Shropshire generations before. After the elder Henry Tudor came to the throne, following the War of the Roses, it seemed that Wales and England would stand united. It might have if Arthur Tudor had ascended the throne instead of young Henry Tudor. The death of Arthur Tudor had changed the course of history and Walter wasn't sure anyone thought it was for the better.

  "I am well aware of who the Crakes are. Father is old and his mind is not as sharp as it once was. Caldwell doesn't expect him to last the year," Edward said. Their father had been too unwell to join them in the yard to see Walter off to Hampton Court.

  "Once you are my alpha will you rescind his alpha order and let me return to my children?" Walter asked. His father must have known that issuing an alpha order was the only way he would convince Walter to leave his children. An alpha order could not be disobeyed by a subordinate wolf in the pack. At least, not without severe punishment that almost always included exile.

  "Once father is dead the order is ended. Still, I would ask you to stay and send me back whatever information I might find useful. Our pack is not a favorite of the king and with so many families vying for favor it is important that we show our best light. If you cannot do this for me, do it for your son," he said.

  "Jonathan will only inherit if Margaret fails to give you a son," Walter reminded. His brother and Margaret had not been as fortunate as Walter and Mary had in baring children.

  "I do not think she will welcome me into her bed again. Not after the last child who was born dead and not after her sister's death in childbirth. I am getting on in years now and going to her bed matters less and less to me. I think I shall not miss it. Jonathan is a good boy. He will be a fine pack leader one day. Already he is popular with the other boys when we hunt under the moon," he said. Walter nodded. Edward was ten years his senior and already his hair was starting to gray. His face was creased and tired. Margaret was five years older than Mary and her time of breeding was nearly gone.

  Edward had approached Walter about appointing Jonathan as his successor if there were no children born of his union two years before. Without the appointment the duty of pack alpha would fall on Walter if his father and brother died. He hadn't been raised to lead a pack as his brother had. The training of Jonathan had begun immediately after Walter gave his consent and already the other members of the pack assumed that Jonathan would be the alpha after Edward.

  "Take care of my children," Walter said.

  "You know I will care for them as my own," Edward said.

  They walked in silence through tenant houses on the Crake estate until they arrived at a run down church near the center of the land. Five other wolves were waiting for them.

  Owen was the only one that Walter knew well. The other four were more boys than men. They had spent the past two years guarding the Welsh border. They had been called back to marry and breed pups for the pack until Walter's father had decided that he would send the gift of werewolf guards to King Henry.

  Owen was five years younger than Walter but he served in the household and so had never been sent to protect the borders.

  Owen came from a loyal family that had always been in Crake service. His father had been the Crake liaison to the previous Henry Tudor. When the present Henry had requested personal body guards from the Crake pack, Owen had been sent to oversee the arrangements. They had been waiting on his return to leave for Hampton Court.

  "Do not look so sour," Owen said.

  "Crake might not be a grand estate but it is the only place I have ever felt at home," Walter said.

  "I would wager all landowners feel that way," Owen said. Owen and the rest of the pack lived as tenant farmers on the Crake lands. Only a quarter of Crake tenants were werewolf and all werewolves were housed in a cluster near Crake House.

  The werewolves and non-werewolf tenants generally kept themselves separate. Crake werewolves grew plants while the non-werewolves were sheep farmers as were most of the other residents who lived near Shropshire. Like other non-predatory animals, sheep didn't care for werewolves.

  "Have arrangements been made for the full moons?" Walter asked. He knew he wasn't in charge but he was the only one from the alpha family in the group.

  "Dungeons. It is far from glamorous but I am assured we will not be bothered," Owen said.

  "We will not be able to hunt from the dungeons," Walter said.

  "But no one will try to kill us either. I have bribed several witches to guard us. It was no easy task. We needed a small space where we were unlikely to encounter anyone. Killing subjects is not likely to ingratiate us to the king," Owen said.

  "Yeah, leave the killing to Henry," another companion said.

  "I suppose we will have to make the dungeons do," Walter said. Werewolves
usually separated themselves during the full moon. The Crake's had a hillside that was rocky and barren that they usually spent the moon on. There were no human settlements nearby but at the base of the hillside there was a thin forest with some wildlife for pleasure hunting.

  Walter didn't like the idea of being guarded by witches either. Traditionally, werewolves and witches had been friends rather than enemies but leaving their fate during the moon to witches was not what Walter would have chosen had he made the arrangements. It was possible that Owen had no other choices but the idea still made him uneasy.

  "Let's worry about the dungeons later. There are at least eight days of this journey between Crake Estate and Hampton Court. We should be more worried about that then what we will do during the moon," Owen said. Walter nodded knowing he was right. They each had a costrel to hold their water along with dried jerky and fruits to give them strength through the journey but even with the necessitates of life handled there was danger in traveling such distance.

  "You have arranged places for us to overnight?" Walter asked.

  "There are five families along the way who are willing to allow us to sleep on their lands. Most nights we will have shelter," Owen said.

  The other nights they would make do with what they had. The landscape was full of caves and forests. If the weather permitted they could sleep under the stars as long as they took turns standing guard. Walter knew that whatever they did he had to make sure they stayed safe. He was the only parent his children had. He wouldn't risk making them orphans.

  Chapter 3

  Tamsin was looking out of the carriage's window as it approached Hampton Court. The lawn itself was vast and overwhelming but once they arrived at the entrance Tamsin could barely catch her breath as she stared in wonder. Brick walls seem to go on and on forever as they stretched each way into oblivion. She had thought her family home was large. Compared to the simple cottages of their tenants the Wolstenholme estate was indeed grand but it paled in comparison to Hampton Court. Tamsin tried to swallow a lump in her throat. She felt her whole body tense up. She was only the non-werewolf daughter of Marquess Wolstenholme. Surely, she didn't belong someplace as grand as Hampton Court. She was sure that with one look the women here would know she was nothing but a country girl.