Alpha

by Regan Ure

  “In most towns that would be correct, there would only be one pack, but here things are different. I’m the alpha of the silver moon pack and Cade is the alpha of the storm pack. The only reason why we are able to run our packs together in one town without trouble is because we’ve been best friends from the time we started to walk.”

  “When you say alpha does that mean that you’re in charge?” I asked.

  “Yes,” answered Cade. “Our job is to keep the pack running smoothly and to keep everyone safe. The alpha of the pack is the person who gives the orders and the rest follow our orders without question.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that one bit. I didn’t want to be a part of a pack if it meant I had to follow orders from an alpha. I wasn’t ready to kiss my independence goodbye.

  “You said male werewolves shift at the age of sixteen but female werewolves don’t—why?” I asked. It seemed a bit sexist, if you asked me.

  “Female werewolves only start to shift once they find their mate,” he began to explain and I frowned.

  “Why?” I asked the question, but I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like the answer to it.

  “There are a lot of things that get triggered in the female werewolf when two werewolves mate. Once the werewolves mate, the female werewolf begins the cycle of going into heat until she falls pregnant. It’s like nature’s way of ensuring the female werewolf has a male werewolf to take care of her needs and keep her safe.”

  Oh, hell no!

  My frown deepened. I didn’t like the sound of that at all.

  “When the werewolf belongs to a pack, the werewolves are able to talk to each other in their minds, like a mind-link.”

  That sounded cool. It was pretty much the only thing that sounded cool.

  “With two werewolves that have mated, the link between the two runs deeper and the two mates are able to feel each other’s emotions and stuff like that. It ensures the male werewolf knows when the female werewolf is in danger.”

  “How do werewolves find their mates?” I asked, wondering if it went along the same lines as Twilight. What had they called it? Imprinting? And it happened when they looked at each other, didn’t it?

  “Unlike what most books or movies portray, finding one’s mate isn’t accomplished by just seeing them. The mates have to touch each other. The touch has to be skin to skin.”

  “What happens when they touch?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. It wasn’t like I was going to be hoping and praying that I’d find a mate; I was happy on my own, and I wasn’t interested in finding a mate.

  “They know straight away.”

  “If we have to go into that much detail, we’ll be here all night,” Cade said as he stood.

  “I’ve just found out I’m a werewolf and I’m entitled to ask all the questions I damn well please, so if you don’t want to listen to it, then leave,” I said, putting him in his place. Momentarily surprised at what I had said, his eyes widened and then they narrowed in anger.

  “Fine,” he said angrily as he sat back down on the bed.

  I looked to Blake.

  “Finish,” I instructed, ignoring the other seething alpha in the room.

  “All werewolves are born with a birthmark on their hips and mates have matching birthmarks.”

  I couldn’t keep my fingers from straying to the place on my hip where I had a birthmark of two teardrops. It was a lot of information to digest. I could feel my head begin to throb and I rubbed my temple.

  Cade pushed off of the bed and strode from the room. I looked to Blake, who just shrugged.

  “So how do werewolves mate?” I continued with my questions.

  “The male werewolf marks the female werewolf and then the mating is completed with sex,” Blake explained without batting an eyelid. This was probably so normal to them.

  I couldn’t help the blush that set into my cheeks at his answer.

  “How does the male werewolf mark the female werewolf?” I asked.

  “He bites her.”

  That was barbaric. There was no way in hell some male werewolf was going to bite me.

  At that moment Cade strode in with painkillers in his one hand and a glass of water in the other.

  “Here, drink this,” he instructed as he dropped the tablets into my hand and gave me the glass of water. I didn’t argue; instead, I put the pills into my mouth and swallowed some water. The throbbing in my head had gotten worse and it was just a matter of time before it turned into a full-blown headache. It also probably had something to do with hitting my head in the accident.

  “Thank you,” I said, still holding onto the glass of water. Cade remained quiet as he sat down on the bed, facing us.

  “You still haven’t answered my previous question,” I told Blake.

  “Werewolves that don’t belong to a pack are always more susceptible to attacks by rogues because there isn’t a pack to protect them. It makes them easier targets.”

  “Why would a rogue want to attack me?”

  It made no sense.

  “It’s what they do. Some have a reason, others do it for fun. It is easier to attack a lone werewolf that doesn’t have protection from a pack, especially a female werewolf.”

  The picture they were beginning to paint for me started to scare me a little.

  “It’s worse for a female werewolf—they’d probably keep you to use your body.” Cade dropped that bit of information into the conversation.

  “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” I asked him, feeling the shiver of fear up my spine.

  “Yes,” he confirmed, watching me for my reaction.

  Oh, crap!

  “So the person I hit tonight…” I took a moment to get myself together, “was a rogue that wanted to…”

  I couldn’t finish the sentence.

  “Yes.”

  The confirmation scared me because I knew no matter how much training I had, there was no way I would be able to fight off a werewolf. I simply wasn’t strong enough.

  “When you first got here we knew you were a werewolf. We knew you didn’t belong to a pack so we’ve been keeping an eye on you to keep you safe,” Blake explained further.

  So they’d been trying to protect me, not stalk me. I felt a little bad for going off at them.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Scarlett

  “Do you think the rogue will come after me again?” I asked as I bit down on my bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

  Everything that they had told me was a lot to take in and I was still trying to process it along with the shocking events of my earlier run-in with my first rogue.

  “Yes.” The answer came from a stern-looking Cade.

  I tried to regain whatever composure I still had left under the watchful eyes of the two alphas.

  “So, what happens now?” I asked.

  “Ideally, it would be easier for us to guard you if you joined one of our packs,” suggested Cade.

  “Not going to happen,” I replied, shaking my head without even considering it.

  “You’d be stronger and more able to defend yourself if you could shift,” said Blake.

  “But I’d only be able to shift if I found my…mate.” I could barely say the word.

  “Look, let me explain something to you guys,” I started as I stood up and faced both of them.

  “All this werewolf stuff is normal for you but up until about half an hour ago, I didn’t even know werewolves existed. This stuff might be normal for you, but it’s all new to me.”

  I paused for a moment.

  “I’m not interested in being a part of a pack or finding a mate. I’ve worked hard to build my life and I’m not giving up on it.”

  Blake watched me thoughtfully while Cade was shaking his head at me.

  “You can’t fight the inevitable,” Cade stated as he stood with his arms crossed.

  “You don’t know me very well,” I warned, holding his gaze. “I’ll up my security and if need be I’l
l get a bodyguard.”

  “You don’t get it, do you?” Cade growled at me as he stepped forward so he was standing directly in front of me. “Humans won’t be able to keep you safe.”

  Nervously, I bit down on my bottom lip and Cade dropped his gaze to my lips. Even in the middle of an argument with him, when all I wanted to do was slap his arrogant face, I could feel the flutter of butterflies in my stomach. Annoyed, I took a step backward.

  “I guess we can at least provide protection and in the meantime we could train you,” suggested Blake quietly.

  “It’s not enough and you know it,” said Cade as he turned to glare at his friend.

  I looked hopefully at Blake.

  “It can be enough for the time being,” he muttered to Cade. I didn’t like the sound of that because no matter what, I wasn’t going to change my life.

  Some noise from in front of the house that sounded like a car pulled Cade’s attention to the window.

  “Jake is back with your car,” commented Cade as he peered out to the driveway.

  “You see if you can talk some sense into her. I’m going to check in with Jake,” Cade muttered to Blake before he stalked out of the bedroom.

  I let out a big sigh.

  “Is he always like this?” I asked, feeling exasperated.

  “Yeah, he is,” replied Blake with a half-smile.

  I hadn’t known them for very long, but I could tell Blake was the laid-back one out of the two. Cade always seemed so intense and serious all the time. He was draining.

  “Cade is right,” he said, running a hand through his hair. I didn’t want Cade to be right, I didn’t want to have to join a pack, and there was no way I was interested in finding a mate or anything like that.

  Surely a werewolf could live without a mate?

  “Watching over you without you joining a pack is only going to be a temporary fix for the moment, or at least until we catch the rogue that is after you.”

  That sounded like a plan.

  “We will get this rogue, but remember there will always be others,” he warned me. He was telling me that he could only give me a temporary reprieve, but that there would come a time I’d have to join a pack.

  I didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

  “Did you manage to talk some sense into her?” Cade asked Blake when he returned.

  Cade rolled his eyes when Blake shook his head.

  “Jake and Ross cleaned up the road and they brought your car here,” Cade informed me.

  “So what do we do now?” I asked. I hated relying on them for stuff, but clearly they were better at covering this type of thing up than I was.

  “Without a police report, you won’t be able to collect from the insurance so I’ll replace your car,” said Cade.

  “No, it’s fine, I can replace my own car,” I assured him as he raised a questioning eyebrow. “I have my own money.”

  “Whatever,” he muttered with a shrug.

  “Who do you live with if both your parents are dead?” asked Blake.

  “My dad’s best friend and my guardian up until I got emancipated,” I explained.

  “Emancipated, I can’t say I’m surprised,” muttered Cade under his breath. I glared at him.

  It was a lot to take in and I was still in shock from the accident. I needed to call Gary and let him know what had happened. He was going to freak. I couldn’t remember where I’d put my phone, though. It was probably in my car.

  Just thinking of my shiny new baby in the state she was now in nearly made me cry. I’d waited so long for her and now she was damaged.

  “I need to make a call,” I said to Blake. He pulled a phone out of his front pocket and handed it to me.

  I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain any of this to Gary. I had two options. One, I could tell him the truth and he could have me committed; or two, I could lie. Lying to Gary wasn’t going to be easy. I’d always been truthful with him.

  But the reality was I couldn’t really lie to him. There was no way I could explain the damage to my car and the lack of a police report to go along with it.

  “Do any humans know about what you guys are?” I asked.

  “There are a trusted few,” said Cade.

  “I need to tell Gary,” I revealed, expecting Cade and Blake to both disagree with me.

  “If you must, but make sure he is trustworthy because if he isn’t, we’ll have to deal with him,” warned Cade. I didn’t want to know what ‘deal with’ entailed but I trusted Gary more than I’d ever trusted anybody.

  “We’ll give you a minute,” Blake said as he headed out of the bedroom and Cade followed reluctantly behind.

  “Thanks,” I murmured, trying to rack my brain for a number I’d known for most of my life. Just when I was about to give up and give the phone back, I finally remembered Gary’s number and dialed it.

  “Hello,” he greeted after the third ring.

  “Gary,” I said.

  “Why aren’t you calling me from your cell?” he asked. I could hear the unease in his voice. Immediately he knew there was something wrong.

  “I’m calling from a friend’s cell,” I answered, although I didn’t really classify Blake or Cade as friends.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked before I could continue.

  “I had an accident,” I blurted out and then I waited for him to go off at me.

  “Are you okay?” he asked anxiously.

  “A little banged up but I don’t think I did any serious damage,” I revealed, my fingers touching the bump on my forehead.

  “Where are you?” he asked urgently.

  I told him the address.

  “I’m on my way,” he told me and I could hear the jingle of keys in the background and then the call disconnected.

  I held the phone in my hands for a few minutes afterward, trying to figure out how I was going to tell Gary what I’d just found out. I knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t believe a word I said without thinking I was crazy so he would have to see it for himself.

  Blake and Cade were going to have to help me show Gary the truth.

  I never imagined that when I woke up this morning that my day would be ending the way it was. This morning I’d been a normal girl going to school and now I was a werewolf whose life was in danger.

  Gary made it to Cade’s house in record time. He’d probably broken all the speed limits to get to me.

  “Where is she?” he asked, looking desperately for me as Cade opened the door for him.

  The moment he saw me, relief flooded through his features and he pulled me into a hug.

  “Thank God,” he whispered into my hair. After holding me tightly for a minute, he pulled away and gave me a once over with his eyes, looking for any visible injures.

  “How is your head?” he asked with concern, seeing the cut on my forehead.

  “I’m fine,” I insisted. The headache tablets Cade had given me earlier had kicked in and my headache was gone.

  “Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asked, checking my arms. Blake and Cade stood together, watching us with interest.

  “I think I hurt my ribs,” I owned up. He would find out sooner or later. From the time I’d lost my parents, Gary had become not only a father to me, he’d also become a surrogate mother and at the moment he was mothering me.

  “We need to get you checked over,” he insisted.

  “I’m okay,” I insisted and pulled out of his grasp.

  “We checked her and she doesn’t have any serious injuries,” Blake said, trying to reassure Gary but he didn’t look convinced.

  “I’ve a doctor on the premises that can check her out,” Cade revealed.

  “Why do you have a doctor on the premises?” I asked.

  “It’s a long story,” muttered Cade. He pulled his phone from his jeans and dialed a number.

  “I need you in the house,” he ordered and then ended the call.

  I couldn’t help but wonder if he had a hospital at his b
eck and call as well.

  Gary’s attention was now focused on Blake and Cade, who up until then had been quietly watching our interaction.

  He studied them for a moment before he turned to face me.

  “Who are these guys?” he asked me.

  “Guys from my school,” I informed him. I did quick introductions between the three but they didn’t shake hands; instead, they seemed to be sizing each other up. It was such a guy thing.

  “What happened?” Gary asked, turning to face me. “I saw your car outside…”

  That was what had probably freaked him out. The car was probably totaled.

  I wasn’t sure why but suddenly I began to feel tired. I don’t know whether it was the adrenaline that wore off that made me suddenly feel dead on my feet, or something else.

  “I think it would be best if she sat down,” insisted Blake, taking note of my sudden paleness. Gary put an arm around my waist and followed Cade’s lead into the formal lounge I’d been in earlier that evening before the accident.

  With Gary’s help I sank down into the sofa and leaned back. As much as I wanted to close my eyes and give in to the tiredness, the evening wasn’t finished.

  Moments later an older guy with gray hair beginning to show in his dark brown hair and dressed in a suit stepped into the lounge, holding some sort of leather bag in his hand.

  “Curtis, please make sure she doesn’t have any serious injuries,” Cade instructed.

  It was then that I noticed the stethoscope around his neck. He gave me a friendly smile as he walked to me. Gary stood up and Curtis sat down beside me. Under Gary’s concerned eyes, the doctor checked my breathing and my heart. His fingers gently probed my injury by my ribs and my head.

  He asked me a few questions, like if I had blacked out after hitting my head, and stuff like that to make sure I wasn’t suffering from a concussion.

  “She’ll be fine,” was his verdict. “She hasn’t broken any ribs. They are just badly bruised and they should heal in a few days. I’d just watch her closely tonight to make sure she hasn’t suffered a concussion.”

  “Thank you,” Gary said with relief.

  “Thanks, Curtis,” Cade said before the guy turned and left. Gary seemed to be less anxious now that he knew I was physically going to be okay. Although after hearing what we were about to tell him, he would definitely be concerned for my mental state.