Chosen Alpha
The Olympia Pack Book One
From USA Today Bestselling Author Rae Hendricks
Copyright
© 2020 by Raven Heidrich
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Acknowledgements
This book has bothered me. This whole SERIES bothers me. The first ever series I tried to publish myself. Book 1 did moderately well for an unknown totally green author, but the rest were a flop. Yet, I knew. I knew this pack was something special. I knew these characters were beloved, I heard it from all those who did take the time to read. What I didn’t know was how the market worked.
I am so happy to revive these, breathing new life into them at the RIGHT time with the RIGHT pen name and the RIGHT organization. I am so happy about these, and I hope you find as much joy in these people that feel so real to me as I do.
To my husband for telling me to write this to begin with. To my daughter to always inspiring me.
And to Isaiah and Annalise for becoming my adult Bella and Edward, coming alive on the page in a way I never thought possible.
WARNING
This book is an upper YA/NA slow burn paranormal romance with some sexual situations and minor language.
Other Books by Rae Hendricks
Prophecy of the Stars Series
DESTINED
LOYAL
Paranormal Hunter Academy Series
BLOOD WITCH
AURORA WITCH
DEMON WITCH
Mirrored Prophecy Triunity
DAVINA’S QUEST
DAVINA’S ASCENT
DAVINA’S PREVAIL
Blackwell Academy Series
ALMOST DEAD
ALMOST LOST
ALMOST BROKEN
Witches of Moon Gate Trilogy
PRIME
CREATOR
HEDGE
Academy of Dark & Light Series
LEGENDARY TRIAD
LEGENDARY DARKNESS
LEGENDARY WAR
LEGENDARY GRADUATE
Guardians of the Sea Series
OF DRAGONS AND STORMS
WATER COLORED MEMORIES
Keep up with all of Rae’s latest releases via her website!
http://bit.ly/rae-hendricks-author
Coming Soon by Rae Hendricks
ACADEMY OF OLYMPIANS SERIES
SOUL ACADEMY SERIES
BOUND BY THE COVEN SERIES
TRANSFORMED
Three brothers living in the Pacific Northwest share a family secret-they are werewolves.
Isaiah is the new alpha after his father dies, and he inherits an uneasy treaty with a local witch coven as well as an opinionated pack. This man with a good heart will be pushed to his limits to live up to his father's legacy and keep the pack safe.
Annalise is a powerful witch who ends up thrust into the middle of this wolf pack and these three fighting brothers. Her life is in their hands as they decide what to do with her because her presence there could mean death for all of the wolf pack. But one alpha with a good heart has mercy on her.
Find out why fans are calling this series a mature version of Twilight and why this is the next addictive read for fans of Kresley Cole and Patricia Briggs.
Contents
Chosen Alpha
The Olympia Pack Book One
Acknowledgements
PROLOGUE
FALL 2007
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
PROLOGUE
FALL 2007
Mirium Young pulled her shawl tightly around her as she tiptoed out into the dead of night. She had left her husband sleeping in their bed, having given him a potion that would assure he would stay asleep for as long as it took her to make her journey into the coven’s territory. There were so many reasons he would be angry and try to stop her if he knew.
She was forbidden by her husband to leave the pack territory and trek over the line to where Hyacinthe ruled over the witch coven that had held the expansive territory for centuries, long before history was recorded in America. Arnold Young, her husband and the leader of the Olympia werewolf pack, had kept her close to home ever since finding out her deepest secret; one she had managed to keep even being by his side for all these years. She had been his longest mate since his beginning reign because he had often bred with a different woman every five to ten years. She had managed to capture him in a way no woman ever had. There was a time, when she was young and starry eyed, that she had been proud of that. Now, she knew how it had taken its toll on not just them, but their three sons. Though, she had given him amazing heirs to lead the pack. Even though her youngest, Orson, had just turned 13, she could already see their strength.
The biggest reason she was not allowed to step foot out of bounds was because she was ill. She was ill in a way that was going to lead to her demise. She could already feel death coming upon her like a sunset, though she couldn’t pinpoint a time or day. Arnold, in his controlling nature, was sure he could beat death away with a stick if he just kept her close to him. He did not understand that it wasn’t so simple. Mirium may not have had the gifts that someone like Hyacinthe was afforded, but she could still feel the magic in the natural order of things. She knew when her time was up, like fate would be cutting her cord at any moment.
It was for that reason that she was walking in the late night, cold air, with a chill in early fall much the way it should be in Olympia before winter. She needed to plead her case, and the case of her family, to Hyacinthe and the young girl that she was protecting and guarding with her life.
She did not know how helpful or kind Hyacinthe would be, considering the shaky relations between the pack and the coven that had just continued to deteriorate over the years. Being realistic, it was her own husband and son who had played their parts in this breakdown of relations. Their tempers and prejudices were worn on their sleeves, and many times, in private, people had asked Mirium how she could love such brutal men. They would never understand what was inside, because they had never seen it. Arnold had never let it show to anyone other than herself. He hardly ever showed it to his three sons, afraid he would make them weak. Such was the life of a pack leader.
Mirium tried to ignore the chill that ran down her spine as she journeyed through the thick underbrush. It did not help that her illness was worsening. She did not know for sure what was wrong, but she suspected foul play, something she wo
uld bring up to Hyacinthe when she arrived. Someone else must have known about her, someone that did not accept it.
Time was a fickle thing, lengthening when you needed to get somewhere quickly and shortening when you needed the days to stretch out before you so that you could be with your loved ones that much longer. It felt like ages before she felt the power of the coven surrounding her, trying to push her out as if she didn’t belong. Her weak and sick body fought through it until she came to the other side, victorious, continuing on to the wood and brick palace Hyacinthe lived in as the current interim leader of the coven.
That was a tiny detail not even Arnold was aware of, but Mirium supposed everyone had their secrets, even the second most powerful living witch in the western hemisphere.
When Mirium arrived, she half expected to see witches on guard surrounding the house that would not let her inside. She couldn’t imagine how fiercely the little girl who had been born to two powerful witch bloodlines was being protected, but to her surprise, she found both Hyacinthe and the girl out in the moonlight, picking some herbs from the garden that Mirium had once helped maintain. Her replacement garden, back at her cabin with Arnold, paled in comparison to all the amazing flowers and herbs growing just a few footsteps outside of the coven leader’s home.
The girl stood up with a curious look on her face, her blue eyes piercing through Mirium like that of an adult’s. Mirium could feel the power exuding from her, even as the girl herself did not know her own talents.
“Mirium,” Hyacinthe said warmly with a smile that looked unnatural pulled across her severe features. Hyacinthe was not an easy friend to come by, but Mirium had somehow managed to come close in her time with the coven, before she had allowed herself to be bitten. “It’s been so long. What brings you here?” Hyacinthe asked, drawing Mirium in for a hug. Mirium knew she would feel the illness the moment they touched, and sure enough, Hyacinthe pulled back with concern. “Annalise,” she said, looking down at the young girl with the blue eyes and long dark hair. Mirium would have loved to know that she would be alive to see the beautiful witch come of age. “Can you take these and put them in our jars, please?” Hyacinthe asked of the girl who came next to Hyacinthe with a wild look on her face.
“You could just tell me that you need to talk with this woman alone,” Annalise said in a high-pitched voice that sounded like a mouse. Though, the understanding in her tone was beyond her years.
Hyacinthe chuckled at that and patted the girl’s back, sending Annalise affectionately on her way. Mirium noted that Hyacinthe loved this girl who had been put into her care; truly loved her.
Hyacinthe led Mirium inside where the warmth was calming to her body. The smell of tea was in the air, and she so longed to ask for a cup, though she knew it would be rude. She was not part of the coven any longer. In a way, she hardly had been in the first place. “Has my healer tired of playing house with the ruthless alpha and returned to my side?” Hyacinthe asked in an almost mocking tone. It was no secret that the woman hated Arnold Young with everything in her being. She had even made that clear to his face once or twice.
“You felt it when we touched,” Mirium told her, not feeling like she had the time or patience to play games. “You know that I am here because I am dying.”
Hyacinthe sucked in her breath harshly. “I was hoping I was mistaken. I hope you haven’t come to ask me to save you or heal you, you know we do not do that,” Hyacinthe warned but with a sad tone of voice.
“No, I haven’t come here about myself at all, not really,” Mirium admitted quietly. “I am here because of my family.”
Hyacinthe gave a curt nod, knowing who was included in that family. For a moment, she thought back to the very day she lost Mirium as the coven’s healer. She knew Mirium had never felt like she fit in because she was half human and had no true powers other than a gift with potions and a general extra perception of things. But Hyacinthe had never expected events to take the turn that they did, even with her divination powers. It was probably because Mirium had made the decision on a whim, something that plagued the young coven members at times. Instead of sticking it out with the coven and finding her place, she had
noticed a man, a werewolf, that she coveted as her own on her travels to heal the pack members. It was a service they rarely offered anymore, due to the alpha’s hatred of witches and their powers.
Mirium had admired the alpha from afar, wishing she could be his mate, until one day, that lust and obsession overcame her. She sought out the path of a new pack member on the full moon and risked her life to be bitten, pretending to be human as the pack took her in and made her one of them. Eventually, she had gotten just what she wished for, along with three heirs to show for it. But her place among the coven was lost.
“What do I have to do with your family?” Hyacinthe asked, trying not to seethe in the process. In truth, she very much cared for Mirium. It was why she had been hurt by all of it. They had grown up together, and then Mirium abandoned her for the enemy. That enemy being Arnold rather than the pack itself.
“You are the only one I know other than perhaps that child of yours, that can do the kind of protection spell I need. Someone has found out about me, Hyacinthe, someone with power who is not so forgiving. I don’t know who, but I can just feel it. I am not sick like a human can be sick, Hyacinthe.” Mirium was almost in tears at that point. It was the first time she had voiced such concerns out loud, and she was ready to beg for the life of her three sons. They had to be kept safe form whoever was seeking to punish her for what she was.
“I don’t think my niece should be taking on that spell so young, but she would be the one who could protect them the most. But I warn you, if she ever sees a reason to end one of them herself, or a natural occurrence strikes them, they will not be protected. They will only be protected from death by other’s hands; anyone’s other than hers, that is. And it will be up to her if she gives you this gift or not,” Hyacinthe told Mirium. So, her hope rested on the shoulders of an 11-year-old girl. That could be good or bad for her.
Annalise came into the room at that moment. Mirium suspected she had been hiding in the shadows for some time, listening in. “Can I see your palm?” Annalise asked, reaching out to Mirium. Mirium offered it, watching in amazement as she saw those piercing eyes lock on her life lines, reading them like a master. Few witches could actually work their way up to such a skill, and even then, it took them until they were grey. This child really was as powerful as the rumors had suggested. No wonder her parents had protected her with their lives, an entire coven being devastated just to make sure Annalise would be safe forever. “I see a hidden strength in you and that you are a mother. I see nothing sinister coming from you,” Annalise announced, giving Mirium her hand back. “I will help you.”
“Don’t you want to know who she is first and who she wishes to protect?” Hyacinthe questioned with the raising of an eyebrow.
Annalise shook her head fervently. “You know her, and I can see she does not mean harm. All I need to know is that she wants me to protect her children before she dies.”
Hyacinthe nodded, finding her niece’s reasoning quite interesting. When she was older, if she ever needed to find out who she had protected, Hyacinthe wondered if Annalise would regret her choice. Strong young men, the alpha’s children were, but he tended to breed children full of anger and resentment. Who knew what they would be like when they reached adulthood?
Mirium got down on her knees, actually crying now. “Thank you for this, child. You are doing an amazing thing for my sons and I.”
It was early morning, the dawn breaking through the clouds when Mirium made it back to the cabin. Her husband would be awake in only an hour or two. Until then, she thought she might mix some calming potions for herself as well as a salve to heal the cut that was necessary to draw her blood for the protection spell Annalise had put on her sons.
Just as she bent down in her garden to begin pulling up some fresh herbs, she heard f
ootsteps crunching in her direction through the grass. Who else was out and about so early? She didn’t look up, thinking they would just pass by her until a foot came down and kicked at some of her flowers and herbs, uprooting them. “No matter what you do, nothing is going to save you now. Your betrayal will be paid for by this evening, unless you would like me to speed up the process.”
Mirium knew two things; one, that this person was who had assured her early death, and that, secondly, she knew just who it was. Though, she had to lift her head and look the person in the eyes to confirm it, or she would never believe it. That was when she knew a third thing for certain; she would take the name of her killer to the grave with her.
CHAPTER ONE
Isaiah Young ran his hands through his light auburn hair, waiting to take his turn with his father. Isaiah’s father, Arnold Young, had been the ruthless patriarch of the Young family, and the Olympia werewolf pack, for almost 70 years. Now, he was sick and dying; a shadow of his former self, laying in a bed and wasting away. Isaiah and his two younger brothers were Arnold’s only children who were still living and still part of the pack. Arnold had trouble finding mates, especially later in his life, and he had a hard time keeping a hold of his children as well. He had a few children with his mate before Isaiah's own mother, Mirium, came into the picture, but they all either died in brutal battles or decided to leave the pack. Arnold was not an easy man to live with.
Isaiah watched as Orson, his youngest brother, came strutting out of the house the three of them grew up in. Though, it was more of a cabin than a house. It had been built long ago. Whoever became alpha would be the next one to inhabit that house, and it was most likely going to be Isaiah. It was up to their father which one of them received the honor, but Arnold would most likely stick with tradition by naming the oldest son as his successor.
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