Orphan Alpha

My hands shook violently as I pulled on my clothes in the pack changing room. I wanted to run back to the safety of my room in the orphanage, but I knew that wasn't possible. Cam watched me, the concern on her face plain to see. I felt guilty for screaming my fear into the minds of the entire pack, though Cam assured me that they understood. I was new to the area and had been threatened by a wolf I didn't know. More than that, I was hurt that my mate had not come when my fear had been broadcast to the entire pack. I understood logically that he was keeping his distance until I was of age, but even I knew that a mate's primary drive was to protect their other half. I didn't need extensive knowledge of my species or experience as a pack member to know that.

I followed Cam back into the pack house in silence. I could tell she wanted to say something but thought better of it as she led me back to my room. Seeing my backpack on the floor, I remembered that I had one last final the next day. I turned to ask Cam about getting to school in the morning only to find she had left me alone without making a sound. I sighed and flung myself onto the soft bed, to emotionally exhausted to care about changing for bed. I sobbed into my pillow, hoping the sound was muffled, until I fell asleep.

I woke to knocking on the door. I didn't have a clock in my room, but I could tell by the lack of light coming through the window that it had to be early. I groaned, not ready to be awake, and tried to ignore whoever was at the door, but the knocking came again. With a huff, I flung the blankets off of me and made my way to the door.

"What?" I grumbled, yanking the door open.

"Hey sleepy head! Tristan said you have school and asked me to take you!" Cam responded, her voice annoyingly cheery for the early hour.

"What time is it?" I asked, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

"Oh, it's five!"

"Five? You woke me up at Five in the morning? I don't have to be at school until seven!" I screeched.

"Hannah, it's like an hour drive to your school from here. I figured you need at least an hour to get ready and eat breakfast, so five is exactly the right time to get you up. Today is your last required day, anyway, isn't it?"

I growled in response. Cam was a super chipper person in general, the early hour only made it worse. I, on the other hand, was not even close to a morning person. I liked my sleep and being woken up two hours before I needed to be in school fouled my mood before the day even started. Cam plopped down on the bed and continued to chatter away as I went into the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

I hated to admit that she was right about waking me up at five, but by the time I had finished breakfast and we were on our way, it was already ten til six. She prattled on about the pack as she drove me to school, ignoring my lack of response. I hopped out of the car as soon as we pulled up, not stopping to ask her how I would get back after school let out. I suspected Tristan had already made arrangements for me to get home.

"Hey Han!" Called toby from across the quad. "I went to the orphanage last night for some more decorating advice and Barb said you moved out. How did you manage that before your birthday?" "Oh, uh, I just kind of left. Barb is covering for me with the state, so I don't get in trouble." I lied.

"Oh cool. So you already got a place? I know your were stressing about where you were going to go until Barb offered you the caregiver job."

"I'm staying with, uh, a cousin. She dropped me off this morning." I hated lying to Toby, but what could I say? Hey man, I'm a werewolf, I found my mate and moved into his packhouse? Toby would think I was

nuts.

The warning bell rang, signaling we needed to get to class and saving me from any further questioning. I wouldn't see Toby until lunch, so I had time to get my story straight. L gave him a quick hug before taking off to homeroom. I didn't have a final until after lunch, so the bulk of my classes were giving us free time to prep for other finals. I felt confident that I could pass my last one easily so I spent my time reading and trying to come up with a suitable story that wouldn't lead to Toby wanting to come see the new place.

The day went by fairly quickly. I was relieved when I hadn't seen Toby at lunch. I hadn't come up with an acceptable story that he wouldn't poke holes in right away. I had finished my final before the allotted time and my teacher had let me leave the room, rather than sit and wait for the bell. I was reading in the quad when I noticed a familiar face walking towards me. It was Mack, the Gamma that had scared me half to death the night before. I frantically looked around for an escape route that would allow me to leave unnoticed, but he had already

spotted me.

"Hello beautiful." He grinned, looking me over like I was a piece of meat. "I'm surprised your mate let you leave the house."

"What do you want, Mack?" I asked, keeping my voice level.

"I was looking for you, sweetheart. I came to find out if you've actually been mated yet. I want you for my own and if that Alpha of yours isn't going to claim you, I will."

I was shocked at how blunt he was

with his intentions. I didn't know what I had expected him to say but threatening to take me from my mate wasn't it. I sat in stunned silence not knowing what to say as he continued to look me over. r. I was nearly in a panic when Cam walked up.

"Hey Hannah." She said, shooting Mack a dirty look. "You ready to head home?"