Save Me Mr. Alpha

“CASS! Wake up, some girl is here for you!” I groan at the intrusive voice and force myself to sit up and focus my thoughts. I look around the room and see the familiar soft purple room that I had visited every night growing up when I was scared or thought that bad guys were coming to get me.

I really had no idea.

“CASS!”

“Coming!” I quickly grab some jeans and throw on a baggy sweatshirt. I run out to the living room where I see Katie waiting patiently, staring at the floor while my brothers stare at her.

A light color of pink is slowly blossoming across her cheeks and I see her unconsciously looking towards Chase’s shoes. “Chase, Charles, I need you to go to the store and grab some supplies for breakfast—”

“I can go Queen—”

“No,” I state, “I need your help to start going through my Queen Luna duties. They’re more than capable of handling this on their own. Go on boys.”

They don’t argue but quickly grab the keys from the car Babe left the night before and head on out the door. Once I’m sure they’re out of ear shot, I turn to Katie.

“Do you like coffee?”

Katie and I sat in the living room where bulky, overstuffed leather furniture fills the space where I used to have my favorite reading chair and books stacked in the corner. Colorful paintings and photos full of laughter had been replaced by generic art pieces from the local superstore, but there was still a sense of me in the space. A basket full of blankets that I had left behind was sitting in a corner along with a lamp I had sold online.

“Your brother went to some extremes to keep me around in one sense or another, didn’t he?” I sigh.

“The Alpha—Tyson was in pain when you left. It’s to be expected when you meet your mate: human or not,” Katie says softly.

“And your mate?”

Katie stiffens.

“You have one, I know.”

“Yes, he’s—”

“My brother.”

“Off limits.”

“Because he’s human? Or because he’s my brother?”

Katie sighs, “Because up until yesterday I wasn’t even allowed to acknowledge that I have the possibility of a mate and I can’t force... this... on him. It’s not fair, you of all people have to understand that.”

“I do.” I say softly, my heart warming at Katie’s logic.

“I don’t want you to think I don’t want a mate, or that Tyson pulling you into all of this is wrong, because our culture teaches that this is 100% right. But when it comes to my mate, I want him to be happier more than anything else in the world, and by being quiet, about who he is to me, then I am more than happy to remain quiet and let him choose me.”

“And if he chooses someone else?”

“Then I have to let him go. And reject him.”

“So, the King Alpha is in charge of the kingdom’s budget, but more so his individual pack’s budget. He will allocate certain amounts to each pack for specific uses and then the Queen Luna reviews extra funds not set aside for investments, savings, or emergency allocations and fulfills special requests.”

“Like the fairy godmother of gifts, huh?” I say, my eyes swimming from all of the information Katie had been presenting to me.

“Yeah, sort of. The Queen Luna is also known as the “mother of the packs” and she’s seen as the gentle figure of the kingdom, the king as the strength. It’s all about balance and equality in the pack.

“The Alpha and Luna are the top of the hierarchy but also equals with one another. A lot of times people think that the Alpha is supreme, and that the Luna is subservient, but technically their equals and in reality... the Alpha will give everything up for her,” she finishes.

“Everything?”

“Yeah.”

I pause, thinking deeply about Katie’s words.

“Where is your brother now?”

“If he’s following his daily schedule then he’d be at the training grounds with the Delta warriors doing drills.”

“And if he’s not following it?”

“He’s a majorly pissed off Alpha, he’d be at the training grounds anyways working out his aggression.”

“He’s angry at me?” I snort in disbelief, a hint of anger rising in me.

“He’s mad at himself for almost losing control over his wolf.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you first went away, he lost control quite a bit, shifting without meaning to. His wolf would take over his human form and he turned into quite the dictator. He—well he wasn’t who he used to be. After a while he regained control and was able to turn back to who he used to be, sort of, I guess. But he was still different, not as—”

“Happy.” I whisper.

“Yeah,” she responds.

“...so he almost lost control yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“Because I told him I wouldn’t be his mate?”

“I don’t think so. From what I know about my brother, the fact that you made him realize that he was anywhere near to being like the man who tortured you for the last year made him lose control.”

“You know about that, huh?”

“I’ve heard whispers, nothing concrete, and it’s not being used as a gossip mill, for the record. The pack has been curious about their new Luna and somehow they found out the bare minimum details and word spread.”

“So their so-called Luna is a victim to them.”

“Their Luna is a survivor, a hero. They don’t see you as a victim. Do you?”

I had Katie direct me to the training grounds after the boys returned with breakfast supplies. Unsurprisingly Katie practically became mute when my brothers entered the room, specifically around Chase, and was overly formal with me once they had returned.

If she was surprised I was heading to the training grounds where her brother would be, she didn’t show it. She didn’t smirk or smile as I drove the silver SUV towards the high school football field. The irony of the situation didn’t evade me as I found myself walking from the SUV, down the track, and into the bleachers where I stood above what Katie called the “Delta warriors,” watching as Tyson bossed them around, putting more and more difficult drills down for them. He also followed the routines, pushing himself harder and harder than he did his men.

I didn’t feel the tingles running up and down my body as I sat in the bleachers and I was pretty sure he hadn’t seen me come into the stadium. As they ran around the stadium track he finally came within reach for the tingles to erupt. He stopped completely in his tracks and started searching around him frantically until he finally looked up and spotted me from my perch at the top of the bleachers.

He stared at me, letting out a breathtaking smile before hesitating and turning back to his run, staring at the ground as he caught up with his men.

“He’s nervous,” Katie mused.

“Of what?”

“You’re here, he has something to prove especially after what happened yesterday.”

“I’m trying to adjust to this whole thing.”

“I know, and that’s way more than you should have to do after everything you’ve—”

“If you say ‘gone through’ I will hurt you.” I joke.

“I was gonna say everything you’ve experienced,” she chuckles.

I feel Tyson looking our way again, but this time he isn’t staring at me, but his sister, a strange look covering his face as he stares at her. I look at her quickly and see the light smile on her face from my joke and my insides twist as I realize this might be the first time he’s seen his little sister smile in probably close to 3 years

Pathetic.

As much as I wanted to forgive him, that reminder that he had treated his own sister in the same manner James had for me was too startling for me to ignore. Maybe he didn’t beat her like James did to me, but the emotional abuse is enough to break anyone.

We watched the drills for another 20 minutes and I was not surprised to see that Tyson was by far the best out of his men in speed, stamina, and strength. Once they started the hand-to-hand combat I had Katie pull the car around and Tyson drew his men to the front.

I realized that by making my appearance known to him, he would need to address who I was to his pack members.

“ATTENTION,” Tyson’s booming voice calls out, the warriors standing in rigid, upright positions.

Tyson walks over to me, not meeting my eyes, and I stare at him.

“What do you think?”

“They’re impressive. They do this everyday?”

“5 days a week, 6 during lunar events or council meetings as they run drills and patrol to make sure we’re not under attack.”

“Why are there no women?”

“The women warriors usually practice in the mornings after school starts so any of them who have kids can be able to drop them off. Then on Fridays we have everyone participate in full drills and patrols.”

I nod, pretty happy with the answer.

“My mom,” I scoff at her being mentioned, “wanted to make sure that women were treated fairly but still allowed to have families and personal lives.”

“Smart,” I say, a hint of bitterness in my tone.

“I see you’ve met her.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you have anything you’d like to say to the warriors, or can I dismiss them?” Tyson asks, finally meeting my eyes, skipping over my obvious hatred of his mother.

His hazel ones are soft, remorseful, and yet I still find them cold and unwavering all at the same time. I look up to the 50 or so men staring at me, some with questioning looks, others with respect, and others still with doubt.

“I’m not exactly the best public speaker, but as someone who raised two rowdy teenage boys who I could never keep up with, I’m fairly certain you could all definitely outrun me and basically anyone I’ve ever met,” I receive a couple of chuckles at that and a couple of the looks of hostility and doubt retreated and were replaced with questions.

“My name is Cassie and as I’m sure most of you know, I am your Alpha’s Luna. I am human, but please don’t hold that against me. I’m looking forward to getting to know each of you personally and proving myself worthy to be called Luna. Thank you and great work today, gentlemen.”

I nod to Tyson respectively and walk away from the field and to the car where Katie is waiting. The first words out of her mouth, “Alpha’s Luna, that’s a fun way of saying it.” She comments.

“I couldn’t say mate,” I shudder at the thought.

“Well, if he wasn’t pissed off at himself before, he will be for sure now.”

“What? Why?” I ask her.

She chuckles softly, her voice becoming softer, “you basically told the entire pack that he’s unmated. The big, old, bad Alpha’s mate refusing him? Legendary.”

“But—”

“Don’t let them fool you. The Delta Warriors, the men especially, are the biggest bunch of gossips in the entire pack. I would not be surprised if every one of them mind linked their mate, mothers, or brother with the news.”

“But I didn’t—”

“He deserves it,” she states, her voice firm as she interrupts me. Katie looks at me, her hazel eyes bright. “Had he treated you right from the beginning and followed through on his promises none of this would have ever happened. I know it. He knows it. You know it. He’s been in pain for a long time not having you with him. Now that you’re here, he should feel any amount of embarrassment and pain you feel fit because to him, he’s in the least amount of pain he has been in years.”

After following up with a few more “Luna” duties in the afternoon, I was exhausted. I had met up with the main house’s staff that apparently reported to the Luna every week and then Katie told me I was supposed to have office hours two days a week where pack members could stop in and display grievances or discuss things with the Luna.

Since it was my first day she had shortened the hours, but that didn’t stop every female member of the pack from stopping by with various pies, cakes, and treats to say hello and welcome me to the pack. Even Tyson’s mother, who I found out was called Marie, stopped by and gave her two cents.

When she had walked into my office, I was by far exhausted, and way past unhappy to deal with her at the time. Upon seeing her mother, Katie excused herself and went to get a cup of coffee or in other words, cower in the next room hiding from her mother.

“Hello, Cassandra.”

My skin crawled at the name, but I refused to give her the satisfaction of correcting her.

“Ah, Mrs. Bergson.”

“Marie, you may as well call me by my name since you’ll be staying.”

“Mrs. Bergson, I have accepted my Luna duties for the time being while I figure out my next steps. That doesn’t mean I’ll be staying.”

“Hmm.” She ponders. “How are you liking the Luna office?” she changes the subject, looking around the office with a blank face.

I also looked around the room and finally took a moment to appreciate the mystical décor. The ceilings were vaulted into a dome where a beautiful illustration of the night sky with a full moon practically sparkled in the day light. The walls were mostly full of crème built-ins that were mostly empty and begging for books to line them. A heavy wooden desk sat in the middle of the room. The back of it sat in front of a large terrace with glass double doors. Lots of light shone into the room from the windows above the bookshelves and the door.

All in all the room was beautiful.

“It’s... unique.” I say softly.

“Tyson’s father designed it. When I was Luna and the kids were little, they used to take their naps in here while I worked, and they’d stare up at the ceiling and ‘watch the stars’ before they fell asleep.”

I don’t know how to respond to that note, so I stay silent.

She looks to the floor before looking at me. Her dark green eyes meet mine and they pierce me to the soul as she speaks the next words firmly, but with a touch of sadness, “Being a Luna is a difficult job. Being a Luna without the support and care of a mate is infinitely times harder. I’m sure he has hurt you, but all of this,” she motions to the stacks of paperwork sitting on the desk, “will be easier if you accept him and his love.”

She turns and walks away, “if you need help, I am here for you. Up until you returned, I held this office and it’s duties and I know a thing or two about the pack you might find useful—Cassie.”

I hesitate at my correct name.

“Thanks... Marie.”