Stealing the Alpha’s Heart

As their sworn-in alpha, I stood before my entire pack for the first time. It was an important moment that I didn’t take lightly. I could feel all of their eyes on me, their thoughts, and the responsibility of it all bound itself to my very soul.

There was no more need for speeches or words of encouragement. We were a people united together by our bond under the moon.

“Let’s run!”

I called upon my inner wolf and let myself fall forward, fur bursting along my stretching form in a ripple. By the time I hit the ground, I was a full wolf, and I raced forward.

I was acutely aware of the sound of my packmates shifting behind me, dropping to all fours and bolting in a loose formation. We were all one spirit, one b***d, united by our magic.

The earth flew beneath my feet and fresh air filled my lungs. My inner wolf did notice the absence of its mate, but that concern was fleeting as I leapt over a rocky outcrop and a dozen other wolves followed after me.

A couple of sniffs told me that my sister was to my right, with my mother and father slightly farther back. I could smell Ellibie, too, although she lagged behind at her more casual pace. That was pure Ellibie, never one for hurrying unless she had to.

We ran for goodness knew how long until we reached a small river that cut the property in two. I jumped in, rolling, bucking, and inviting my friends to play.

Perhaps it would be strange for non-shifters to look forward to literally playing with their adult friends, but our wolves needed it. It was a huge part of how we bonded, released stress, and socialized. I wouldn’t give it up for anything.

I couldn’t say how long we were out, but the day turned into afternoon, and then the afternoon turned into the setting sun. It wasn’t uncommon for us to stay out until sunup, napping in furry piles all around the property. Still, eventually Lyssa’s absence grew too uncomfortable for me.

So, with a huff to my parents, Parker, and Emmaline, I trotted back to our cookout area, hoping Lyssa didn’t feel too left out.

Surprisingly, I found her right where I left her, sitting beside Alma and talking animatedly. I stopped to watch for a moment, happy that Lyssa was getting along with the closest thing we had to a matriarch.

Ever since we’d been able to move past how she was bitten, Lyssa had integrated seamlessly into our pack, and I couldn’t be more grateful. If I had to end up randomly mated to a woman I knew nothing about other than she smelled like heaven, I was glad it was her. There was no one else like Lyssa, of that I was sure.

I took a couple of steps forward enough for Lyssa to notice me. Even though we’d had such a good connection the last time I was a wolf, I stilled myself in case she was alarmed.

But she wasn’t at all. She approached me as if I were human, arms spread wide to give me a hug. I’d never had much human-on-wolf contact in my shifted form, and I had to admit that an embrace from her felt mighty nice through my coat.

“I thought you’d be out longer,” she murmured, pressing a k!ss to the top of my head. I knew some shifters would be offended at her treating me a little bit like a particularly treasured pooch, but I was happy for the affection.

But I wanted to talk to Lyssa directly, and given that she couldn’t communicate through her wolf, I shifted back into my human form.

“Hey there, handsome,” she said, looping her arms around my neck and pressing a quick peck to my l!ps. But even though it was swift, my body still reacted viscerally to it, my senses still coming down from my wolf form.

“What was that for?” I murmured, gently brushing an errant strand of hair from her face. God, that face. I could look at it forever and never need to visit an art museum again.

“Because I wanted to,” she answered softly, looking up at me through her lashes. And goodness, that wasn’t fair at all. If it weren’t for Alma, I might have picked her up right then and there to carry her off into the woods and have my way with her. “Did you come back for a reason?”

“Yes, I just wanted to check in.”

“I’m doing just fine. Alma and I are talkin’ up a storm and eating all the tasty food you guys left. Never had so many ribs in my life.”

I chuckled. “I’m glad she’s treating you well, although I never doubted she wouldn’t.”

“Well, you gonna go back to the run then?”

“I suppose I should,” I said, cupping her cheek so I could be in contact with her. “But now that I’m here with you, I’m reluctant to go.”

Her eyes fluttered closed like they did whenever she felt our bond, and I couldn’t help but lean down and k!ss her right back. Mine wasn’t as chaste or quick as hers, but I kept in mind that Alma was just a few paces away.

“Wanna go on a walk together then?” she asked, smiling at me like I was the whole world. And honestly, when she looked at me like that, I felt like I was.

“I’d love nothing more.”

Hand in hand, we strolled off into the trees. I knew that Lyssa couldn’t see nearly as well as I could in the dark, so she trusted me to guide her safely, and I didn’t take that for granted.

“So, what do you think of us wild bunch of mongrels?” I asked as we strolled along, the sun just beginning to sink, setting the sky ablaze with tangerines and corals blended into the gentle k!ss of lavender twilight. It would have been a sight that would normally have taken my breath away, but with Lyssa by my side, she was all I cared to look at.

“There’s a lot more of you than I thought. And you said there are multiple packs in the city?”

“Well, no, not just in the city. We span a far greater area, but the city is where most of our territories converge. That’s why almost every alpha has a headquarters nearby, and there’s been so much fighting.”

“Huh, shifter politics are complicated.”

“Absolutely. I’ve been trained in it since it became evident that I would become an alpha. You know, growing up, everyone thought Theo would be the alpha.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“The man has a head for strategy and is unwaveringly loyal. Also, he hit his human growth spurt first, so he was bigger than all of us for years. Sometimes I wonder if he hadn’t been a late-shifter if he would have been the alpha instead of me.”

“Okay, that’s what I’m not understanding. Is this alpha business genetic, elected, or like… magical?”

“Maybe all three?” I answered honestly. “You can’t choose to be an alpha. You find it out after your first shift. Some people take a few moons after that, but it’s pretty apparent. But it’s not just genetic because if all alphas and potential alphas in a pack are wiped out, one will manifest spontaneously. Usually, it’s the killed alpha’s beta, but it can be anybody.”

“So you mean you can grow up your entire life as one thing and then suddenly switch?”

“It’s pretty rare, but yes, it’s possible.”

“Wow… I can’t imagine.”

“Can’t you?” I asked wryly. “You didn’t find out you were probably a shifter for nineteen years, and you might not have access to your wolf until you’re twenty.”

“Honestly, I have a hard time wrapping my head around it. It’s strange to think I could have this power inside of me that I’ve been completely cut off from.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine not having my wolf with me. Even before shifting, I could still feel him growing inside me.”

Lyssa nodded. “Well, I guess we’ll face that when and if it happens.”

“That’s been working for us so far.”

“More or less.”

We walked a bit longer, chatting idly. But when Lyssa started to yawn, I knew it was time to go.

Typically, if we didn’t stay out the whole night, the guys and I would go to a bar and make up for all the calories we burned as wolves. But my life had changed since I had a mate and absolutely no inclination to return to my bachelordom.

Who would have thought that all it took to tame my heart was a pickpocket with an attitude the size of a building and a heart full of compassion?

“I’m gonna head back to the pack for a moment and say goodbye, then we’ll head home, okay?”

“You don’t have to leave because of me.”

“It’s not that I have to — I want to.” I bent down, pressing a k!ss to her cheek. “If I can go my whole life without spending a night apart, I’d be a happy man.”

Lyssa flushed in that adorable way of hers. “Sap.”

“For you? Absolutely.”

With one of the winks I knew made her heart skip a beat, I returned her to Alma’s side before shifting. Racing off into the forest, I quickly tracked my sister by scent. I trotted up to her, bumping my larger head against hers.

Going to take Lyssa home. She’s tired.

Give her my love, I’m gonna race Talia and Maria.

You know Maria was an actual cross-country athlete in high school and college, right? I asked, my ears flicking forward.

So?

All right, have fun then.

You too.

If she were a human, she would have been winking at me. But I was pretty glad she wasn’t because I didn’t need my little sister giving me a wink-wink-nudge-nudge about my s3x life.

I’m going to go find our parents and say goodbye.

I think they’re napping by the river. At the bend with those three pines.

Ah, perfect.

With a bap of my paw against her leg, I headed off. My parents were right where she said, half asleep and curled together along with some of the older couples.

I’m going to head out. Just wanted to let you know.

Oh? Taking that lovely mate of yours home?

Yup.

It will be nice once the poor girl can shift. It’s not right of a wolf to be deprived of pack.

It certainly isn’t, I agreed.

I hope whatever’s happening is dealt with ASAP! There’s only so long you can expect me to wait for grandpups.

Mother,I warned sharply. We’re a long way from that. You need to be realistic.

What I need is to spoil my grandbabies.

I could hear the hint of playfulness in her wolf-speak, but I could only roll my eyes.

Goodbye, Mom.

Goodbye, son.

Before you go, my father added. We should do dinner later this week.

Okay, we can do that. Wednesday is busy for us though, so it’ll probably be Thursday or Friday.

It’s a plan, then. We’ll work out the details later.

I’m sure Lyssa will love that. Be safe, both of you.

With that taken care of, I ran back to where I left Lyssa. Back to where my heart was and always would be.

---

Everything seemedto get better after the run. There were no feral wolves, no kidnapping, and before I knew it, Wednesday had rolled around. I’d invited all of my inner circle to dinner at my place, planning on cooking with Lyssa again. We hadn’t made a meal together since the last time, and I found myself wanting that simple domesticity again.

“Wait, so what am I supposed to do with these veggies again?”

“We’re blanching them,” I answered calmly. Lyssa asked a lot of questions, but usually only once. Her mind had an amazing capacity to remember everything I said, which was pretty hard not to be flattered by. “Which is scalding them in boiling water or steam for a very short time.”

“Okay, and why do this instead of boiling, baking, or frying them?”

“It’s a texture thing. Some veggies feel better in the mouth this way, and they lose fewer nutrients from cooking.”

“Ah, there’s the nutrient thing again. Shifters have to really think a lot about their diet, don’t they?”

“In the modern world, yeah.”

She nodded dutifully, dipping the metal colander into the big boiling pot, then counting carefully. She was so cute when she was concentrating.

Actually, she was cute all the time except when she was being painfully s3xy.

But I didn’t get much time to linger on exactly how much I enjoyed whenever Lyssa decided to be a minx because the doorbell rang. It was Parker and Kaleb, the two attached at the h*p as usual. While we’d all been friends since childhood, the two youngest had always been somewhat inseparable despite their opposite personalities.

“Hey, y’all! We brought the deviled eggs!”

“I said you didn’t have to bring anything if you were busy.”

Kaleb just shrugged. “We weren’t.”

Right.

I let them in, but I’d hardly returned to Lyssa before more arrived. Then more. In less than half an hour, my apartment was full of friends and family. My parents weren’t there as our dinner with them was the next night, but Emmaline arrived with two bottles of wine and some rice pilaf.

And this time, I couldn’t help but notice her eyes instantly went to Kaleb, flicking to him multiple times like she was trying to hide it. Huh, apparently Lyssa knew what she was talking about.

Then again, when didn’t she?

Speaking of Lyssa, I hurried back to her side yet again to make sure that she wasn’t overwhelmed from the cooking, only to find her chatting animatedly with Parker while carefully adding the sliced tomatoes to the browned butter. I couldn’t help but be impressed with her, my heart swelling in my chest at just how happy and comfortable she looked.

The mood was cozy and lighthearted, indeed a change for us, and I practically floated for the rest of meal prep and serving our friends. But the levity could only last for so long, and eventually, the conversation shifted to what Addison, Hannah, and Jacobian had found out.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to update on that front. At least not in the way that I would like. Our pack needed our moonstone, which was a given, but it was turning into quite the challenge.

“Speaking of business,” Hannah said, sounding more confident than usual. “How’s working with Emmaline going?”

Everyone looked to Lyssa, but instead of my mate wilting, she just smiled blithely.

“Well, my boss is a total jerk, but other than that, it’s fine.”

Emmaline threw a roll at Lyssa, who just stuck out her tongue. “You’re lucky you’re the best employee I’ve ever hired, otherwise, you’d be out on your a*s.”

“I’m the only employee you’ve ever had.”

Kaleb laughed, and Emmaline’s head snapped towards him so quickly I was surprised it didn’t pop off. Why didn’t she pursue him if she was interested in Kaleb? I certainly had nothing against it. He was brilliant, strong, and an amazing fighter. I trusted him with my life and then some.

“Does that make my statement false?” Emmaline retorted, recovering pretty smoothly.

“I guess not.” Lyssa started eating the roll that was thrown at her, looking to be deep in thought. “You know, something Alma Savannah said stuck with me.”

“What’s that?” I asked, more than a bit curious. When I’d come upon them, they had indeed looked like they were swapping secrets.

“She mentioned she doesn’t get to see most of you since she moved to a home farther away from the city. Why don’t you invite her to dinner?”

We all paused. Why… why hadn’t we thought of that? Sure, most of us didn’t rely on Alma like we once had, as our previous one had passed just two years earlier. Savvy had ascended to her spot without much fanfare, and although a reasonable amount of time had passed, the pack had been in so much chaos that she’d had quite the wild journey. With life going so fast, it was easy to go a month or more without seeing her.

That was bad on our part and guilt nibbled at me.

“That sounds great,” Parker said with all of his usual joie de vivre. “Almost like a family dinner!”

Lyssa nodded. “Yeah, exactly that.”

There was an affirmative from everyone, and I immediately started planning menus in my head. When I was a bachelor, I cooked for myself most nights, but they were simple meals. I always figured making food for just me wasn’t worth all the dishes and cleanup. But ever since Lyssa had joined my life, I’d gotten to spread my culinary wings. With pseudo-family meals in the future… well, there was a whole host of recipes that I wanted to try.

The rest of the dinner passed in a pleasant haze, conversation and drinks flowing while plates were cleared. Just like with most gatherings, I didn’t have a lick of leftovers once the meal was done. But that was all right with me. Knowing that I had fed and provided for my pack was plenty gratifying.

Bellies full, Lyssa and I said our goodbyes to everyone as we saw them out, cleaned up, then tucked ourselves into bed. I cuddled around her, content to blissfully dream the night away, only for my phone to wrest me from my sleep in the middle of the night.

I roused instantly. Once I went to bed, I put my phone in Do Not Disturb mode, which meant only people on my emergency contact list could call and get through. Heart thundering, I answered.

“Is it bad?” I asked, knowing it was Theo on the other side.

“Yes,” he answered plainly. That was Theo, never one to pull punches.

“I’ll get dressed. Text me the location.”

“Will do.”

I thought about waking Lyssa so she wouldn’t panic if she roused while I was gone, but she looked so peaceful that I let her slumber. If I got lucky, I would be there and back before she so much as rolled over.

Putting the location that Theo texted me into my GPS, I headed out into the night. My heart fell when I pulled up and three other cars were there. I’d long since learned that the number of vehicles indicated how severe the situation was.

“What’s going on?” I asked as Theo approached me.

“A body was found by another pack.”

“One of ours or theirs?”

“Neither actually. An unidentified wolf, as far as we can tell.”

“Were they attacked while they were human?” Weirdly enough, I hoped that was the case. The thought of someone being powerful enough to take down multiple shifted wolves was terrifying. We weren’t the biggest, baddest creatures in all of the magical underbelly, but we were pretty fearsome.

“It seems they were shifted.”

“F**k.”

It was all getting to be too much. We needed eyes on it beyond our senses. Pulling out my phone, I dialed up Samson.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” he groused, picking up on the final ring.

“Yes, I can read a clock.”

“Ew, how ancient are you? We all use our phones now.”

“Samson, this is serious.”

“I know, it’s always serious with wolves.” He yawned. “What’s up?”

“I need you to meet me at the location I’m texting you.”

“You do realize this is how witches get kidnapped, right?”

“I’m not kidnapping you, Samson. One, I wouldn’t want you. Two, it’s a warehouse close to where a body was found.”

“Wait, body! What body?”

Oh, had I not mentioned that? Yeah, that was probably on me.

“Another wolf’s been murdered. While shifted at that.”

The line was silent for a long moment, and I almost thought the call had dropped before Samson spoke. “Yeah, yeah. Fine, I’ll be there. But I’m charging you extra for an after-hours call.”

“Whatever happened to witching hours?”

“Those are for those of us who aren’t trapped in a capitalistic hellscape that insists on us having nine-to-fives. Be there in thirty minutes.” With that, he hung up.

I still couldn’t tell if I liked the guy’s spunk or if he annoyed the absolute shit out of me. A problem for later when I didn’t have to worry about someone hunting down wolves.

“Hey, Theo, you think Brenton is still up?”

“I think he’s been on night patrol the past three months, yeah. You want me to call him while you walk the scene?”

I nodded, letting Theo do his thing while I approached the body. It was a gruesome sight, and I hated it, but I made myself look. Part of being an alpha was dealing with all the awful, tragic, and violent things that came with being a shifter. I didn’t enjoy it, but I was determined to do my duty.

Brenton, a police officer in our pack, arrived before Samson, which wasn’t a surprise, and I helped him rope off the crime scene before heading towards the other two alphas that had gathered. While none of us knew who the mysterious wolf was with, we were undoubtedly thinking the same thing: what if the body was one of ours?

We discussed a couple of things before heading to the warehouse. I told them I had a witch coming, but Samson ended up being fifteen minutes later than he said, building up plenty of tension in them. And it certainly didn’t help that he showed up with a large coffee in his hand. Where did he even get that at two forty-five in the morning?

“All right, what do you need of me?”

To my surprise, his tone was pretty serious. Apparently, Samson loved to banter, but he drew the line at actual murder.

“We were hoping that you would be able to pick up on any energy left behind or spot things our senses aren’t attuned to.”

“Or senses that have been purposefully obfuscated,” Brenton added.

“Oooh, obfuscated, that’s a five-dollar word if I ever heard one.”

“Concentrate, Samson.”

“Right, right. Sorry. Look, I’m not the best at waking up. Show me the victim while I chug this down and we’ll see what I can do.”

We went around to the back of the warehouse, where the body was found, and Samson froze the moment he saw it, all the color draining from his dark skin, leaving him ashen and drawn.

“You okay?” I asked. I was used to witches being somewhat blasé about life and death, but Samson seemed pretty affected.

“Yeah, sorry. Just never seen a dead body before.”

“Really?” Maybe I shouldn’t have been shocked, but that seemed rare for a magic user.

“I’m a green witch. I handle community gardens and deal in exotic houseplants. The only death I usually have to deal with is because people under- or overwatered.”

“So you can’t help us?”

“I never said that.”

Samson slowly approached the body, his brow furrowed and his hazel eyes intense. He didn’t say anything, possibly the quietest I’d ever heard him be.

The minutes passed with me and the alphas waiting tensely. I could feel the vaguest simmer of magic, but it was so faint on the edge of my consciousness that it was hard to pin down in any way, shape, or form.

“This is pointless,” one of them growled after nearly ten minutes. “We don’t need to bring witches into our business.”

“With all due respect,” Brenton said. “All of us shifters on the force have been trying to look into this behind the scenes, and we’re coming up empty. I think someone’s using magic to block the normal things we would be able to pick up.”

That was my suspicion as well. It was nearly impossible to have nine murders/disappearances and not be able to pick up any scent or trail.

When Samson finally spoke, it was like a jolt through our little group. “I… This wolf, was alone. No pack aura or b***d ties lingering here.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

Samson nodded, his eyes shuttering closed. “For the most part. He could have biological family roaming around, but no one he considered close enough to bond with. There’s a difference, ya know. Found family and all that.”

It was incredibly odd for any wolf not to have a pack brand after the age of sixteen, and I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, he was tied to Lyssa somehow.

But that thought also made the hackles on my inner wolf rise. If she was in danger…

“Can you sense out any biological connections?”

“Nah, a human DNA test would do you better on that.”

“Can you tell us anything else?”

Samson shook his head. “No, not right now. But, uh, if it’s not too much for you, I’d like to take a lock of his hair.”

I could feel all of the alphas bristle behind me. “Why do you need that?”

“Gonna try some different green magic through it, see what I can do. Sometimes you have to plant things to get fruit, you know?”

“No,” Brenton answered flatly.

“Ugh, werewolves. So literal.”

“You can take a lock of hair,” I said, cutting off any mounting tension. “But be respectful.”

“I wouldn’t dream otherwise.”

Usually that phrase would have to been sarcastic, but he seemed genuine. I watched as he knelt beside the victim, pulling a pocketknife from his jeans.

“Life unfairly taken will be revenge fairly wrought. Rest with your ancestors, walk this world no more, and know that we will justice seek.”

“What was that?” another alpha asked as Samson carefully cut off a bit of the shifter’s fur coat.

“Some would say a prayer, and some would say a blessing. But I wanted to make sure if any soul-snatching magic was afoot, he’d have a way out of it.”

“Wait, witches can do that?”

“Not just witches. Most magic users have at least some subset that can work despicable things like that. You have witches who practice black magic and necromancers who steal life instead of sticking to manipulating corpses. Goetic priests who pact with demons. I could go on.”

I swallowed hard. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about our magical world, but I hadn’t known there were so many.

“Thank you,” I said finally.

“It’s whatever. Now, if y’all don’t mind, I’m going to go home, plant this, then get back to bed.”

“You sure you can sleep after this?”

“With enough melatonin and chamomile, anything is possible.”

Nodding, I watched as he walked off before returning my attention to the other alphas. After some discussion, Brenton was the one who managed to take care of the body, as we usually needed someone on the police force to do. Granted, usually that was because they were shifters in their human form, but still, it helped to have someone on the inside.

By the time it was all cleaned up and I drove home, it was early in the morning, the sun just starting to stretch its arms for its daily climb.

Yawning as I reached the door, I pulled out my phone to text my sister.

Bad news this morning. I’m gonna drive Lyssa in a couple of hours late, if that’s all right?

I wasn’t surprised when Emmaline answered right away. She usually liked to get a morning jog in before she started her day. Said it helped her not snap at rude customers.

Is everything okay?

No. Not at all.

Want to talk about it?

Later. At lunch? I’ll bring food to make up for stealing away your favorite worker.

Oh, yeah, you’re on.

With that taken care of, I kicked off my shoes before making a beeline for the bed. Lyssa was still sleeping, as peaceful as ever. The sight of her filled me with so many different emotions. Worry about her safety, gratitude that she was there, fear for her future, joy at her presence.

It was a lot. More than I had ever imagined. But now that I had it, I wouldn’t ever give it up.

Pressing the gentlest k!ss I possibly could to her cheek, I slid into bed and held my mate tight.