The She-Wolf Alpha (Book 1 She-Wolf Series)

The three of us set out unpacking some keepsakes my mom had brought in her vehicle separately. Shortly afterwards, the moving truck arrived and we took turns directing the burly men carrying furniture. Being that they were werewolves, none struggled too much even with the heaviest pieces. I was amazed at how quickly everything was unloaded.

When we started decorating, I realized just how little I had in comparison to the size of this house. Even with the furniture in place, many of the rooms felt practically empty. My dining table in particular was laughably small in the gigantic space.

Serena must’ve caught my dissatisfied expression.

“You know, Cassandra Stevens assisted Sarah greatly in designing this space when it was theirs. I heard you two were friendly. Maybe she would be able to help you out as well,” she offered.

“That would be so great. I would love to spend weeks ordering everything and making it my own, but honestly, with all the work I have to do as the new alpha, I can’t even imagine how long it would take,” I looked around. “I want this place to feel like a home we can live in.”

“Well, give her a call,” my mom offered.

“You’re right,” I said, taking out my phone.

I was coming to the realization I needed to be okay delegating tasks to others. There was so much to get done that there was no way I could do it on my own. Plus, I liked Cassie. I wouldn’t mind getting to know her a little better.

She picked up on the second ring.

“Hey girl! How’s moving day?” her bubbly voice carried over the line.

“How did you-”

“It’s the talk of the town, and you asked my husband to be your beta,” she answered before I could finish my question. “It’s sort of his job to know those things. Or it will be when he finally gets over himself and accepts the position.”

I laughed. Cassie worked quickly and she always got straight to the point. It was a trait I appreciated.

“I was actually calling to see if you would be interested in decorating the Alpha’s Residence,” I told her. “I’m realizing it is a lot larger than my last house and I don’t know that I will have the time to completely furnish it.”

“Ooooooo yes!” she squealed. “I would love to. We were going to head over in just a bit to see how things were going anyways. Babe!” she called, not talking to me now, “Sam called and wants us to head over to the AR.”

I heard a muffled voice in the background and assumed it was Michael. He did not sound nearly as excited as his mate. Their opposite personalities brought a smile to my face.

“We should be there in about 15 minutes,” Cassie said, addressing me again. “Can’t wait, babe! See you soon! Oh and I have other news when I get there!”

I could practically hear Cassie bouncing on her toes over the phone.

What have I just gotten myself into, I thought.

“Okay, see you soon,” I replied and hung up the phone.

I turned back to my mom and Serena who were both smiling and stifling giggles. I grinned back, shaking my head.

“She is a force of energy,” Serena commented.

“I’m starting to think you might have set me up,” I joked.

“By the end of the week, she will have this place decked out to the nines,” Serena shrugged, still smiling. “And she’s truly such a kind person. It’s hard not to get swept up in her projects right along with her when she’s so passionate.”

Mom and I both laughed now. We had barely gotten back to work when a Jeep came barreling up the driveway and all but skidded to a stop.

“Dammit, Cass! This is why you constantly need new brake pads,” Michael growled as he climbed out of the passenger side.

“Well, you’re just so good at changing them,” Cassie said innocently as she sauntered around the back of the vehicle from the driver’s side.

“Hey Stevens! You let your woman drive you around like a maniac?” I heard one of the men jeer from outside.

“To be fair, he was taking too long so I decided to leave without him,” Cassie called back. “He jumped in while I was pulling out of the driveway.”

Everyone laughed except Michael who gave her an annoyed grimace.

“Why, Cass? Just why?” he asked with his hands out in front of him. “I’m never going to hear the end of this.”

He stalked off as more teasing erupted from the men working on the house. Michael called taunts back at them. Myself, along with the group of women, giggled at their childishness.

“Cassie, we would’ve waited for you,” I told her.

“I was too excited,” she shrugged. “He was dragging his feet because he hates social gatherings. Plus it’s good to knock him down a peg or two every now and then, you know?”

We all laughed again before Cassie got right down to business. She took a tablet out of her handbag and started going room by room, taking notes and asking questions about my vision. Because of my own experience as a designer, we were able to move through the house rather quickly. I was pleased to find that several of the guest rooms upstairs had been left furnished so that would save us some time.

Cassie pointed out that my parents could choose between living in the main house or taking over the guest house in the back. My mom quickly chose the latter and I agreed. Although I loved spending time with them, it would be nice for us all to have own space. Cassie asked her to go check it out at some point and decide whether to keep the furnishings, move everything from their old home, or have her add it to the list for renovations.

“So, I have kind of a sensitive question,” Cassie said as we wrapped up the tour. “I mean I know some of the antiques might have been taken for sentimental reasons, but I realized a lot of the furniture that Sarah and I recently purchased would work well here. Would it be alright to use it rather than order all new things?”

“That won’t be possible,” Serena answered, quietly. “You’re welcome to reorder the same things if that makes it easier. But… almost everything is no longer usable.”

I turned to Serena and gave her a questioning look. She sighed deeply.

“When Sarah died in the accident, Isaac, Christian’s wolf, went ballistic,” she explained. “We didn’t get rid of the furniture just so you could have a fresh start or because we didn’t want you to have family heirlooms. I would’ve loved for you to have things that belonged to previous alphas, but everything was basically destroyed. A crew has been out here doing repairs as well. I’m sorry. I guess I should’ve explained sooner.”

“No need to apologize,” I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “We can order new things. I have everything I need for now and then anything that needs to be replaced can be as we go.”

Cassie nodded and I noted tears in her eyes. From what I had gathered, it seemed that her and Sarah had been fairly close. I was sure that all of this was affecting her more than she probably let on. Using some of Sarah and Christian’s furniture might have been a way for her to honor their relationship and memories as well.

In my reflection, I barely heard Emerick approach.

“Hey ladies,” he greeted us. “The men-folk are getting hungry and we were going to have pizza delivered. Would you like to tag in on the order?”

“That sounds great,” I told him. We each gave our choice and he typed it into his phone before heading back outside.

“‘Men-folk’” I chuckled under my breath.

“Oh that reminds me!” Cassie exclaimed and we all turned to her. “The king RSVP’d to your Alpha Ceremony.”

I heard a sharp intake of breath from Serena. My mom and I shared a somewhat puzzled look. The werewolf king, Ivar, was kind of an enigma. He kept order and coordinated relationships between other species and humans, but never interfered in individual pack matters. It was all but unheard of that he make an appearance at something like an Alpha Ceremony.

The information I had found about him suggested he had always been king. As in, no one could remember a time when he wasn’t the king. If it was true, he was centuries old and immensely powerful.

“Actually,” Cassie continued, pulling me from my thoughts. “A few alphas from other pack’s are coming as well. It’s going to be quite the event.”

My stomach dropped. Nothing good could come from multiple alphas attending my Ceremony. I was sure of it. They were each sniffing out whether I was capable as the new alpha, or worse, they were going to see what sort of contract they could get away with.

Suddenly, King Ivar’s attendance seemed less threatening. Even though he wasn’t mated, there was certainly nothing of importance I could offer him. He was the king after all. He could have any female he chose, and he had never chosen anyone.

“Samantha, are you okay?” Serena asked gently.

“Oh, yeah,” I lied. “Just nervous about being the center of attention, I guess.”

Cassie looked at me thoughtfully.

“I will rescind their invitations immediately,” she said, seriously. “We usually send them as a courtesy, but no one ever attends things like this. I’m not sure I could get the king canceled, but the rest of them, absolutely.”

I laughed despite myself.

“No, Cassie, that’s okay,” I told her. “I don’t want to come off as scared. There was a weird encounter with Alpha Jackson the other day, so I guess I’m still a little wary.”

The women around me nodded knowingly. It was nice to be surrounded by friends and family again. I had been socializing with pack members and my council this week, but everything had been on a business level. Aside from that, the only interaction I had had was with Emerick. I realized even with him there was pressure to carry myself a certain way. In my current company, I felt safe.

“I wonder what would bring King Ivar all this way,” I pondered. “Redclaw is a large pack, but I would hardly think an alpha ceremony would be worth his time.”

“Female alphas are rare,” Serena offered. “Perhaps he’s as curious as the rest of them.”

“Maybe…” I trailed off, not sure what to say.

“The pack has been through a lot lately,” Cassie pointed out. “Maybe he’s offering his support?”

“Hmm,” I sighed.

From descriptions of the king, he was cold and calculating. Offering support did not seem like something he would be motivated to do. Perhaps he feared unrest between the alphas coming to the ceremony.

“Are we prepared for a larger gathering than initially planned?” I asked Cassie.

“Yes,” she nodded. “I notified Jonathan and Jackson yesterday and they are on it. From what I understand, every member of the security force will be on duty that day. The two of them will be your personal detail along with Emerick. Although, I figured Emerick might be there in more of a personal capacity.”

She wagged her eyebrows at me. I ignored it. I wasn’t ready to delve into girl talk about my relationship just yet.

“I assume Michael is aware as well? As Beta, I mean,” I clarified.

Cassie seemed taken aback at my ignoring her joke, but took on a professional tone.

“Yes, he’s aware. He briefed the Pack Enforcers who will be lending out additional manpower and resources.”

“Great,” I told her, satisfied. “I look forward to working with him.”

“I think he looks forward to working with you as well, Alpha,” Cassie murmured as she watched her husband through one of the windows. “He doesn’t feel worthy yet, but he’s a good man. He would die for those he cares about.”

I nodded. I understood that. It was one of the reasons I had chosen him.

In the distance, I could hear a car engine.

“I bet that’s the pizza,” Serena said, moving towards the door. “I’ll go gather the troops.”

“I’ll grab some plates,” my mom announced and left for the kitchen.

When we were alone, Cassie turned to me.

“Hey,” she said, softly. “I didn’t mean to overstep about Emerick.”

“No, it’s fine,” I waved her off. “We are in a weird place right now. I’m not sure I want our relationship to be the highlight of the ceremony where I am being officially presented to the pack.”

“I understand,” she agreed. “I’m sure going through so much change in such a short period has been really difficult.”

“It has,” I sighed. “And I’ve been lonely, so I leaned hard into his support. Now that I’m trying to slow things down, I think we are drifting apart a little bit.”

Cassie nodded, knowingly.

“Well, if it’s meant to be, it will be. At least that’s my motto,” she offered.

“Easy for the psychic to say,” I joked.

“Oh, don’t buy into that too much,” she laughed, but I noticed she didn’t necessarily deny it.

Everyone filed into the kitchen. Pizza boxes were opened on every inch of counter space - which was saying something in this house - while hungry werewolves and my mom dug in. The casual gathering reminded me of time spent in my old home, and it gave me hope for a future of happiness in this home too.