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

My parents were cleaning up breakfast when I made my way back inside. Mom gave me a sympathetic look. I was sure I had done something similar to break her heart as a teen.

Dad informed me that they planned to settle into their new home for the day, but that he would have lasagna ready after I was done with my “alpha stuff”. I laughed inwardly at his basically telling me to get lost so that he could have my mom to himself, but understood. The time they had been together recently had been spent entertaining Luke. Being that Dad was pretty antisocial by nature, he was probably looking forward to a break.

I gathered my things and watched while they made their way down the paved path to the guest house. Cassie, ever the planner, had arranged for my vehicle to be brought to my new home earlier in the week. I was so relieved to have the freedom it provided. Although Ayisha could run fast enough to get me to the pack house in under ten minutes, I had to carefully plan my clothing situation. Some wolves proudly boasted their nakedness, but I was not yet used to the public nudity that occasionally accompanied life as a werewolf.

Jackson had booked out 3 hours of each day to train, and he accepted none of my excuses to cancel. He pointed out that I had missed years of training as a wolf, and I had a lot of catching up to do if I wanted to reach my maximum potential.

Luckily Ayisha was an innately skilled fighter. I was quickly becoming a worthy opponent for the calculating and skilled, Jackson. I had bested him a handful of times at this point and I could tell he was no longer holding back. We had needed to ban Emerick from our training sessions as of late because Zef would not stand for Jackson’s wolf, Lyall, hurting Ayisha in any way.

Usually we trained early in the morning before my work day really started, but I had rescheduled today so that I could meet Luke when he arrived. Now that Luke had changed plans, I sent Jackson a text telling him my morning was unexpectedly free before I started my car and rolled down the driveway. When I pulled up to the pack house, I looked down to see a reply from him telling me to meet in the gym. I purposefully hadn’t told Emerick that I planned to train this morning and I hoped I could talk Jackson into cutting it short so that he was none the wiser. It would at least keep him from worrying.

“Alpha Paulson,” Jackson dipped his head as he greeted me after I had changed.

“Good morning, Jackson,” I smiled up at him. He didn’t return it, as per usual. “I’m going to cut training short this morning. I have a lot to prepare for the Alpha Ceremony.”

“Nope,” he said simply.

“Jackson…” I tried not to sound whiny but failed.

He thought about it for a moment.

“If you can get me to submit, we can call it a day.”

Game on, I thought and Ayisha came bounding to the front of my consciousness, excited for the challenge. My world shifted as she took over, and we met Lyall’s menacing gaze.

Our wolves circled, each growling and snarling, waiting for their opening. Ayisha was calculating Lyall’s steps. She was hungry for a victory and wanted to make the first move.

Our back legs tensed the moment before she leapt towards Lyall. He saw it coming, but clearly expected her to strike high. When she instead grabbed ahold of his front leg and twisted, he let out a surprised yelp.

He tried to break her hold, but Ayisha had grown stronger and used her weight to force him onto his back. In the next moment, she released his leg and had her fangs against his jugular. I could feel his pulse quicken as Lyall realized his predicament. Ayisha tightened her jaws slightly when he continued to struggle. After another heartbeat, I felt him relax, submitting, and Ayisha let him go.

She sat back on her haunches, tongue hanging out and tail wagging. I caught our reflection in one of the gym mirrors and laughed at the hilarity of the now goofy looking wolf who had just held the life of another in her jaws. I turned back to Lyall to see Jackson standing in his place. With some reluctance, Ayisha took a step back so that I could also shift.

“Guess we’re done for the day,” I said, innocently.

“Fine, Paulson. Tomorrow is a full day of hand to hand,” he grumbled.

“Hey, that’s Alpha Paulson to you buddy,” I teased, walking to the locker room. “No hard feelings I hope. Those were your terms.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he frowned and waved me off.

I giggled. Ayisha and I had grown stronger every day since finding our connection. Despite my getting out of training early, I was grateful to Jackson for helping me master the skills to defend myself. He did so without making me feel threatened or less than. I knew without a doubt, he wanted me to be the strongest I could.

After changing, I made my way to the guest suites where I found Cassie and Michael already coordinating cleaning staff and organizing toiletries along with other supplies. While the pack house had lodging for visitors, we were expecting 30 alphas and some were bringing their mates. We had quickly renovated a few rooms that had not been a part of the previous project so that no one felt slighted. Our first guests would be arriving tomorrow. King Ivar, however, would not make his appearance until Friday.

“How’s it going?” I asked and both Cassie and Michael turned.

“Good!” Cassie declared, smiling brightly.

I could tell she was in her element. While her official title was event planner, I was learning she wore many hats and thrived in a somewhat chaotic environment.

Michael nodded next to her. “Construction wrapped up overnight. We are airing out the few rooms that have a strong paint smell. Linens and toiletries are being stocked in the others now. Everything should be wrapped up on this front this afternoon.”

“And security?” I asked him.

“Shifts have been set. No one gets on or off this floor unless authorized. All surveillance is in working order,” he informed me.

“Great. Thank you Beta Stevens,” I said, turning to the crew working quickly to get all the rooms set up. “Where can I help?”

Cassie and I set about helping decorate and stock with the rest of the staff while Michael checked the key card and locks for every room. I enjoyed being among my people and meeting new faces. I wanted them to feel comfortable around me even though we were all still getting to know one another. Hopefully, after the Alpha Ceremony they would feel a greater connection to me and my family. Emerick arrived shortly after I did and got to work as well.

As Michael had predicted, everything came together by the afternoon. Him and I moved to our offices to get our regular duties done while Cassie shifted her attention to the ballroom where much of the event would be hosted. Emerick left to go finalize the schedules for the security teams working the event with Jonathan.

By the time the evening rolled around, I could barely keep my eyes open. I looked up when I heard a small knock on my office door. It was Luke.

“Hey, kiddo,” I greeted him. “How was school?”

“I’m not going to lie mom,” he said, somberly before his face broke into a wide grin. “It was awesome! Did you know instead of PE they train in hand to hand combat? After my first shift, I’ll be sparring as a wolf. And no one wears helmets or anything for sports since we heal so fast. It’s so cool.”

I frowned. I knew about most of what he was telling me, but it didn’t necessarily make me worry less about my son.

“I’m glad you had a good first day,” I told him instead of voicing my concerns. “Is Pop here with you? Or did he head home?”

“He headed home to get the lasagna in the oven,” he said. “I wanted to come check out the pack house, so he dropped me off and said I should tell you to make sure you take a break.”

That certainly sounded like my dad.

“Well, I’m actually just wrapping up here,” I lied, but most of what I was working on could wait. “I can give you a quick tour, and then we can head home?”

“Dope,” Luke agreed.

We made our way through most of the building. I was happy to introduce Luke to many of my council members. Everyone was kind even though most of the staff was busy preparing for the events of the next couple days. Luke informed me the bowing of heads and looks of deference I received from the pack members was “creepy”. I told him that you get used to it, but the truth was I hadn’t really noticed all that much until he pointed it out. On some instinctive level I think I just expected it from members of the pack. I tried not to dwell too much on it.

Back at home, dinner was uneventful. We all let Luke regale us with tales of how his day had gone. Emerick joined us, and I found comfort in his company. While we had seen each other at work, it had been difficult to find time alone since my family had moved. I felt his fingers trail along my thigh as we still sat listening to Luke talk about a joke made in his calculus class. I turned to Emerick, shocked, but found him seemingly engrossed in the story.

As I looked at him from the corner of my eye I saw him glance at my phone sitting on the table as his fingers trailed closer to my core. I nonchalantly opened it to see a text from him.

“Meet me tonight?” It read.

I gave him the smallest of nods, trying to keep hold of my composure. His hand squeezed my upper thigh slightly before he pulled away and I saw him sneak another text.

“Pick you up after bedtime?”

I shook my head slightly before picking up my phone to reply.

“Dad would hear the engine. Have Zef meet me at the end of the drive,” I typed.

Now Emerick nodded and I could see the shadow of a grin.

~

Once the house was quiet, I crept barefoot down the stairs. I was only in sweats and a sweatshirt since I wouldn’t be taking my clothes anyway. I felt like a teenager sneaking out all over again and chastised myself for feeling like there was something to hide. The truth was, I wasn’t ready to have this conversation with my son or answer any questions. I just needed a release tonight.

I stripped quickly when I got outside the front door and shifted in a blink. Then I padded down the gravel drive. At the gate, Zef paced, panting, until he caught sight of me. He let out a small yip and bounced on his back legs. I smiled to myself at the sight of him. It felt like a lifetime since we last ran together. I sprinted the last 10 yards and soared over the fence. When I landed, I didn’t break stride and I tore away from the property and into the woods. Zef howled as he gave chase.

“Let him lead,” I told Ayisha. She huffed but conceded.

Zef caught up and nipped at my flank in greeting. Ayisha signaled with her head for him to guide us and he pulled ahead. We ran through the woods, the moonlight shining brightly through the trees. The full moon was approaching and I could feel our connection to it.

Ahead, I saw a clearing and realized it was the same one I had looked out at when I called my mom. Zef slowed and I expected him to turn to his cabin. Instead he shifted and Emerick stood before me in all his glory, clearly aroused. I took back control and shifted mid stride. My weight slammed into Emerick before my momentum had slowed.

We crashed to the ground, bodies entwined, lips finding each other. I straddled Emerick’s hips and ground against him. He growled at my warmth, thrusting against me. I felt his hands grasp my breasts, tweaking my nipples, and I gasp, reaching for his length.

“Slow down, baby,” he whispered against my ear.

“I need you. Now.”

I felt his restraint break. He flipped me on to my back and I yelped. In the next moment, he was on me, thrusting his way in as I moaned. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he gave me a moment to adjust to his size. Then he was moving, hitting every nerve exactly how I needed it on each deep thrust. He kissed his way down my collar bone and up to my ear, sending shivers down my spine as a tightness built in my core.

I moaned again as I felt him adjust his angle so that he ground against my clit on each thrust. I reached between us and trailed my nails down his chest and then his abs. He quickened his pace, throwing me over the edge to pure bliss. I felt him stiffen as his orgasm followed shortly thereafter.

We both fell back onto the grass we had landed in panting, and staring up at the night sky. I turned to face Emerick and took in his profile. His strong jawline was highlighted in the glow of the moon, and sweat glistened slightly on his chest and brow. He turned to look at me and we both smiled before starting to giggle like teenagers.

“I needed that,” I told him, still laughing.

“Me too.”

I snuggled into his chest, listening to his heartbeat as his fingers trailed circles on my bare skin. We stayed that way for a long moment before I felt sleep start to beckon me. Reluctantly I started to rise and I felt Emerick sigh next to me.

“I should probably get back,” I said as I stood up.

“I figured,” he answered, quietly. “I’ll run with you home.”

“Thank you for tonight,” I whispered as I wrapped him in an embrace. He reached down and kissed me gently.

“When the ceremony is over, am I allowed to ask for more alone time with you?” Emerick asked.

“You better,” I teased, “Or I might demand it.”

He smiled down at me before we parted and each shifted. Zef and Ayisha raced through the woods back to my home. At the gate, Zef lightly licked my cheek, and rubbed under my chin. Ayisha returned his embrace before once again clearing the fence and trotting up the driveway.