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

Stephen and William retook their seats across the table. Emerick sat to my right, once again. Gone was his easy smile, and relaxed posture. The man who sat next to me was all rippling muscle and tension.

I studied him and realized he didn’t seem to be focusing his wariness on me. More so, he was scanning the room and staring down the other occupants. To my surprise, Jonathan and Jackson no longer stood guard at the door. Instead, they took a post on either side of my chair behind me. My dad brought up the rear of the group. He frowned as he noticed Emerick, but took the seat to my left without a word. Emilia was notably absent from the group.

“Samantha,” Stephen started with a warm smile. “I think I speak for the entire pack when I say what a welcome surprise your being our alpha is.”

I scoffed, “Having a woman who 15 minutes ago didn’t even know that werewolves existed being named your alpha, is a welcome surprise?”

Stephen’s smile didn’t waver as he said, “Samantha, I have followed your life since the moment you were born. As your father wished, we all kept our distance, but I have been proud to know are my granddaughter.” He grew quiet and a sadness entered his voice as he continued, “Losing Sarah and then Christian so tragically… We were terrified the pack would be thrown into chaos without a clear alpha to take charge. The thought of so many being vulnerable on top of the extraordinary grief our family was facing… It was unthinkable…”

He trailed off before continuing as kind eyes met my own, “And then we felt the pull to your home. To think your son would be our next alpha - I was overjoyed. I knew he had been raised by a strong, kind, tenacious woman. It was easy to imagine he would embody many of your attributes. To have you be our next alpha a - she-wolf at that -Samantha our pack has been blessed beyond belief. You are a gift from the moon goddess herself.”

While I had my doubts about the moon goddess, I had also doubted the existence of werewolves until I had literally shifted into one. I wasn’t really in a place to judge.

Ayisha chuffed her amusement at my current train of thought. I was once again struck by how perfectly complete I was with her presence no longer blocked. None of this felt like a reality yet. However, her consciousness mixed with mine was a reminder that this may have come out of the blue, but it was real and it did somehow feel right.

In that moment - while a room full of werewolves waited for my reaction - I accepted it. All of it really. Maybe it was the “pull” or the moon goddess or some other universal force, but I knew destiny had led me here.

“This isn’t going to be easy,” I voiced my inner concern.

Stephen shook his head, “No, Samantha. I don’t imagine it will be.”

“My entire life is going to change. Luke’s entire life is going to change,” I heard the sadness in my tone.

“Yes it is,” Stephen replied, honestly.

I sighed.

“I want one more night. One more night to just live the life we have. One more night to just be a normal mom and son. I’ll tell him in the morning,” I promised.

Stephen and William shared a look, but my father spoke before they had the chance.

“I think that’s fair, Sam. Take one more night. There are probably things you want to grab at the house anyway. You’re mom and I can come over in the morning, so we can all discuss it.”

“We can hold off the pack for one night,” William said, slowly. “But you should know, the pack has felt your presence. They are going to want to meet their mystery alpha. When you return tomorrow, prepare yourself to be… bombarded. For lack of a better word.” He looked to Emerick beside me, “Set up a security detail at the house. Don’t raise suspicion for Luke if you can help it, but everything is to be locked down.”

Emerick gave a short nod beside me, “Understood.”

With that I stood and the other’s followed me.

“Thank you,” I started walking towards the door. “And William? Stephen?” They both met my gaze as I stopped and grabbed one of each of their hands, “I am so very sorry for your loss.”

I could see tears in both of their eyes, but Stephen just gave a sad smile, while William swallowed and nodded.

Emerick held the door and I turned to leave. In the hallway, the three men assumed the same formation we had entered the conference room in: Emerick leading, while Jonathan and Jackson flanked. The only difference was this time was my dad joined. The tension among our group was palpable.

As we approached the fleet of black SUVs that I had barely noticed on the way in, Emerick paused to speak in a low voice to Jonathan and Jackson.

Dad turned to me.

“Sam, I know I made a mistake in keeping this from you. It was selfish and stupid. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I hope you will let me be a part of yours and Luke’s life here,” he said.

“I understand why you did what you did. It was stupid and selfish and I’m not ready to forgive you yet,” I started. “But you, mom, and Kaitlyn are my family. You will always be a part of my life. No one is going to take that from me.”

I said it with conviction. There were certain things I refused to give up.

“And, Dad? Right now you’re the only werewolf I know, and - this current deception aside - the only one I know I can trust. I hope you will stand by me as I try to learn to become the alpha. More importantly, I hope you will protect my son.”

“Without question, Samantha,” he said with determination. “I will protect you both until my last breath.”

I nodded as Emerick approached.

“We are going to take our own vehicle. Jonathan and Jackson will follow in another,” he stated.

“What about Dad?” I asked.

“I ran here, Sammy. I’m going to run back,” Dad explained. “I think the exercise will help me work some things out in my mind. Some alone time with another wolf might be good for you also.”

I watched as he shifted and took off into the woods. I was struck again by how magnificently complicated my life had gotten today.

Emerick held open the passenger side door as I climbed in.

“Did you want to buckle me in again? Or do you think I can handle it?” I asked as he settled behind the steering wheel.

He chuckled for the first time since I shifted. His boyish grin returned and some of the tension left his frame.

“While I’m sure you can handle it, I would be happy to assist Alpha Paulson,” he teased.

“I thought we all agreed I could have one more night of not being the alpha,” I cringed. “And please just call me Sam.”

“I actually did not agree to the ‘one more night’ plan,” he frowned.

“I’m giving up my entire life. I don’t think asking for one more night is outrageous,” I countered.

His frown deepened.

“It’s not about whether or not it’s outrageous. It’s about how vulnerable you are away from the pack house right now,” he stated, seriously.

“Is that the ski-resort-looking building where we were?” I asked.

“The pack house? Yeah I guess it kind of does look like a ski resort,” he pondered.

“Do you guys, like, all live there then?” I questioned trying to keep the judgment out of my voice.

“No,” he answered, smiling again. “A lot of the pack members live close by, but not in the pack house. There are some apartments for visiting dignitaries or times of crisis when the Alpha’s advisors need to spend the night. Actually, you’re a realtor right?”

“Kind of. I’m a broker,” I explained.

“Have you heard of Whitefang Trails or Ponderosa Pines?”

“Of course. Super exclusive neighborhoods, top notch schools. My brokerage has been trying to get listings in there for years.”

He flashed a smile, “All werewolves.”

My jaw fell open. “Seriously?”

“Yep. There are pockets of werewolf communities all over, but those are the closest to the pack house. To answer your question: no we don’t live at the pack house. It’s mostly offices, but we use it as a community center and gathering place. Lots of weddings and events are held in the banquet hall and on the grounds,” he explained.

“Hmm… Well how many werewolves are there, exactly?” I asked.

There couldn’t be too many, right? How would they stay so well hidden?

“I don’t know how many worldwide. In our pack, about 3000,” he said, casually.

Wow.

For some reason, despite the size of the pack house and the two subdivisions Emerick had revealed to be full of werewolves, the number still surprised me. I had pictured a few hundred. Wrapping my head around leading that number seemed overwhelming. A few thousand felt insurmountable.

“So there are other packs then?” I ignored my discomfort and decided to take the drive to continue to learn as much as I could.

“Right. Six in North America. More on other continents. Most reside in rural, forested areas. We tend to get anxious in crowded cities, and it can be harder to hide our wolves.”

I continued to grill Emerick about the inner workings of werewolves and my pack for much of the drive. I wanted to know as much as I could before I was thrust into an entirely new world tomorrow. He was a good sport about it and divulged information freely.

“Are we related?” I suddenly blurt out.

I had been wondering since discovering that I had quite a few relatives that I had not known about. I found myself slightly disappointed at the thought of being a blood relative with Emerick. Which was shocking considering I had not been on so much as a coffee date since Travis passed away.

It must be the weirdness of the day getting to me.

“What?” he asked, clearly confused.

“Sorry,” I blushed, “I guess I’m wondering why you were in the meeting with Stephen, William, and I to start with. Jonathan and Jackson are clearly some sort of security detail, but I haven’t been able to figure out where you fit in.”

He quietly stared at the road ahead before answering, “I was Christian’s Beta.”

From our talk, I knew that meant he had been Christian’s right hand. Most likely his best friend. Putting two and two together, that meant Emerick had lost his best friend just a few days ago.

“I am so sorry for your loss,” I said and reached to touch his hand where it rested on the center console.

I was surprised when he grabbed mine and gave it a small squeeze.

“And I’m sorry for yours,” he said as he met my eyes for a moment.