ALPHA
CHAPTER 2

-ADIRA-

The sound of growling and snarls grew louder as I neared the eastern border. A circle of wolves and warriors surrounded the edge of the forest and I spotted Lucas standing among them. He was now shirtless and yelling orders at warriors who looked a bit nervous.

With a twinge of annoyance, I sped up and neared the circle. A low growl left my mouth and I shifted back into my human form. “What the hell is going on?” The demanding tone was evident in my voice. I quickly put on a t-shirt one of the warriors handed me as I stomped toward Lucas.

Before anyone could reply, a thunderous roar erupted in the air making it seem like the ground was shaking. Lucas rose a brow in my direction “That’s what’s going on.” He began to push through the circle and lead me towards the sound. “We’ve tried to get a handle on this wolf but he’s ridiculously strong for a rouge. What do you want us to do next?”

“Let me take care of this, I don’t want anyone else to get hurt,” I order as we stopped at the head of the circle.

My eyes widened as I took in the sight before me. There in a crouched position stood possibly the largest wolf I have ever seen. It stood taller than all my warriors by at least a foot, his fur was dark brown but seemed to be matted and dirty as if he rolled in the mud for hours. His piercing blue eyes were crazed and glanced around wildly. Regardless, he was beautiful.

The sound of footsteps behind us made me turn and see Selene approaching us with her warriors. She pushed through the crowd and stood next to Lucas and I. I watched as Luc carefully next to my sister wanting to protect her if he needed to.

“What now Alpha?” Selene asks looking over at me while side eyeing the beast ahead of us.

“We need him to shift. I can’t talk to him when he’s in wolf form.” I say never moving attention from the wolf.

“The honor is all yours sis.” Selene laughs out gesturing for me to step forward. I glared in her direction but was only met with a smirk. Luc let out a chuckle as well before quickly coughing it away when my unamused glare met him.

The wolf was snapping warningly towards anyone who neared him. I noticed some of my warriors covered in blood. They must be the ones who have attempted to near the beast. “Enough!” I ordered getting the attention of my warriors and the large wolf.

His eyes met mine and I watched as his wolf watched me curiously. There was a certain look in his eyes that I couldn’t quite pick out. I felt a flutter in my stomach but pushed it away. What the hell was wrong with me?

“Shift.” The Alpha command rang loud and clear for everyone to hear but the wolf merely stared at me like he didn’t hear a word I said.

“Uh A, I don’t think he’s-”

I held up a hand to silence Lucas and kept my hard gaze on the wolf “I said shift.” This time the wolf let out a whimper before the sounds of bones moving and shifting echoed in the air.

Time seemed to stand still as my eyes met blue ones. The man that stood before me was....hot. He was somewhat scrawny and looked like he hadn’t eaten in days but there were signs that he used to be fit. With messy golden blonde hair that stopped at his shoulders, beard, and giant frame he looked barbaric.

I gulped as his intense gaze never left me. There was only one thing that ran through my mind. Mate.

“Mate.” His deep voice rang out making my warriors and Lucas turn to me with wide eyes. I felt like I couldn’t move, as if he was keeping me rooted in the ground. I could feel my wolf’s happiness, we had finally found our mate.

It didn’t register that he was moving towards me until he stood right before me. He towered above me making me crane my neck up to look at him. “Mine.” He whispered before placing his lips on mine.

My eyes widened in surprise as I felt the sparks erupt through my body. The immediate feeling of pleasure surged through my body. Holy shit he was kissing me. before anything else could happen I felt his lips leave mine and watched as his body hit the ground. He had fainted. In a panic, I turned to Luc who still had his mouth open in shock “Get him to Nat now!”

After racing the man to the pack infirmary where Natalia immediately took action in trying to help my mate. It was utter chaos as nurses tried to get everyone out of the room and to assist Nat who was shouting orders. Not wanting to sit around and wait, I went and hid in my office trying to replace a way to process what just happened.

I met mate. A giant man who obviously didn’t know that he shouldn’t kiss people he just met. But, god, was that an amazing kiss. I ran a hand through my hair and began to pace the room. What do I do? A part of me was ecstatic to replace my mate, I wanted to run into that infirmary room and kiss him senseless. After all, I had been looking forward to replaceing my mate for years. I had almost given up, I was 24 after all.

The other part of me wanted to stay in this office and pretend we never found him. Now having a mate meant I had to either share my Alpha position, something no male wolf wants to do or give him my Alpha title. It all terrified me to no end.

A knock sounded from the door making me pause in my steps. Sniffing the air I could smell Lucas’ scent from outside the room. “Come in.”

Lucas walked in with his brows furrowed as if he was in deep thought. “Well, how is he?” I asked trying not to sound too interested.

Lucas did his best to hide his knowing smile “He’s stable. Nat said he was extremely malnourished and weak which is why he fainted. We’re waiting for him to wake up to ask questions.” He cleared his throat nervously “I hope you don’t mind but I ordered him to be cuffed to the bed, for safety reasons.”

I sighed and leaned against my desk “That’s smart. We don’t know who he is.”

“He’s your mate Ad.” Lucas began offering me a large smile “You finally found him.”

“Luc, I’m not sure I even want him” I whispered looking away shamefully.

“What?” He asks harshly sounding a bit angry “You’ve been waiting for your mate for years. I know you desired to replace him, I could see the look on your face when you looked at other mated couples. Why are you all of a sudden changing your mind?”

“My position Luc” I all but growled out “I can’t give it up when I worked so hard to get where I am. I have to prove my father didn’t make a mistake in choosing me. Having a mate is going to complicate things further.”

Lucas shook his head with a chuckle “You crazy woman.” I glared in his direction making him smirk “You’re thinking too hard about this Adira. I can guarantee you that your mate will do whatever he can to make you happy even if it means to keep you as Alpha.”

I shrugged and ran a hand through my dark hair “I’m scared.”

He moved to wrap his arms around me comfortingly. “Relax Ad, everything is going to be alright besides you have me and your sisters to get you through this.”

“Oh lucky me.”

The sarcastic response made Luc mock pout “Hey! You should be thankful for my expertise in the areas of mating.”

I rose a brow in his direction “My sister hasn’t even accepted the bond yet.” I pointed out.“Ouch okay just throw that in my face Ad.” He grimaced pulling away from me making a laugh escape my lips.

“There she is.” He grins “Now why don’t we go and see-”

“Where is she?!” The loud roar echoed through the pack house making the walls tremble and shake.

Luc smirked in my direction, amusement on his face seeing the look on shock on my face. “Looks like lover boy is awake and wants you. Better not keep him waiting.”

Before I could utter a word Luc grabbed my shoulders and began to push me out of my office ignoring my shouting and attempts to escape his grip.