My Alpha's Wolfless Daughter
My Alpha’s Wolfless Daughter – Chapter 48

Ayla

After breakfast, Xander, Nate, and I decided to walk over to my Uncle’s pack house. This was all his pack now and I knew I was safe. Even though I wasn’t worried about the hunters or the Crimson Tide. I knew I was powerful when I needed to be. Now I just need to be able to control it. After training, I was going to start pulling at the pressure and seeing if I could bring it on without my emotions.

“Ayla,” I heard my name being called and I turned to see Jonathan walking towards us.

“Good morning,” I greeted him.

“I’d like to apologize for yesterday,” he said.

“Are you heading back?” I asked him and he nodded.

“Walk with me,” I said, linking our arms. Nate and Xander followed behind us as I walked with Jonathan.

“I appreciate your apology, even if it wasn’t needed. Is it because you are hesitant to work with mermaids?” I asked him and he sighed.

“That’s one thing. But the other is because my father never told me anything about you. I didn’t even know my uncle had another child and with a mermaid.”

“To be fair, I was only allowed to spend time with your father. My mother kept me away from Atlas. He wasn’t even able to sign my birth certificate and he wasn’t present at my birth. I think he was just protecting me. He even asked my mother to adopt me but she refused. I don’t know what she was thinking but she only hurt me and Atlas in the end.” I told him.

“I’m sorry, you didn’t get to know Uncle Atlas. He’s a good man.”

“I’m getting to know him now. And his mate, Thea, is wonderful. I feel more like a part of their family than I ever did with my mother. And Matt Bear will always be my favorite.” I giggled.

“He loves you. The only one he’s like that with is my mother. And this is the first time I’ve heard about all of this, probably because it was none of my business. But I always wondered why it took Uncle Atlas so long to replace his mate.” He shrugged.

“That was my mother’s doing. Mermaids can only get pregnant once they are claimed. So, she claimed my father. Four years ago, she broke the bond with him and he was able to replace Thea.” I told him.

“Are you worried about working with the mermaids?” I asked him. His attitude from yesterday showed hesitation. Which I understand, this world is new to them.

“Not worried. But I am concerned about the Crimson Tide and starting a war with them.” He confessed.

“I’m not here to start a war with them. If they are kidnapping my people, I need to stop them. My grandma gifted me this house and I gifted the land to Uncle Matt. Unfortunately, this fight will be on land. If it was in the water, we wouldn’t have asked for your help.” I explained.

“That’s the reason she was paired with a wolf,” Nate said, grabbing my hand.

“And to her people, she is a queen and will be treated as such,” Xander said, walking up beside Jonathan.

“Queen?” He stuttered.

“Will you both stop? I’m just Ayla to you Jonathan. We are family.” I told him and he nodded, nervously.

“Ayla bear!” Matt exclaimed, walking up to us. We had just walked into the backyard, which looked like a training field.

“Good morning.” I greeted him and he wrapped me in a hug, pulling me from my mate.

“I hope my son wasn’t being a f**k.” Matt growled and I chuckled.

“Not at all. Besides, he is helping to keep me safe.”

“I can’t believe I’m related to a queen.” I heard Jonathan mumble.

“Anyways, what’s the plan?” I asked my uncle.

“First, I’d like to see Nate’s wolf.” He said.

“Why do you want to see Duke?” I asked him.

“I need to know the wolf I’ll be adding to my pack. Atlas said he can be a little temperamental.” Matt answered and Nate’s chest rumbled.

“Well, your brother did say some hurtful things about his mate. Duke was just defending her.” Nate defended.

“He’s more loyal to his mate than his pack?” My uncle questioned.

“Without a doubt. Ayla will always come first,” Nate stated. Both of them stared at each other and I couldn’t read them. I didn’t know if that answer was good or bad.

“Then let’s see Duke.” My uncle commanded. Nate nodded before he pulled off his clothes and shifted into his big black wolf.

I watched as my uncle’s eyes went wide in surprise. The other wolves with my uncle, including his son, all took a step back as Duke bared his teeth. I, on the other hand, kneeled to get some love from my wolf.

“There’s my sweet, fluffy Duke.” I cooed as he moved over to me. I stroked his muzzle as I gave him kissy lips.

“Ayla, you should be terrified of him,” Matt said, and I stared up at him.

“Why?” I asked, confused.

“He’s bigger than any alpha I’ve seen. Atlas said he was big but I didn’t expect that.” He scoffed.

“Uncle, I’m not terrified of him. He’s my wolf. I know he would never hurt me. But maybe you all should be a little worried.” I chuckled when Duke ran his tongue up my cheek.

“I have no idea what position to give him. Anything less than an alpha would be an insult.” My uncle said and I was worried.

“So, you won’t accept him?”

“Ayla, it’s fine. Duke is willing to be a lone wolf. We don’t need a pack.” Nate startled me by shifting back.

“But wolves need packs. That’s why we came back.” I argued as he got dressed, and I stood up.

“Ayla, after your grandma brings you into the pod, you can bring Nate in. At least that way we can mind link.” Xander told me. And this was not how I expected this morning to go.

“Ayla, you know I would do anything for you, but my wolf won’t allow me to accept a wolf who could be a threat to him.” My uncle told me as Nate got dressed and I sighed.

Most of this, I didn’t understand. Why wouldn’t you want to have a wolf like Duke in your pack? Wouldn’t you want a strong wolf on your side?

“Ayla, there are no hard feelings. Duke understands and so do I. It’s just how things are done.” Nate reassured me. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck.

“So what do you want to do then?” I asked him.

“We can figure things out later. You need to train and we need to come up with a schedule while we are here. There’s no rush,” Nate said.

“Ayla bear, all of you are welcome here for as long as you like. There is no rush. I’m sorry I can’t offer him a position in my pack.” My uncle said.

“But if you can’t give him a position in your pack, then where would that leave my wolf?” I questioned. And all the other wolves looked at me confused.

“We don’t sense a wolf,” Jonathan said.

“She hasn’t shown up yet. But the moon goddess assured me, I do have one.” I explained, and they gasped.

“You met the goddess?” Matt questioned and I nodded.

“The three of us have. We met both goddesses after Ayla proved herself.” Nate told them.

“Wow, okay, well I’m lost for words.” My uncle stammered.

“Let’s just get the schedule done. That’s something we can control,” Nate said.

“And I’ll train with Ayla,” Jonathan offered.

“We’ll be right over there,” Nate pointed at a table on the veranda. And I nodded.

“Give him hell.” He said, kissing my lips before he and the others walked towards the house, leaving me with Jonathan.

“Have you had any training?” He asked me.

“I know how to use a gun. But I don’t have any hand-to-hand fighting skills,” I confessed.

“That’s okay. We will fix that. Now, let’s do some stretching before we start.”

“Aren’t you tired?” I asked him as I started to stretch.

“I’m okay. I’ll take a nap later. Besides, I’m more of a night owl anyway.”

After we were both stretched out, we both got into our fighting stances. I watched him carefully as he started to move. I moved in the opposite direction.

“I just want you to go off of instinct. I won’t make contact with you. I just want to see what I have to work with.” He said and I nodded.

“Ready?”

Nate

“Don’t be disappointed about joining this pack. The only position Ayla deserves is Luna.” Duke told me as I walked with Alpha Matt.

“She’s worried about us not having a pack.” I sighed and he scoffed.

“We have our own pack. She is all we need. And Alpha Matt is right. The only position good enough for us is alpha.” Duke said as he retreated.

“You okay?” Xander nudged me.

“I’m worried about Ayla.” I sighed.

“And she’s worried about you. She truly feels that you need a pack to be happy.” Alpha Matt said, and we took a seat.

“Duke doesn’t need one. I knew after I met her that I would have to give up everything I knew. And it doesn’t bother me.” I told them, watching Ayla as she stretched.

“And she really has a wolf?” A man sitting beside Alpha Matt asked.

“Nate, Xander, this is my beta, Lincoln.” He introduced his beta.

“Good to meet you.” I shook his hand and then Xander did.

“She does have a wolf,” I answered his question. I pulled down my collar to show Ayla’s mark. The scale she gave me was how mermaids claim, but her bite mark was all wolf.

“She claimed you?” Alpha Matt gasped. And I was surprised they didn’t see the mark earlier. I wasn’t hiding anything when I shifted just minutes ago.

“And I’ve marked her,” I told him and he nodded.

“Let’s get to the schedule so we can keep Ayla safe,” Xander said, and we all agreed.

We all needed to protect Ayla. The moon goddess is also involved in this, which means all the wolves should submit to Ayla. She’s the closest one to the moon goddess herself.

“She’s a queen and as soon as her wolf makes her grand entrance, everyone will bow down to her.” Duke purred.

We were organizing the night patrols and having a few warriors with Ayla at all times. If Xander or I were with her, then they could take a break but still be in the area just in case. No one was getting through Duke and I knew Xander would protect her with his life, but she would be devastated if anything happened to Xander.

We were finalizing the schedule when I heard a commotion coming from where Ayla was supposed to be training. Looking up, I saw she was now covered in black scales. Jonathan lunged at her and she jumped over him, flipping her body and landing on her feet behind him.

Every blow he tried to land, she would easily deflect. She moved at lightning speed and I was having a hard time keeping up with her. She may not have been trained, but her instincts were impressive.

I was instantly turned on watching her kick the Alpha’s son a*s.

“Mate is perfect.” Duke purred, coming forward to watch his mate with me.

“We should probably go save Jonathan,” I said, getting up from the chair. The alpha and his beta were stunned and didn’t move as Xander and I walked toward Ayla. The crowd parted and we walked through to stand on the sidelines.

“I thought you said you didn’t have any training.” I heard Jonathan panting.

“I don’t.” Ayla shrugged. f**k, she looks hot in her scale suit.

“Then what the hell was that?” he exclaimed.

“Jonathan, take a break,” I called out, taking off my shirt. Ayla rolled her eyes and I chuckled as I walked closer to them.

“She’s a beast. Good luck.” Jonathan breathed out, moving to the sidelines.

“Did you really have to remove your shirt?” She huffed and I smirked.

“It’s my distraction.” I chuckled.

“Why did you shift?” I asked her and she shrugged.

“I don’t know. I moved, and he landed a blow and I just shifted. I knew this was training and he wasn’t going to hurt me, but maybe this was an automatic defense that I can’t control.”

“Okay, well, how about you hit me?” I said and she stood up out of her stance and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Absolutely not. I don’t want to hurt you.” She exclaimed.

“And I’ll heal. I want to know if you can protect yourself.” I told her and she sighed. She shook out her arms before getting back into her stance.

“Fine.” She grumbled.

I lunged at her and she blocked me before she twisted my arm and threw me over her shoulder. I landed on my back, knocking the air from my lungs. It all happened so fast, I didn’t even see it coming. Duke was purring in my head as I tried to force air into my lungs.

“Oh my god, babe, are you okay? I’m so sorry.” Ayla rushed out, kneeling beside me. She grabbed my cheeks, forcing me to look at her.

“Don’t apologize, baby. I feel bad for the poor bastard who pisses you off.” I breathily chuckled.

“There you go, Ayla.” I heard Xander praise her.

“Ayla bear, that was incredible. You should be teaching.” Her uncle exclaimed.

“I can’t teach if I have no idea how I did any of that. I was going off of instinct, which I didn’t even know I had.” She said, helping me to stand.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She asked me worriedly. I wrapped my arm around her waist and her scales receded, exposing her skin.

“I’m good, baby.” I kissed his temple.

“This is incredible,” Alpha Matt breathed out, touching Ayla’s arm. The scales seem to only recede under my touch and no one else’s.

“She is ours and we are hers,” Duke purred.

“It’s like a suit of armor,” the alpha commented.

“It’s something that happened after I proved myself. I’m going to have to learn how to control it. I didn’t mean to shift.” She told him, and his eyes snapped at hers.

“Does your father know?” He asked her.

“I haven’t talked to him since I talked to him about the murdered mermaid. And then s**t happened and I don’t even know what happened to my phone.” She told him.

“I’ll call him and ask him to visit. He needs to see this. Not only are your scales amour, but with your fighting skills, you are the perfect weapon.” He said and I pulled her closer to me. She may be a weapon, but I’m not going to let anyone use her.

“I meant no disrespect, Nate. I would never do anything to hurt my niece.” He said, reading my mind.

“I don’t understand. Weapon? I thought I was a beacon of hope.”

“Don’t worry, we will figure all of this out. But I’m glad you can kick a*s.” I told her, and Xander chuckled.

“Better you than me.”

“Xander, the body of scales isn’t normal, is it?” She questioned and he shook his head.

“Only you, my queen.” And she rolled her eyes at the title.

“Anyway, I’ll be leaving tomorrow for my old pack. I need to pack up my things. Ayla, are you still traveling to the palace?” I asked her and she looked at Xander.

“We will be ready to leave after Nate does,” Xander answered.

“Ayla, why do you need to head to the palace?” Alpha Matt asked her.

“I need to replace something. But I’ll be back the day after and then I can meet up with Dad. And maybe Jim can bring Bluey here. Is that okay with you?” She asked him.

“Of course. No one here will hurt Bluey.” He told her.

“Now, Jonathan, you should get some sleep. It’s going to be another long night.” The alpha commanded.

“Do you need help with anything, Matt?” Ayla asked him just before he was about to leave. He turned back, a look of confusion on his face.

“I have a few meetings and a stack of paperwork to get done,” he said.

“I mean, around the pack. Is there anything I can help with?” She clarified and he smiled.

“Just focus on learning what you need to learn. Everything else we have covered. Also, when you get back, I’ll introduce you to the warriors that will be in charge of your protection. Not that I think you need it. I’ll be in my office if you need anything, Ayla bear.” He said, walking closer to her. He kissed her forehead.

“I’m so proud of you.”