The Alpha's Property

*** Aiden ***

I cannot find Gamma Ellis anywhere, so I reluctantly drag Beta Preston with me to an impromptu meeting with a neighbouring pack. The Silver Shore Pack is considered a neutral pack and we have been called there today because of a brewing animosity between us and our rivals, the Moon Stone Pack.

As I settle into the back of the car, I wait for the interrogation to start but Preston is uncharacteristically quiet.

“I know you’re dying to ask me so let’s get it over with and then we can plan what we are going to say at this meeting,” I say to him as a matter of fact. However, when he does not respond, I think I must have been wrong about his curiosity.

“Do you think Amber will ever accept me, Alpha?” Woah, now that is the last thing I expected out of Preston.

I look at him with shock evident on my face. “Preston, she is my sister, talk to someone else about this.” I think that’s a reasonable request but he shakes his head at me.

“No, Aiden. You are my Alpha, I am asking for your advice as my Alpha, please. I need to talk about it, she is driving me mad and I am not sure how much longer I can take it. She is my blessing from the Moon Goddess, but she doesn't want me, Aiden, she does not want the same things as me. I want nothing more than to settle down, to mark her as mine and bear her mark on my neck but she just won’t have it.”

What am I supposed to say to him? “Does she tell you why she doesn’t want to mark or be marked? Do you know why she is so against it, Preston?”

He stiffens slightly next to me.

“Aiden, she... she… well. She has only ever spoken about it once and I doubt she even remembers it. She was really, really, drunk. I took care of her, and she basically told me that your mother left her, and your dad was always away and then you left her when you went on Alpha training. She said I would eventually leave her too.”

He lowers his head, deep in thought and obviously confused and hurt.

“But I am still here, Aiden. It has been seven years and I am still here despite how much of a vicious bitch she can be towards me at times. I am loyal to her, and she offers me nothing in return which was ok for a while… but now, I want more. I need more.”

I have never seen Preston like this, we have been best friends for as long as I can remember and although it gets my back up when he is fooling around with my little sister because they refuse to mark each other, that doesn't mean I wouldn't accept them as a proper fated couple. I would be honoured to have him as my brother-in-law. Amber could do a lot worse than my Beta and best friend. I know our mother running off as she did hurt my sister, but I never knew she felt abandoned by me too.

Growing up, I tried to protect her and give her the affection our dad was too busy to give us and our mother was too absent to provide. But I also had a responsibility to the pack, and I always thought she understood that.

“I had to go away Preston, I had to do my training so I could take over. I never abandoned her. I never will, no matter how much of a pain in my ass she is.”

“I thought I would never leave either, Alpha. But it is killing me being so near and yet so far from her. I have tried to make this work, to live by the rules she feels comfortable with, but it is just not enough anymore.  It hurts me so much that after all this time she still will not trust me and still pushes me away. I cannot bear it anymore.” My best friend looks close to tears.

“What are you going to do, man?”

He looks at me solemnly and before telling me he takes a deep breath. “I am going to tell her in full how I feel when we get back and tell her to mark or reject me. I might have to go away for a bit, give her some space.”

“How do you feel about her, Preston?”

He frowns at my question and shakes his head and me. “I think it is pretty obvious I am irrevocably in love with your stubborn sister, Aiden, I have been for the longest time. But it is not enough.”

I know he is being genuine, and I feel as low as a snake for my mistreatment of him. All this time I knew Amber was revolting against the customs but the thought of her being vulnerable and used just did not sit well with me. She is my baby sister and for as long as I can remember it has been my job to look after her.

“Where will you go?” I am hoping this is completely theoretical, obviously, but I want to see how seriously Preston has thought about this.

“I was thinking I would tell her how I feel, tell her I am going to give her space to think for one lunar cycle and when I return, I would like her to make her decision. I was hoping I could be an envoy to the Moon Stone Pack, depending on how things go today, of course. If not, I will request leave to attend further Beta training for a lunar cycle.”

He is serious about this. He has given the finer details his consideration. “What will you do if she rejects you, Preston? Will I still have a best friend and Beta at the end of this?”

“This is my home and I love it here but it's Amber’s home too. If she rejects me, I am not sure if I will be able to stay, Alpha. It is starting to eat away at me now to be near to her but to mean nothing to her.”

I do not want to lose my best friend, but I am unsure of how I can make this better for him. If I try to talk to Amber, she will push back and do the opposite of what I ask. This is why I need a Luna!

We sit in companionable silence for a few minutes before Preston jumps in his seat. “Shit, I almost forgot. You found your mate! Tell me everything, my friend.”

An involuntary groan escapes my lips. “There is nothing to tell, I met her today, she is human and married to another man.” I can hear the hurt in my own voice. I am hurt she had married another, that she didn’t wait for me. I know it's irrational: she is human, how was she to know I was the other half of her soul?

“It is the most amazing feeling though, Aidy, right? To finally hold them, no words could ever capture how truly remarkable it is to be reunited with the one the Moon Goddess destined for us.” His eyes light up, and I know it’s in honour of his feelings for my sister. I am going to beat her next time for hurting my friend. Maybe all this time I have been overprotective of the wrong person.

“It is, Preston. However, it is also frustrating that she knows nothing of our customs and traditions and has no idea of the bond between us. And she is married. I cannot believe she is married.”

I am divulging more than I intended to, but so did Preston. I think it's ok to tell him the truth.

“My sweet goddess though, Preston, did you see how beautiful she is? So little and yet perfectly formed in every goddamn way. She has got a temper, she is fiery, she slapped me soundly when I kissed her. She smelt so good and she…”

Preston’s chuckling breaks my train of conversation.

“Are you laughing at me, Beta?”

“I am, Alpha, I am laughing at you, at me and us all. We really have no chance once the Moon Goddess decides to bless us with our fated mate, do we?!”

My earlier promise to not become a lovesick puppy just bit me right on my ass.

*** Eva ***

I am terrified. I am travelling in a vehicle with a sack over my head and my hands and feet are bound. I can hear voices but I do not recognise them.

My head hurts where they banged it,  although I think this was done by accident. I heard one of them remind the others that I was to be delivered alive and well and unharmed. Delivered where? And where was Summer? Who was looking after my little girl? Am I about to meet my maker?

If it was just me in this world, I could cope with dying, that would be okay. But I am all Summer has, I have to look after my little girl, I need to get free and get back to being her mummy. Nothing else matters.

After what feels like hours, the vehicle comes to a stop and my capturer starts to lift me again. I can hear voices whispering.

“Are you sure this is the right one, Ellis? She is so small, how can she be his match?”

“Shush, you big idiot, you just said my name. and yes, this is definitely the right woman, I saw her myself.”

I start to scream and shout. “Please help, help me! Help!”

A large hand finds my mouth and claps down over it. “Shut up or I will hurt you. If you cooperate, you will be free very soon.”

I close my mouth and scrunch my eyes together. I can feel my body being carried down a flight of stairs and then I am unceremoniously dropped on the floor on my backside.

The floor feels cold against the skin that makes contact with it. Where the hell am I? Why am I here?

As the sack is pulled off my head, a tiny moment's recognition of the man standing in front of me passes over me. Was he from the car showroom?

“Good evening, Luna, I have brought you here for my Alpha. You must accept him as your new lover and then I will let you go free for now.”

The scream leaves my lips before I have a chance to stop it.