Possessing the Alpha
Southern Shifters Saga: Book 1
C. J. Beaumont
Copyright © 2019 by C. J. Beaumont
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Dedication
For the people who give me life in the world of indie publishing: Rebecca Hamilton, Jess Reece, April Canavan, Heather Marie Adkins, and my entire Fated Mates Limited Edition Collection tribe.
This book is also for everyone who supported me during my Fated Mates USAT list run. I love you all.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by C. J. Beaumont
Chapter 1
I jerked back just in time to avoid Brandon’s fist colliding with my jaw. Sweat stung my eyes, but I resisted the urge to rub them as I ducked under his arm and elbowed him in the ribs. “Quit pulling your punches!”
He doubled over for a second, wheezing and struggling to catch his breath.
I took advantage of his hunched-over position and scrambled up onto his back, locking my arms around his neck in a chokehold. The sun glinted off his golden-blonde, sweat-soaked hair as we sparred in my father’s expansive backyard.
“Ease up, Lucy,” he gurgled through the hold I had on his neck, his fingers wrapping around my wrists in an attempt to pull me off.
He didn’t exert enough force to risk hurting me, and not nearly enough to free himself.
“Just admit you lost this sparring session and tap out,” I snorted, still not releasing my grip.
He slapped his hand against my forearm, trying to get me to let go. “It’s not that I’m losing, it’s that my mamma raised me to treat women the right way,” he rasped.
“Ugh!” I released his neck and dropped to the ground, giving him a disgusted shove. “This isn’t the time for you to be worried about being a good little Southern gentleman. You’re supposed to be helping me prepare to take over as Alpha of this pack!”
Brandon rubbed at the red mark I’d left across his throat then scrubbed a hand over his hair, leaving the damp strands standing on end. “Maybe I’m not the best person to be training with, Luc. We’ve been friends since kindergarten, and I’d do just about anything for you, but I can’t try to hit you and mean it.”
“Damn it, Brandon! I need help, and you’re my only option.” And I was running out of time.
“Because nobody else in this pack is stupid enough to actually lay hands on you, whether your father’s sick or not.” Brandon reached for a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap to take several deep gulps. He slammed the bottle down on the raised wooden deck behind my father’s house and lifted the hem of his t-shirt to dry the drops of moisture from his face, exposing his tanned washboard abs. “None of us are keen on having our throats ripped out for accidentally playing too rough with the heir apparent.”
“Playing too rough? Seriously?” I wiped sweat beads off my face with the back of my hand and pinned him down with an icy glare. “This shit isn’t a game, Brandon. Stepping into the role of Alpha is a serious responsibility.” One I’d trained for practically since birth.
Taking over as Alpha of the Blackburn pack was a blood legacy passed down from one generation to the next. But more than that, I wanted this. It wasn’t something being thrust upon me against my will. I’d spent every spare minute over the last several months—years, in fact—working to be as good a leader as my father. To prove myself worthy of the responsibility for ensuring the safety of every member to my pack.
Brandon sat down on the wooden steps leading up to the deck and draped his arms over his knees. “I seriously don’t know why you’re so worried about this. We haven’t had issues with other packs for years. Everyone down here respects the treaties and minds their business. It’s not like you’re going to ascend to Alpha and turf wars are suddenly going to break out or some shit.”
“You don’t know that,” I snapped.
He shook his head. "All I know is I have a hard time training with you like I would with anybody else in the pack."
I threw up my hands in frustration. "And you don't think that's doing me a disservice? If you guys don't stop babying me and start treating me like you would a real leader—or at the very least, like an equal—how the hell am I going to have a snowball's chance in hell of being a good Alpha?"
My best friend stood up and approached me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I know doing things the right way is important to you. I'll try harder to do whatever I can to help you."
"See that you do." We both jumped at the unexpected sound of my father's raspy, strained voice.
Brandon’s hand fell away from my shoulder and he snapped to attention, standing ramrod-straight as we turned to face our Alpha.
My father was still regal, in spite of the fact that he was leaning hard on a cane and struggling to breathe properly. The dark circles under his eyes almost made it look like he'd been in a fistfight and gotten two black eyes. It didn't stop him from staring down Brandon, and my best friend quickly dropped his gaze.
"If you can't be serious about training Lucy, I can always find someone who will."
I heard a derisive snort from behind my father and scowled as Charlie Jones, the pack Beta, appeared at my father's side.
I hoped my father wasn’t suggesting him as a new sparring partner. I felt heat rising inside me, and it had nothing to do with the humid August temperature outside. Despite my body’s instant reaction to Charlie, I had zero desire to suffer through prolonged exposure to him.
His mouth quirked up on one side, almost as though he’d guessed my thoughts.
I wanted nothing more than to smack the knowing smirk off his too-handsome face. My hands curled into fists, nails digging into my palms, as I resisted the urge.
He walked closer and looked me up and down, his disdain for me plain in his expression. "I'm not sure how much good sparring is going to do, if we're being honest."
"Excuse me?" I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him as Brandon bristled at my side. I could tell by the tension radiating from my best friend’s spring-wound stance that he was ready to leap to my defense. I laid my hand on his arm for a second to calm him before I stepped forward, challenging Charlie's personal space as I awaited his answer.
Which might have been a mistake, since my heart started pounding and my skin flushed with heat. Focused on reining in my unwanted response to him, I almost missed his words.
"I just don't see how a college-educated, pampered princess who's had everything handed to her for her entire life has any hope of being a good Alpha." He shot a sideways glance at my father.
And I did, too.
Did my father share Charlie’s opinion? He couldn’t. Otherwise, why would he have spent years teaching me about the duties of the pack Alpha?
The only indication Dad gave that he'd even heard Charlie was a wry twist of his mouth and a half shrug, as if to say he didn't have a dog in this particular fight.
Seriously? My father wasn’t going to back me up? But then, if I wanted to be Alpha one day, I couldn’t expect someone else to fight my battles for me.
A wave of indignant rage washed over me as I angled my chin up to stare directly into Charlie’s critical amber-brown eyes.
"I'm the Blackburn heir, Charlie, whether you like it or not. I worked hard for my business degree. Nobody handed me a 3.7 GPA. I worked my ass off for it. I didn’t coast by on my family’s name. If you think I give a fuck that I happen to have the same name as a street and a park here in Bay Minette, you’re dead wrong.”
Charlie huffed out a humorless laugh and rolled his eyes before stepping toward me, using his superior height and size to try to intimate me. I refused to back down.
Maybe I couldn’t take him in a fair fight, but I wasn’t above playing dirty when the situation called for it. Or when somebody was particularly deserving of it. Charlie might be in for an unpleasant shock, if my claws came out.
He leaned down, so our noses were almost brushing. “Dead is exactly how I think this entire pack is going to end up with you as leader. You’re not ready to be the Blackburn Alpha, and I’m not sure you ever will be.”
Anger flared through me again, and I slapped the living shit out of him before I stopped to think about what I was doing. The instant after I did it, the collective intake of breath from the three men surrounding me told me that I’d just made a huge mistake, and I took a step back. Physically—and figuratively.
My first instinct as a Southern lady was to apologize profusely for losing my temper, followed by a hasty retreat. I knew in my gut, however, that backing off now would only succeed in proving his point for him.
I ignored the red imprint I’d left on his cheek—and my stinging palm—and met his gaze with a hard stare. "If you're not prepared to support me as Alpha of this pack, maybe you should start looking for another pack. One that will put up with your shit after I ascend to my rightful place as leader." I punctuated each word by jabbing his chest with my index finger.
Suddenly, he had my wrist in a steely grip, forcing my hand away from his breastbone with that same infuriatingly knowing smirk that I was dying to wipe off his smug face.
I steeled myself to not wince as his hand tightened painfully around skin and bones for a moment before he released me.
It had been a warning, plain and simple. One that was impossible for me to miss. I wanted to be outraged that he’d treat a woman that way, using his greater strength against me. But when I become Alpha, my enemies aren’t going to play nice just because I’m female.
Of course, that didn’t change the fact that Charlie was an asshole for deliberately trying to cause me pain. And in the future, I wouldn’t let his disrespect slide without punishment.
"Fat chance, Princess," he snorted. I didn't miss his dismissive glance, either. "You're not going to have the opportunity to expel me from this pack. And I’m certainly not going to make it easy on you by leaving."
Brandon shifted behind me. I had forgotten that he and my father were standing there, watching this little scene play out between Charlie and me. But I wasn’t willing to tuck my tail and run.
I stepped close enough to Charlie that our noses were practically brushing again. I had to fight the childish urge to knee him in the balls.
Not that he didn’t deserve it. But I had to get a handle on my temper, to prove I could control my anger and put emotion aside for the good of the pack. Prove that I was more than capable of being a worthy leader of the Blackburn pack.
Prove that I could stand up to any one of its members. Even Charlie. Especially Charlie. "Oh, yeah? You don’t think I could expel you from the pack if you get out of line? And why, exactly, is that?"
If he said it was because I was a harmless, dainty female, I really would knee him in the balls, my temper be damned.
"I'm challenging your claim as pack Alpha."
I staggered back, feeling like I'd been punched in the gut. It was hard to catch my breath for a second.
Of all the things I’d expected him to say, that hadn’t crossed my mind for an instant. "What the fuck? Are you serious right now, Charlie?"
He simply stared me down for a long moment, his gaze dark and turbulent. "I'm dead serious.”
I couldn’t leave it at that. “I suppose you think you’d make a better Alpha.”
“I do.” He didn’t even hesitate before answering. “For the good of the pack, and more importantly the safety of the pack, I'm challenging your right as heir to the Alpha."
Chapter 2
I stood there, frozen in utter and complete disbelief. I stared at my father, waiting for him to react. Yet, he did nothing, as if he hadn’t even heard Charlie’s words. Though my father was getting older, I knew he wasn’t deaf. His silence seemed to speak volumes. My mouth hung open as I grappled to find words to convey what I was thinking. Fortunately, Brandon found his voice and I didn't have to.
"You're going to allow this bullshit?" he snapped, his blue eyes blazing with fury as he glared at Dad.
"She's going to have to deal with much worse if she becomes our Alpha," my father shrugged.
For a moment, betrayal seared through my heart. I hadn’t missed his use of the word if. I clenched and unclenched my fists repeatedly as I struggled to control my temper, refusing to allow the hurt to take over. Anger was better.
When I finally got a hold of myself, I leveled a steely gaze at Charlie. "Fine. If that's the way you want to do things, I accept your challenge—"
"No, she doesn't!" Brandon interrupted, utterly indignant at the whole situation.
He crossed his arms, glaring back and forth between the pack's Alpha and Beta until my father held up his hand. He might have been sick, but his power as Alpha wasn't completely lost. He could still exert his will over members of the pack. I could practically feel the force of it crackle through the air and tingle over my skin.
When it hit Brandon, his stance went slack, his arms going limp at his sides, and he dropped his head like a scolded dog. "Forgive me, Alan. I didn't mean to disrespect you or your position. I just feel it's my duty to protect Lucy from harm."
"As it should be, but that can’t come before the safety and structure of the pack as a whole." My father fixed Brandon with an unwavering gaze.
Brandon nodded. "Of course. Again, I apologize. I really didn't mean any disrespect."
He strode away from us to plop down in a patio chair on the back porch.
I turned my attention back to Charlie. "As I was saying, I accept your challenge, Charlie. Name the time and place, and I'll be there." I glared at him, the bitter taste of bile tinging my words with an acidic tone.
"Tonight, at the pack meeting on your father's hunting club property," Charlie spat.
"Agreed," I growled, extending my hand to him so we could shake on it.
He grasped my hand for what felt like less than a second, then dropped the contact as if he'd been burned. He turned and stalked up the porch steps past Brandon, barging into my father’s house through the back door like he owned the place. My father hobbled along behind him, leaning heavily on his cane. A moment later, the back door shut behind them.
Part of me wanted to scream at him for not defending me as I felt a parent should, but the other part of me understood that he was our Alpha, and he had a responsibility to the entire pack, not just me. Still, that didn't make his apparent dismissal of me hurt any less.
Brandon got up and walked back over to me, hands in his pockets. Rather than looking at me, he stared at the ground like he was trying to burn a hole through it with his eyes. "You're fucking crazy for agreeing to fight Charlie," he growled.
I could feel stubborn disapproval rolling off him in spite of the fact that my father had exerted his will over Brandon. He couldn't do anything about the situation, but that didn't mean he had to like it or agree with it. And judging by his behavior, he didn’t.
"I had no choice but to accept his challenge," I sighed, shaking my head.
I pulled out the hair tie that had been holding my hair up in a ponytail and pushed my hands through the sweat-dampened strands in frustration.
"That's absolute horse shit," Brandon groused, kicking up a big clump of grass in my father's otherwise perfectly manicured yard.
"Having a temper tantrum about it isn't going to change things, and it damn sure doesn't help the situation," I snapped.
Brandon threw his hands up in the air, not even a bit calmer for my logical words. Apparently, pointing out the truth to him had worked about as well as baptizing a cat. "I'm sorry, but I'm not okay with any of this! I don't want to see you get your ass handed to you in front of the entire pack."
“It’s nice to know you have such faith in me,” I replied, sarcasm heavy in my tone.
“Luc…” he shook his head in exasperation, though he didn’t raise his gaze to mine. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
I crossed my arms and stared at him, willing him to look me in the eyes. When he finally did, I went for the low blow because that seemed to be the only thing that was going to get through to him. "If you feel like he's going to kick my ass, maybe you should have taken my training a little more seriously."
His face paled under his deep golden tan, and he inhaled sharply. My point had struck home.
Possessing the Alpha: A Wolf Shifter Romance (Southern Shifters Saga Book 1) Page 1
