Alpha Ever After

by Casey Morgan

  “Send Mary,” she ordered.

  I let out a huff of breath and tried to relax my shoulders.

  “Ma, you’re being crazy. Mason is the more logical choice.”

  Mother turned away from me and looked at Mary. My friend was mixing batter by hand and trying to get as little attention as possible.

  “Mary, honey, why don’t you take that bowl up front and use the electric mixer up there?” Mom ordered. “And check on Mr. Whitepaw as well.”

  “See!” I said, as Mary hurried away. “Mason is already dealing with our money up front. You’re being very silly over ten dollars.”

  Mom grabbed my arm and pulled me over to the small wooden table at the back of the kitchen. We both sat. She glanced at the doughnut I had been snacking on at all morning. It sat, half eaten on a paper towel.

  I held her eyes, waiting—daring her to say something about my weight. My temper was hot, and I was ready for a fight. Just to spite her, I brought the doughnut to my lips and bit off a large chunk.

  Mom sighed. She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms in front of her.

  “You’re not acting like yourself, Celeste. Why don’t you go take a nap and I’ll take over until you feel better?”

  “Ma, I’m fine.”

  I took another bite of doughnut, glaring at her.

  She sighed again and glanced towards the double doors that led to the front of the bakery. “I do not like that this man—this stranger—is still here. You told me that he dealt with the Southland gang yesterday. He should go now.”

  I snorted a laugh.

  “Mason is helping. Mary and I can’t do everything ourselves. Besides, they will likely come back.”

  “With the amount of injury he gave them, I don’t think they will come back anytime soon. Pay him his fifty dollars and send him away. I will come down and help you. I do not like this strange man touching our money.”

  “Mason isn’t a strange man! He’s…” I stopped myself.

  What was I going to say? He’s my lover—my future husband? Both were true, but I couldn’t tell my mother that. Not yet. She wouldn’t understand.

  She looked into my face as if she was reading my mind.

  “Celeste, he is a bum. I should have never let you have him in here. It’s like inviting a wild animal into your home.”

  I snorted and laughed at her words. She couldn’t be serious.

  So what if Mason didn’t have a job? He had been helpful and loving. There was no way I was sending him away.

  My headache was getting worse and I was fidgeting in my seat. Mom’s request was unreasonable. She needed to go back upstairs and leave me be.

  I finished my doughnut, chewing slowly and concentrating on the sugary taste and not the rage that was filling me. My temper did seem to be awfully short today. It was probably just lack of sleep from my sexy time with Mason the night before.

  My mother stared at me, watching my every fidget and chew. Her eyes were so cool and judging.

  “Just send him away,” she repeated.

  “No.” I blinked at her, holding her gaze and stilling my body. “Mason stays. Go upstairs, Mom.”

  She stood and grabbed the ten-dollar bill I had set on the wooden table.

  “Mary!” she called, while walking towards the front.

  Mary poked her head through the double doors, reluctantly and with great trepidation.

  “Go pick up more red food dye,” Mom ordered.

  She handed over the money.

  Mary grabbed her coat, with a brief look at me, and was gone in a flash. I stood to call her back, but my mother held out a hand to stop me.

  It was a careless gesture. Her hand slapped into my shoulder. It wasn’t hard, but the physical contact was too much to bare. I grabbed her wrist, twisted, and slammed her hand into the island’s counter.

  We both froze, startled by what I had done.

  “What’s wrong with you?” she hissed, her arm still bent in my grip.

  I pulled back, like I was burned, and dropped my arms. I had never put a hand on my mother before. My temper was uncontrollable today. I just felt so uncomfortable and angry. I had no idea what was going on.

  Mom rubbed the pain out of her wrist. Her eyes stayed on me the whole time.

  “Sit down and try to relax,” she told me. Her voice was eerily calm. “I will get you a glass of water.”

  I fell into one of the wooden chairs with a huff of breath and stared at my hands in my lap. They didn’t even seem to be mine anymore. I couldn’t understand what was happening to me.

  I had no idea how I would have even answered my mother’s question about what was wrong with me. Because I had no clue, myself.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Mason

  I handed a piece of chocolate cake to a customer and took his credit card. The roundish man smiled at me as he handed it over.

  Working up front at the bakery was easy and the customers, for the most part, were kind. I guessed it was hard to be unhappy when buying baked goods.

  The steady stream of customers had kept my mind occupied in a way that baking did not—plus I burned too many cookies for Celeste’s liking, anyway. Taking money and handing out treats kept my thoughts busy and away from the alpha I had met this morning. It kept me from obsessing over his claim on Celeste and my fears for the future.

  I had been a lone wolf for too long. Had my alpha powers weakened so much that I was no longer aware when other wolves were around?

  If I had fallen so low, that was a death sentence. If I made house with Celeste, another wolf could just come in and take her from me. The werewolf this morning was upfront. In a way, he was kind. A different alpha would have snuck up on me and killed me without another thought.

  And what of the alpha’s other warning? Could I tame Celeste—bind her to me before she ran wild with blood lust? I honestly didn’t know, and the doubt was tearing me to the core. And yet, I smiled at every person who came into the bakery.

  I handed the man back his card and told him to enjoy his cake. He smiled and headed towards the door. Once the shop was empty, I leaned my forearms on the counter and put my head in my hands, breathing deeply for a few minutes and trying to quiet my mind.

  I felt his eyes on me before I saw him. Mr. Blenko was standing at the bottom of the stairs, panting. The exertion had cost him. I glanced to Celeste’s father. This was our first time meeting.

  Mr. Blenko was tall and lean. He looked like he hadn’t eaten well for a few months. His dark hair was balding slightly. His broken nose was still bandaged, and he clung to the stair rail to hold himself up.

  “What are you doing down here, Sir?” I asked him. “Shall I call your wife?”

  “No, Mr. Whitepaw,” he groaned. “I would like to speak to you alone. I think we have a few minutes between customers. This is the slow part of the day.”

  He had a slight Russian accent to his words. It gave him a bit of an air of formality about him.

  He hopped down the last step and lowered himself into the closest chair. Every inch of his body was tense, and I assumed the pain he bore was terrible. And yet, he acted like everything was normal. I was determined to give him his dignity.

  “May I get you a cup of coffee, Sir?”

  He nodded and smiled slightly.

  “Bring one for each of us.”

  I moved from behind the counter, poured two cups and quickly brought them to the table he was sitting at. When I took the chair across from his, he had his eyes closed. I said nothing and waited until he was prepared to speak.

  His eyes were bright green when he opened them. They focused on me with a harsh intensity. Mr. Blenko brought his coffee cup to his lips and took a quick sip, as if to wet his throat before starting.

  “I’ve had a call, Mr. Whitepaw,” he explained. “Terrell said you spoke to him this morning.”

  I nodded, happy to know the other alpha’s name. Terrell. It sounded familiar but I couldn’t think of why.


  “This is a problem,” Mr. Blenko continued.

  His tone was logical, and he was very calm.

  “I must ask you to leave. My agreement with Terrell goes back ten years. He came to the shop one day and recognized Celeste for what she is. He would have taken her right then, but I protested and made a deal. He lives in town. He will teach her the ways of the Weres when her first shift comes.”

  I eyed him. He was holding something back; I could tell by the way his narrow lips quivered.

  “You’ve been trying to keep her from changing.”

  His face went pale and he dropped his eyes for a second.

  “Yes. I pray every day that my daughter doesn’t become a beast like you. I would have her in God’s eyes always. If she doesn’t shift, then she doesn’t go to that…werewolf, that alpha.”

  He said the last few words in disgust.

  I put a hand to my coffee cup but didn’t pick it up. I felt the warm ceramic against my skin. I used the feeling to keep me grounded.

  “I love her, Mr. Blenko.”

  I kept my voice a whisper.

  “You do not. You cannot. You don’t even know her.”

  His eyes burned into me.

  My protest hung on my lips.

  “Let me be very clear, Mr. Whitepaw,” he continued. “I disliked Celeste’s plan to have you in the bakery, but I allowed it. I am aware of your dealings with Mr. Dominic and Big Dog. I thank you for your efforts, but we are fighting against an ocean tide. Your splashes make little difference in my word. You are a beast and a poor one at that. You have no house, no family, no… pack… to offer my daughter and you don’t even have a job.”

  His words of admonishment cut me to the core. My throat closed with a choke and I could barely breathe against the truth he was speaking.

  “Now, I understand, from Mr. Terrell, that your presence might bring about the one thing that will take my daughter away from me,” he continued. “And if you push her to change, you might not be able to control her?”

  “That is true.”

  I laid myself bare and emotionally crushed before him.

  “Then why are you still here?” he hissed and leaned towards me. “Be ashamed for what you have taken from her and go before you make it worse!”

  I couldn’t deny that he was right. I couldn’t offer Celeste anything. Without my sense of smell and my fading alpha powers, I couldn’t dominate her. I couldn’t bind her. I couldn’t protect her. I was a danger to her and her family.

  I stood and moved towards my bag behind the counter. Loss filled me, but I would do this. I wouldn’t demand that Celeste marry me; I wouldn’t tie her to a lame alpha. Her life was worth more than that.

  She deserved someone who could protect her. She deserved a real pack master and not a hopeless lone wolf.

  I packed up my few things and turned to go. Mr. Blenko stayed in his seat. Our conversation had left him tired, but clearly relieved.

  “Mason?” Celeste’s voice was musical and sweet. It brought a lump to my throat.

  The kitchen doors swung open and she wandered in. Immediately, she looked over and saw her father slumped at the table.

  “Dad? Oh my God, what are you doing downstairs?”

  Celeste swung the door back and called to her mother. Both women hurried into the seating area and gathered around the old man.

  “Why are you down here?” Mrs. Blenko asked.

  She held his thin hand in her own and brushed the dark hair from his forehead.

  “I was coming right back up when your soup was done.”

  He leaned lovingly into her touch.

  “Be still, Mama,” he murmured. “All is right now. I came down to tell Mr. Whitepaw that it is time for him to go and he agrees.”

  Celeste jumped back from her father.

  “What?”

  She shifted her weight and put her eyes on me. They had the slightest hint of blue-neon in them.

  “Mason?” she snapped.

  Her body was ridged. Her anger was almost visible. She was getting dangerous and I was making it worse.

  “I have to go, Celeste,” I told her, trying to keep the pain out of my voice.

  I put my backpack over my shoulder and grabbed my coat.

  She met me as I rounded the counter and blocked my way to the door.

  “Mason?” she begged.

  Her icy blue eyes had tears in them.

  “I don’t understand.”

  I held my hands up before me, palms open.

  “Your father thinks I’m not good enough for you, and I… I agree,” I tried to explain.

  “Nonsense!” she yelled and then turned back to her father. “Daddy, if this is some church nonsense then I will not stand for it. Mason is a good man. He wants to marry me and come work here with us.”

  Both her parents pulled back and hissed at the word “marry”. Celeste ignored them. She stomped over to the table where her father was sitting and dropped to her knees.

  “He needs to stay, Daddy,” she pleaded. “I can’t live without him. I’m sure he will join our church.”

  She glanced at me and I gave her a blank stare. This had nothing to do with religion, but her parents didn’t want her to know the truth. They didn’t want her to know what she was. And who was I to interfere with their wishes?

  “Celeste.”

  Her father took her hands in his. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the crown of her head.

  “Please understand. Your mother and I know what is best for you. Mr. Whitepaw is changing you. He is making you angry and needs to leave. He agrees with me; this isn’t something I’m forcing on him.”

  Celeste shot to her feet and pulled her hands away.

  “Are you serious?” she snapped. “I yelled at Mary once and this is how you punish me. You two are being ridiculous. Mason has helped us. In two days, he has done more to help this business than you, Father, have done in years.”

  She stamped her foot, but I was watching her clenched fists. The lines that defined her skin were beginning to blur. She was close to shifting. Her anger was going to make her shift, if I stayed. I needed to get out of there.

  “Celeste,” I barked.

  She turned to me with glowing eyes, neon blue and beautiful. Her face, her body, and her soul were everything that I ever wanted, and I was going to let her go.

  I pushed past her and put my hand on the front door handle.

  “Celeste,” I repeated. “I’m going to leave now. I’m sorry that I can’t be the husband you need. I know you’ll find someone better. You shouldn’t blame your parents for this.”

  I threaded some of my alpha will through the last few words. I hoped that would help calm her and not inspire the blood lust more.

  I pushed the door open and walked out into the cold. No one followed. My feet took me quickly to the end of the street.

  When I looked back, the street was empty. My mate hadn’t come out of the bakery to stop me. Part of me was glad, but mostly, that fact ripped my heart into two.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Celeste

  Every cookie I touched broke and crumbled in my hand. It had been like that all day. I tried to work on the cookie basket orders, but everything I touched was destroyed.

  It was like the worst run of bad luck ever. Cookies burnt, cellophane wrapping ripped, the handle of one basket even broke off in my hand. I hadn’t even pulled it hard.

  I stood, leaning into the kitchen counter, and staring at the latest of the cookies I broke. It was a heart, broken in two. How fitting.

  It was two days until Valentine’s Day. We had twenty-five more orders to make and were running out of time… and room. Finished cookie baskets in shades of red and pink littered the wooden table at the back of the kitchen and part of the left-hand counter.

  Mom, Mary, and I had been working all day, running ourselves ragged to make the baskets and attend to the stream of customers who came in. We were busy for once. When we opened that morning,
there was even a line outside. It really felt like the curse that the Southland Gang had brought was gone.

  But a new curse had come—me. I couldn’t do anything right and my temper was getting even shorter. I tried to put what happened the day before out of my mind, but I couldn’t.

  Mason leaving was just unbelievable. I had wanted to follow him out into the street and beg him to stay, but his mind was clearly made up. I would have only looked pathetic—and caused my parents to be even angrier at me. I seemed to have no choice but let him walk away, and I was mad at him for showing up to take my virginity and then leave.

  All day, I expected the next person through the door to be him. I ached to see his dark eyes. I longed for his warm hands on my skin. I knew my parents said he was wrong for me, but I didn’t care. Mason was in my heart now.

  Even though I was mad at him, and very confused about why he would leave, I felt very strongly that he still loved me. He thought this was best for me, but it wasn’t. I still had hope for us.

  He had to come back, or I would never be the same. The thought was ripping me up inside.

  I swore under my breath, still looking at the broken cookie, and not caring if my mother heard. She had been giving me space and not ordering me around too much. She knew I was heartbroken and didn’t want to push, even though we were in a rush. When I pushed myself to work harder, it just seemed to make things worse.

  Tears came to my eyes as I stared at the broken cookie. But I held them back until my mother went up front to help a customer. Then I let them flow.

  My loneliness and my need for Mason overwhelmed me. My chest burned and ached. My knees buckled and I sunk down onto the floor.

  “Celeste?”

  Mary ran to my side and sat down on her knees. She patted my back.

  “Are you okay?”

  I wasn’t okay. She knew that, but I held back from yelling at her. Mary was just doing her best to be a good friend. She was trying to be kind.

  “I’m… I’m just sleepy,” I told her, not looking her in the face.