I Am The Alpha

by A. J. Downey

  “Get dressed, Chloe, before I bend you over the end of the bed and fuck you again,” William was looking at me like I was something good to eat and I grinned.

  “Well aren’t you just a big bad wolf?” I teased.

  “Don’t tempt me woman,” he said, the edge of a smile kissing his full lips. God I wanted to tempt him, was ramping up to do just that, but Markus’ voice called out from the kitchen at the far end of the house.

  “Keep it in your pants Junior! Better yet, both of you find some pants and get your asses out here! I don’t have all goddamned day.”

  William and I laughed and found clothes, which for him were a pair of jeans that hung dangerously low on his hips and for me was another of his oversized tees. I led the way down the stairs, William’s hands resting lightly on my shoulders as he followed. The touch reassuring and comforting. At the door leading into the living room I paused, frowning at the sight of the door which was leaning against the wall, off its hinges.

  “Was that like that last night?” I asked.

  William was looking me over, “I told you I lost my shit for a minute there, Love,” he said softly. I took one of his hands from my shoulder and kissed his palm softly, bringing a gentle smile to his lips, before I continued leading the way to the kitchen.

  We sat at the table and my stomach growled at the bacon and sausages Markus had frying. He expertly flipped a pancake and winked at me.

  “Yet another domesticated wolf?” I asked with an arched brow and they both laughed for a moment.

  “What do you want to know first, Sweetheart?” Markus asked.

  I chewed my bottom lip, “Give me a biology lesson,” I said bravely. “What am I? I mean, I know the basics, but…” I hesitated, searching for the words I needed but coming up empty.

  “Spit it out, Honey,” Markus said kindly and I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “If William and I ever have children will they be like Romulus? Because if the answer is yeah, I need to keep up on my birth control. I don’t know if I could do it.”

  Markus set his spatula down and looked over to William whose expression was one of worry as he looked me over. Markus cleared his throat, “Well, first off you’re limited on your options for birth control. As far as I understand it, and yer gonna wanna check with one of the females of the Pack on this, birth control pills and the like are just like any other drug we take. Not exactly effective due to our ridiculously high metabolism.”

  I felt myself blanch and shot a nervous look to William who shared it with me. We hadn’t used protection last night. Markus laughed.

  “Boy, you didn’t pay any attention to the Beta’s did you?” he asked.

  “Shut it, Old Wolf. Do we need to be worried?” William reached for my hand and I gave it to him.

  Markus let out a gusty sigh and turned back to cooking, to save the food from burning, “Chloe, you just went through your first change last night and even though it was the damnedest thing I ever saw…” I cut him off.

  “Wait, why was it ‘the damnedest thing’?” I asked frowning.

  “You’re a natural Alpha, girl. Only once or twice in a lifetime do you come across someone who has the fortitude to control their first change like you did last night. It’s not supposed to happen. Even so, it was your first change and a wolf-kind’s hormones go all kinds of screwy with the first change. I think you’re safe. That being said, conceiving ain’t the hard part for us. Blood Born wolf-kind are rare Honey.

  “Even if a female wolf-kind conceives, they got nine full moons, nine changes, to go through. Gotta have a certain amount of control to carry to term. You could do it. After last night, I’m damn sure about that,” he nodded and started plating up the food. William got up and moved around the older Arbiter, setting the table and pouring glasses of orange juice.

  I sat back in my seat and tried to wrap my mind around it and felt a little selfish for tackling that problem first. I mean, I had over two-hundred and some odd people to take care of with William… I frowned.

  “So if William is Alpha, and the one to lead us all, what exactly is it that I do as female Alpha?”

  Markus grinned, “Well as Alpha Bitch,” he laughed outright at the look I gave him. “Don’t glare at me, I didn’t come up with the title. That was long before my time. Anyways, as Alpha Bitch it’s pretty much your responsibility to make sure that the Betas are properly educating the newly Moon-Forged and that the Blood Born kids are being properly brought up. You’re the Pack’s social worker. Also, you’re a big part of the Pack’s legal system. Both of the Pack’s Alphas preside over any wolf-kind on wolf-kind criminal proceedings.

  “Violence among the Pack isn’t tolerated, despite the brutality of the Challenges for succession. The human world ain’t equipped to deal with us, so we have to police ourselves. It’s the Alpha’s, as in both William and you, it’s your job to oversee any criminal proceedings when it comes to doling out Pack law. I deal with the civil law angle when it comes to the Pack’s dealings.” Markus stopped talking and stared at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Eat, or do I have to go back to the biology lessons?” he asked.

  I ate, and listened to him as he continued to fill me in. I felt like I should be taking notes. There was so much to learn. Finally, he leaned back and sighed.

  “You need to think about how you want to deal with Sharon and Remus too,” he said. I stood and started clearing our plates, rinsing them and putting them into William’s dishwasher.

  “Do we really have to do anything?” I asked softly.

  “Do you wanna look weak?” he shot back and I frowned.

  “Haven’t enough of y…” I stopped myself, “Haven’t enough of our people died already?” I asked, sadly. My hands shook as the memory of the loud crack of Lucinda’s neck echoed in my ears.

  “You need to come from a position of power you two,” Markus said and heaved himself to his feet. “William knows the law, no decision has to be made right now. But one does need to be made so y’all better be thinking about it.”

  He got up and stretched and went for the stairs but he turned and looked back at William over his shoulder, “You best take her for a run tonight, Boy. Show her what it is to be wolf-kind without all the blood and the teeth.” He fixed his eyes on me, “There are good things about what we are too,” he promised as his parting shot, then he disappeared down the stairs.

  I looked at William who was smiling and I felt myself frown a little.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Oh, you’re going to like this. Come on,” he stood and held out his hands to me and I took them. He drew me in, wrapping my arms around his waist and walked me to the steps, him moving forward, me walking backwards. I laughed slightly.

  “Where are we going?” I asked softly.

  “I think Markus has the right idea, Sugar. We need to take a mental break, and you need to see the fun side of being wolf-kind. We’re going for a run.”

  I smiled up at this man, this impossible man who I had grown to love so much in such a short time and the way his beautiful brown eyes sparkled, I just couldn’t and wouldn’t deny him anything.

  “Okay,” I agreed and yipped, shrieking a laugh as he bent and threw me over his shoulder. He slapped me on the ass.

  “Quiet, woman! With your high pitched noises and girly sounds.”

  “You love my girly noises,” I chided with a wicked grin turning my lips.

  “Too fucking right I do,” he agreed and he carried me down the stairs and out front of his house into the early autumn twilight.

  Chapter 23

  William

  My house sat on the edge of a great deal of forested land, perfect for wolf-kind who loved to run, and I’d yet to meet one that didn’t. The wolf in us enjoyed the woods, loved the forests and mountains and absolutely loved to run. If you were a couch potato sort before being bitten, you wouldn’t be afterward. The wolf wouldn’t let you.

  �
��So, is there a plan here? Or were you just going to carry me around like a sack of potatoes all night?” Chloe asked from behind me as I walked toward the trees. I reached up and swatted her ass again and she gave an adorable little yip.

  “Patience, my love.” She growled and I laughed for a moment before I relented and stopped to set her back on her feet. She got her balance easily but winced a touch as her bare feet touched the cold, damp earth.

  “Okay, Sugar,” I said as we reached a large tree that stood at the very edge of my property. The house was a distance away, a good hundred and fifty feet at least; I had never really had occasion to measure the distance, but it was a good estimate in my opinion. I leveled Chloe with a salacious little grin and ordered, “Strip.” She gave me a strange look and then looked around for a moment.

  “You mean get naked, out here, where anyone could see?” she asked.

  “That shirt won’t survive the transformations and will only get in your way. Plus there aren’t any neighbors for a mile or more in either direction, so come on, get naked.” I followed up my words with action, loosening my belt and kicking off my oversized jeans as they fell off my hips. She eyed me for a moment and licked her lips, I think unconsciously, before she pulled off the shirt she had stolen from one of my drawers. A wave of gooseflesh washed over her skin as the cool air hit her.

  “Okay!” I said and clapped my hands together once, sharply. “Let’s not waste any time, I’m as chilled as you are. So do you remember how you felt when you went through the hybrid transformation last night?” The moon hadn’t yet risen. We could have waited, with the moon still full she would change far more easily, the urge would help her find the triggers she needed, but the faster she got used to making the change voluntarily the better.

  “How so? Scared? Angry?” she asked. The words were a bit sharp but I could tell she was simply concentrating. Her eyes were closed, nipples hard in the chill air, something I tried very hard not to focus on, as much as I wanted to.

  “No, the wolf and you, working together. That sense of control and power. The joy of joining with the animal and being one… that feeling.” I was intimately familiar with my own wolf. He and I had come to an understanding a long time ago. Unlike Chloe, I wasn’t a natural Alpha. I’d fought the change for a long time. I’d hated it. I’d been almost feral in my wolf state for a while before I finally came to terms with the death of my family and the new life that was laid out for me. Yes, I had been a troubled youth as a new wolf-kind, and I was still young by my people’s standards. But, I was at least considered old enough to lead them, if I could hold onto it. The next few months would show the Pack what kind of a leader I would be, and if they were comfortable letting me continue to lead.

  “William?” I startled, jumping slightly at the sound of Chloe’s voice. I had lost myself for a moment in my memories and when I focused on her again, I saw that she was looking at me with a naked concern in her expression, with her body language. Her hands fidgeted at her sides, smoothing her palms along her bare hips and she shifted her weight on her feet, almost swaying from side to side.

  “Sorry, Sugar. Lost myself there for a second.” I could tell she wanted to ask but I pushed on, not really wanting to discuss it yet. I didn’t want her to worry so I changed the subject before she could ask.

  “Anyways, search for that feeling. There are two levels, as you already know. Hybrid and full wolf. I can’t exactly explain to you how those feel, it’s different for every person, but you’ll know them when you feel them. We’re looking for full wolf right now. There will be time later to practice with the hybrid transformation.”

  She looked like she wanted to question further about my trot down memory lane but after a moment, she closed her eyes again, her lips set in a firm line. I reached out and gently brushed my thumb across her lips, causing her to smile slightly.

  “Don’t tense up,” I whispered. “Just feel for the wolf, listen for her… tell her we’re going to play. She should like that.” Her shivering and fidgeting slowly subsided. After a minute’s time, she stood stock still, almost like a statue. The change started swiftly after that. Her body shifted and melded, flesh and bones rearranging themselves in a single fluid movement. One second she was there, and the next my Chloe was gone, and in her place stood a beautiful tawny wolf, fur white, tipped in a golden red reminiscent of Chloe’s fiery hair. She reached nearly to my waist standing on all fours, eyes as brilliantly blue as they were in her human form and now flecked with specks of amber as mine were. I smiled and buried my fingers in her thick pelt, massaging her neck.

  She opened her mouth and yawned wide, tongue stretching out showing two rows of wickedly sharp, gleaming white teeth, before she closed her jaws and settled back on her haunches, tail wagging happily back and forth across the dirt. If a wolf could grin, she did it, tongue hanging out one side of her mouth in an entirely canine expression of pure joy.

  I couldn’t help but smile myself, bending to kiss the top of her head. She really was a natural! The change had been seamless and almost silent, the barest whisper of sound as her body shifted its natural shape. I stepped back from her and she whined a touch, but it was time I joined her.

  I closed my eyes and triggered my own change. It wasn’t nearly as smooth or as quiet as Chloe’s had been. There was a sickening sound of bones snapping and rejoining, flesh tearing and healing as my body changed its shape and Chloe let out a startled yelp, rising up to all fours as if she were ready to run away.

  It’s okay, I told her. I’m fine, my love. Not in words, you understand. Wolves have a complicated and purely instinctual method of communication. Wolf Packs in the wild have been observed coming across an obstacle or prey to hunt and the entire Pack has silently reacted, even the ones toward the back that couldn’t possibly have seen, heard, or smelled whatever it was the lead wolves encountered.

  Body language is an impressive thing and wolves have taken it to an entire comprehensive system of communication with very little vocalization required. Still, I gave a little bark, and stood up on all fours, spinning in a circle and wagging my tail happily, to show her that all was well. I looked like your typical grey wolf, grey and tawny brown; black marking my thick, insulated fur. Standing next to her I was physically much larger than her, as we were in our human forms. I nuzzled her shoulder and licked at her ear affectionately for a moment before I took a few loping strides into the woods.

  I stopped and glanced back over my shoulder at her before she started following me, hesitant at first but then with greater speed as I started running ahead of her. Pretty soon she was keeping up and we ran.

  The average Grey Wolf has a top running speed of about thirty-one to thirty-seven miles an hour. We were not typical Grey Wolves. We didn’t have anything even approaching natural strength or speed. We were both much stronger and much faster. So as we ran, we covered a lot of distance.

  We chased each other through the woods, leaping over fallen trees and plunging through thick brush and vegetation, the ever darkening gloom of night did little to impede our vision and our noses more than made up for any diminished visibility. I was constantly having to nip at Chloe’s flanks to keep her on track as she found herself distracted by gopher dens, animal scents, game trails, unique, at least to her, tracks and so on. In the woods there was no end to the scents and things to investigate and as a new wolf she was fascinated, drawn to all of them.

  I let her play, but kept us moving steadily onward until I finally caught the scent I was looking for. A sharp, heavy, mineral odor. Like wet stone.

  Roughly twelve miles from my house right on the border of the Olympic National forest lay the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort. I led her to the edge of the property, belly low to the ground in a silent crawl forward as I peered intently at the area. Early fall meant the summer tourist season was over and while the place wasn’t empty, it was more sparsely populated than it would have been at the height of summer. Still, there were people around and I kept a wary ey
e and nose out for anyone wandering the grounds. The resort may be owned and operated by Pack, but the guests were all, usually, very human.

  Satisfied there were no guests present, I straightened and loped out onto the property, leading the way away from the swimming pool, instead moving toward the naturally heated mineral pools. The pools were very man made and ranged in temperature from the high eighties up to a hundred and four degrees.

  I picked one in the middle range, shifted to my human form and slid into the water with a quiet groan. “Come on in, Sugar,” I said and waved to Chloe where she stood, still as a wolf, at the edge of the pool. “We’ll chat for a bit and relax.”

  She shifted back and almost shrieked, gasping as the cold air hit her skin. She leapt into the gently steaming water, plunging to the bottom of the pool in a crouch.

  “Holy shit,” she sputtered as she came up, wiping water out of her eyes and sweeping back her hair. “That was a little more intense than I expected!” she admitted and I winced, apologetically.

  “Yeah, sorry about that. I forgot, the wolf’s fur is so well insulated. It can be a real shock going from one shape to the other when the conditions are like this. You get used to it after a while. At least a little bit.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” she drawled sarcastically.

  “Hey, honest mistake.”

  “Yeah, yeah. So what are we talking about?”

  “Well what do we need to figure out, overall?”

  She drifted over and sat beside me, leaning back against the side of the pool and I made sure to ignore the way her breasts just broke the surface as she considered. I make no apologies for how badly I wanted my mate right then, but I needed to focus, so I pushed all thoughts of lust as far away as I could and concentrated on the issues at hand.

  “Remus, Sharon… my father,” she said the last with a disgusted sneer. She gave me a sidelong look and a small smile turned her lips again, the kind of smile that I had come to love more than any other. Just the tiniest turning of her lips, as if she had a secret. I mentally dubbed it her ‘Mona Lisa’ smile right at that moment but kept silent on the subject.