Rise of the Alpha Page 2

  Lucian would take over as Pack Master. His brother resented him for the longest time, bitter that he wasn’t born first, and probably still did. He wanted to rule, not be ruled. He had a thirst for blood, just like their father. However, there was still a soft side to his brother. He witnessed it once when two younger pack teens were picking on a girl half their age.

  Lucian charged in and snarled at the boys, grabbed them by their necks and threw them across the ground, then dropped to his knees to tend to the younger female. He wiped at her tears and told her they would no longer be an issue for her. The child hugged Lucian and when that happened, his brother froze, unsure what to do.

  His eyes met Killian’s and he motioned for his brother to hug the girl back. And he did. A part of Lucian’s black heart melted that day and beat for a different reason.

  Then their father showed his ass in the town square. He grabbed Lucian by the hair and yanked him to his feet.

  “No son of mine will bend the knee and wipe a girl’s tear!”

  The child ran in fear back to her parents. Their father pulled Lucian by his hair and his brother’s feet dragged across the ground. Killian started toward his father but Lucian held his hand up and waved him off.

  “No,” he mouthed.

  Killian stopped and a sadness crept through him, knowing his brother would be beaten for showing a softness to an inferior creature.

  Killian was supposed to lead as Alpha. The echo of his brother screaming still haunted his memories and nightmares. He felt a dampness seep into the fur near his eyes. Their father would beat them until they bled. He would snarl, lash their backs with a belt, all while consuming whiskey.

  Their mother protected them from this side of their father, but after she died, the gates of Hell were opened, never to close again.

  He was to take over as Pack Master of their clan.

  He was expected to lead in his father’s passing.

  Not today, not ever.

  CHAPTER 2

  “Father, please, don’t make me do this.” Cordelia Golden lowered herself to her knees by her father’s bedside. He lay in his bed covered with blankets. His skin was beginning to grey and she knew it wouldn’t be long before he passed into the next life.

  “You must. Think of the pack. They cannot be without an Alpha,” he whispered to her. He laid his weathered hand over top hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Please, do this for us, for your sister, for me.”

  “Father, I would do anything for you, but I refuse to marry a man just so he can claim the title of Alpha. I’m your first born. Let me become the Alpha.”

  He coughed and Cordelia brought a used rag to his mouth. He spat into it, then laid back down. “It’s unheard of, having a female as Alpha, and you know this. You’re tougher than half the men out there. You would be an amazing leader, but having a female lead this pack, you would be attacked left and right. I cannot leave this world knowing this. We must set things in order.”

  “Then let me find my mate. Allow me to marry the one who is destined to be mine.”

  “Allow me to take her, Pack Master.”

  Cordelia closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

  James McBeal, one of the hunters of their pack, came into the room. He was tall and broad, and he was also a bully. He pushed his way around people, took things from the smaller ones, like their weapons, food, money, it didn’t matter. If he wanted it, he would eventually have it in his hands. He made his way through the women of this pack and he also stated on numerous occasions that he should be Alpha when her father passed.

  Of course, for this to happen, he would have to mate with Cordelia and make the bonding official. She wanted no part of that, or him. He disgusted her completely.

  “Not in this lifetime or the next,” she told him without turning around. “Leave us, this is a family matter.”

  “Come now, that’s not what you said the other night,” James teased.

  She whipped around on her heels and fisted her hands by her sides. “Stop with your lies and gaslighting, James. You and I—” She motioned between them. “—will never be a thing. Now, leave my father’s room and our home. You are not welcome here.”

  “He’s part of this pack, Cordy,” her father said, using her nickname. “We don’t have time for this.” He coughed again. “I’m dying and the pack comes first. It always will, no matter what.”

  “Then please, sir, grant me your blessing and—”

  “No!” She cut him off and turned back to her father. She sighed and rubbed at her temples. She knew her father spoke the truth; the pack always came first. There was no changing his mind once it was made up, the old stubborn fool. She wasn’t ready to give up on her dream yet, either. And she was most certainly not going to entertain the idea of mating with James. The thought made her want to vomit.

  “James, leave us,” her father said.

  “As you wish,” James mumbled, but not before he whispered next to Cordelia’s ear, “You will be mine.”

  She gritted her teeth and stepped away from the man. He chuckled as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

  “Father, you’re leaving me no choice here.” She stepped closer to his bed. Leaning over him, she pressed her lips to his forehead. He felt chilled and clammy.

  “Cordy?”

  The familiar voice of her younger sister, Sarah, called to her. She looked behind her as Sarah stepped into their father’s room. She recently turned twenty-three and was of age to marry if she so chose, but like Cordelia, no one was worthy.

  Their father always boasted about wanting boys for his children, but since he was blessed with girls, he should toughen them up just as well. His love for his children never wavered. He was protective, loyal, and a wonderful leader. He was fair in his rulings and never put out a punishment of death. He was respected in his pack and the only time he was ever challenged for Pack Master, it was Cordelia who fought the man.

  The man had growled in her ear that as soon as he won, he would kill her father, rape her sister, and put a babe in her belly. The pack would be his and his alone. The rage that day drove Cordelia to a new level of insanity, one she never wanted to experience again. And she won.

  The fight ended when she ripped his throat from his neck. In her wolf form, she stood over the dead body of the fighter as his blood oozed from her mouth.

  Cordelia wouldn’t leave her home for almost a month. It was her first kill and it caused her to have nightmares for weeks afterward. Sarah slept next to her in bed, and her father was never too far away.

  “I did it to protect you,” she cried to her father. “To protect Sarah and our pack. He would have ruined everything and broke the pack apart. He would have taken all the women for himself and killed off the men.”

  “He said as such?” her father asked.

  “Not in so many words, but yes.”

  Coming back to the present, she faced her sister. “What is it, Sarah?”

  She motioned for Cordelia to join her in the corner of their father’s room. Pictures of the girls hung on the walls from when they were babes to their adult years. Other photographs were of Sarah and Cordelia in their wolf form. Cordelia’s wolf a pure white, like her hair. Sarah’s wolf had a blonde hue to it, not quite as white as her sister’s.

  “Will father make me marry, too? I don’t want to marry one of the guys here. No one here does it for me, you know?”

  Cordelia sighed and took her sister by the arms. “Not everything in the world revolves around you, Sarah. The sooner you realize that, the better.”

  “I never said it does,” she protested. “But seriously, all the men here are, well—”

  “Gross?” Cordelia finished.

  “Yeah, exactly. I don’t want to feel forced into a loveless marriage for the sake of the pack.”

  “Yet if we don’t,” Cordelia added, “anyone at any time could take over and we can’t let that happen.”

  “What will you do?” Sarah asked.

  Shaking her head, Cordelia actually looked at her sister and what she had on. She wore fitted blue jeans with knee high boots. She paired it with a long white sweater and she had her long light blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. “You look nice today. Any reason?”

  She shrugged. “I figured with daddy passing soon, it would be better to try to look my best than to come in as if I had just rolled out of bed.”

  Lifting her brow, Cordelia crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you trying to say?”

  “Maybe that a shower wouldn’t hurt you? I mean, you’re beautiful. Why not dress the part as the pack masters oldest daughter? You have a lot of power behind you, if you just chose to use it.”

  “What do you know of power?” She pushed past her sister and out of their father’s room. Starting down the familiar family hallway, she stopped in the living room and picked up her purse.

  “Apparently not as much as you, but I know enough to understand my place in this pack.”

  “Fine.” Cordelia turned and faced her sister. Anger rose and she wanted to grab her sister, shake her, and get her to wake the hell up to the reality they were both in. “Then you go marry whoever you want and let him become the new pack Alpha, because I’m out.”

  “What? No, you can’t leave me here like this!”

  “Oh, yes I can, and I will. Watch me.” She turned toward the door. Sarah grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back.

  “Please, don’t leave,” she whispered. “I need you here with me. I can’t do any of this without you. And Cordy,” she whispered. “I’m scared. I’m really, truly scared.”

  With a sigh, Cordelia lowered her head and let go of the door. She loved her sister but she didn’t have to like her right now. “Look,” she started, and led Sarah over to the couch. The women sat and Cordelia crossed one leg over the other. “There’s an expectation of us I don’t agree with. If we were born males, this wouldn’t be an issue. The Alpha role would have naturally fallen to me. However, since we are women, we have to marry a man and he will be the one to run the pack. I want to do this for our father, but not with anyone here. I know my mate is out there, I just know it, Sarah, but I can’t stay here. I have to go find him. Once I do, we can marry and he can then rule.”

  She lifted her brow. “So, that’s your big plan? To run away until you find some schmuck to marry you and convince him to be the Alpha?”

  “Wow,” she started and felt defeat plague her thoughts. “Since you put it that way, it sounds idiotic.”

  Sarah took her hand and held it in her lap. “Listen, if you’re able to find your mate and he’s willing to move mountains for you, then anything is possible. And Cordy?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You’re worth it. Never forget that. You’re amazing and a wonderful big sister.”

  Cordelia smiled and pulled her sister close to her. “You’re not so terrible, either.”

  Their mother died when Cordelia was ten and Sarah was barely eight. Cancer ate away at her body from the inside out. It was a horrible, painful death. When she passed, they had the funeral, followed by the cremation of her body. She often dreams of the day they set flames to her mother’s body.

  What if she were still alive?

  What if she felt the pain?

  Did she tell her mother how much she loved her?

  Could she have done something more to prevent the death from happening?

  Their father reminded them, time and time again, it was not their fault. She had cancer and that was that.

  Cordelia took it upon herself to raise her sister from that point forward. Not that their father didn’t help, because he did, but he had the responsibility of the pack as well. There were also unattached female pack members who wanted to be with the Alpha. It was sometimes humorous to watch their father turn down advances. Other times, the girls would play games with the women.

  Once, during an afternoon outing, Sarah brought back a mouse she found dead in the field. She was crying because the critter didn’t have a chance. Cordelia told her to give her the remains and she would bury him properly.

  What Sarah didn’t know was Cordelia decided to plant the dead mouse on a plate for the woman wanting attention from her father. When dinner was served, Cordelia brought out the plate for the woman and sat it in front of her, then left the room. She joined Sarah in the kitchen and waited.

  Then it happened, the woman screamed, and Cordelia burst out in laughter. Moments later, their father rushed into the kitchen and he had fire in his eyes. To say he was pissed was an understatement.

  He bent down to Cordelia’s level and said, “Tell me the truth, girl. Did you place that mouse on her plate?”

  She nodded and never broke eye contact with her father.

  “Was that the mouse I brought you today?”

  “Shh!” Cordelia returned.

  Her dad then stood and motioned for Sarah to leave the kitchen. Cordelia felt scared that day and wasn’t sure what her father would do, but as soon as they were alone, she braced for the worst.

  Then, her father shocked her by letting out a chuckle. She frowned and tilted her head.

  “Why are you laughing?”

  “Because, you sly young girl, you should have seen the look on her face!” He laughed even harder, then Cordelia smiled.

  “You’re not mad at me?”

  “Oh, you’re grounded, but no, I’m not mad. She left here as fast as she tried to get in. And that I thank you for.”

  “But I’m still grounded?”

  “Ask again and I will whip your behind.”

  She nodded quickly and added, “Yes, sir.” She then ran off for her bedroom with a devious grin.

  She looked at her sister as they sat on the couch and Cordelia smiled at the memory of the dead mouse. “It’s always been you and me against the world, Sarah. What would I do without you?”

  She shrugged. “Let’s not find out.”

  Cordelia leaned forward and whispered, “When the sun goes down tonight, I’m leaving. I can’t do this, Sarah. I know my mate is out there. Reckless or not, I won’t marry someone here just for the sake of the Alpha role. I won’t do it.”

  “If it were me in your position, I’d do the same, but promise me you’ll be back.”

  “Of course I will be.”

  “Good, because if you don’t, then it will be me having to marry!”

  Cordelia hugged her sister once more and whispered, “I promise, I’ll be back. It may take me a few days, but I will be back.”

  “Father only has a few days left, if that. I need you here.”

  She nodded, then let her sister go. “I won’t let you down. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  The moon was bright in the night sky and the last light in their pack finally went dark. She stood by the lake that surrounded their pack property and she hid behind one of the many trees. Stripping from her clothes, she called on the magic and shifted into her wolf form.

  The first few times she learned how to shift, it was painful. Her bones broke and her skin burned from her body, to be replaced by a body full of fur, a snout, and teeth as sharp as razors.

  She shook out her large wolf form and looked up at the moon.

  You have to be out there. Please, hear me and help me find you.

  She dug her paws into the ground and took off in a sprint. She was out of their territory in a matter of minutes. She was one of the fastest runners in her pack and could cover a few miles in a matter of minutes.

  Help me find you. I need to find you.

  Where are you?

  This thought continued on auto-play as she ran. She sniffed the air but all she picked up on was moss, mold from past rains, and other animals. Owls called their evening songs and occasionally, she caught the eyes of other night creatures along her path.

  Her heart slammed in her chest and she would need to slow soon or exhaustion would take over. She could pass out and revert back to her human form, lying naked for anyone to discover.

  Help me find you.

  I need to find you.

  Tears threatened her eyes. Was she crazy for thinking this could work? The world was so big and she was only one person, one wolf. There’s no possible way she could ever find her mate like this.

  She sniffed the air while holding back tears at the same time, and this time, something tickled her senses. She sniffed again and her eyes widened.

  What is that?

  That’s…new.

  That’s…hold on…

  She sniffed again and realized it was the scent of a male. A male not of her pack. Another shifter. She inhaled once more and, digging her feet into the soft ground, she banked right and bolted in her new direction.

  She ran with a renewed sense of purpose. She found someone. He was new to her. He was someone other than the group of unattached men in her pack. He could be her mate; he could be someone that could not only save her, but save her family, her entire wolf family.

  Inhaling again, the scent grew stronger.

  Hear me!

  Do you feel me?

  Can you smell my scent?

  Her muscles were beginning to burn and in the distance was a darkness shrouded by the trees. It was large, and the closer she came, the more corporeal it became.

  It’s a cabin! There’s a light on inside and smoke coming from the chimney. He’s in there; my mate is there!

  She was taking a big chance on the fact this man whose scent she picked up on was indeed her mate, but it was a chance she was willing to take. Not paying attention to where she was running, as she was focused solely on the cabin and the potential man inside, she crashed into a tree.

  A loud scream escaped her wolf form and she couldn’t breathe. Whether the breath was just knocked out of her lungs, or she broke a few ribs, she didn’t know. She tried to move but couldn’t.

  She looked toward the cabin and saw a man running toward her, then blackness took her under just as she heard, “are you all right?”

  CHAPTER 3

  Killian stepped out on his porch and stretched. A sense of relief, and freedom, was finally starting to settle in. It had been a long time, if ever, since he’d felt this free. The stars were plentiful and there was a chill in the air. The winter solstice was just around the corner.