Becoming Alpha
Nora walked into a stunning garden of green. There were vines flowing from archways and wrapping up light posts. A beautiful fountain in the middle of everything. She was surprised that Kip would have something so beautiful.
“This is stunning.” Nora whispered as she looked around, the pack members began to join them.
“Wait, it's about to become magical.” Asher said to her.
“What do you mean?” Nora smiled.
“You’ll see seconds after the sun sets.” Asher smiled back.
The sun was setting and the moon was slowly coming out as they waited for the last bit of pack members to gather. Then as if someone pressed a button flowers began to bloom. The archways and vines that wrapped around the lamp post all sprouted white flowers. Along the fountain bloomed blue moon wisterias and moon flowers. Nora looked around in amazement.
It was breathtaking. She saw a few of the pack members smile up at her as they saw her expression.“We need one of these.” She whispered to Jace.
He squeezed her hand tightly in response. A small smile came to his lips as he realized more and more she thought of his pack as her home. Asher looked over the pack and nodded his head to Nora letting her know it was time. She inhaled deeply and all of a sudden felt super nervous. She knew she was going to have to address them but she didn't think she would feel like this. She also had no clue what to say.
You got this. Jace and Asher's voices echoed in her mind. She chuckled lightly that they both said the same thing.
“Hello all. Thank you all for coming out to meet me. I am sorry we are having to do it like this. Your home here is absolutely beautiful. I am going to do my best as your Alpha to help lead you out of this hard time. Shortly we will be assigning roles. You all know Asher is my Beta. We will soon find Delta and Gamma. I would like to get to know each one of you as time goes on. I hope to grow this pack closer and stronger.” Nora smiled.
She saw several head nodes throughout the crowd, she didn't want to get into how Kip was a horrible leader and that the way things were run under him would not be continuing. She wanted to keep this short and sweet.
“At this time we all pledge loyalty to Alpha Nora. Alpha Nora has requested that when you pledge you look up .” Asher said, stepping forward.
Look for red eyes. Nora reminded Matt, Jace, and Asher.
They nodded hearing her mindlink. The crowd nodded to her and then they all waited for someone to start so they could follow. Asher stepped forward. He then turned to face Nora and kneeled down.
“I Asher of the Red Woods pack pledge my loyalty to Alpha Nora.” Asher said as a guide for the rest to follow; as he pledged his eyes glowed amber.
Behind him they all kneeled and then a chatter rose all in unisom, pledging their loyalty to Nora. A surge coursed through Nora as the rest of the pack pledged to her. A sea of glowing amber eyes looked up at her. Then she spotted them, the red glowing eyes she knew would be there. Three of them in the very back. She wondered if they were Kip’s Delta and Gamma. That would be a total of four, counting George. She felt Jace stiffen behind him, his eyes glowing ice blue as Cole pushed forward spotting the threats. Nora rubbed his arms slightly trying to calm him.
I don't want them to know, we know. She mindlinked Jace.
What do we do now Alpha? Asher asked her through mindlink.
I’m not sure, I guess we'll watch them. I don't want to push this issue right now, maybe I can win them over and if not then we will cast them out. She replied through mindlink adding Jace into it so he would know her thoughts.
We should just get rid of them. Jace's mind linked her back, Cole begging to be let out.
I actually agree with Jace. We don't need anyone else ruining this already damaged pack. Asher mindlinked back.
What if they are just still loyal to Kip because they don't know change, what if they never had a choice. Let's give them a chance. Nora said through mindlink.
The pack’s eyes faded back to normal colors as their wolves resided. They sat quietly waiting for Nora to address them. Nora realized they were waiting on her, she was too wrapped up in the conversation between her, Asher, and Jace.
“Thank you all so much for your pledges. I hope I am worthy enough to lead you all in the right direction. We shall hold a banquet in two days time to celebrate. In that time we will come up with your leadership team and announce titles. Thank you all for coming and I can't wait to meet each of you individually.” Nora smiled at them all.
They bowed their heads and then began leaving. A young woman came up to her. She seemed bold but timidi at the same time. She caught Nora’s attention as she slowly made her way to her.
“Alpha?” She said so softly that Nora barely caught it.
“Yes?” Nora smiled at her.
“I am sorry to speak out of turn-
“Speak out of turn?” Nora asked, looking from her to Asher.
The girl dropped her head when she asked and went silent. Nora looked to Asher to explain what this was about.
“Kip made sure the women were seen and not heard. They had no rights.” Asher explained shortly.
“What's your name? Nora asked her softly.
“Lyla. Alpha.” The girl replied, keeping her eyes downward.
“Lyla, how can I help you? You may look at me.” Nora said softly again.
“I ..I wanted to talk to you about the conditions of the pack and how they treat the woman.” Lyla said.
Nora could tell it took a lot out of her to gather the strength and come to ask her. She saw her nervously playing with one of her fingers as she spoke to her. She kept glancing down and then as if she remembered it was ok to look up. She would tear her eyes from the ground and look at her. Nora reached forward and took the girl's hand in hers.
“Lyla I actually have Sarah coming here shortly. We were going to be discussing several things and this will be one of them. I promise you no one is going to hurt anyone, anymore. You're welcome to join Sarah and I to discuss this matter.” Nora smiled at her.
“Thank you Alpha. I would really like to be part of that. Please send it for me when you meet with Sarah.” Lyla said, bowing her head.
As Lyla bowed her head, Nora noticed a scar in her hair line that ran down to her ear. Without think Nora reached out and touched it. Lyla winced slightly and looked scared.
“What happened?” Nora asked.
“I…I made Alpha…Kip upset.” Lyla whispered.
“Why was he upset?” Nora asked, anger beginning to course through her veins.
“I looked up when he was speaking to me.” Lyla said quietly.
“You looked up?!” Nora nearly yelled, becoming angry.
“Sorry Alpha.” Lyla said, shrinking away.
“No you don't need to be sorry. I am sorry I didn't get here sooner.” Nora said, trying to force her anger down; she didn't want to scare Lyla.
“Lyla, go get something to eat and some rest. I will summon you once Sarah has arrived.” Nora smiled, patting her hand gently.
Jace could feel the tension rolling off Nora. He squeezed her hand gently letting her know he was still there for her. She leaned back against him as she watched Lyla walk away. His warm woodsy scent invaded her noise and she felt herself instantly relax. His warm body almost made her forget why she was outraged.
“This pack is so damaged. “ She whispered to him
“We will fix it in time.” Jace whispered to her, rubbing her arm.
Nora nodded, she had thought to quickly pass the pack onto Asher but as things were starting to unravel the more and more she felt obligated to stay and make sure this pack turned around for the better. She knew there were others who still felt the way Kip did and she needed to make sure that his rien of terror did not continue.
“Asher, we need to start setting things up. Let’s go back to the pack house. Sarah will be here shortly.” Nora said knowing she needed to start making decisions.
“My first order as Alpha is that all women in this pack are equal. You are not to belittle, harm or abuse any female of this pack. Women are to hold their own opinions and are no longer to be seen and not heard. If anyone has any concerns about this new order they can speak to me directly.” Nora sent out a mindlink to all of the Red Wood pack.
She was prepared for backlash and welcomed it.
Planning: An influx of thank yous flooded Nora's mind. An overwhelming surge of gratefulness and overjoyed feeling made her stagger in her steps. She grabbed ahold of Jace's arm to steady herself. Jace looked at her quickly, her eyes tearful as she got through the emotions. Then it happened, a small tinge of anger and upset hit her. She knew there would be upset somewhere in the pack. "Nora what's happening?" Jace asked, Nora was squeezing him so hard she was leaving finger indentations on his arm. "How do you deal with this?" She whispered as the emotions subsided. "What?" He didn't notice anything. "The mindlink. You can feel everyone's emotions when they do it." Nora said, releasing him. "It's hard at first but we grow up with it. You will get used to it." He said, kissing her forehead. "I hope so. That was a lot." She said letting out a breath. "What did you do?" Jace asked, confused. "She set all the women free." Asher said with a grateful face. "You have no idea what yo
Heat: Nora curled inward into herself in the front seat of Jace’s car. The pack house wasn't far but she felt like she was on fire. Like her skin was burning, even the air around her was hurting her flesh. “Jace.” She whimpered. Jace slammed on the breaks and glanced over to Nora as her scent hit his nose. He squeezed the steering wheel tightly in his hands. He didn't expect this. He couldn't go home because the council was there and the way Lance was looking at her before. He would definitely try something. Jace would let Cole kill him. His cabin. Dante, I have to leave. Nora is going into heat. I don't trust anyone from the Red Woods and I will slaughter the council if they look at her the wrong way. Do you have this? Jace's mind linked as he slammed the car into reverse. I got it Alpha. The council has been nosing around, moving like roaches. I caught Bruce in your office. They were wondering when you were coming back. They want to question you. I will let them know you have b
Option Two: Nora slept like the dead. Jace had gotten up and checked the periomidtor several times. He had the area laced with mistletoe so it should warn off wolves but he was still worried. A female in heat can draw unmarked males to them and in a craze. Right now she was safe but he didnt know how long her heat would last or how many episodes she would have. He felt something in him stir and right away he knew she was awake. Where did you go? She sent him through mindlink. Coming back now, checking the periomidtor. Jace responded as he got to the cabin stairs. Opening the cabin door, he saw her sitting up on the bed, her knees pulled up to her chest and the white blanket wrapped around her. He felt her intense confusion and embarrassment. He felt it like it was his own. He walked over to the bed slowly and sat down. He pulled her against him. She curled into him, putting her head against his chest. She had so many questions but didn't want to ask them. She looked up at his fac
Problems: The door to the office flung open with so much force it hit the wall behind it and bounced back. Dante straightened up his eyes glowing ice blue ready for whoever dared to walk into the Alpha’s office in such a manner. Lance came strolling in. His chest rising and falling rapidly. Eyes glowing purple as he entered. Dante looked at him confused. The anger rolling off of him was making Noah upset. He was on the verge of wanting to attack but at the same time due to ranking he wanted to back away. “Can I help you?” Dante said quietly, he was internally trying to talk Noah down. “Where the hell is your Alpha!” Lance yelled. “Taking care of some business with his mate.” Dante said ignoring the voice and volume level Lance was using with him. “When is he coming back!” Lance demanded to Dante,clenching his fist in at his sides. “Alpha will be returning when he is done handling his important business.” Dante said firmly, trying to hold himself together. Let’s just go for the
Return: Dante pulled the car over to the side of the road. He gripped the steering wheel slightly tighter. Was this a trap? What was he after? Dante looked at him, his eyes narrowed, Noah begged to be let out. “Explain.” Dante said, trying to find the safest answer to reply with. “Bruce is trying to dabble into something dangerous. He was working with Kip. I and Lance turned a blind eye because we never thought it would take off. We didn't think Kip had the brains or resources to even do such things. Bruce is a more collected Kip. He is a calm, charismatic, and charming person on the outside, but underneath all that he’s power hungry. The Council position isn't enough for him. He wants to be like a king. He was using Kip to start all of this for him. He had the same ideas. Get an indestructible army to rule all wolves and humans. Lance, well Lance is just in it for himself. He doesn't care what happens as long as he leads his life doing what he wants. He will back Bruce no matter w
Red Woods:Jace pulled the car into the pack house driveway at Red Woods. Asher and Sarah came out the front door eager to see Nora. Nora gritted her teeth. There was something deep in her stomach telling her something was wrong. She couldn't tell if it was the chaos going in the Red Woods pack or something more. Her stomach knotted as he looked at Jace. She didn't want to leave him, she felt unsure of what her body was trying to tell her.Jace looked over studying her, he could feel the rollercoaster of emotions she was on. He reached over taking his hand in hers and squeezed it. He brought to his lips kissing the back of her hand softly.“As soon as you're done, I will be back to get you, promise. I would stay if I didn’t need to get back to our pack.” Jace said his lips brushing against the back of her hand as he talked.“I know. I ..I just feel like something is coming. Something bad.” Nora said worriedly.“Whatever it is, we will face it together.” Jace said, pressing his lips to
Cross River: Jace hated leaving her, it felt like leaving a part of himself. He told himself it would be for only a short while as he put the car into park. Getting out of the car he could already see his blonde spiky hair waiting for him. Each passing minute he hated Lance more and more. “So kind of you to greet me at the door.” Jace said to Lance, stopping in front of the stairs waiting for him to move out of his way. “Where exactly have you been?” Lance growled. Jace smirked; he couldn't help it. It was like he was coming home to an angry wife. “Honey! I’m sorry, am I late for dinner?” Jace smirked. Without a word; Lance cranked back and landed a closed fist punch on Jace’s jaw. Jace's head whipped to the side on impact. He winced, feeling his tooth scrap the inside of his cheek ripping through the flesh. He ran his tongue over it looking at Lance. Jace’s eyes glowed ice blue as he turned his head to the side and spit blood at Lance’s feet. Lance 's eyes glowed purple. “Y
Be Merry:“Let him hang there for a second.” Bruce snickered as he began walking to the pack house.Bruce walked into the pack house like he had just accomplished something grand. Matt was still holding the rope. The only thing holding Jace up at this point. Douglas sighed and shook his head as he walked inside as well. Dante came to Jace's side,he grabbed a hold of his hands and looped them around his neck. He then nodded to Matt to let go of the rope. Matt did and Jace crashed onto Dante.“Just let me fall.” Jace groaned. “Shut up.” Dante grumbled back to him.“Matt, we need to get the wolf's bane off of him so he can start healing. It’s what's making him feel so bad.” Dante said, supporting Jace’s weight.“Tell me to shut up again.” Jace growled.Dante’s forearm skin grazed Jace’s back, the wolfbane burning into his flesh. He winced heavily trying not to drop Jace as the pain shot through him. Matt rushed over and undid his hands."Just let me go." Jace growled again l.“We need w