The She-Wolf Alpha (Book 1 She-Wolf Series)
Chapter 16

I started reading and found myself enraptured by the information. Jackson made a great librarian and directed me to different books when I wanted to delve deeper into different subjects. I had lost track of the time when I noticed Emerick approaching me while I poured over a book at one of the tables.

“Hey you,” I greeted.

“Hey,” he smiled, “How was your afternoon?”

“Very enlightening actually,” I reached for his hand and pulled him in to give him a kiss without thinking.

He gave in without hesitation, but as we separated I suddenly felt self-conscious. We hadn’t even discussed what we were yet, and I had only been on pack lands for a little over twenty four hours. I thought maybe I should’ve been more discrete. Emerick seemed to sense my unease and pulled away to sit across from me, giving me a wink.

“Looks like you have been busy with pack history,” he said, eyeing the stack of books on the table before me.

“I just feel so behind in knowledge about the inner workings. I’m trying to catch up a little.”

“You will,” he said with confidence. “What’s on the agenda for this evening?”

“Oh crap,” I said, remembering the plans I had made with Cassandra. “What time is it?”

Emerick checked his watch, “A little after five. Why?”

“I made plans to go have a glass of wine at Cassandra Stevens’ place. Well, actually I made plans for us to go to Cassandra Stevens’ place to help her plan the alpha ceremony.”

“When did you meet Cassie Stevens?” He asked.

“I sort of ran into her in the hallway earlier and knocked all of her party planning supplies out of her hands,” I told him, sheepishly.

He grinned, “And she kindly bullied you into making plans immediately? She’s a force to be reckoned with that one.”

I laughed, “She was so excited! I couldn’t say no.”

“No one ever can,” he shrugged. “She’s actually a great person for you to get to know if you’re trying to integrate into the pack. She seems to know everyone and about everything going on.”

He lowered his voice conspiratorially, “There’s some rumors that she’s psychic. She denies it whenever somebody asks and refuses to do readings or anything. Ever since she was a kid she has seemed to just know things that are going to happen. The joke is that if you see her walking with an umbrella on a sunny day, you should get ready for rain.”

I thought about my conversation with her and saw some of the things she had said in a new light.

“Maybe tonight will be more interesting than I thought,” I grinned.

Emerick shrugged, “We should probably get going if we want to be on time though.”

I nodded and started to put the books away. Jackson and Emerick helped before the three of us exited the library. Jonathan met us in the hallway and the brothers discussed updates to security while I checked my phone for messages and emails. Nothing was anything I had to handle now, but I did send Luke a text hoping he had a good day and telling him I loved him. I was ready for us to be under the same roof, but I wouldn’t risk bringing him here until I knew it was safe.

“Ready?” Emerick asked. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the Find ɴøᴠel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Yeah. I need to grab my things from your office so I can change clothes and freshen up a bit before we go,” I told him.

“I actually moved your stuff to one of the suites. I figured you wouldn’t want to spend the night in the med bay again. We haven’t moved your furniture from your house yet so I didn’t think you would want to stay at the empty Alpha’s Residence.”

“Oh. That makes sense. I guess I didn’t really think about where I would sleep tonight,” I said, honestly.

“Well let’s show you to your room then madam,” he offered his hand with an exaggerated bow.

I rolled my eyes and laughed, taking his hand in mine.

As we walked I told him about my talk with Stephen. He stayed quiet while I spoke, but I felt him stiffen when I told him about what Stephen had said about not trusting Emilia. I chose to leave out what Stephen had said about finding a mate, not wanting to unpack that quite yet.

“I’m not really sure what my options are for dealing with Emilia. That’s part of the reason I was looking through the history of the pack today,” I told him. “It seems like back in the day, there were a lot of beheadings but I can’t imagine ordering someone’s death. More recently, wolves are banished and made rogues for crimes against the alpha.

"From what I gather, Emilia is powerful and well connected across packs. I don’t think sending her away guarantees she won’t plot against us from afar. At least if she’s here I can monitor her activity.”

“That’s really good insight,” Emerick said, seriously. “Personally, I vote for the beheading.”

I turned to look at his face, sure he was joking. But I found no humor in his features.

“You’re not serious,” I said.

“She committed treason and wanted you dead. Most likely she would’ve had Gregory send someone to hunt down Luke and Elias as well. So yeah, I vote for the beheading.”

“You don’t know that she wanted me dead, Em. Gregory couldn’t have killed me if I submitted.”

“Well, funny enough, Cassie’s husband, Michael, is the head of our Enforcers, the pack’s equivalent to the police or FBI. Why don’t you ask him all about it tonight?” Emerick said, still no humor in his voice.

We reached a door marked Suite 1 and Emerick pulled a key card out of his pack to scan our way in. Then he held the door open for me. While I expected a basic hotel room setup, I was greeted by a cozy apartment instead.

Warm wood floors led the way to a comfortable sitting area before me. A kitchen with a large dining room table sat off to the right. On the left I saw two doors which I assumed to be bedrooms, and above me exposed beams and a tongue and groove ceiling reminded me of the rustic lodge feel of the exterior of the building. A large fireplace centered the room, and I imagined curling up in front of it with a cozy blanket to stare out the floor to ceiling windows on either side with a view of the forest below.

“This is beautiful,” I said.

“It’s pretty sweet, huh? Sarah redid all of the rooms a couple years ago when she became Luna. I think she had Cassie help with the design process. They were getting pretty dated,” he explained.

I found myself wondering about my cousin and his wife who I never met. While it felt a little strange to be in a place that she had designed at the pack house, I imagined the feeling would be exponentially magnified when I moved into the Alpha’s Residence. It had been their home and a place I was sure they made a lot of memories. I shook myself from my thoughts and checked the time. I would need to hurry so that we weren’t late. Grabbing my duffel bag off the dining table, I headed to the bedroom to change.

I put on some lip-gloss and added a little mascara that I thought might highlight the green of my eyes. After changing into jeans, a low cut sweater that hugged my curves, and some heeled booties, I walked out of the bedroom to meet Emerick. His eyes raked over me.

“You look fantastic,” he said.

I blushed, “Do you think it’s too much? Maybe I should wear something more professional. I’m trying to make a good impression as the new alpha.”

“Absolutely not. This is just a casual gathering anyway,” he said, pulling me against him.

His hands fell to my waist and his eyes traveled to my lips.

“Hey now. None of that,” I teased, “We need to get going.”

He grumbled but released me. We hurried through the pack house halls and to the parking lot out front. I headed over to the fleet of black SUVs when Emerick called out behind me.

“Hey Sam?” I turned around. “I thought we might take my car.”

He was pointing at a dark blue, shiny muscle car.

“That’s your car?” I asked.

It was a beautiful Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and looked brand new. I was definitely a sucker for a fast car. I had always dreamed of a two door, sporty convertible for myself, but when Luke was young it wasn’t really an option. Then as he got older I was constantly toting around him, his friends, and their sports gear, so an SUV had made more sense.

I ran my fingers gently along the hood as I approached the passenger door Emerick held open for me.

“It’s incredible,” I told him.

“Thank you,” he said with a smile. “Do you like cars?”

“Just the fast fast ones,” I said, honestly.

“Wanna drive?” He asked, holding out the keys to me.

“Are you serious?”

“Can you drive stick?”

I snatched the keys and marched to the drivers side.

“Guess we’ll find out,” I called.

His laugh brought a smile to my face.

A couple minutes later, I was flying down the forest road feeling as free as I ever had. After the stress of the past few days, sitting behind the roaring engine was exactly what I needed. I glanced over to see Emerick watching me and grinning in the passenger seat.

Following his directions, I pulled into the driveway of a cute cabin tucked in the woods. Although the days were getting shorter as fall approached, the pink sky provided enough light to see that there were no other houses nearby. Begrudgingly, I cut the engine and handed Emerick back his keys.

“Thank you for that,” I said, smiling up at him.

“You can drive my stick anytime,” he joked with a wink.

I laughed but was cut short when he caught my lips in a kiss. I put my hands on his cheeks and he twisted one of his own through my hair. He pulled my head back gently so that he was above me as his tongue dove into my parted lips. Suddenly, he pulled away and I was left looking up at him panting.

“We should probably go inside,” he said, his face betraying the disappointment at his own words.

I whimpered and pulled him back towards me.

“Sam, I would love to keep doing this. Trust me,” he said, “But if we don’t go in now I’m afraid we might not make it in at all.”

I thought about it and tried to see the downside.

“I know you want to make a good impression with the pack.”

“Fine,” I conceded, “but let it be known this was your decision.”

He laughed as we walked up the stairs to the front porch. I raised my hand to knock and the door flew open. I was met with a brightly smiling Cassandra.

“I’m so glad you made it!” she exclaimed, “Come on in. Michael is just finishing up in the kitchen and I have some wine you can choose from if you like.”

“Thank you so much for having us,” Emerick greeted her and Cassandra waved him off with a smile.

She stepped to the side and guided us into the living room. Their cabin was cozy and warm, a place that immediately made you feel at home. Although beautiful, it was decorated with an eclectic flair. It somewhat reminded me of Cassandra herself.

The three of us settled onto fluffy sofas as our host cheerfully talked about the wine options. I chose what she described as a dry, white with fruity undertones she said seemed like something I might like. I was pleasantly surprised with her recommendation. Although, if what Emerick had said about her being psychic was true, I probably shouldn’t have been.

As we settled in with our drinks, a tall, muscular man with sandy blond hair emerged from the kitchen wearing a plaid, button-up shirt and jeans. He was carrying a serving platter full of bruschetta in one hand as well as a charcuterie plate in the other.

“Hey babe,” Cassandra said, standing to help with the food. She turned to me, “Alpha Paulson, this is my mate Michael.”

I stood and shook his hand.

”It’s so nice to meet you. Please call me Sam. Both of you.”

Michael gave me a measuring gaze. His face was unreadable.

“Here, we will. But you should have people refer to you as Alpha in the professional setting,” Michael told me flatly. “They need to be reminded of your rank.”

I felt Emerick nod beside me, but he said nothing. I was slightly taken aback by Michael’s direct and stern tone.

“Umm, I’ll keep that in mind,” I said after a moment.

I had only been the alpha a couple of days. The thought of even having a rank made me uncomfortable. However, if the last couple of days had taught me anything it was that I did need others to respect me, or maybe even fear me in order to deter them from assuming I was weak.

Michael grunted and took a seat next to Cassandra. While they made a stunning couple, the juxtaposition of Cassandra’s warmth, next to Michael’s stoicism made me smile inwardly.

Maybe opposites attract in this case.

“I hate to get right to business,” Cassandra apologized. “But I would love to get some ideas from you about your Alpha Ceremony.”

Her face suddenly brightened, “Oooooo I know! Michael can you grab some board games and we can play while we chat? Is everyone okay with that?”

Michael’s expression betrayed that he did not in fact seem okay with that, but he made no objections before going to the built-in cabinets next to the fireplace.

“Sounds like fun, Cassandra,” I smiled at her.

“Please, call me Cassie,” she smiled and gave my hand a squeeze.

“Cassie it is,” I told her.

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