To Love an Alpha (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance) (4 page)

Chapter 4

The pack split one month after Kenny’s mating Clarissa. He knew it was coming and everything in him wanted to rebel against the split. It meant he would be away from his mate even more than he was now.

His father took those pack members loyal to him north to a stretch of land far away from the old pack.

Building began immediately, and Kenny threw himself into the work, using anything to take his mind off his mate.

They had had only ten minutes to say goodbye before he had to go. The council had finally decided that the split was the best thing for the pack after much deliberation.

Dominic remained at the present compound with those who claimed him as Alpha.

Kenny sometimes found himself lying awake at night, wondering what his mate was doing. His missed her voice in his head. He was too far away to speak telepathically with her.

He would forever hate her father for this. If he was honest with himself, he was angry with himself as well. He was so sure that he and Clarissa would be together, he didn’t think past the mating.

Now because of him, his mate was a thousand miles away and he couldn’t get to her. Some protector he had turned out to be.

***

Clarissa hadn’t spoken to her to her father in weeks. She absolutely refused to as long as he kept her away from her mate. Pack life had returned to normal soon after the split. Pack members going about their day to day lives as if nothing had changed.

But she couldn’t adjust. She was supposed to be at her mates’ side, starting her life as a mated woman. Instead, here she sat alone in her bedroom, staring at her bed, remembering how Kenny had been so gentle with her. How he had made her feel the night of the mating, and again in the woods by his home.

She missed his laugh, his smile. She missed how he touched her, how he would trail finger down her arm, stopping at her birthmark. The one that said she was meant only for him.

Breathing deep, she rose from where she sat, and went to the main house for breakfast. She really wasn’t all that hungry, but her mother would start to worry about her if she didn’t show her face.

Her father was already sitting at the table when she entered. Her mother was at the stove with her coffee.

“Good morning, mother. Did you sleep well?”

“Well enough.” She kissed Clarissa on the cheek.

“Good morning Clarissa.” Her father said.

Clarissa sat down at the table and sipped on her orange juice without replying.

Dominic looked at his daughter and felt frustration well up inside of him. He looked to his mate.

“What do I do Veronica?”

“You already know the answer to that question. She wants one thing, and you’re standing in the way of that.”

Dominic broke eye contact with his mate and looked at his daughter. “Are you going to stay mad at me forever?” He asked her.

Again, Clarissa didn’t speak. She continued to look down into her juice.

Veronica brought breakfast to the table but Clarissa took one look at the food and her stomach rebelled.

“Are you ok?” Her mother asked.

Clarissa shook her head and smiled. Taking a deep breath, she picked up a piece of bacon. It didn’t make it to her mouth before her stomach lurched.

Pushing her plate away, she brought her hand to her mouth. Taking deep breaths, she waited for the nausea to pass.

“Mom, can you excuse me, I don’t feel so well.”

“Of course honey, I’ll come in to check on you in a bit.”

Clarissa rose from the table feeling a bit weak and unsteady on her feet.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” It was her father’s that spoke.

She turned her head and glanced at him before she left his home.

***

Clarissa splashed water on her face. She didn’t know what was wrong with her or what that was all about. She felt better now that she was away from the smell of food.

Sitting down on her bed, she leaned back, and rested her head on her pillows. Her mind kept going over what had happened, wondering if she had eaten something that didn’t agree with her. Maybe she was getting a cold.

She almost laughed. Werewolves didn’t get colds.

Something was nagging at the back of her mind and she jumped up. She started thinking back, nervousness coming over her.

Clarissa raised her hand to her face, fear and excitement seeping through her being. She feathered her fingers across her abdomen.

“It can’t be.” But she prayed that it was.

Chapter 5

Joseph was in the newly built gym watching sparring match taking place. His betas were training the young adolescent wolves and teaching them basic combat when his phone went off in his pocket.

“Hello?”

“Alpha Richardson. I trust all is well?” It was the Old Wolf.

“Madame Councilwoman. Yes. Everything is going well here. We’re settling in comfortably.”

“And what about your son?”

Joseph heaved a deep breath. Taking a moment to speak, he thought about how his son was coping. “Not as well as we had hoped. He… needs his mate. There’s no other solution to what he is going through.”

“Continue.”

Joseph raked a hand through his hair. In the three months they had been here, Kenny had been getting worse and worse. His temper is flaring up at the slightest provocation.

“He has cut himself off from the rest of the pack. He stays in his wolf form most days. He refuses to interact, and when he does, he growls more than he talks.” Joe stopped for a second and caught his breath as he contemplated what the next words meant. He looked out again at the young wolves learning the basics on how to take care of themselves.
My own son…

“We think he’s going rouge.” He said at last.

There was silence on the other side of the line. Finally the Old Wolf spoke.

“We were afraid something like this would happen. We’re going to try to wait it out in the hopes that Dominic would change his mind on his own. But the man is too stubborn. His own daughter has not talked to him in months. She seems to be handling it a little better that Kenny, but she is showing signs of restlessness.”

Joseph sighed. He understood how the Old Wolf felt. “I’m at a loss as to what to do. I don’t want my son to continue to suffer like this.”

“I’m going to have a meeting with the council. See what can be done about this situation. I‘ll get back to you in a few days.” The Old Wolf suggested before she disconnected the line. Joseph slipped the phone in his pocket and walked out of the training gym to the main house.

His mate was in the atrium with a few of the omegas. She glanced up when he came in and smiled at him.

Joseph walked to her and kissed her cheek. “You make any hard day seem easier.”

“Sweet talker. You must want something.”

“Only you my love, only you.” He said as he headed to his office.

He was almost to his office door, intending to go over the new security plan that his head of security had left on his desk, when a commotion at the front door pulled his attention away from his task.

Three wolves ran in, loud and frantic.

“Alpha Richardson, Come quick. He’s at it again.”

By “he”, he knew they meant Kenny. “Where is he?”

“In the dining hall.”

Joe sped past his pack members, shedding his clothes as he went. His mate sent love and concern down her mating bond.

“Be careful. And bring him home safe.”

Joseph raced to the Dining Hall. He heard the noise before he made it inside. Loud growling noises and screams assaulted his ear.

When Joe made it inside, Kenny was backed into a corner near the front door, There we a couple dozen pack members still inside. Every time one tried to go for the door, he would snap or growl at them, baring his teeth.

Joe placed himself in front of the people in the hall, blocking them with his body, and faced Kenny.

“Kenny, son, what are you doing? You’ve got to calm down.” Joseph searched his sons mind but the wolf was so dominant that Kenny was hardly there.

He seemed crazed and bent on doing damage. Kenny had been letting his wolf slip more to the front of his mind these days. Joseph confronted his son’s wolf, looking him straight in the eyes. He exerted his influence as Alpha and to his shock, felt the young wolf resisting effortlessly.

He felt his son trying to regain control of the beast, trying to pull himself back to the forefront.

“Kenny, can you hear me?’

He heard his son’s voice, faint but there, getting stronger by the second. His wolf still held his influence over his son’s.

“Kenny, you are holding people captive in this hall. You have to reign in your wolf and shift son. You have to do it now.”

He could feel his son stronger now. The wolf was starting to relinquish control. Joe breathed a sigh of relief. He had brought Kenny back. But he didn’t know if the next time he would be as successful.

Kenny slowly became aware of what he was doing. He saw the other wolves eying him with fear. He shifted and looked his father before he took off out the door.

Joseph wanted to go after him, but he had to reassure his pack that everything was ok.

His heart was breaking for his son.
Dominic, that son-of-a-bitch. Dominic did this to my son. That bastard better fix it, or I’ll kill him myself
.

***

Clarissa walked down the small trail just at the barrier of the pack lands. She could sense the guards her father had sent with her.

She still wasn’t talking to him and didn’t care if he did a thousand great gestures. She still would not say a word until her mate was with her.

Especially now. Her hand went to the small bump in her belly. Her baby. Kenny’s baby. She could hardly believe she had a life growing within her. She had confirmed it fairly easily but kept it a secret. The first person she would tell would be her mate.

She sometimes found herself wondering what her child would look like. Would it be a boy or a girl? If she had a boy she hoped he took after his father. His charming good looks and beautiful smile would be perfect.

She had started thinking of ways to bring herself and Kenny back together. Her father felt as if Kenny had took something for him. Some type of honor or right he felt entitled to.

If she could find a way for him to feel like he could get that back, maybe he would accept her mate and she could be with Kenny.

She knew she was grasping for straws, but she had to think of something. She was three months into her pregnancy. She would be showing soon and she wanted to be by her mate’s side when that time came.

She continued her walk in the woods for many hours. It was nightfall before she made it back to the main house. She might be on to something, but she would have to run it past the council before she finalized her plan.

If everything went right, she would be back by her mate’s side sooner rather than later.

***

Dominic sat in his study going over paperwork. He didn’t know being an Alpha came with so much paper pushing, but he loved it and wouldn’t change it for the world. He sometimes regretted the fact that he let becoming Alpha ruin a lifelong friendship, but he knew he was the rightful Alpha of this pack. He wasn’t meant to stay a beta his whole life.

He wished he had his mentor to talk with, discuss things with. Have him here to see the approval in his eyes at how he was running the pack. Now how he was handling the situation with his daughter was a different matter entirely.

He missed hearing her call him daddy. His daughter, who was always his little girl. That fact alone broke his heart more than what Kenny did to her.

He was still angry at her for what she allowed to be taken. How could she not understand the honor? Her duty?

It was something that every father looked forward to with each daughter her had. Clarissa was his only daughter. His only child. He tried so many times to forgive the transgression, but in his heart he just couldn’t.

He knew he was being stubborn about the issue. He saw the restlessness in his child.

The whole situation frustrated him to no end.

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. “Come in.”

“Alpha Delany, there’s a package her for you sir. It comes from the council.” The omega said, her eyes downcast.

“Thank you. That will be all.”

Dominic looked at the letter addressed to him in the Old Wolf’s handwriting. He opened the letter.

Dominic Delaney,

You and your mate are hereby summoned to meet in front of the council this Seventh day of September at 7:00 PM.

Madam Councilwoman

Catherine Hawkins

He could only imagine what this was about. He looked at his watch. 4:43
PM. He had little over two hours to get ready and be before the council.

***

Clarissa sat nervously, wringing her hands. All the council members had gathered. All that was left to do was wait for her father and her other special guests she requested to be there.

When she had approached the council with this, she thought they would turn her away, but they had listened and had even been accepting of her idea.

She was scared of how her father would react. She had gone against him again. This time however, she had to. She couldn’t go one more day waiting on her father to change his mind, and honestly the silent treatment was getting old.

She turned and looked at the clock. 6:45 PM. They should be arriving soon. She prayed Mother Luna would help her this night, and that her father would agree to what would be told to him.

***

As Dominic walked into the two story building, he had a brief nervous moment. He had no idea why he was here. His mate grabbed his hand, sensing his emotions, and walked with him the rest of the way to where the meeting would be held.

When he opened the door to the auditorium, two things stuck out to him. First, his daughter was there. He hadn’t known she even knew about the meeting. Second, the enforcers were present. They were only called in to council meetings when they expected trouble.

“What the hell is going on here?” Dominic asked.

“Good, we’re all here. This meeting will now be called to order.” The Old Wolf said.

“Dominic Delany, you have been called before this council tonight because of recent actions in other packs as well as your own.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand.” Dominic replied.

The Old Wolf grabbed a folder that lay in front of her and handed it to him. “As we all know, four months ago, your daughter, Clarissa Delany, mated the Son of Alpha Richardson without consent. Because of those actions, you denied their mating.”

“No disrespect ma’am, but you are not telling my anything I don’t know already.”

“Always straight to the point.” Looking to her head enforcer, she said, “Show our guest in please.”

The enforcer nodded and went through the side door of the auditorium. A few seconds later he came back with none other than Joseph.

“Is this some kind of joke? What is he doing here?”

“He’s here because he needs to be.” The Old Wolf said. She motioned with her hand as the big man went to his seat.

“The decision you made that day has not only affected your daughter and her mate, it is now starting to become a danger to Alpha Richardson’s pack.”

“How is that?”

“Because my son is going rouge, you bastard.” Joseph snarled. “He’s attacking members of our pack. All because you can’t swallow your damn pride and accept the mating.”