The White Witch Alpha

Chapter 2

"Ander?" A mix of confusion and possibly awe cloak his voice as he stares at me. His body has gone stiff trying to figure out if he should come closer and hug me or not. Staying where he was won out, which is fine by me. While he may be all I have left when it comes to familial ties and biology, that didn't mean I want to immediately hand him the role.

"Actually, I go by Whitney now. At least my friends call me Whitney." Since right up until I was born, the doctor kept telling my parents that they were expecting a boy. My dad, Anderson Monroe, thought it would be nice if his boy cub was named Ander. However, biology had other plans when the doctor pulled out a bouncing baby girl instead. But by then, my parents were set on calling me Ander but gave me my mom's first name as my middle name. I have no qualms about my name, even if I was given a boy's name and named after the man before me. It's just, aside from a few pieces of jewelry, the name Whitney is all I have of my mom.

"What are you doing here? Did your mom not receive the check I sent her?"

"Mom's dead. Everyone in the pack is dead. I had to bury them on my own." I watch him as he runs his hand over his face. The stubble around his mouth is a little on the long side and I can't figure out if he forgot to shave or if he plans on growing out his beard. There are a few more gray hairs in his auburn-ish hair than the last time I saw him but the "salt and copper" look actually looked good on him. Despite the hard and conflicting feelings that I have for the man, I am glad I was able to find him.

"What happened?" He asked when his light brown eyes looked upon me again.

"I'd left to head into town a couple of months ago, you know, just to run some errands. By the time I returned a few hours later, everything was destroyed. I got to mom, and she was barely hanging on. She said a witch came through and wanted the pack to join her cause but when Alpha Charles said no, she and her animals killed everyone."

Immediately, I notice a hush form around us as everyone processed my words. Even my father's eyes look taken aback. It almost looks as though there is a flash of guilt, but it is over so quickly I can't be sure of what I saw.

"I see my reputation has preceded me." A soft gravelly voice spoke out behind me. At some point while I was talking to my father, Goon Number Two had moved into the crowd. The crowd had now parted for the body that belonged to the voice. A beautiful girl who looks at least five years older than my nineteen, strides into the clearing. Her tan skin glistens in the sun, giving her an ethereal look. The white wolf that followed behind her was the biggest one I'd ever seen. I begin to wonder if the wolf was a shifter like us when I realized what she was saying.

This is the witch that killed my mother and took everything away from me.

"So, are you going to offer my dad the same deal before you murder everyone here?" Silent alarms begin to ring in my head as I take in the situation. None of the men or women in the crowd seem surprised by her presence and even worse there seems to be some sense of awe and respect geared towards her. I am beginning to see that the reunion with my father was even more complicated than just our familial history.

"You've already partnered with her, haven't you?" I turn back to my father, my eyes narrow with the realization. Emotions roll up and down the spectrum within me. I have no idea what I got myself into and the want to attack the witch in front of me was making me see red. In my peripheral, the witch has a feline-like way of walking and I keep her in my sight line. However, there's no need to look at her with a side eye as she steps up next to my father. My focus narrows even more as I take in the subtle way she leans into his side.

"She's a means to an end."

"A means to an end? You mean the end being your bed," I retort.

My father takes another step closer to me, but brings the witch with him. He growls down one word to me, "respect."