Alpha

Chapter 4

It took several hours to get through the two territories and up the treacherous mountain road. I wanted to be confident in Mick's driving skills, but I couldn't. The only thing that kept me from freaking out was the fact that I had the aisle seat. Alec didn't seem to care that he was on the side of the minibus that had a view of the sheer drop.

The fact that it was snowing didn't help. I'd packed for the cold, thankfully. Considering it was a warm day in West River, it was surprising that I'd actually remembered that going to a mountain resort that always had several inches of snow on it meant that I needed warm clothes.

My jacket hung over my bag as we slowly made our way to the front of the line. This place was packed, and it had taken us over an hour to get to the front desk. I looked back at the doors that were only a few steps away from us. A line snaked its way through the lobby, full of eager wolves who were itching to dump their bags in their room and start partying. All I wanted was to have a drink.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to the Midland Peak Resort. Do you have a reservation? Because if you don't, you'll be sorely disappointed."

The woman's high shrill, and enthusiastic sarcasm amused Joey. He gave me a nudge, reminding me that as the Alpha, it was my duty to do all the talking.

"We do. West River pack. I'm Megan Nolan, Alpha."

Her eyes lit up with excitement.

"How wonderful. Is this your first time at the gathering?" she asked, taking my identification.

"Yes."

She smiled, the rich red lipstick pulling tight against the blistering white teeth.

"You must be so excited. Now, your pack has been booked into your regular chalet, east side chalet ten."

Sounds riveting.

"It has an incredible view of the mountain and the land below. You'll just love it."

"I'm sure we will."

The woman began placing cards on the counter in front of me. There were twenty in total.

"Alright. So, these are the door cards for each of your pack members. Your bags can be loaded onto the trolley, and they will be taken to the chalet."

"Just the chalet?"

"Yes. The porter will take it to the common area in the chalet. The area is secured, so you can only access it with the card. You can go with the porter if you like, but I'd recommend you go to registration first. If you leave it, you'll be stuck in a longer line than the one that you've just endured, and you risk not getting into the events that you like."

After over an hour of standing in line to get to this point, I doubted that any of the events that I might like would be available. More so because I figured we'd have to wait in another line.

"Sure," I said, scooping up the cards.

As I passed the cards to the pack, I noticed we were being watched. A woman was at the next attendant, also checking into the hotel. She smiled shyly and quickly looked away.

"I'll catch up,"

Alec nodded, guiding everyone to the conference room.

Crossing the gap between us, I approached the young woman.

"Is everything okay?"

She smiled weakly as her cheeks flushed pink.

"Uh, yeah, sorry. I'm just a little flustered because I overheard you say that you're from West River. I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

"It's alright. With all this noise, how can anyone be quiet?"

The woman nodded, still rather meek in her demeanor.

"I'm actually being transferred for my job, and West River was one of the packs I was considering."

"Oh? Who was the other?"

"Dark Claw."

I nodded, pressing my lips tight as I thought about it.

"Yeah, Dark Claw is a proud pack, and you could pick between the two of us without much concern."

Joey was signaling that I needed to hurry up.

"If you want to talk to me or the other wolves from West River, you can find us later. Maybe have a drink with us or something?"

She gushed, smiling brightly at me.

"That would be awesome. I'm Jackie Myers."

Her hand was out, and I noticed she was fairly well put together. Manicured nails, pretty gold rings and bracelets, and an outfit that, while it covered everything to keep her warm, was tight enough to leave little to the imagination.

I took her hand and shook it with a smile.

"Megan Nolan."

The man serving her gave me a withering look. I was holding up the line because he was in the middle of dealing with her booking, and I was stalling the process.

"I'll see you later."

"You bet."

Moving through the crowd, I made my way to Joey.

"Who is your new friend?" he hummed with heated desire.

"A potential new pack member. Would you like me to do you a solid?"

He nodded with devious delight.

Wandering into the room, I looked at the vastness of the area. We didn't have much of a wait for the registration, but beyond that, it was a bit of a nightmare. The conference room was set up like an expo, with stalls lined up in rows.

Alec handed me my lanyard as we followed the group past the security guards. There were a lot of events being offered. From group events to things to do on a date, we had a variety to choose from.

Clattering plastic caught my attention. I turned to the wall and saw a large electronic board with an older one above. The older one was the one that clattered as the numbers turned, showing the number of attendees as they registered. The electronic board below showed the packs and the names of those here.

My heart raced as I searched through the names of Black Ridge. When I realized that Konrad was not on the list, I sighed. If it was relief or disappointment, I could not say. I had no idea what I wanted.

Hearing someone clearing their throat, I turned my head to see the onlookers who had amusement written all over their faces.

"Upset that he's not here?" Joey asked.

"As if," I grumbled.

He chuckled and nudged Erin's ribs.

"Pay up. She checked the board within the first minute of being in the room."

With a frustrated huff, she pulled cash out of her wallet and dumped it into his waiting hand.

"I am not betting with you anymore."

"You're just a sore loser, and it shows how little you know about our lovely Megan."

With a wicked cackle, he passed through the gate and entered the crowded room.

"Come on, let's get this madness over and done with."

"That's the spirit," Alec said as he pushed me by the shoulders.

I doubted that we would find anything to do, mostlybecause we would struggle to get anywhere near the booths. The crowd was sothick that it really was madness.