The Alpha's Mistake

Chapter 1

Alaric stepped out of the bathroom, his dark hair glistening with water and paused when he saw her rummaging through his clothes.

"What the hell are you doing?" His loud voice and sharp words made no impression as she continued looking for something.

"Do you have anything that's not black?" Crystal huffed.

He snatched a t-shirt from her slim, manicured hands and shoved it back in his bag. "No. I like black. Why are you still here? I thought I made it clear after we fuck, you leave."

"Pish posh. Daddy's having a big party tomorrow night, and you have nothing appropriate to wear. That's a crude way of saying you made love to your mate."

Dots blurred his vision. "You are not my mate!"

"A mere technicality that will be remedied very soon. Daddy was thrilled when I told him you accepted me." She made the mistake of walking near him to touch his cheek.

"I did no such thing." He grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her, making her face the door. "I am looking for my true mate. It's the reason I'm here." He ground out of his clenched teeth.

"I thought you were here to train our warriors and select a chosen mate." Confusion coated her words.

"Get out. You're lucky I'm feeling generous today and decided against ripping your throat out."

"You wouldn't dare." He heard the fear in her voice and grinned.

"Your father wouldn't dare risking a war with me over you. I'm done here." He moved towards the door, pushing her along.

"You aren't done with the training yet. You're supposed to be here for six more weeks. I'll be a perfect Luna for you."

A memory flashed in his mind, his mother playing with him and other pack pups. "Get out!"

He released her a few feet from the closed door and reached for the knob, ignoring her stumbling. "What will I tell Daddy?" The worry in her voice was music to his ears.

"Tell him I don't want a whore for a mate." The look on her face was priceless as he slammed the door.

Todd, we're leaving. He mind linked his best friend and companion.

Ok, when? He sounded out of breath.

Now. Finish fucking the slut and get your ass to the car. You've got ten minutes.

Damn.

Tossing the rest of his stuff in his bag, he tried to push out the thoughts that Crystal invoked unintentionally. He knew his mate would be the next Luna, but until he found her, that role belonged to his mother. Thinking about her lead to thinking about the one responsible for her death.

Striding away from the packhouse across the yard, he was stopped by a figure he knew well over the last couple of weeks. "Get out of my way, Richard."

Bristling, he replied. "Since you'll be an alpha soon, I'll let that slide. But you made a promise to my daughter when you mated with her."

Alaric's grey eyes flipped to black. "She is not my mate and will never be." Growling, he grabbed the older wolf by his shirt, pulling them nose to nose. "In case you missed the memo, Lunas are born to be Lunas, just like I was born to be an Alpha. Be thankful all I'm doing is leaving this pathetic pack." They may be of equal height, but Alaric had the advantage in many ways. "You do not want to be my enemy." Pushing Alpha Richard back, he continued to the parking area.

Opening the driver door, he threw his duffle into the backseat and climbed in. Looking in the rear view mirror, he saw Todd walking with two suitcases and fighting the strap on his messenger bag. Under normal circumstances, he would laugh at Todd's predicament, but he frowns instead. At the hand signal, he opens the trunk.

"Dude, where's your stuff?" Todd asks as he gets in the passenger seat. He takes one look at Alaric's expression and shuts his mouth.

"I'll buy new clothes." Offering nothing more, Todd knows when to leave him alone.

Todd and Alaric are polar opposites yet have been inseparable for fifteen years. Alaric was tall, muscular, and had that Alpha aura of power. Todd, on the other hand, had light blonde hair with a permanent cowlick on the right that he tries to manage but ends up twisting it when he gets nervous. A foot shorter, he was scrawny, and thanks to Alaric, he could hold his own in a fight. At least until Alaric would step in.

At the airport, after turning in the rental, Alaric buys them first class tickets home. Todd stretches out for a nap in his seat, letting Alaric settle down. Eventually, he will find out what got him riled up. Alaric always confides in him.

Halfway through the flight, Todd turns to his friend. "What happened back there? You weren't done training the Midnight Moon Pack warriors. I thought you had a thing with Alpha's daughter."

Growling low, "She's the current Alphas sister. Apparently, she was mated to an unranked wolf and rejected him in hopes of becoming a Luna. She told me that after we fucked, or else I never would've touched her. You know that." He caught the burst of pain in the younger wolf's brown eyes.

"Yeah, I know." Todd said quietly. "Is that all?"

"No. She thought me fucking her meant I would choose her to be my mate." Clenching his fists, he tried to keep his voice down.

Todd's eyebrows shot up. "Are you kidding me?"

"I wish I were. That's when I kicked her out of my room and grabbed the stuff I wanted to keep. If I stayed there any longer, I would've started a war."

"We're supposed to be going to Crescent Moon to help Alpha Athena teach the younger wolves how to fight. This plane is taking us towards Phantom. We're not due back for another four months."

"It's been over a year since our last visit. My father has kept me busy going to other packs, and I'm done doing his bidding. I'm twenty-six years old, past time for me to take over. Mate or no mate."

"Whatever you want to do, I'm right there with you. When I left Half Moon with you, I vowed to stay by your side. I meant it then, and I still do."

"Good, because I'm making you my Beta."

"What?" Todd shook his head violently. "No. I can't. Beta Larry's son is next in line. I'm sure he's been instructed on what to do. He was born to be Beta."

Scoffing, Alaric countered. "You're the only one I trust to have my back. Besides, he was not born to be a beta, either. The bitch that murdered my mother killed her parents first. They were the true Betas. Larry was, and still is, my dad's pawn."

"Ah, there's the truth to why we're going back early. It's been almost fifteen years since she died."

"Since her life was snuffed out and I was robbed of interrogating the bitch who did it. Yes."

"You can't keep blaming yourself. You weren't even there." Todd sighed. They've gone round and round on this subject many times, with no better outcome.

"Exactly! If I'd been home, none of that would've happened. I could've protected them."

"No, you couldn't. You were barely twelve-years-old."

"I'm a born Alpha. It's in my genes."

"That's true, but it doesn't matter. You can't change the past, and you can't be blamed for the actions of others. What does Atlas say?" Atlas was Alaric's dark grey wolf, and Todd knew what he thought of this situation. Alaric was being an ass, burying his head in the sand when it came to facts.

"He doesn't say much. Ever. He disagrees with me about the whole thing. I know what I know."

Understanding this line of conversation was useless, Todd pressed on to other matters. "Remember the first time we got drunk?"

Alaric grinned for the first time in hours as they reminisced their adventures. The closer they got to Phantom, though, the unease he felt increased. His father hated surprises, and he was in for a big one. Alaric was going home to take his rightful place as Alpha of Phantom Pack, by force if necessary.