Her Alpha

Chapter Four

Ezra's POV

The next day, my wolf was irritable, but at least he didn't go out of his way to hinder the shit I had to do. Yesterday, I'd met with the current alpha of the pack and made plans to begin spending time with the next second and third in command. Since they were the sons of the current beta, I also had plans to meet him.

I was putting effort into taking my mind off of her. Thinking of her expression yesterday, of her tone when she called me an asshole... it would help nothing. Better to keep myself on track with the true reason I was here. I needed to set myself up to be a strong, effective alpha for my new pack. Of all the other wolves they could have chosen from, I was the man selected for this position. I would not let the Blood Moon pack down.

After eating breakfast by myself, I went out for a run to pass the time until lunch, when I would be meeting with the current beta and his sons. Sniffing carefully, I made sure not to accidentally run into her again.

You're being unfair, my wolf snarled. Treating her like the plague. Not her fault you refuse to accept her. He had a point, but I didn't respond. I'd already explained how important staying focused on becoming alpha was. I didn't have time yet to spend on a mate. Sure, it wasn't her fault the moon goddess gave her to me so soon, but it wasn't my fault either.

At noon sharp, there was a knock on my door and I opened it to reveal three men. They all looked vaguely alike--brown hair and eyes, tall, strong builds. One was clearly older than the others, but he was aging well. Something about them pricked at the back of my mind, but I pushed the sensation away.

"Hello," I said, extending my hand to the older man. "I am Ezra Sinclair."

The man nodded, his hard face giving away not a damn thing. Great. "Silas Taylor."

When he said nothing more, one of the younger guys stepped forward. "I'm Smith Taylor. Next in line for beta."

Once I finished shaking his hand, the last dude reached out. "Lincoln Taylor. Nice to meet ya."

"Come on in," I told them all, moving aside for them to enter my quarters. They weren't much, just the basics, but at least I'd kept it tidy since arriving the day before. "We have food arriving any minute." Stocking my fridge was one thing I hadn't gotten to yet, so I'd ordered food from one of the pack chefs.

We took seats around the table and an uncomfortable silence descended upon us, proving exactly why I was itching to get shit started. We needed to cut through this bull and become a unit. So I took the initiative to start small talk. It was slow going and boring, the weather, schooling, training. But at least we were speaking. Had to start somewhere, yeah?

"Siblings?" Smith asked, shoving half of a burger into his mouth. Our food had arrived less than ten minutes before and it was already half gone.

Swallowing my own bite of burger, I nodded. "One brother. Older than me, obviously. You?"

"I've got him," Lincoln jabbed his finger in Smith's direction, "which is a pain in the ass. But I have a sister, too, and she's pretty cool."

Smith rolled his eyes. "Right, I'm the pain. But yes, we have a younger sister."

"You will be meeting her tonight," Beta Taylor spoke up. He'd been quiet and stoic this whole time, only saying a few words at a time while letting the rest of us fill a majority of the conversation. He seemed to be mostly observing his sons and I, likely weighing the probability of us working well together. Whether he was pleased with our rhetoric or what, I had no clue since the man had one hell of a poker face. Apparently the topic of his daughter was enough to bring him back into the conversation. "She is joining us for dinner in my suite."