An Alpha's Duty

Chapter 1

Ryan heard his phone vibrating on his bedside table and rolled over to stare up at the ceiling. He felt the bedding bunch around his waist and dragged a weary hand down his face.

He knew the message wouldn't be urgent, but he still wasn't ready for any more bad news.

Only a few months ago, he'd mocked how boring his life was. Now he wondered whether fate was punishing him for his thoughts.

His world was almost unrecognisable and as for his future... well that was a cloudy unknown. His sole priority was keeping his pack alive long enough to figure a way out of their current situation.

He heard an alarm go off somewhere else in the pack house followed by the movement of tired bodies. His father shuffled past his door on his way to the kitchen. No doubt to prepare a feast for the senior pack members who would join them soon.

Every morning since the crisis started, Ryan and his father gathered with the senior members of the pack. They'd focus on the night's events and come up with a plan for the next patrols. It was a never-ending cycle of planning, but he knew nothing was being accomplished. They had no ideas. No plans. And because of that, they were running out of hope.

Ryan detested the regular meetings. It was another opportunity for certain pack members to question his judgement. They always demanded answers but right now he had no answers to give them. There was no magical solution that would deliver them out of danger. No easy remedy he could apply so his pack would be safe.

Every direction seemed to point to their destruction and as Alpha everyone was looking to him to keep them safe. There were plenty in the pack who still believed his father should have remained Alpha. They had thought it unwise to give the Alpha title to someone so young and inexperienced. The recent situation had only made things worse.

Whispers within the pack were growing stronger every day and Ryan grew tired of hearing them. Their judging stares and false smiles grated on his nervous and set his wolf on edge at their lack of obedience.

He had no difficulty in shutting down their accusations but his father's silence was the most troubling. His father would never openly disagree with his decisions but that didn't mean he was supportive. Instead, he remained impassive when those pack members attempted to derail his son.

Passing on the title of Alpha had been his father's idea, despite Ryan's objections, but Ryan knew his father had found the transition difficult.

Once an Alpha, always an Alpha, and it was difficult to take orders from someone else. Even if that someone else was his beloved son.

Ryan often had to ignore the tingle of annoyance whenever his father questioned him in front of the pack. He knew his father meant no harm, but that didn't mean his wolf was happy with being challenged.

The position of being Alpha was a prestigious one. A position you were born for, but sometimes Ryan wished his father would take back the title.

He'd never wanted to be Alpha so young. Never wanted the power or the control and yet here he was. Forced to make the hard decisions his father and grandfather never had to. Others, he knew, would love the control, but he found the responsibility stifling.

Gentle knocking on his door had him sitting up in bed. His mother's subtle reminder the pack members would be here soon and he was expected to greet them on their arrival. He couldn't think of anything worse than entertaining the aging, critical men, especially when they had no fresh news to discuss.

He listened to his mother tiptoe down the corridor towards the kitchen, leaving him in silence. The rest of the pack house was still sleeping and Ryan enjoyed the quiet before the inevitable chaos.