In our world, for every female pup born there were five very eager and wanton males waiting for her to turn of age. Some packs considered their females to be ripe at sixteen, but my great-great-grandfather had established our pack's mating age at eighteen. True mates no longer existed, the idea that two star-crossed and destined lovers would find one another by scent and fall irrevocably in love was merely a thing of legend. Instead, our pack and several of our friendly neighbors had established a system of arranged pairings.
As the soon-to-be Alpha of the White Lightning Pack, and eldest son of the current Alpha, I had trained extensively beneath my father to take his vacated position. That meant the mundane drudgery of day-to-day tasks that were necessary to keep the pack safe and happy had been shown to me early on, and I had been privy to the deal that brought Rain to our pack long before she had arrived on our soil.
"This is Rain," my father had stated as he passed a Polaroid across the table. "She is the daughter of former Beta Sommers of the Red Dawn Pack, sister to Alpha Brian, and she will come of age in three years."
I stared down at the girl in the picture, who, despite the shitty quality of the Polaroid, was stunning. She had long black hair that flowed in silky waves, pale pink lips with a perfect cupid's bow, and a devious smile impressed upon those luscious lips. She looked like trouble, like a naughty little rebellious type. She was she-wolf perfection!
"I have chosen her for your brother," dad had said matter-of-factly. "When you ascend to Alpha, Ryan will become your Beta. She is a perfect match, well-bred and intelligent, and she will be able to give him healthy, exuberant pups. What say you?"
Continuing to stare at the girl in the photograph, I heavily suspected that after meeting her in the flesh I would desire her for myself. But in a short while, I would be Alpha, and I could have any woman I wanted. So, I had just shrugged and met my younger sibling's equally brown eyes. "What does Ryan say?"
"Your brother says very little," our father quipped.
Seated to my right, Ryan cleared his throat simultaneously. "She's lovely, father." He turned the Polaroid around in his fingers and sighed. "But I was hoping for an inter-pack match with Aria."
My brother's beloved was twenty years-old now, one year younger than he, and a beautiful girl who was born infertile and unable to bear him pups. Our father had vetoed Ryan's attempt at selecting her for his mate, and the argument was an ongoing family battle that no one wanted to step into the middle of. Not even me, and I loved a good fight.
Sitting behind his desk, Chris had been deep in thought for the past few hours. Following breakfast, he had placed a strategic text message to one of his brothers, and he was waiting for the idiot to finish up his work-out before he managed to show his face here in the office. But this was taking for fucking ever, and Chris had shit to do today, or, at least, that's what he kept telling himself as he sat staring at the damned clock.
When TJ finally shut the door behind himself and took the empty seat across the desk, the Alpha glanced up from the paperwork he was attempting to sort and groaned. "Where the fuck have you been all fucking day?"
YOU ARE READING
White Lightning
Werewolf[Ongoing Serial Novel][Werewolf] [MIW] In our world, for every female pup born there were five very eager and wanton males waiting for her to turn of age. Some packs considered their females to be ripe at sixteen, but my great-grandfather had establ...
