Alpha's Mate

~13~

The morning that the influx of new members were set to arrive, the pack was arguing. Several were against it, yelling that they were already limited and taking in more would only overload them. The other side retaliated, shouting that more people would allow for better protection and ensure a safer home for everyone.

In simple terms, it was utter chaos.

Vincent was spending most, if not all, of his time in his office, working out ways on how to house over two hundred people.

His best plan was to have them camp and provide them with food and water until the rest of the pack could help build more houses or small, three floor apartments. They definitely had the lands and the funds, but making them permanent homes would take a while.

The Alpha sighed and leaned back on his chair, taking another sip of his whiskey. He was fully aware that his precious mate hated the thought of him drinking but it was the only thing keeping him sane.

"Hey man!" Rick's loud voice jolted him and he shot him a dark glare.

"What?" he snapped, leaning forward, placing his elbows on the desk.

"I took the guys out. Just a small group. Found a cluster of rogues just a mile off the property," he smirked, looking pleased with his win.

Vincent stood, shaking his head, "You helped me run the pack for ten years while I was gone. But you are not the Alpha. You do not have authority to take a group out to hunt, especially with the recent attacks. Step out of line again and you'll be demoted. To Omega."

Rick stepped back, his hands up in surrender.

"Hey man, I'm just trying to help you out. You got a scared pack and a weak Luna. Hey, don't get all pissed. You know its true. She isn't cut out for this. You need a true Luna, one who comes from a line of Alphas or Betas. Who can actually deal with stuff. She just...cries. I mean, a lot dude. She's like a never ending storm."

His voice was filled with absolute disgust. He couldn't hide his disdain for the girl. She was a mere child, barely an adult. Vincent was far older but the slow-aging that came from being a wolf was throwing her off.

Vincent was nearing eighty and he himself was coming up on seventy-five. They had seen war, they had seen it all.

And now this girl, a piece of nothing, was stepping into their lives and throwing it out of balance. Causing Vincent to lose his right mind, to rule on his emotions.

An Alpha who ruled solely on emotion was a destructive one.

"You should have let her go, Vince. She was never one of us to begin with. You think these attacks are random? We took in a rogue, and they haven't left us alone since. She will never be one of us. I know that, those who were there that night know it, and now you need to face it."

Vincent's eyes went black with anger, his wolf growling.

He was angry beyond belief but he knew Rick held some sense in his words. Leanna was born a rogue, it was in her blood. Her parents were knocking on his door, her father ready to come back and destroy him and his pack for her.

Leanna was his mate, and he would die for her, but was she worth the five hundred lives on his pack? Was love truly worth that must destruction and carnage?

The bloodshed?

"Have you marked her?"

Vincent looked up, his wolf going wild to just kill him for speaking such blasphemous words. But he held it back. He had always trusted his wolf. He never relied on emotion. But wasn't that the reason why he left?