The Heir

prologue

Age 6: Jamie

"Mommy?"

I looked up at my mommy. She was standing in our kitchen making sandwiches. She says we're going to have three more siblings soon. Two more brothers and a little sister! I'm excited to have another girl in the house. It's just me and mommy surrounded by daddy and my brothers. Jace is taller than me already and Benny doesn't talk yet.

"Yes, Jamie?"

"At school today, I told the class I want to be the Alpha."

My mommy stopped making the sandwich and crouched down next to me, her big belly stopping me from hugging her. "And what did everyone say, sweetpea?"

I looked down at my Disney Princess sneakers that light up when I walk. "Everyone laughed at me, even Mrs. Smith."

Mommy frowned. "Jamie, babygirl, I want you to know, always, that you can be anything you want to be. Just because you are a girl doesn't mean anything. If you want to become the Alpha of this pack when me and daddy step down, then you can. You go into school tomorrow with your head held high, do you hear me?"

I nodded, tears already falling. "Daddy hates me."

Mommy hugged me, even though it was weird. She wiped my tears. "Daddy does not hate you, sweetpea. He loves you more than you know. He's just confused right now."

"You guys yell a lot."

Mommy looked like she was going to cry too. She does that a lot now. "I'm sorry you hear that, Jamie. Daddy and I don't agree on some things. He will come around and when you find your mate, you'll be the best Alpha this pack has ever seen."

***

Age 10: Jace

Mom and Dad were yelling again. It seems it's all they ever do anymore. Dad's been sleeping on the couch. It's all Jamie's fault. Because she was born first, she thinks she's supposed to get the pack. I'm the first male to be born, I deserve the pack. She's a girl, what does she know about running a pack as big as Mom and Dad's?

"Are they fighting again?" Ben asked me, coming down the stairs. He just woke up from his nap.

I looked at my little brother. "They'll stop soon."

And then they did stop. It was quiet in the house. Jamie walked in, slamming the door behind her. She threw her school bag on the couch and looked at me. I quickly looked away. We don't get along much anymore. She stood and went to the kitchen. Ben came up next to me. "Do you hate Jamie?"

I sighed. How do I explain this to an eight-year-old in simple terms? "Sometimes, I really do. Sometimes I really love her. She's our sister. At the end of the day, it's not her fault she was born first.

"I think you should be the Alpha, Jace."

Ben left it at that. He went into the kitchen and said something to Jamie. I walked back up to my room, ignoring whatever Jamie was about to say to me when she came out of the kitchen.

***

Age 14: Jamie

I think Mom and Dad came to some kind of agreement. They haven't fought in years and dad is finally sleeping back upstairs with mom again. Dad is now supportive of me becoming the Alpha of the pack once I turn 18.

The law changed. The law now states that the next kin must become Alpha on their 18th birthday, even if they didn't have a mate yet. Many Alpha's have not been finding their mates in the time frame of 18-25 and the old Alpha and Luna's were getting old and it was becoming harder for them to run their packs. So, the Council changed the law.