Alpha Female - Book 1 -Under Major Editing-

Chapter 12

It was late in the evening when Nicole had finally finished all the paperwork she had set to do. She had just clicked the 'send' button to forward everything to Aldrich, when Lance bust in her office.
"Alpha, Nightshade's Gamma just called. They got one of
the rogues to talk."

Nicole sat up straighter at his words, her heart rate increasing as anxiety coursed through her. "They did? What did he say?"

Lance paced the room worriedly, before stopping to grab a drink from the small bar. "Alpha Branson wants to see you. He wouldn't allow his gamma to tell me anything other than they knew something."

Nicole laughed softly, shaking her head as she stood from her desk. "Typical. That sounds like Aldrich."

Lance chuckled as he held the door open for his alpha to step our. "I'm happy for you Nic. Most people wouldn't find an alpha who couldn't bare not having total control."

Nicole smirked as she made her way down the stairs, stepping into the kitchen as she pulled out some leftovers to hurry and heat up. "Well, maybe the Moon Goddess planned it this way. Who knows, maybe I was destined to be Silent Ash's alpha?"

Lance shrugged as the microwave dinged. He walked over to it, reaching in and grabbing Nicole's food for her.
"Here, eat up. I'll call Gamma Ward and set something up. Knowing your mate, he'll want to meet up tonight."

Nicole nodded in agreement and began eating the leftover pasta dish, watching as Lance walked out the kitchen and into the living room. She could hear him on the phone with Alex, making plans for Aldrich and his entourage to come back to Silent Ash. Immediately, she mind linked James, having him get some of the pack woman together to hurry and have their cabins cleaned and set up. Lance returned to the kitchen after a few minutes, leaning on his elbows against the granite bar. "They're on their way. Gamma Ward said they would take their time to give us a little time to get things ready. It will just be Beta Davis and Alpha Branson since we already have some of their warriors."

Nicole nodded, wiping her mouth on a napkin and throwing it into the now empty plate. Lance reached and grabbed it, throwing the napkin in the trash can and laying the plate and fork in the sink.

Nicole stood, grabbing her phone off the bar and heading up to her office. She walked into the small closet in the room, changing out of her sweats and into a pair of jeans and a loose fitting shirt. She took her hair out of its messy bun, pulling it back into a tight ponytail as she tried to make herself a little more decent. She walked over to the bar on the other side of the office, grabbing the crystal decanter of bourbon and pouring her a small glass of it. Throwing it back and drinking it all in one sip, she grimaced as the liquor burned in her chest. Her thoughts were racing with many different thoughts. Her wolf was ecstatic to see her mate again, she had been missing him terribly since they had left him.

Aldrich Branson. Nicole never thought she could be able to love a man like him. Her wolf began prancing around in her head as she realized her thoughts. Love. Do I love him? Can I? Her wolf howled in her mind, practically answering her question.

"Oh my gosh, I do love him." she mumbled, hurriedly pouring herself another drink, making sure to fill the crystal glass to the brim as she threw it back in one sip. Love. She never thought she would feel it for anyone but her parents, grandparents, and pack. A part of her didn't find it hard to love Aldrich tho. He was a fine male, full of respect for her. He also was a strong alpha, demanding respect from anyone he came in contact with. Everything about him made her knees weak, and she wondered if she did the same to him. Little did she know, Aldrich had been feeling it since the moment her met her.

A few hours later, Nicole and Lance stood at the large double doors to the pack house as they waited for Aldrich and Josh to pull up. Nicole's heart was racing as she bounced nervously on her feet. Lance smirked, laying a hand on her shoulder to still her. "Nic, you've only been away from him for a week and a half. I promise, he hasn't changed that much."
Nicole sighed, deciding to play with her fingers nervously as she stared ahead. "Yeah, well...I realized something."
"What?"
Nicole didn't answer, instead glancing at Lance. He stared back, his eye brow raised as he awaited an answer. "Is it that bad, Nic? You can't even say it."
She ignored him, staring ahead as she heard a car in the distance. Lance's smirk grew as he can to realization. "Nic, you love him, don't you?"
Nicole refused to answer, instead giving her answer in her dead stare at the Mercedes sitting in front of her. Lance chuckled lightly, squeezing her shoulder once before removing it.
Aldrich shut the car off, then opened the car door, stepping out as her scent hit him. It had only been a few days since he had seen her, but gosh, had he missed her. Josh nodded to him as he made his way to the trunk, pulling out his and his alphas bags. Aldrich began walking towards his mate, smiling at the slight of her. She smiled back, gesturing for Lance to go help Josh get their bags.
"Where do you want them, Alpha?" he called as he reached the trunk, taking a bag from Josh.
Nicole looked at Aldrich as he stepped in front of her. "We have cabins set up, the same ones you were in last time you were here. Would you like to stay there or.. somewhere else?"
Aldrich chuckled, knowing what she was asking. He decided to tease her though. "What are my other options, Mate?"
Nicole huffed out at him, knowing he was hoping for a reaction from her. "My house." she simply stated, noticing Lance and Josh stopping to stare at the altercation.
Aldrich smirked as he nodded once. "Your house it is then."
Nicole nodded, turning to rush in the pack house, pushing gently past Lance. "Just set Josh's bags in my office. We have to all talk anyways."
Lance and Josh nodded, following her up to the office, Aldrich not too far behind them.
"James, take over for a while. I'm in a meeting with Alpha Branson."
"Nicole, he's your mate. Call him Aldrich."
Nicole rolled her eyes as she stepped into the office. "Is that an 'okay' or not?"
She could practically feel James roll his eyes through the link. "Yes, I'll take over, Alpha."
She didn't reply, instead walking over to her desk and taking a seat behind it. Aldrich walked in, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Josh and Lance followed suit, the latter pulling up a chair from the back of the room. Nicole nodded to Aldrich, folding her hands together and leaning forward on the desk. "What did the rogues tell you?"
Aldrich sat back comfortably in the chair, glancing at Lance before he spoke. "Only one of them talked, Axel. He was the rogue who originally told us about Nico. All we got out of him is that Nico is someone you used to know. He was a member of this pack but something happened, and now he isn't."
"He also gave us directions to a headquarters out in the woods. We don't think that's where Nico is, we just think it's more of an outpost. We've already sent some of your hunters out to investigate it." Josh finished, his face set in a hard scowl.
Nicole looked between the two, nodding as she turned her gaze to Lance. "I don't remember anyone named 'Nico', do you?"
Lance shook his head as he pulled his laptop out from one of the drawers in the desk. "I can search through our records and see if anything comes up."
Nicole nodded, turning back to Aldrich. "Is that all he said?"
Aldrich nodded, not saying anything back.
Nicole let out a breath as she looked down at her desk. The words 'SPLITTING THE PACK' were written in bold letters on some notes. She looked back up to Aldrich, deciding now was a good time as any to bring it up. "While we're all in here, have you given much thought on how to split the packs up?"
Aldrich sat up in his chair, resting one elbow on the desk. "I've thought about taking both packs and putting them together. Maybe talking to Alpha Alpin about selling him some land in exchange for some of his."
Nicole pondered over his words, glancing at Lance, waiting to hear his take on it.
"Lance?" she asked, her eye brows raised.
Lance sat his laptop down, turning to look at Aldrich. "Alpha Branson, do we even know if Alpha Alpin will agree to that?"
Josh spoke up this time, talking directly to Lance as he spoke. "We've bought land from him before. It's how we grew our pack so much. He's a very greedy man. He'll do almost anything for money."
"So, you'd need to sell my land cheap and buy some of his for some ungodly amount? I don't think I like that idea Aldrich. My families land is worth millions. I won't sell it for any less." Nicole spoke up, standing from the desk and walking over to the bar. She poured herself her third drink for the day, deciding to sip on this one instead taking it all on one sip as she did the others. Aldrich turned in his chair, watching her as he spoke. "It's just an idea, Love. We don't have to act on it."
Nicole felt her cheeks burn at the endearing name. She ignored it tho, nodding as she finished her drink. "We can discuss it later. For now, we need to figure out who this Nico person is."
Everyone nodded and stood to leave, Aldrich walking to stand before his mate. He watched as Josh and Lance walked out, shutting the door behind them. He turned back to Nicole, pulling her to him, there lips meeting in a hungry kiss.
He had missed his female, more than he thought he ever could. Her voice, her lips, her body, her. She was like a drug to Aldrich, and he couldn't get enough of her. All too soon, Nicole pulled away, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I missed you." she mumbled, playing with a piece of hair that rested on the back of his neck. Aldrich smiled down at her, his large hands squeezing her hips gently. "I missed you, Love." he said back, pulling her back to him to peck her lips again.
Nicole smiled and stroked his cheek, running her finger over the smooth skin. "You shaved."
Aldrich chuckled and nodded, kissing her finger as it came closer to his mouth. "Yes, I hate growing out a beard. Makes me look older." he joked.
Nicole rolled her eyes, her smile never leaving her face as she pulled out of his embrace, grabbing one of his hands as she led him out of the office. They walked down the stairs to the main level of the pack house, hand in hand as Nicole led them outside. "So, you're okay with my house then?" she asked, not looking back, knowing her cheeks were a tiny of pink.
"Of course. I couldn't stand being in a cabin knowing your just down the road."
Nicole smiled once again and nodded, walking to his Mercedes, letting herself in the passenger seat as Aldrich walked around to the driver side. Josh had taken his alphas things and placed them back in the car when he found out that Aldrich wouldn't be staying in the cabin.
Aldrich slid into the drivers side, shutting the door and cranking the car, then began to drive to Nicole's home. Her anxiety began to come back as they got closer and closer to the house. She lived about 5 miles from the pack house, in a fairly normal sized two-story home. Unlike most show-boat alphas, she liked living in her 3 bedroom, two bath home.
Aldrich pulled up into the driveway, parking behind the white Jeep Wrangler that was already there. "Is that your car?"
Nicole nodded, stepping out of the Mercedes. "Yes, dad bought it for me as a gift when I became Alpha."
Aldrich nodded, looking over the Jeep as they continued walking to the front door. He watched his mate as she walked, feeling his pants tighten as he couldn't help but stare. Shaking his head, they walked into the house, neither of them knowing what was to come.