Page 33 of Lost Fate

That’s the truth. Terra and Rylan came for the big reveal of me as my father’s daughter to the whole Fort Meyers pack, at which time, my dad, who seems very keen on surprises, had a big one.

Honestly, it was good that Terra and Rylan were there, because even Leander struggled with the crowd control after what my dad said to the gathered crowd of nearly a thousand wolves who align to the greater Fort Meyers area pack.

Even now, I kind of get chills when I think about it. Because, even though I am who I am and I know what my strengths are, it was still a big surprise.

A month ago, my father declared that I would succeed him as alpha when he retired.

It caused quite a stir. To say the least.

When all the dust settled down, we did some homework around the issue. Apparently, there have been female alphas before. Four of them. Two of them are still alive and sent me phone numbers, email addresses, and flowers. One is a jaguar in Mexico City, and the other is a lioness in Cape Town.

They promised to help me get used to my new role. I’m the first wolf female alpha that there’s ever been on record, but they were the first in their areas, too.

If I think about it too long, I know that I’ll start to get a little anxious. So I try not to think about it.

Truly, though, I’m not that worried about the whole situation. My father isn’t going to retire for another year, while he spends time building me up as the next alpha and supporting me with running the pack. The day-to-day stuff isn’t all that hard, especially Leander’s help as beta and the team of enforcers I’m building. As the other female alphas pointed out, it’s the challenges that get annoying.

That, I’m kind of excited about. If someone feels like they want to challenge me, they’re welcome to it. I’m stronger and a better fighter than any of the males in the pack. Hell, I’m better than most males in the country, a fact that I’m completely certain of after my time training with Rylan.

When my dad made the announcement, however, Rylan still insisted on private coaching for both Leander and me. He and Terra come to visit once a month for that, and in between, Leander and I spar.

We end up having sex about half the time, but that’s neither here nor there.

“Terra’s flight is landing a little later,” Leander notes. “Looks like there was a delay coming out of Denver.”

“As long as she’s here, that’s all that matters.”

We’re having our first Blue Moon Bash tonight. I’m hosting it as the future alpha. Leander’s mom is doing all the decorating and party logistics, which is fine with me. She’s great at it. I’m not.

Eventually, the sounds of the party increase to the point that we can’t ignore them any longer. Leander and I get up, and I throw on my loose cover-up dress to join the party.

“You ready?” Leander whispers in my ear.

Hell yes.

Usually, we mill around, getting to know pack members. The Fort Meyers pack is much larger than Oakwood, so there are plenty of faces that I haven’t seen before.

“Oh, no!” I hear a kid’s voice call.

A football flies at my head, but I deftly snatch it out of the air. A girl, probably somewhere around four, screeches to a halt in front of me. Her eyes go wide. “Um. Sorry.”

I laugh. “Is this your ball?”

“Yeah. The boys told me I couldn’t catch it…”

Oh, I understand that. “Go long, then.” I smile.

She moves, but something about her reminds me of someone I know in Oakwood…

I throw the ball. When she leaps up to catch it, I realize who she looks like.

Orion.

He’s another one of the enforcers back in Oakwood. Quiet guy, keeps to himself, and he has been a real sourpuss in the last few years. He always had a thing for my friend Calista…

“Ember. Hi,” I hear.

I spin. Wow. Speak of the Devil.

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