Page 2 of The Alpha's Heart

I don’t blame him. In our world, making food for another shifter is a way to say: I love you, I’ll care for you, and you’ll want for nothing so long as I’m around. If I offered to feed him and he accepted, it’s a mating gesture… unless we make it very clear that it’s a meal, not a declaration of love.

He has his mysterious human woman. Me? I’m on my own, but if he wants to eat my leftovers so they don’t take up room in my fridge, I’m okay with that.

“Sure,” I tell him. I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear and smile. “Stop by after school tomorrow.”

“Will do. And since I’m on my way to my cabin, maybe I’ll make sure Guy’s distracted so that you can make it onto your territory before he hunts you down again.”

I laugh, grateful for an offer I can accept. It’s a trade. Some of my food for a head start back to my cabin. “Appreciate it, Declan. You’re the best.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Sofe. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” I agree.

Declan squeezes my shoulder, then waves, starting off toward the other side of the schoolhouse while I continue on my way home—but we both stop when a brusque male voice calls out my name.

“Sofia!”

It’s not Guy. I know that much. His voice is slicker than that, and the anise has been replaced by Declan’s warm and sunny lemon scent. A hint of mint filters in, and my inner wolf—who’d perked her ears when she heard us being hailed—lays her muzzle down on her outstretched paws as she relaxes inside of me.

It’s Carver. Our pack Omega is a dark-skinned, grey-haired male with a thin face, pursed lips, and a pair of eyes so kind, you can’t help but feel calm around him. He’s been the Omega my entire life—just like how Kendall’s been the Alpha—but he’s so aged, the elder was the Omega when my mother’s mother was still part of the pack.

“There you are. I’d checked in with Samantha in the schoolhouse and she told me you’d just left. I hoped I’d catch you on your way home. I have a message for you.”

For me?

In a pack, the hierarchy is clear: Alpha at the top, Beta right beneath, with the gammas—our elders—and rank-and-file deltas making up the bulk of the pack at the base of the pyramid. The Omega exists just outside of it. An essential member of the pack, the Omega is right up there with Kendall, our Alpha, and Seton, our Beta. Carver is too busy and, well, too respected to be treated like a messenger wolf. So though my first instinct is to think, Oh, Luna, what does Guy want now, I know that even he would never use our Omega as a mouthpiece.

But our Alpha… our Alpha would, and I learn that when Carver adds, “It’s from Kendall. He’s the one who’s looking for you.”

Me?

Why would the Alpha be looking for me?

I glance over at Declan. Though his blank expression tells me he’s as confused as I am, he gives me an assuring nod.

“Um. Yes. Of course. What can I do for the Alpha?”

Carver’s lips thin, his own expression softening. “He’s waiting for you in the den. Go and see him, would you?”

When the Alpha summons you, you go. So with another bewildered look toward Declan, I thank our Omega, then switch directions. The Alpha cabin is on the western side of River Run territory, far from our natural river border. The pack den—a room attached to his cabin where any and all packmates can go visit the Alpha if they need to—is there, too. I’ve never had any reason to go there myself before, but all River Run packmates know instinctively where to find our Alpha.

I just hope I don’t run into Guy on the way over.

CHAPTER 2

KENDALL

Thankfully, I don’t.

Guy’s probably either at his cabin, or maybe in the communal hall where any packmate can go for a meal without any innuendos or implications. As Alpha, Kendall is responsible for making sure that each wolf that pledges their loyalty to River Run has the three essentials for a supe: food, shelter, and security. If you don’t want to cook, a row of pack chefs will feed you while also providing community.

I’ve avoided the hall ever since the first time Guy invited me to sit with him. That one was my mistake. I thought that, because the food came from the chefs, it was safe to sit and eat with him. Yeah, no. He decided then and there that he had a chance, and that was one of the last times I went to the hall myself.

Just in case, I take the longer route to the Alpha’s cabin so I can go around the hall the same way I ducked behind the schoolhouse. Only when the little hairs on the back of my neck start to stand on end, my wolf whining softly in her throat as she brushes up against Kendall’s overpowering territorial markingsdo I give up worrying about Guy, turning my sudden nerves toward facing my Alpha instead.

Think of an Alpha like the principal in a much larger school system than the one we have for the pack. Here, there are only a handful of teachers who each take turns with the pups, discussing their speciality. Me? I do math with a little shifter science on the side. We don’t have a boss. Just the Alpha. He’s the one in control of everything, but we prefer him to be as paws-off as possible.

Let him do the administration work. He can arrange funds for things we need like books and pencils, but other than that, we like to fly under his radar. It’s like that as a delta, too. Alphas have more important things to worry about. They’re responsible for the pack as a whole, not the individual cogs that are a part of it.

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