Page 1 of Her Bully Alpha

Chapter 1 - Jay

I stepped into the meeting room, taking in the space. It was a simple room with six chairs and a huge maple wood table. The windows allowed light to bask over the room, giving it a warm feel. The walls were a cream color, and the carpet was run down but not worth replacing since we were the only people that ever used the room.

I sighed heavily as I sat down in one of the wooden chairs. Henrik raised an eyebrow at me, already seated on my left. He held a smirk on his face as his brown eyes tracked over me. Henrik ran a hand over his stubbled chin and chuckled. "You sound irritable today."

I glared at him, not amused. I slept like shit the last couple of nights because of the damn letter I received from the Council. I had enough on my plate as it was, so I didn't want to have to think about finding my mate. Not that I had a choice in the matter anymore. It seemed the Council was growing impatient and tired of us all waiting to find respectable mates.

"I'm tired, and I have a mountain of paperwork waiting for me back at my office. Can we all agree to make this quick?"

"Are you saying we aren't worth the trouble?" Aaron asked as he and Maddox both stepped into the room. Aaron smirked as he sat down, giving me a cocky look. He had pulled his longer black hair back into a messy bun, yet it somehow looked perfectly done.

"I don't think that's what he's saying," Maddox said, running his hand through his hair as he shook his head. "Let's not poke the bear, shall we, Aaron?"

I grumbled, leaning back in my chair. I ignored Aaron's antics, looking towards the door. "Are the others coming?"

"So grumpy," Henrik snorted. "And we're friends, why?"

I threw another glare at him. "I can end that if you would like."

Henrik chuckled as entertainment sparkled in his eyes. "You'd miss me. Besides, I don't see any of these guys putting up with your moods like I do."

"We're here," Francis yelled loudly as he and Jones both stepped into the room, shutting the door behind them. "Sorry, Jonesy here had to make a pit stop before we came." Francis threw his thumb back at Jones, who rolled his eyes.

"You didn't have to wait for me," Jones said softly as he took his seat. Out of all of us, he was the most composed and cool-headed of the group. Francis threw himself into his chair, and it creaked loudly under his weight.

"Alright, since we're all here, let's get this meeting going. Who wants to go first?" I announced, eager to get this over with. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy coming here and chatting with the guys. As we were all Alphas of our own packs in Honeycomb Valley, it was essential that we got along and kept up with each other.

We were all wary of each other when we first started attending these meetings. Tensions were high, and we didn't want to announce anything to the group. We all wanted to appear that we had control over our packs even if we didn't. It had taken us a few years to get here and understand each other the way that we did. We respected each other, even if we were all very different.

My relationship with Henrik started before I took on this role. I had known Henrik since we were little. We grew up together and were raised to think about the pack and what was best. Somehow, Henrik had a gentleness, a calmer presence that I could never understand. I think the softness of his brown, almost gold eyes calmed people. People opened up to him in ways I didn't know were possible.

Maddox was the popular one. He had the dashing looks and the presence that people trusted. He was one of the easiest to talk to and the most trustworthy. He sat across from me, looking perfectly put together. He had dark black hair and bright blue eyes that caught anyone's attention. Women swooned over him, and for good reason.

Aaron was the free-spirited one. When we first met him, I questioned how he was going to run a pack when he could hardly take anything seriously, but he surprised us all. He enjoyed a joke, but when it came to serious discussion, he was the quickest to make decisions. Behind that laugh, there was a sharp mind.

Francis, or Frank for short, was short-tempered and loud. He grew up with a stern father and strict rules. He was protective and didn't allow anything to slip through his fingers. At times, it drove us a little nuts. We knew that to be a good leader, you need to be soft at times, but who was I to say much? We were pretty sure his anger came from being in the role longer than us.

I was strict myself, and everyone always described me as grumpy. I just hated being interrupted or having things thrown at me. It screwed up my entire schedule. I was not a morning person, and every time we had these meetings, they all expected me to drag my ass out of bed at the crack of dawn. Somehow, I was always the first person here.

And then there was Jones. I glanced at him. He was the youngest of us and still a mystery. He was quiet and reserved. We didn't know much about him, and the times we had all gone out to get to know each other, we left with more questions about him than answers.

Jones waved his hand up. "Did everyone receive the letter from the Council?"

I looked around the room as everyone nodded their heads. I wondered if any of them got a letter announcing they were mated.

"Does anyone else find it a little odd?" Frank asked, crossing his arms. "Can’t we decide when we want to mate and settle down? I feel like a child being told to marry someone I don't even know."

Henrik shrugged. "It's not up to us anymore, with this virus taking hold of so many. I understand their urgency with everything."

The virus. We knew so little about it still after having it racing through all of our packs like the change of seasons. We couldn't figure out how it was created or why it was suddenly here, but it affected us all.

Our numbers were down, and a lot of female wolves were becoming infertile. They had different scientists working on it and a shifter black OB unit trying to figure it out, but no one has come up with any answers. And the Council was growing worried. It seemed that stepping in was the only way for them to get a hold of this situation. Or at least that was what they were saying.

"So, did everyone's letter announce that our fuck whoever you want, free for all days are over?" Aaron asked, tapping his fingers on the table. "Or just me? Was I the only playboy, according to them?"

"You mean how the Council is going to be finding each of us a mate from math rather than letting us find them ourselves?" Frank asked, his voice sharp suddenly. I could tell he clearly wasn't pleased about the arrangement, and I'm sure he would let the Council know his feelings as well.

Aaron ignored his roughness, nodding his head. "Yes, that is correct."

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