Page 4 of Her Bully Alpha

I tossed the letter aside, shaking my head. It had to be a joke. I turned my attention to my kitchen and took in the butcher block countertops that went well with the olive green cabinets. The room wasn't large, but it worked perfectly for me.

I picked this house because it wasn't far from the firm and it had a cute garden space in the back. I had purchased it a few years after leaving the pack at eighteen. I managed to get a simple job at a firm and went to school. I worked hard and ran the front desk. I worked as an accounting clerk while in school, and after getting my bachelor's degree, I became an audit associate.

I had worked my ass off to get myself where I was, and I didn't have any help. I had struggled, going days without a good meal, almost losing my sanity and my house during it, but I made it.

I loved my job and enjoyed letting my mind focus on the paperwork and financial information in front of me. I felt important when I did it, and I loved the praise I received for doing a good job.

I glanced around the house, taking in all the hard work I put into it. When I bought the house, it was in shambles. I purchased it for cheap, and when I had free time, I did the renovations myself. Room by room, I turned this place into my home.

I looked back at the letter. I grabbed it and ripped it open, turning towards the living room. I flicked on my reading light as I curled onto my couch. I pulled the letter out of the envelope and unfolded it.

The paper was thick, and the stamp at the bottom told me it was real. The Council used it so people knew it wasn't a fake.

I chewed on my lower lip as I quickly scanned the content. The Council was requesting my attention. Yada yada yada…

I yawned, too tired to actually read through the entire thing. Liquor buzzed my mind, taking away my care.

My eyes froze as I neared the middle of the letter. It spoke of the virus and the way it was impacting the packs.

I had learned a little about it. We had some clients who were shifters, and I'd heard about the struggles of getting pregnant. Word around the firm told me it was the females that were being affected, suddenly becoming infertile.

I felt a little sad for them because there were some decent shifters out there that were ripped apart with this news.

But what the hell did that have to do with me? I was human, and everyone liked to make that known. There was nothing I could do to help them, so why the hell did they want me?

I continued to read, and my eyes widened.

You've been picked carefully out of several thousand profiles as the mate of one of the Alphas in the valley. Please report to Building C at the Council Hall. We will be expecting you tomorrow at eleven.

My stomach stirred, and I swung out of my chair. I quickly covered my mouth as I ran for the bathroom. I barely made it in time as I threw up my entire evening's events.

I clutched the toilet, squeezing my eyes, but the words replayed in my head.

Mate.

This was some sick joke, for sure. There was no way that they were asking one of the Alphas to mate with a human. Even if the virus affected the females, they had plenty to go around, didn't they? They couldn't honestly think that sticking me, a human, with a werewolf was the answer, could they?

Besides, the virus wasn't that big a deal, was it? It was new still, and they surely had other options.

I leaned back, grabbed a towel, and wiped my mouth. I leaned onto my feet and looked back out to my house. My heart lurched at the thought of leaving.

This was my home. I couldn't just have my entire life ripped apart because the Council said it could I? I worked too hard for this.

I grew up being treated like shit, like I was lower than the dirt they all walked on. I dealt with years of abuse and bullying. Even my own parents favored my brother over me. He was born to be an Alpha, so he was raised to be one.

I wasn't saying my parents didn't love me, but it was clear to our father that my brother was more important. He focused a lot of his energy on him. He was the next leader, so he needed it.

Our father met our mother when he was visiting a town, and he said it was love at first sight. He hadn't cared that she was human. He loved her with every fiber in his being, and she returned the love. When they had my brother, my father was over the moon.

My father never said he was disappointed that I was human, but I often thought he did. There were a lot of things I couldn't do that he and Henrik could do. A lot of things I missed out on.

I rubbed at my eyes, suddenly exhausted. I didn't even want to think about everything. I wanted to crawl into bed and sleep.

I turned my lights off and made my way upstairs. I stripped my clothes off and crawled into bed. I stared outside my room, feeling like that little girl again. I hated the feeling. I left the pack over six years ago and made something of myself. And now….it was going to be ripped away?

I felt tears bloom, ready to fall. I wouldn't bend so easily, though. If I was to be mated, so be it, but that didn't mean my life and freedom were over. Right? I could figure out what they wanted and go from there.

I woke to the sound of kids laughing outside. I winced, feeling a headache in the back of my head. The hangover was intense, as I expected it was going to be.

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