Page 2 of Alpha's Claim

Cora

Iwasusedtositting in on pack business. My father, Henry, was the Alpha, and I was his successor. It was actually quite a new age, novel concept. For generations the Onyxfang pack was only headed by a male Alpha. I was determined to be the first woman to be in charge of her pack. The name Cora Onyxian would be remembered as the first. My father seemed fairly open to the idea. He and I had had many talks about it, and it felt to me like he was on my side of history. I knew I could do it. I had strength and perseverance, I was levelheaded when I needed to be, and above all I worked hard for this. Countless hours observing my father and sitting in on meetings with him and his Beta, Preston.

Preston Banks. I despised him a lot of the time. As long as I had been working my way toward being Alpha, he had been working to undermine me in my father’s eyes. It was greed, a desire for power that led to this… unsavory behavior. Preston spent far too often speaking to my father about taking over his role as Alpha when he passed. It was the same misogynistic argument every time, too. It was deeply frustrating. He made my blood boil.

“We need to find out who these newcomers are and invite them over to chat.” My father had his mob boss’s voice on. It was never just a friendly chat. That didn’t bother me. The Onyxfang pack was the largest, most powerful pack that was in the region. No other shifters stood up to us. They all paid homage to our clan in the form of tithes in exchange for safety. I was prepared to keep us strong- just not like that. When I was Alpha things would change. They had to.

“Yes, sir. I will make it my mission to learn everything I can about them.” I was surprised Preston didn’t bow to my father, the way he kissed his ass all the time.

“Good. See that you do.” My father looked up at him from his desk, then to me. “Cora- what would you do in my position?” He asked, and I paused. This was a test, and I knew it.

“I think the best way is to at least start out cordially with them and gauge their strength. It’s best to avoid a fight if we can. Our show of strength can be more subtle than that. We don’t need to brawl to prove our superiority. We’re more refined than that.” I answered him. My eyes never strayed from his face as I gauged his response. Although he didn’t come out and say it I could see the approval in his eyes.

“Then that is how we’ll handle it. We can invite their alpha to have a nice lunch meeting with us and explain the rules to them. They can then decide to stay and abide by them or fight us and be driven out- or to extinction.” My dad ruled with an iron fist. It was the only way to keep power. I was aware of that, and I planned to rule in much the same way. Maybe slight differences and something of a feminine touch, but I wouldn’t be run over by another pack, no matter how strong. I was stronger. WE were stronger.

“I’ll take care of it, sir.” Preston said, keeping his eyes on my father as well. Both of us strove for his attention and approval.

“See that you do.” No matter how good or bad your idea or dedication to duty, Henry Onyxian always seemed to sound at least a little bit dismissive. It hurt me when I was younger, but now as a twenty-three-year-old adult woman I could see it for what it was. That’s just the way he spoke. Preston still seemed to be stung by it on occasion. To me that was good. It was one more point in my favor when it came to my father’s view of us and our strengths. Further proof that I was the one who should take over. “Cora, please go get me the legers. I need to track who has paid this month.”

“Of course, dad. I’ll be right back.” I said. I turned and left the room to go to his secretary’s office next door. It took some time digging through her files before I finally found the right file. When I made my way back, I heard Preston talking to my father about me. I hung back right outside of the door. If he was talking about me after I walked out of the room, it must have been some kind of subterfuge on his part and I wanted to know what he was saying about me.

“I really think she needs to be thinking realistically. She’s a woman- our pack has always been led by a male. We need to keep that strength up. I think it’s time to be honest with her. Cora can still have input when you leave the pack to me, and it’ll only be temporary until she has a son. If she has a son.” That kind of talk was what boiled my blood. I walked into the room with my head held high.

“I’m not some incubator for a male heir, Preston. That’s an absolutely disgusting thing to say. I’m fully capable of leading this pack. I’m not some delicate little flower. I’m a strong woman and I think I’ve proven that over and over. We’re not beholden to some stupid, misogynistic ancient law that says men are superior to women. It’s stupid.” I spat angrily. My body felt like it was on fire, I was so angry. “I was right next door, too, did you honestly not expect me to overhear you?”

“Cora, calm down.” That certainly did not calm me down. “I’m speaking realistically. I’m not afraid of you overhearing me speak to your Alpha.” He was sneering at me as subtly as possible, but I could see the smugness behind his eyes. “You shouldn’t be eavesdropping anyway.”

“That’s weird because you never seem to openly speak about this whenever I’m in the room, Preston.” I said, keeping my voice even and calm. “And it’s not eavesdropping when it takes place in a meeting I was invited to. Everything said in the meeting should be said in front of me.” I could see my father’s almost imperceptible smile as he watched us argue back and forth. “I am not bound by your traditions, Preston. I am not bound by your lack of understanding when it comes to women, and my father isn’t either.” I wasn’t certain of that, but I said it anyways with the hope that he would back me up. The fact that he stayed silent during the beat before Preston spoke again gave me reassurance that he believed in me. He knew I was capable of handling this on my own without his help. If I hadn’t been in an argument I would have smiled.

“That’s all well and good but our pack has always been led by a man. Men are stronger physically and more capable of leading mentally. How can we know that you would lead the pack with your mind and not your emotions? It’s basic biology, Cora. I hate to be the one to have to confront you with this. I know the pack agrees.” Preston spoke just as calmly, no matter how irrational his arguments were. My father turned his attention back to me as I put my rebuttal together.

“That’s so incredibly ill-thought-out.” I said, rolling my eyes. “Women have been in power in the human world for ages and several other packs have had female Alphas for decades. The only people who think that women can’t rule are those who are afraid of women in power. You know, I get it. I do. When you grow up in privilege with one set of beliefs when anyone else gets equal treatment it feels like oppression. That’s not what’s happening here. I’m not challenging you. There’s nothing to challenge. I’m the one who will take over the pack.” I spoke with confidence while Preston seemed annoyed. Good. I hoped I was getting to him.

“I think it’s obvious that the meeting is over,” my father said, standing. I approached and handed him the file. “I clearly have a lot to think about.” That was true. No matter how much we bickered it was ultimately his decision who became his successor. It felt like the only reason he had even allowed this argument to go on in his presence was simply to gauge who he thought had the best points. “You’re dismissed.” he said, waving us off. Preston left immediately, but I wasn’t going to be waved off like that. I wouldn’t stand for it.

“You don’t honestly believe him, do you?” I asked, moving to sit in the chair opposite my father’s desk. I’ve sat here thousands of times to observe and then to give input in his meetings.

“I’d like to see you take a more active role in leading this pack if you have the intention to take my place should the worst happen.” He said, keeping his attention on the papers in front of him. He didn’t even look at me as he spoke.

“I’ve spent hundreds of hours in here helping you and-”

“You’ve spent hundreds of hours in here observing, yes, but you don’t seem to do anything required of an Alpha. I need to see you take a more active role in the day-to-day minutiae of the leadership. Prove to me that you’re fit to replace me. Prove Preston and the rest of your detractors wrong.” He said, finally moving to look at me. “This is going to be a hard road for you, Cora. Have I raised you right?” I nodded firmly, blood boiling at the lack of confidence.

“I’ve spent my entire life following you and learning how to be an Alpha. You know I’m more fit to lead then Preston. You have to know that.” I said, gritting my teeth against my anger. “You have to know that I’m the most fit to lead. To hell with the old ways- now is not the past, it’s the present.”

“Prove it to me.” He said simply, and I nodded once.

“I’m done for now.” I was going to go out. Go to Philadelphia and actually loosen up and have a good time. I couldn’t stay here and handle the situation with grace like a good little girl. That’s just not who I was. I turned and walked away, both myself and my father refusing to say goodbye.

I made my way to grab a bag of essentials I carried between the estate and my studio apartment in Philly. That was all I took as I headed to my car and then into the city. It was only going to be one night, after all. My plan was simply to let loose and have fun. Maybe pick up a lover at the club to take home or to go home with.

I parked in the garage and made my way to the elevators. I made my way to my own safe space, my apartment. My place where I could be just myself. I sighed upon entering and made my way to my closet. I spent almost no time picking my dress because it almost didn’t matter tonight. I just wanted to be front and center, the focus of everyone’s attention. It was a brilliant gold sequined bodycon dress, designed to show off my figure. I brushed through and styled back my long black hair to keep it from getting into my face as I danced. Once my makeup was done, I stood up and assessed the outfit with the makeup in the full length mirror on my wall. It was perfect. I grabbed my purse and went out into the night, ready for the high of going to a club.

Chapter three

Weston

Ittookaboutamonth for us to make the move to Schuylkill. There had been very little pushback from the pack, but I had the whispers in the background. It didn’t hurt my feelings that some of our packmates had concerns that I couldn’t live up to my mother’s leadership. It was a fear I had myself, but nobody had vehemently pushed back against the move. At least not to my face.

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