Page 4 of Alpha's Claim

We made our way to a set of ornate french doors leading to a large balcony where two people stood. The woman who escorted me opened the door and showed me through to where the men were. By the time I went to thank her she had vanished.

“Ah, Mr. Silverstreak. It’s wonderful to see you. I heard about your mother. I’d like to offer my condolences.” He thrust his hand forward and I firmly shook his hand, smiling slightly.

Chapter four

Cora

Iwokeupinthe bed of a man I didn’t know. I moved slowly to look at him and just stared for a few moments, trying to gauge if he was asleep or not. Luckily for me, he was dead asleep. Waking up with a stranger was never all that fun, really, so it was best that I get myself dressed and out of there before he woke up. He was cute, though. And so delightfully human. My father would smell another wolf on me immediately and he would be absolutely furious if that happened.

It did annoy me that something so simple would derail my father’s approval of me, as though he himself didn’t take lovers. But I was a daughter, a woman, and it would be shameful for me. He was still pretty old fashioned when it came to things like sex. Honestly, he was old fashioned in a lot of ways that weren’t good, but I was pushing him to just be better. Be better than the previous generation- that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to lead our pack into a new direction, but no less strong. It wasn’t weak to forge alliances rather than demand money through extortion. We could use our strength for so much more. I felt personally that we should be using our strength to help other packs. We were stronger together, after all. Shifters were a rarity in this world, and it was important that we weren’t divided. At least I thought so.

I didn’t take lovers often anyways. It was only something I did when I really needed to let off some steam. Just occasional escapism so I could just set it all down and have a night of fun. It made it easier to deal with the day-to-day dealings of the pack. As prepared as I was to take over leadership, it stung to have to just keep proving it to my father. The fact that Preston was so far in his ear that it interfered with my birthright drove me crazy. The one person who should know what I was capable of seemed to be blinded by the word of his Beta rather than seeing my own actions. It all just made me more determined to prove myself- and I would.

I made my way back to my apartment with my head held high. There was no such thing as a walk of shame with me. I was perfectly content with my actions the previous night, no matter what anyone else thought or said. Behind my back, of course. Nobody would dare question me to my face. The only person whose opinion I really cared about was my father’s, and I kept these two parts of my life far, far apart. He genuinely did not need to know a single detail of my sex life.

I finally relaxed a little when I made my way into my apartment. I sighed as I shut the door behind me, leaning against it for a moment. The first thing to go were the shoes. They were so cute, but they were also so painful. I kicked them off in the general direction of the closet. The rest of the clothes went as I made my way to the bathroom to shower before I went home.

I luxuriated in the shower for longer than I normally would. I let the heat of the water untangle the knots in my muscles. It was normal while I was here to take my time. There was no need to rush. Nobody needed me. My priority was just me- not my father. Not the pack. Just me. That’s why I kept all my favorite products here- I liked to pamper myself when I could, and doing it here felt just so much better.

After I got out of the shower and got dried off, I headed over to my closet. It wasn’t jammed with clothes- I just kept a few outfits here for going out or going home. Now was time for a nice, professional, going home outfit. I dressed quickly and checked myself over in the mirror once to make sure I looked flawless. No runs in my pantyhose, everything tucked in right- that sort of thing.

Once I was cleaned up, my apartment was cleaned up, and I was in more professional clothes, I got back into my car and headed back to the estate. By now the route was second nature to me. I’d been driving it for two years to get back and forth between Philadelphia and Schuylkill.

I managed to make good time home. By the time I handed off the keys and made my way to the door I was settled completely back into myself. It probably wasn’t totally helpful to compartmentalize as much as I did, but it’s how I managed the different parts of my life and the roles I needed to settle into. We all put on masks, after all- I was just very good at it.

I barely made it through the door before I was face to face with Preston Banks yet again. As though he didn’t take up enough of my life, here he was to ruin my good mood. When he saw me, though, he seemed to brighten up for no reason I could understand. He gave me what he must have thought was a charming smile, but it seemed slimy to me. It immediately set me on edge. Maybe it was my personal bias against him, but I didn’t trust anything he did that seemed to be nice. I fought the urge to groan or scowl at him as he made his way over to me. I had attempted to avoid him, but he imposed himself between me and the rest of the estate. He was cutting me off from my path to my father, who I actually did want to see.

“Cora, welcome home,” he said, keeping himself too close for comfort. At least he didn’t smell as wretched as his attitude, but he smelled just a little too nice instead. It was like he never graduated from the middle school locker room technique for putting on cologne. Less is more when it comes to scents. “How was your night in Philadelphia?” He was faking a conversational tone. At least I thought he was. It felt very much like I was walking into some type of sticky fly trap.

“Lovely, thank you.” I said, keeping my voice calm and even. I did my best to just be professional and not let him get what he wanted. I kept silent while he waited for me to give more information. We were in a bit of a standoff while he waited for me to fill the quiet moments with what I did. It was a well-worn technique, but he seemed to forget that I also knew how to do it. He was the one to break first.

“You know, I really do believe that if any woman could be an Alpha, it’s you.” He started, giving me that grin again. “I’m just thinking of what the rest of the pack will think. And you know, I’m here for you.” I frowned at him slightly, wondering what his game was here. “Always. I’m here for anything you may need. Absolutely anything.”

“What exactly are you talking about?” I asked. It felt as if he were hitting on me.

“I just want you to know that as your Beta, when you ascend, I’ll be there for you. I’ll help you raise an heir and I’ll be that strong, masculine hand you’ll need when you’re running this place.” Oh God- he was hitting on me. “You’ll need the strength of a man to establish your reign.”

“You don’t think that you’re going to father an heir with me, do you? You realize that I have no interest in furthering any kind of relationship with you.” I said, not bothering to hide my disgust. I didn’t even care that he seemed to only get more smug in the face of my repulsion.

“We’re going to have to forge some kind of a relationship if you plan to inherit the estate, Cora. I’ll be your Beta.” He said it with such confidence, like I couldn’t simply train a Beta of my own.

“You absolutely will not be,” I said, moving away from him and crossing my arms over my chest. “I want nothing to do with you, Preston, and I think I’ve made that perfectly clear.”

“We’ll see if that sentiment keeps, my dear. I tend to grow on people, as do you. You’ve certainly grown on me.” He must have thought he sounded ever so sultry. That was absolutely not how he was coming off.

“Fuck off, Preston, what is wrong with you? You’re almost my father’s age.” I spat. It was infuriating that he even thought this would work. Clearly he was pretty certain in his skills with women, but I wondered if it had occurred to him that in the entire time I had known him he had never had a partner. “Leave me alone. I don’t need your help and I certainly don’t need you. Not everyone is an old sexist like you.” I walked past him, the sound of my heels clicking as I made my way to my bedroom. After this I would need an entire weekend away from this guy. I locked my room behind myself to make sure he couldn’t follow and set out a bag to take some more clothes over to my apartment. I had just returned and yet here I was, leaving again. I’d have to tell my father that his ‘right-hand man’ was hitting on me. That he was driving me out of my own home with his atrocious behavior.

I packed everything I could think of that I would need in the city. The city was calling me again, with her nightlife and cracks and crevices. There was always something to do in Philly, no matter what time of day or night. It wasn’t all clubland and parties either, although I liked both of those things. I also liked exploring and people-watching. I liked seeing the people of the city, including the shifters. Sometimes I wished I could just start a pack of my own out here in the streets. Leave the extortion and mob boss mentality behind. I just wanted to make an actual change and I felt so certain I could if I were given the chance. I just needed one chance. Without my father breathing down my neck and forcing me to constantly prove my worth and without Preston there to politic his way up the proverbial ladder. I could just find my mate and blend into the city- fade into the backdrop. It sounded incredibly nice to run away. The only problem was I hadn’t found my mate yet and I was determined to take over leadership of my own clan. Nobody else would make the changes we needed in order to basically stop being horrible.

Once the bag was full, I yanked it shut, standing there over it for a moment just staring at the floral pattern on it. Enough clothes for a few days. Anything I didn’t have on me I would have in my apartment, so once I gave my room one last once over, I left the room and headed on my way straight back to my car, my pace determined. I wanted nothing more than to go back to my space and take a well-deserved break from all of this political nonsense I was tied up with here. If my father thought I would bow down to the will of a man he would be sadly mistaken.

Chapter five

Weston

HenryOnyxianwasadifferent breed entirely from the people I grew up with. He was tall and refined looking with straight black hair and sharp hazel eyes. There was an amiable smile on his face and he really just looked open and friendly. In the face of his grace I felt awkward. I was more wild than him and I knew that.

I waited until Henry had seated himself before I sat down across from him. I was doing my best to follow his lead, here, because our pack had been fairly modest. We didn’t have many rules of etiquette for our dealings with other wolves, but I knew the larger packs tended to have rules of engagement. There had never been a moment in my past where I wished more that I’d had some kind of introduction into this kind of world before I was thrust into the deep end.

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