Page 1 of Alpha's Fate

Chapter one

Cora

The alliance was crumbling. I sat at my desk with my head in my hands, just thinking hard about what we could do. Weston and I knew that there might be something of a difficult transition given the differences in our packs, but with the closeness we’d felt with our families it seemed to us like everything should work. What I heard most often was that there was social tension- people believing others were beneaththem on both sides. Our pack was significantly wealthier than Weston’s had been, so I had been expecting some of this. Everything seemed to be harmonious for a while, though- where we’d lost the plot was beyond me.

My laptop was open before me and there was a document there, part of our plan to try to coexist. It was blueprints to add onto the estate enough space for all of us so we could exist in the same space. Some people were on our side, but others didn’t want to sell their homes from Weston’s side. We were trying to compromise, keeping both compounds intact for each of us. It didn’t seem to be enough. I spent so much time just trying to handle my own pack that it was hard to think of the Silverstreaks as well.

Weston had really stepped up, though. He was working hard on keeping his people together just as I was with the Onyxfangs, but even in his clan there were whispers of starting a clan of their own. We had the same problem in mine. The people just talking amongst themselves about how the Onyxfangs had always run Schuylkill and this new merger was beneath us. It was maddening to try to explain to those people that no, they were not. Just because they weren’t born into the wealth of the pack didn’t mean that they were any less. Trying to reason with them seemed to be getting us nowhere.

Weston had told me those people were taking a toll on some of his people as well. Members of the Silverstreaks who hated that a small portion of my pack were jerks who didn’t understand the value of both human life and the alliance of our packs. It was difficult because they were right.

The whispers on the wind of a rebellion were ever present in our lives. Weston and I were fighting against it as best we could but in the end we just had to reason with people, wait, and see. If we were to face off with a new pack formed from rogue members of our own we would deal with that when it came. Frankly,enough of both the Silverstreaks and the Onyxfangs were still on our sides, still loyal, that we could overcome a rebellion.

What I couldn’t overcome was the pushback I was receiving from mostly the elder pack members actively fighting back against my status as Alpha. It was, frankly, ridiculous. These ridiculous old men who felt they were smarter than me simply because they were old and men. As if they’d be able to run the pack. They seemed to believe that if they were in charge they’d be able to force the alliance, but the problem was by and large they were the ones who wanted the alliance to fail in the first place. It was frustrating and exhausting. I spent so much time learning from my father and honestly the knowledge that the Silverstreaks had had a female Alpha and just listened to her made it seem even more ridiculous that I was being disrespected.

Luckily so far none of them have been as insufferable as Preston Banks. It might have been cruel of me but I was happy he was gone and presumably dead. That was a relief after what he’d done to Weston and I and what he’d done to my father as well. That he had turned my father cold and distant because of his terrible ramblings. We’d missed out on so much time and closeness because of that horrible man.

My mind was always full of thoughts. I was trying to find a way to integrate the packs, but my best idea so far was physical proximity, and I knew there were people on both sides who opposed this idea. However, Weston and I had spent a considerable amount of time working on the plans and the paperwork to add onto the Onyxfang estate, so the project was going forward whether the old men wanted it to or not. The building was going to be grand, large, and match the current estate. It would have a garden of its own. The building would be equipped with all of the necessary amenities for the Silverstreaks to move in if they chose. Those who wanted to keep their homeswould be free to, but the estate would house them in the same way that the Onyxfang estate housed many of our pack who chose not to own individual homes nearby.

I knew there were those from the Silverstreaks already planning to move in which gave me some relief. It was a good sign that most of the packs were getting along fine. I knew on both sides many were loyal and ready to live their lives together, it was just the outliers that were stressing me out. I almost thought as much as the two factions opposing the merger hated one another they may join up anyways just to come together and attack, but I couldn’t think like that if I planned on moving forward. Ground would be breaking soon on the new project and even though I was stressed to hell I also felt so much better that it would be a reality soon.

I knew Weston was struggling as well. On top of the stress of our joined packs he was finally dealing with the death of his mother. Up until now he had pushed it aside to both prove his worth and keep up a leadership role, but when it threatened to explode, I’d implored him to at least talk to me if not a therapist. He wasn’t dealing with a normal loss- his mother had been murdered in cold blood. Nobody had been caught to face justice and he just had to deal with it because of his role as Alpha of his pack- one that he admitted to me he wasn’t sure he was ready for. Despite proving himself a capable pack leader, he still questioned his decisions. There was an aspect of his struggling to deal with the stress of leadership on top of his emotional struggles. He chose to hide the struggle in favor of putting up a brave front, but I could tell that he was unhappy.

My poor mate’s suffering added to my own stress, although I would never admit that. It wasn’t right for me to act on my stresses to compile his. I could talk to him about any other problems, but when it came to dealing with her death it was so cruel to think that I should tell him about how hisstress compounded my own. It wasn’t fair to him. He was dealing with enough without me complaining. His mother had been murdered for God’s sake. I just couldn’t do that to him, especially when I was the one who pressed him into dealing with the death in the first place.

It weighed heavy on my mind constantly as if I’d known the Silverstreak matriarch myself. Her loss loomed over everything they did. I knew that Weston was trying desperately to do her proud, and I always told him confidently that he was. Yari assured him the same and between us I thought he seemed to begin to actually believe it himself. I loved seeing him blossom when he allowed himself to. It was when he opened up that I saw that light he hid inside, the one that made me love him as much as I did. Every new thing I learned about my mate seemed to make me love him more and more and I couldn’t help but believe I’d be learning about him and loving him more daily for the rest of our lives. It sounded like a beautiful life to me.

I’d contracted an architect to make our shared dream a reality, someone I trusted from my father’s contacts. She was familiar with our family and what we were looking for aesthetically to fit in with the rest of the estate. The mockup of the compound with its shining white walls and scrolled columns with grand doors and a garden to die for. I knew it would take people a while to get used to it given how ridiculous it honestly was, but I wasn’t willing to change the look of the estate. Having the buildings match to a degree meant a lot to me because it was all a reflection of the dreams of my forefathers. We’d worked hard for this ridiculous nonsense, and I wasn’t gonna give it up.

A few modest homes were going to go up as well for larger families and one for Weston and me. We had the space and it seemed to only exacerbate the problem that I was constantly overrun by other people every time I left my suite to get food or work in what was now my office. How my father managedto keep everyone out was beyond me. Maybe I was too nice or too hands on and just made the mistake of having more of an open-door policy. I hadn’t even had the chance to choose a suitable Beta yet because of all the work I was doing- something I regretted more as the days passed. It would be nice to have someone to take part in the burden I felt.

Life, though, wasn’t all bad. I still had Weston, he still had his pack, I still had mine- we had everything we could ever want and the money for more. I was still in college so I could make us money legitimately rather than through taking from the rest of the packs in Schuylkill county. That process immediately halted after the incident int he woods. My father’s retirement had come soon after, and now here I was. Living life as an alpha to a pack of rebellious old people and people my age, living to see the babies and young kids running around the estate, safe and always watched. It was nice to know things were ostensibly getting better, even if it didn’t always work out as planned. That was fine as long as progress was being made, which it was.

The younger generations from both clans seemed to be more accepting of one another than the older generations, which didn’t surprise me at all. Everything around them was getting better and more cohesive. At least I had them to rely on not to act like brats. It was hard, but here we were. It seemed a lot like fighting but every day things got better even as they got worse. We grew more comfortable with the situation in spite of the elders. And as far as I was concerned, they were no longer going to be treated delicately. I was tired of dancing around the feelings of a bunch of patriarchal old men who lived to try to undermine me. I was completely done catering to them to try to get them on side.

I just had to focus on the positive. As I turned back to my homework, I felt better having listed some of the positives that came along with the struggles I was facing. Maybe I needed tomake a list to see it on paper so when things seemed bad, I could look back at it and think about the nice things in life, as lame as it seemed.

Chapter two

Weston

When Cora got home, I could smell her strange mood. We cooked together to cheer her up, which seemed to help some. Just joking around and laughing, talking about our days and our individual struggles, talking with Yari who’d joined us, and everything else seemed to relax her. I found myself feeling better as she did. I hated the amount of stress I could sense coming from her, but she hadn’t really wanted to talk about ityet. I figured at some point she’d be willing to open up. She always did when she was ready. We cleaned up together, kicked Yari out, and went to bed early. It had been a long day for both of us.

I had had another meeting with my people, mostly the holdouts who were against the merger. It had been a long meeting with a lot of contention and arguments, but we’d managed to get to a tentative agreement. I didn’t expect it to last, though. My people were strong willed and fighters- it didn’t surprise me that a bunch of them weren’t about the changes at all.

I’d also actually had a long talk with one of my pack who worked as a therapist and she’d worked through some of my issues with my mother with me. I actually felt a lot better as things progressed. We promised to talk again soon, and I was grateful for that. To have someone to just rely on outside of Cora was a secret relief. Not that I didn’t trust her or anything, it was just I could tell that she was nearing getting overwhelmed sometimes and I didn’t want to pile onto that any more than I needed to. Mostly it was pack stuff. She was as frustrated as I was at the childish antics of our older pack members. There were some holdouts closer to our ages, especially on my side.

They still felt looked down upon and I couldn’t blame them. The Onyxfang pack was used to a certain type of person and my people just weren’t that kind of people. We made a moderate amount of money, enough to live comfortably, but it wasn’t nearly what her people made. That didn’t bother me, and it didn’t bother most of the clan but there were some who were too proud to admit that things didn’t have to be going their way to be going well.

“Want a massage?” I asked randomly, and Cora looked over at me with a small smile playing at her lips. I assumed that was ayes and grabbed a bottle of lotion from her vanity, one I knew she liked because of the scent, and brought it over.

“Always.” She smiled. “Especially from you.” She grinned at me and peeled off her shirt and bra. This was my second favorite part of the massage - I’d never be upset about seeing her bared to me. I’m a guy, after all. Plus, she had absolutely perfect breasts and her body was stunning. I watched her shed the rest of her clothes before she laid down on our bed face down.

I took my time, slowly working the knots and tension out of her shoulders first before I moved down slowly. She was so tense that sometimes I had to return to her shoulders just to keep her loose. It was hard for me to see her like this. There was nothing more that I wanted than to help her feel better. I moved to straddle her thighs as I made my way down her back. It was nice to even touch her, though. I loved feeling her. Her softness gave me life.

“It’s getting harder to deal with these old jerks every day.” She said, finally voicing her tension. “It’s like every time I start to make progress things take a step back. I think I’m going to be done with trying to wrangle them soon.”

“I don’t blame you. They’re desperately trying to take the power from you. We just have to be strong and not give into their nonsense. It’s a lot, though. I get it.” I said softly, stroking the hair from her neck and kissing it slowly, moving along her shoulder before I got up off of her legs so she could flip over.

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