Page 1 of Becoming the Alpha

1

Jason

I swallowed as the consequences of the last few minutes hit me. I had forcibly claimed my mate without her knowing what it actually meant, challenged my father to the position of Alpha, and outed myself as being a rebel sympathizer to everyone who was close enough to hear me. I swallowed thickly, attempting to keep my face from reflecting the inner terror that was building. Lily slipped her hand through mine, looking confused. I could barely stand to hold her gaze, so I focused on the murder-filled glare my father was directing toward me.

“Is this really what you want, Jason?” He asked, his voice low and calm. I took a steadying breath, before answering. “This is what needs to happen.”

Lily glanced around us, frowning. The whole clearing seemed to have jumped back into business - the rebels were causing chaos, the guards were attempting to capture or kill the rebels, and the members of the pack were attempting to get to safety. I noticed Dean had come back to my side, giving me a subtle nod when he caught my eye. I breathed out a sigh of relief, pleased that my mother, little sister, and Lily’s best friend, Amara - and possibly Dean’s mate, although we didn’t have time to deal with that mess - were all safe.

“Are you two seriously attempting to measure your fucking dicks in the middle of a fight? The rebels need to be dealt with - now. Before anyone gets seriously hurt,” Lily said, turning her attention to me. I cleared my throat, glancing down at her. The stench of guilt - a salty, metallic, and slightly sweaty smell permeated the air around us. Dean looked at me in alarm. Lily wrinkled her nose and took a step away from me.

“We also need to get you a shower. I don’t know what you rolled in, but it stinks!” Lily said. My throat closed up and I felt sick to my stomach. I ran a hand through my short brown hair, resisting the urge to tear it out. My father chuckled, the sound causing panic to race through my body.

Lily frowned at him, as he shook his head. “You didn’t tell her what you just did, did you?”

“What’s he talking about?” Lily asked, turning her frown to me. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Dean, my Beta and best friend, stepped forward, “We don’t have fucking time to discuss this now. Fuck with each other later.”

To demonstrate his point, a rebel came screaming through our group, attempting to shove a large spear through my father’s heart. He easily deflected the man, throwing the spear to the side and knocking the man out. I winced as the back of the man’s head bounced off the ground. I took a deep breath. It was time to start acting like an Alpha. I turned to Dean, “Take Lily inside the castle. I’ll be there shortly.”

Dean nodded and grabbed Lily’s arm. He pulled her toward the castle. “Oh, fuck no. You do not get to dismiss me, Jason Huntington! I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re an Alpha or my mate or the Devil himself. I will not be fucking shoved to the side to be dealt with at a later time!” Lily snarled, jerking her arm out of Dean’s grip and marching back to me. She poked me roughly in the chest, causing me to frown. My wolf peeked out, proud of having such a strong and amazing mate. He was humming pleasantly in my chest after having claimed her.

“You’d better teach your mate how to fucking act or she is going to continue to embarrass you and be a threat to yourposition,” My father sneered. I took a calming breath, the smell of blood and dirt flooding my system. I pinched the bridge of my nose, attempting not to fucking kill everyone in the vicinity. When I opened my eyes, Simon, my father’s captain of the guard, was running past us.

“Simon! What’s going on?” I called out. He skidded to a halt, glancing between me and my father. He gave both of us a half bow, uncertain of how to proceed.

“The rebels are retreating. A few of the guards are attempting to follow them, but it looks like they have slipped through our fucking hands again,” Simon replied, his frustration clearly evident.

My father snapped, looking pissed. “How fucking incompentent are your men, Simon?”

“My men are extremely well trained, sire. The rebels seem to know everything we have prepared and trained for. We just can’t get a leg up on them, sire,” Simon said, his jaw clenching. I could have sworn I heard a tooth crack. I avoided the side long glance he shot my way as he spoke.

My father snorted, turning his anger toward me. “That’ll be your doing, no doubt.” Simon remained silent, giving me a pointed look. I waved him off.

“Thank you for the report, Simon. Go. We’ll catch up with you later,” I said. He gave a nod, slightly bowed again, and took off. My father’s face turned bright red, his anger building. I waited, the explosion of his temper imminent.

“How dare you fucking dismiss one of my soldiers? I am the Alpha of Wolf Hollow. I am King!” He roared. Dean edged around Lily, placing her just slightly behind him. Lily rolled her eyes but didn’t make a move to put herself in harm’s way again. I folded my arms and leveled my father with a pointed look. “For now.”

2

Lily

My wolf was proud and immensely happy. She wanted to jump my mate, while at the same time content at watching him work. He turned away from his father and shouted out orders. The rebels melted away and the pack members ended up heading back to their homes. Alpha Luke and Beta Jack came walking up, looking wary but very concerned. My wolf didn’t like the scent rolling off of them - she tried pushing forward to intercept them. They weren’t part of our pack. They were threats to Jason, whether they were invited onto the pack lands or not. My wolf was ready to eliminate that threat.

A hand on my arm drew my attention. I glanced down, then turned my attention to Dean. “You can’t, Lily. Not only is that an Alpha and a Beta, both of which are immensely stronger than you are, but you will also jeopardize Jason’s challenge and position. You’re his Luna now. You have to act like you have complete confidence in his abilities.”

“I do have complete confidence in his abilities,” I responded, my confusion growing. Dean raised an eyebrow and gestured down. I looked, surprised to see that I had taken a few steps forward and my hand had shifted into claws. I yelped, drawing everyone’s attention. I curled my hands up, piercing my skin, before whipping them behind my back. “Sorry, don’t worry about me. Go about your business.”

They all turned away from me, but I could see nobody believed what I had said. A metallic scent rose in the air, causing me to lift my head. Dean stepped closer, leaning in and whispering, “It’s the blood from your palms. Take a few calming breaths and relax. Luckily, there’s blood everywhere so they won’t know it’s from you, but you can’t show them that you’re on the verge of losing control. We can’t lose face here. Jason needs you to keep it together.”

I took a few deep breaths, letting out my breath as silently as possible. I felt the claws shift into human ones, which was the weirdest feeling in the world. I shuddered at the sensation, then focused my attention on the tense males standing in front of me.

“You’ve laid out the Alpha Challenge, Jason. This is fucking serious. Do you know what you’re doing?” Alpha Luke asked. I narrowed my eyes at him, pissed he would even ask such a thing. Jason wasn’t a kid - he knew what he was doing. “She’s my mate, Luke.”

Alpha Luke glanced over at me and I gave him my best smile. “What the fuck is the matter with you?” Dean hissed in my ear.

I blinked, the smile dropping as he turned away. “What are you talking about? Nothing is the matter.”

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