Refusing my Alpha mate
Chapter 1

Arthur

I woke up a little dazed with loud knocking on my door, probably due to all the alcohol I drank the night before, I felt a slight movement in my bed, and I remembered the girl I brought home last night.

"Archie, your dad is already waiting, you guys leave in 5 minutes." The deep voice was that of Jonh, my father's Beta, I had lost a poker game with them and we had bet on going to today's meeting.

So I was forced to go.

I pulled the body of the brunette who was still sleeping, I completely forgot her name, but I lightly kissed her forehead while I spoke softly.

"I need to go, darling, you can have coffee downstairs, I see you around." I said as I got out of bed and watched her stretch her long legs and push the sheet down, seeing her naked body there almost made me go back to bed and miss the meeting, I even considered the possibility.

"Arthur." This time the voice was my father's.

"I'll be right there dad, I'm just going to wear a t-shirt." I said opening my dresser.

"One shirt at least son, it's a meeting." My father's weak voice cut me inside. I closed the dresser and opened my wardrobe.

I picked up a blue shirt, which was wrinkled, but I simply didn't have time to do anything else. I put on a pair of pants, put my feet inside a pair of shoes, and threw the shirt over my body and buttoned it while walking, while I opened the door and found my father waiting for me.

He was much shorter than me, he no longer had hair on the top of his head, and his light green eyes which I had inherited, stared at me with his mouth closed, completing the expression of disappointment on his emaciated face by cancer.

"Son, Did you just awake now?" He asked but didn't even wait for me to answer. He then stretched his face pointing at the girl inside my room, I made a movement with my hands for him to let it go, and hugged his shoulder as we went down the stairs

My father had been sick for a few months now, it was cancer, that's why he made me come back from studying in Europe, as I had switched from one course to another and was already 10 years away. The big truth was that I was scared to death of taking on the Pack, so when I turned 22 I decided to specialize, in everything, and I stayed away for as long as I could enjoying my life, something I could never do being the Alpha here, But my father's illness accelerated my return plans, I had to come in a hurry, and I had arrived a week ago.

Today we had a meeting in a neighboring Pack, It was Alpha Ethan Troffenholl's Pack, he didn't have Luna, she died giving birth to her only daughter, Clair, I only remember her as a girl when I left years ago.

The journey to their Pack was quick, soon my father and I arrived, there were many Alphas and some of their son's training to take over, but it was simply incredible to meet Tommy again.

He was a tall, thin young man, with dark brown hair and blue eyes, he was my childhood best friend, he was my age, but he had already taken over his father's Pack a few years ago.

"Archie, how long." He said, hugging me tightly.

"Tommy, great to see you." I hugged him back and then settled in between Tommy and my dad. "So buddy, any tips for this meeting, anything I should know?" I asked Tommy as I leaned my body against the chair and crossed one of my legs over the other, resting my ankle on my knee, and crossed my arms over my chest.

Tommy looked at me with wide eyes, and then his gaze went to my father, and before speaking to me, he asked my father.

"Did you tell him about Clair?" Tommy asked, and my dad just shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What's wrong with Clair? She must have grown up, right? I remember her as a little girl…" I said, almost thinking out loud when Tommy laughed.

"She grew up? She became a warrior, a gladiator." He said and then adjusted himself in his chair. "Listen Archie." He shook his head laughing. "She and Ethan prepared their whole lives for Clair to take over, She did all the training possible, from guarding, administrative, she spent months at the Council in legal training, and they tried so hard to keep their family in power that they managed to change the law that only male Alphas can take over a Pack alone, and she will be the first female Alpha to take over alone, and in fact the youngest too. She wants to take over this year." Tommy told me in a low tone of voice as if it were a secret.

"But she must be old enough for the Ball now, isn't she? What if she replaces a partner before coming out?" I asked without really understanding, When we turned 22 the wolves were able to go to the Moon Ball and discover their mates.

"She did it this year, it will be her first ball, but there is a rumor that she will reject her partner, whoever he may be." Tommy said softly as if it was a secret. "Listen, Archie, just don't be funny with her, Clair is tough, just treat her as if she were any other older Alpha here and everything will be fine." Tommy finished speaking, leaning back in the chair as well.

"It's not for nothing that she's called the Iron Lady, just behave Arthur, please." My father also said, adjusting himself in his seat.

I gave him a sideways smile and was about to say that I always behave myself, but the doors to the room opened, taking my attention away.

Some Alphas came in first, and then she came in, I recognized her by her red hair, which before was always tied up and disheveled from seeing her running and training, now it was beautiful soft waves that cascaded down her shoulder and back. Her body grew and developed.

And that a body.

I adjusted myself in place when a heat rose through my body and settled between my legs as I observed her curves in the guard uniform she wore, and the holsters, weapons, daggers, and the sword she wore made the look even sexier. She was small, but she was so trained that her muscles showed beneath her clothes, at the same time her face was thin and delicate, her full lips gave an almost angelic appearance to all the robustness she wanted to convey, and her sky blue eyes looked the entire meeting room as soon as she arrived, and I saw her waste a few seconds on me before returning her attention to the end of the table. The other Alphas took their seats, Ethan sat on the right, and Clair stood at the end of the table, she carried some papers in her hands.

"Alfas, I declare the meeting started." Clair said, turning forward and facing everyone around her. "Firstly, we would like to highlight the need for the Lunas to be aligned with the organization of next week's ball, and that the documentation for the temporary union of the guards needs to be signed and delivered to the Council by the end of this week."

"She's the one leading the meeting?" I asked Tommy in a whisper. "You've got to be kidding, right?" I said poking him with my elbow.

Tommy didn't even respond, he made a face and pointed his chin at Clair so I could continue paying attention. When I turned forward she looked at me as she continued talking.

"I also need to point out that seizures in neutral zones of unidentified wolves are happening more frequently and that in fact just yesterday we seized three..."

"But isn't the neutral zone precisely to allow free movement?" I asked, louder than I planned, and what was supposed to be a question for Tommy, ended up making everyone stop and look at me, especially Clair.

"What? I'm sorry?" Clair said, furrowing her eyebrows and looking at me with a glare.

"Nothing, I'm sorry." I tried to fix it.

"You already interrupted me, Arthur, tell me." Her tone was firm, even more so than while she was leading the meeting.

"Did I say the neutral zone wasn't supposed to allow free movement between the Packs?" I finished the question out loud and my father just shook his head in disbelief.

Clair sighed, She placed her hands on the table and took a sharp breath before saying.

"You know Arthur, if you hadn't been away for 10 years, or at least read the updated laws before going into a meeting, maybe then you would know that over seven years ago we changed the neutral zone laws. There are licensed trails for the wolves to walk, and run without risk, and without danger. The neighboring Packs are monitored by the guards, but any wolf that walks outside them is liable to be apprehended and interrogated, whether they belong to a Pack or not. And including these three that we apprehended yesterday, they were exiles, and we have everything to believe that they were planning to invade the South or the East. And since your father is the Alpha of the East, these three could probably pose risks to you." Her words were sharp and firm, making me distinctly uncomfortable. "Please don't interrupt me again or make small talk, show respect for this meeting, if you want to think about being an Alpha someday, act like one, and at least take a shower before showing up to the meeting smelling like sex. " She finished speaking and turned to reach for another piece of paper.

I was completely shocked and had no reaction, but what bothered me most about it all was that she was right. My father didn't even move in his chair and continued looking straight ahead, but I knew his expression of disappointment would be enormous. Tommy didn't dare move either, but I could hear him laughing and trying to hide it, and I deserved that.