The She-Wolf Alpha (Book 1 She-Wolf Series)
Chapter 21

Samantha

We pulled up to the pack house later that morning. Although I had my own clothes because Jonathan had dropped them off, I hurried to the suite to change into something more work appropriate. I giggled to myself at my walk of shame. I couldn’t even make myself feel the slightest bit guilty about last night. It had been perfect. And dammit I was a grown woman who could have sex if she wanted. Or something like that.

After I had changed, I headed to the Alpha’s office, my office. I was still trying to decide how to make it my own. There were a lot of Christian’s things still there that I needed to go through, but I was working on packaging them up for William and Serena when they were ready. I figured I would continue on that today, and go through some of the paperwork that was building up before meeting with some of the pack’s council members. I planned to keep everyone for the time being since I really didn’t know a lot of people who might be capable of the job. Emerick had told me I could move people around as I saw fit, so there wasn’t a major rush.

As I neared the hallway to my office, I sent him a text asking him to meet me here to discuss a business matter. Before I made it my, Jessica, my assistant who I had met the previous day, stopped me. I liked her. She was serious and straightforward and seemed to do a marvelous job at keeping people out of my office when I wasn’t expecting them. Emerick had told me Chrstian thought highly of her, and I was starting to as well.

“Alpha Paulson, there’s a call from Alpha Luis Jackson of the Timberline Pack for you,” she seemed urgent, “He’s on video conference.”

“Okay. Was I expecting a call from him?” I asked, confused.

“No, but I think you will want to take it,” she said and I could tell there was more. When I didn’t say anything or move away she sighed, “I have tried to dodge him all morning. He wants to discuss a mating treaty with you.”

“Who wants to discuss what?” I heard Emerick say as he came up behind me.

I turned to him, “Alpha Luis Jackson wants to discuss a mating treaty with me. What does that mean?”

I saw rage flash across Emerick’s face and assumed it meant exactly what it sounded like it did.

“He wants to mate me to ally our packs,” I said, quietly.

Jessica spoke up, “Actually he wants you to mate his son who will be taking over for him in the next few months.”

I scoffed and I could see Emerick’s jaw tighten.

“Over my dead body,” Emerick growled.

I held up a hand.

“I do not need you getting all caveman over this,” I told him, “I will handle it.”

“I’m joining you on the video conference,” he said decisively.

“You can join me, although I don’t think you should. But I need you to promise to keep your cool and to stay quiet. I am the alpha in this meeting, not your girlfriend,” I ordered.

I watched as Jessica’s eyebrows flew up at my use of the word girlfriend, but she stayed quiet.

“Fine,” Emerick grumbled and stalked into my office.

“Send him through,” I told Jessica and she nodded.

I settled behind the large computer monitor and noticed an envelope sitting in the middle of my desk. It had my name on it in scrolled writing, almost like a birthday card. Jessica had been keeping all my welcome letters so that we could pen responses as we had time. Therefore, I found it odd that this one was on my desk. I set it to the side for now.

Emerick flanked me to the right. I gave him a warning glare and he held up his hands to say he understood. A middle-aged man’s face filled the screen.

“Alpha Paulson!” he said brightly, “You are not an easy lady to get a hold of. It is lovely to meet you.”

“Well Alpha Jackson, it’s eight in the morning here, so I am just getting to the office,” I said passive aggressively, “How can I help you?”

He laughed mildly, “I think the question is ’what can I do for you?’”

I wanted to vomit. Was this guy serious?

“Oh? And how’s that?” I feigned ignorance.

“I’m sure it has been… difficult to replace your footing as an alpha being as you have been kept away from the life of a werewolf all these years.”

“It’s been two days,” I said flatly.

“Sure,” he responded, flippant. “And you’ve already had to face a challenger. I hear you’re also planning on appointing a new beta.”

I could feel Emerick’s tension rolling off of him in waves, but he stayed silent.

“Let me cut to the chase,” he continued, leaning in. “My son is an excellent match. You and him mate and the two of you could lead both packs. It would make us easily the largest pack in North America and bring great things for our people. We would offer you protection.”

I scoffed, “So why isn’t your son proposing this plan?”

“Come on now Alpha Paulson. This isn’t a romantic union. It’s a political one,” he smirked.

“And what makes you think I need protection?” I demanded.

“From what I hear, you’re right, maybe you don’t,” he said, holding his hands up defensively. “But this is a unique opportunity. Rarely, if ever, are packs able to be joined in this way. Your being a she-wolf allows for this union to bring our packs together permanently. I would be remiss if I didn’t at least try.”

“Fine,” I stated, flatly, “I assume there would be a contract prior to any mating ceremony? Why don’t you email it to me?”

He grinned, “Of course. I’ll email it now.”

I heard Emerick stomp his way out of my office. I knew he would be upset, but at the moment I couldn’t assure him. This was why I had told him I thought it better he not join the meeting.

“Beta Stone does not seem pleased,” Alpha Jackson commented.

“He is having a hard time losing his seat at the table,” I lied as I scanned through the document that had been sent over in my email.

Years of real estate deals and transactions had taught me how to read contracts and replace the important pieces. Yep, there it was.

“Alpha Jackson, your contract seems to indicate that soon-to-be Alpha David Jackson would assume the role as alpha among both packs,” I said, accusingly.

“Well, a pack can’t have two alphas,” he defended.

“Hmm. Well then why not have me remain alpha over both then. After all, my territory is two thirds larger than yours, and David has yet to be named alpha.”

He paled. Apparently I knew more than he thought that I might.

“I’m not sure who you think you’re dealing with here,” I said, narrowing my eyes at the screen, “But I know goddamn well what you’re doing. My pack is thriving. We have resources and have built up huge communities where werewolf families are able to exist in peace and security. The same cannot be said for yours.

“The next time you want to try and take my pack, it better be with a fucking army,” I sat back and pulled the venom out of my voice. “Since we both know you barely have one, I think I’m safe here. Instead, let’s forget about this little… misunderstanding and continue our friendly alliance. I think both our packs, yours especially, benefit from the business we conduct together.”

Alpha Jackson stared at me with his mouth agape before snapping himself out of it. He smirked, “I heard you might not be the meek she-wolf some were expecting you to be. I’m impressed.”

I rolled my eyes, “Is there anything else? I have a lot to catch up on.”

“No Alpha Paulson. That will be all. For now.”

With that he clicked off the call. I rubbed my temples. I had been warned that males would come sniffing around, but I had pretty much assumed it would be a little more subtle. Blatantly trying to steal my entire pack seemed like overkill.

I needed to talk to Emerick. I hadn’t seriously been considering Alpha Jackson’s proposal, but I couldn’t say that while I was on the call. I sent him a text asking where he was so that I could meet him. As I waited for his response, my attention was drawn to the envelope that had been left on my desk.

Emerick

I was fuming as I left Sam’s office. In the back of my mind, I was sure she wasn’t actually considering the alpha’s offer. The fact that she didn’t just shut him down is what made me so upset. Zef had been ready to tear through the computer screen. Instead, I left her office to burn off some steam. As I stomped my way through the pack house, I barely realized someone was calling my name.

“Emerick!”

I looked up. It was Celeste. She and I had been friends for years.

“Not really a good time, Celeste,” I muttered, barely breaking stride.

“Well I think you owe me an explanation,” she demanded, crossing her arms and standing in my path.

“Excuse me?” I barked. “An explanation for what?”

“Are you or are you not fucking the new alpha?”

A new rage burned through me.

“What did you just say?” I stalked, until I was standing with my face in hers.

She took a slight step back, fear showing briefly in her eyes, before she steeled herself.

Squaring her shoulders she continued, “Everyone is talking about how you walked into the pack house together this morning. I can assume she spent the night at your house since she hasn’t moved into the Alpha’s Residence yet.”

“Where we spent the night is none of your concern, Celeste,” I said, slowly.

Why the fuck did she even care? We had never been anything more than friends. Friends with benefits to be exact. But both of us had been on the same page with that. She reminded me of it often, and I was perfectly content with our setup. We were each other’s booty call when we needed some companionship and we had fun together. Up until my night with Sam, I had thought Celeste was great in bed. Now she didn’t compare.

“Are you serious right now, Emerick,” she whined. I saw hurt in her face. “We’ve been doing this for years. I could deal with the other girls because you always came back to me, but you said you never bring anyone to your house.”

“Celeste, I have never told you we would ever be anything more than friends.”

I was confused.

She scoffed, “That’s such a bullshit excuse and you know it.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a breath, trying to maintain my composure.

“Does she know about your many conquests?” she spat.

“I’ve been honest with her, Celeste,” I kept my tone low to keep from shouting at her, “She knows that I haven’t wanted a serious relationship.”

“You’ve been honest with her?” She asked, “So then she knows where you were the night before you met her? What you said to me then?”

I stilled. I had completely forgotten about that night with Celeste. My entire world had changed since then and it had felt insignificant. I stared into Celeste’s eyes and saw her determination.

“She does now,” she finally said, jutting out her jaw.

“What. Did. You. Do.” I ground out.

I got in her face again, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes. I wanted to strangle her. Instead, I stepped back and took off towards Sam’s office.

“Do not ever contact me again,” I called over my shoulder.

“Emerick wait -"

“We’re done,” I shouted at her and she finally stomped back the way she had come.

I wasn’t sure exactly what Celeste had told Sam or how, but I knew I needed to talk to her as soon as possible. I tore through the pack house and back to Sam’s office. When I reached her door, I found her still sitting at her desk holding a piece of paper.

She looked up at me and asked, “Who the fuck is Celeste?”

“Sam I’m not sure what she said but -“

She cut me off, “I’m going to give you one chance to be fully transparent with me, Emerick. Then we will talk about what’s in this fucking letter. So I’m going to ask you again: who the fuck is Celeste?”

I sat down across the desk from her and ran my hands over my face.

“Celeste, I thought, was one of my best friends. We’ve known each other since high school, but we didn’t start hanging out until after graduation. Then it was only in friend groups and things. As our friends slowly found their mates, we kind of became the odd ones out and it made us closer.”

“Close enough to sleep together. A lot,” she accused.

“Yeah,” I conceded, “I guess so. I never saw our relationship that way. We would just call one another when one of us was lonely. It was just sex and otherwise we were platonic. There was nothing romantic, no affection. I felt like she was just a friend who I also had sex with on occasion and I thought she felt the same way.”

“She didn’t,” Sam said, flatly.

“I’m gathering that,” I said, rubbing my face again.

I had confided every secret I had in Celeste. The amount of dirt she had on me was probably endless if she spun it the right way, but if she wanted to really tear me and Sam apart I figured I knew where she would start.

“She told you what I said to her the night before I met you, didn’t she?” I asked.

Sam looked away. I could see tears in her eyes and it killed me. I felt like garbage, but I knew I had to give her the truth if I wanted any chance at fixing this.

“I spent the night at Celeste’s place. And I told her the next day I was going to meet the new alpha’s mother and that I would do whatever I could to win her over so that I could keep my job as beta... Even seduce her.”

I heard a small sob escape her. I was hurting her and I hated myself for it. Maybe a part of her wished it wasn’t true. That I wasn’t the piece of shit Celeste had told her I was.

“It was before I met you, and if I could take it back I would. I won’t say I didn’t mean it because I did. But believe me when I say everything is different now. I meant it when I said I would choose you over being the beta every single time. I would choose you over everything, Sam.”

She finally turned her tear stained face to me and took a hard look at me. I wanted to run to her and hold her. To beg for her forgiveness. I held my ground because I knew she needed the space.

“Did you call her while I was in the med bay?” She asked.

Fuck. I had completely forgotten about that.

“I did,” I admitted, “But it was as a friend only. When you started yelling for me while they were resetting your ribs, I completely lost control. I couldn’t reign in Zef and they were threatening to tranquilize me.

“Calling my mom was out of the question. She would’ve been worried sick. I tried calling Tori but she was still in the stands at the challenge stadium and I just got pissed off. I knew Grace was with her daughter and didn’t need me to add more to her plate. So I called who I thought was my friend.

“Clearly, she and I had different ideas about what that call was. I just needed someone to tell me everything was going to be okay, that you were going to be okay. I didn’t tell her about us, just that I was worried about the new alpha and that I was struggling. She was there for me like she always was.

“I swear to you, Sam, I never tried to lead her on. We always said there was nothing romantic between us, that we were just friends. I told her that I didn’t ever see myself settling down.”

“It’s different thinking the person you want, doesn’t want anyone versus realizing it was just you they didn’t want,” she said, quietly.

“That’s true,” I said.

We stayed quiet, both of us processing the conversation.

Finally, Sam asked, “How long were you with her?”

I sighed, “I honestly don’t know. Maybe seven years? I never considered us together. We both saw other people.”

Sam nodded and stayed quiet again. The minutes ticked by and I just stared at my hands, terrified I was going to lose the best thing that had ever happened to me so quickly. I wanted to wring Celeste’s neck, but I knew at the end of the day all of this was my fault too. I had used Celeste as a placeholder and I hadn’t even realized it because I was so selfish. I had planned on using Sam and I knew that was the part that hurt her.

“I was warned that men would want to possess me for the power they thought I could give them,” Sam started, “Even then, I trusted you from the get go. Now, I’m questioning everything, Emerick. I hate it”

I closed my eyes, “I hate it, too.”

How could I have treated Celeste the way that I had and thought it was okay? How could I have planned to use Sam for a job? Everything had changed the moment I met her, and I wished I could go back and be the man she deserved.

“How do I know that you aren’t using me now? That when it was clear that I was the alpha, not Luke, that you didn’t see a way to use me for more than just the job as beta?” she asked. My head snapped up and I met her gaze. Her eyes bore into me, searching for answers.

“I would never do that to you.”

“You can see where I might have trouble believing that, though,” she said, smiling weakly. She didn’t pose it as a question.

“Yeah, I do,” I sighed, “And if I could take it all back, I would. Since I can’t, all I can say is that if you give me a chance, I will spend every day of our lives proving to you how much you mean to me.”

Her eyes filled with tears again, but she held them back and nodded.

“Please, Sam,” I begged, “Give me a chance. I can’t lose you.”

She stared at me for a long moment. I tried to figure out what she was thinking, but all I saw was pain.

“I need you to go, Em,” she whispered finally, “I have a lot to do, and I can’t think about this right now. I need some time.”

“Okay, Sam,” I said.

I stood and walked around her desk. Leaning down, I kissed her forehead, hoping it wouldn’t be for the last time. Without looking back, I knew if I did I couldn’t stop myself from running to her, I walked out of her office and closed the door. As I leaned my back against it, I heard her start to cry and I closed my eyes to hold in my own tears.