The Alpha's Sister

Emery Walton

Three Days

Before the Incident

I cracked another egg into the fry pan, the oil sizzled around the whites which bubbled, and I began to flip the ones I had begun cooking a minute earlier. My mouth watered at the smell of bacon that fried in a buttery frypan next to the eggs.

There was a point somewhere between being a teenager that couldn’t get dragged out of bed for anything, and being 25 and awake before anyone else in the house – at least in my parents house. I’m not sure people slept in the packhouse, it was always loud, always awake, always full of life.

That’s why Alex had moved in there after he’d turned 18, that and he pretty much lived in the pack house anyway. Now more than ever, even before he became the Alpha, my big brother still returned home every other day, sometimes twice a day if he was particularly hungry or missed a pack meal.

Home is where there is always food, clean towel and a warm bed.

At least that’s what my mother preached, you also didn’t have to be blood to be family, but that was the werewolf in us speaking. Mum and dad accepted just about anyone with open arms.

But only because they could, because they’d worked as Luna and Alpha of the Horizon Pack for over forty years, because they pushed the pack towards not only a strong financial position but a high standing amongst the surrounding packs. The wealth showed.

Our pack had never had more members, more wolves, even to the point where smaller packs in the area were hiring our guards to protect them from rouge attacks. The increased exposure to other packs in the area meant that there was an increase in fated mates finding each other when they shifted at eighteen, that there were more wolves transferring into the pack, more pups born, more jobs, the town around us boomed into a small city.

The wealth of the pack had begun to stabilise financially just before I was born, with my parents building a entire new suburb within the pack which included an mansion sided house for them. I’d been born into a lifestyle of wealth and privilege but with no expectations.

My brother had stepped into the pack during a peak, and with all dynasty’s the elders in the pack talked, worried, and brooded about if we would collapse, he would cave under the pressure of it all. But he hadn’t. He had thrived.

Over the last seven years he’d only grown the prosperity of the pack and our family, to the point that the pack had become self-sufficient. Of course, he’d made it thrive, he’d been born to take the position, he’d spent every day of his life walking in our father’s footsteps until he outgrew his shadow.

The only thing he couldn’t seem to do was find his fated mate.

And despite the pressure of our parents and the pack elders, he’d put his foot down about waiting for her, waiting for the right person. He had pointed out that when I had children they could always become the successors if his mate didn’t show up.

But that was before I’d shifted, and well.

Seven years without a mate never felt so long.

The toaster popped up and the eggs were done so I turned the hotplate off, pulling our four plates I plated the toast first, adding some butter, smashed avocado, sun dried tomato, spinach, before topping it with the eggs and bacon.

“Breakfast is ready!” I called up into the house, picking up my plate and the cup of tea I’d been sipping on while I cooked.

The house groaned and my brother was the first to come downstairs, topless, tired, and still half asleep.

“You’d think you were a college student coming home for free meals,” I chuckled as he made himself a coffee and grabbed the plate of food.

“You know what Emery,” Alex groaned, “I will listen to any of your suggestions, when you run your own pack,” he said as he rustled his hair and shot me a dirty look. It was funny, I could make the same face – we looked remarkably similar, with the same chocolate brown hair and matching eyes, the same skin tone, even down to the same structure. You looked at us and knew we were siblings.

“Late night then?” I chuckled – recognizing the face from my own days at university studying.

He let out a grunt as he bit into the toast, “oh god, Emery, this is amazing,” he moaned.

I chuckled and shook my head as I opened my book and began to read it.

“You know,” my mother said as she entered the kitchen, “you know, statistically speaking Emery is likely to become the wife of a Beta or Alpha herself, so is likely to run a pack, and then you’ll have to listen to her.”

Alex looked up at our mother, his mouth open slightly as the realisation set in on him, that she was probably right. It wasn’t uncommon for Alphas and Betas to go unmated for longer periods of time because they were matched with powerful and strong female counterparts.

Our mother herself being one of many sisters of an Alpha family, she had met our father when she was 19 and next year, they would be celebrating their 50th anniversary.

Our life was privileged, but we worked and remembered at the heart of it all, it was our family and our pack that we worked for, we thrived to support those who depended on us.

Two Days

Before the Incident

The cold air made my lungs sting as I gasped for another breath, yet, despite the cold temperatures the sun was hot on my back, only making me wish I’d worn my shorter leggings. I was sticky and sweaty, and I felt disgustingly dirty as a trickle of sweat ran down my back – I was sure another would follow in a few moments.

I hated sweating.

But I loved training. Perhaps that was just hundreds of years of instincts and generational trauma though, being forced to run laps around the same hill each morning after breakfast, to push your body to the absolute limit until you were the strongest in the room, after all, when you’re a werewolf, you fight to be alive.

It’s win or die.

Everyone knows this.

I rounded the last corner of the cross-country track, returning to the training field where I could see our Beta standing alone in the field with a clipboard. He looked like your cliche werewolf, tall, strong, dark hair and dark eyes. Honestly, you’d think most of them were brothers.

“You were fast this morning,” Samuel said, looking at his stopwatch as he noted down my time on his clipboard.

“Oh well, you know it is Beta,” I chuckled, “gotta actually try when you’re ranking everyone,”

He shook his head and threw me one of the towel to dry off some of my sweat, “well you were first today, so you’re off to a good start.”

I grinned at him, “how’s the Mrs?” I asked.

“Eight months pregnant, sore, tired and somehow still excited to be a mother,” he said, a small smile working it’s way onto his mouth as he shook his head as he looked at the clipboard.

I grinned, “That’s Tiffany for you,” I laughed as Sam jotted down the next person’s time and threw them a towel, “I might come and drop by later this weekend, if that’s okay.”

Sam grinned, “she’d love that, she’d been feeling very stir crazy after the pack doctor told her to take it easy.”

“Well you rarely get complicated pregnancies in werewolves, so it’s better to play it safe I guess.”

Sam grunted again, scratching something down on his clipboard, “you can go spar with James this morning.”

I frowned, “I feel like that’s a bit unfair.”

Sam laughed, “what on earth would make you say that?” he chuckled darkly.

James turned to look at us, a wicked grin split across his face and he began to saunter over, his eyes burnt into me, undressing me, “because you know I always go easy on him.”

“Exactly,” Sam said, something flashed in his eyes.

“Beta Sam,” James said, dipping his head slightly as he approached, his light brown hair had grown out recently and now fell past his jaw line and thus covered his face when he bowed in respect.

“You’re sparring with the Alpha’s sister this morning,” Sam said, any hint of good mood or humour vanishing from his demeanour as he addressed James.

“My pleasure,” James said, his eyes alight as he looked at me and winked, “what brought about this paring?” he queried.

“They’re doing rankings this morning,” I said, dropping the towel, Sam had given me earlier, into the dirty bin and catching James by his shirt and leading him away before Sam snapped at him.

They didn’t get along.

Not that that was surprising to anyone, Sam was a hardworking and diligent individual, I respected that about him. James was the opposite, James was cocky, James was rough, James was proud. That’s why I let James fuck me, it was easy sex, he knew what he was doing, he knew how to make me squirm.

And Sam hated that, hated that I was with him, hated it because James wasn’t my mate, wasn’t anyone noteworthy apart from his own perception of himself, he wasn’t a strong warrior, wasn’t from Beta or Alpha blood, just good in bed and anywhere else we felt like it.

Sex was a little different when you were a werewolf, when the concept of a mate existed. Humans were a lot more conservative about it, more modest, don’t need to know so I don’t want to know, but werewolves were more open about it. Intimacy was a bigger part of our lives, it was a bigger part of us, it meant more to us and our wolves.

But being who I was, a lot of people had opinions on who I slept with. People like Sam. My brother was a lot more conservative; no one would have cared if he fucked around, even mated with someone who wasn’t his mate – have children and start a family, continue on a legacy that built and maintained this pack that we were apart of. But me, well I was a woman, I was getting ‘old’, but I was someone else’s property, someone I didn’t even know, someone who may not want me, someone who may be dead.

So that’s why he’d paired us for sparring today.

He knew I’d push to put myself as high in the rankings as I could possibly go. It would look bad if I didn’t, so who ever I was against was already at a disadvantage, but because he wanted to make James look bad, he wanted to shove a stake between us, he wanted to break us up.

It wasn’t even that I was seeing James that Sam didn’t like – that the elders didn’t like. It was that he wasn’t enough, he wasn’t strong, smart or powerful, he wasn’t a Beta or Alpha, he wasn’t strong enough to have a notable ranking, it was nothing. He was nothing.

Joke was on Sam though, I’d made him cum twice this morning and put him on cloud nine. Even if I handed his arse to him he wouldn’t care. Probably….

One Day

Before the Incident

I thumbed at the next page in the book, I’d run my eyes over the words at least a dozen times but I just couldn’t seem to immerse myself. I was only really trying to kill time anyway, I let out a sigh and closed it, slipping the bookmark back into place as I shoved it down into my handbag and rested my head on the wall behind me as I started to swivel my car keys in my hand.

The door to Alex’s office squeaked open and a guard ran his eyes over me before he dipped his head slightly. No one had to bow to me, I wasn’t really anyone, but they did it because I was Alex’s little sister, Dad’s daughter, I was the blood of greatness.

“The Alpha said to send you in, Emery,” he said, giving me a small smile before walking off down the hallway.

I stood up, stretching my arms from sitting in the chair too long before striding into his office. He looked like dad, sitting at that old oak desk with the computer light illuminating his face and the stacks of paperwork towering around him.

“Sorry about keeping you waiting,” he sighed.

“That’s okay,” I smiled, “I get it, one thing mum always taught me is to have a good book in your handbag,” I chuckled.

Alex shook his head and smirked, “of course she did,” he sighed.

We’d had very different up bringing, despite being raised under the same roof. When Alex was born, he was dad’s child, he was the pack’s heir before he was himself. Every moment of his youth was spent being taught, trained and raised to be the next great Alpha of our pack.

He told me once, when he was drunk he was jealous of me, having no responsibility, the ability to go to university and study something I was interested in – not that a degree in business would help me right now. That he was jealous of the relationship I had with mum, that our parents saw me a child and him as the next Alpha.

I didn’t have the hear to tell him I had wished we’d swapped places.

That I was mum’s doll, her mate was off running a pack and grooming the next heir, that she took it upon herself to shape me, to give me every opportunity she didn’t have, to give me a head start to a life I didn’t want and probably wasn’t going to get.

“So, what’s up? You never summon me to your office,” I smiled.

Alex grimaced and my stomach dropped, every stupid decision I’d made since I was twelve started running through my head, that time I snuck out at thirteen to go kiss my human boyfriend in the nearby town, that time I went out drinking and nearly crashed mum and dad’s car – before they’d given me my own.

“You’ve actually come up on four different topics this week,” he sighed.

“Four?” I said, my eyebrows raising as I look at him and crossed my arms defensively over my stomach. “I’m flattered, usually it’s only to have a nice verbal sparing contest.”

“Yep, so firstly, congratulations on your ranking you were the second highest female and the eight highest overall,” Alex said, looking at his computer.

“Oh, I thought I would have done better,” I sighed.

Alex cackled, “sorry to disappoint, but it still puts you as one of our highest-ranking warriors, which brings me to point two – the elders want to know why you’re not on our patrol groups, or our warrior team for that matter.”

I grunted in acknowledgement and pouted my lips. Women were never ‘assigned’ tasks within the pack, the expectation was that they found their calling, weather it was being a mother, a cook, a wife, school teacher, or any other feminine task the pack elders deemed appropriate for someone with a vagina.

“They said as you’re unmated, still, the expectation should be that you start contributing in a more notable manner to the pack,” Alex continued when I didn’t say anything.

“So start having kids or get a job,” I said.

“Pretty much,” Alex said, rubbing his face, “Because of your ranking, I’d suggest patrol and guard duty would be best suited to you, but if you wanted something away from the mess and fighting, you can always help me with the family business side of things – you know how I feel about all of that and I’m sure you’d be a great help.”

I grunted again. “What’s number three?” I asked.

“James.”

My stomach dropped, twisting into a hundred knots that release a swarm of butterflies in my stomach. “What, did I hand his arse to him too much we were sparring yesterday?”

Alex shook his head and chuckled, “no, but his ranking was slightly lower than last years,” he said before clearing his through “It came up when they were discussing your, um, - child baring abilities…”

I felt a lump in my throat, the constriction in my chest and the woozy feeling in my stomach “I suppose I should feel flattered that the pack elders feel a need to discuss my reproductive ability,” I mocked, pushing past the sick feeling in my stomache.

Alex shot me a look, “One of them outed that you’re screwing him in front of dad, so now he knows, and undoubtedly mum knows, I thought you deserved that warning at least.”

I cringed, “great. I might get out of the house for a few days.”

“Sadly that’s not all, they said if the two of your don’t find your mates soon they might match you.”

“This is what happens when you use me as a scape goat to avoid having your own pups, I’m not going to choose James as my chosen mate,” I stated.

“Oh, I know that, and they don’t approve of what you were doing, what you are doing. There was a lot of colourful language used, dad made quite a few threats this morning. Ruffled quite a few feathers.”

“So, what do you mean?”

“Point four is that they’re discussing finding you a high-ranking mate.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re the next in line to run the pack, after me, and I made it abundantly clear I have no intention of bedding someone who isn’t my fated mate.”

“What, so you want to sell me off like a prized calf?”

“Emery.”

“No, you’re a fucking hypocrite, why should I have to mate someone who isn’t my fated mate when you can wait around for yours?”

“Emery,” Alex said again, his voice sounded like he was under water.

“I- I,” I wanted to burst, to scream and yell at him until the lump in my throat was gone and the weight in my stomach was gone. But it wasn’t him, he was warning me.”

“Emery, why don’t you go into town for a bit, out of the pack?” he asked.

The world stilled.

“I think you should stand in for me at some work meetings, you’ve been involved enough in the running of the family business to know what’s going on without needing a full debrief and I can take care of some rouge issues that have been happening in the area.”

I nodded.

“But while you’re there, I want you to think about how much you want to be a part of the Horizon Pack. I know some of the other pack’s might be a bit more accepting of the lifestyle you want to lead, give you better opportunities to live as apart of the human world, to take up hobbies and jobs that interest you.”

“Are you kicking me out?”

Alex shook his head, “no, I would never do that, as I would never tell you who you can and cannot sleep with, nor will I ever tell you, you have to marry. I love you Emery, you’re my little sister, and with the way things are going, the way Dad and the Pack Elders are talking – well, what I think is best for you, is not what is being offered to you here.”

I swallowed, and nodded.

“Is there anything else, Alpha?” I asked.

My wolf receded in me, she liked James, he was comforting, warm, easy. We didn’t have to fight for his attention or affection, she would have been happy with him, as a last resort. Perhaps that was bad of me, of us, perhaps we were broken, we had no mate and I was doomed to be alone for the rest of my life.

Perhaps I had known this all along.

“That is all, thank you Emery.”

I turned on my heel and left his office, my shoes ringing out around me as I walked, the door slamming shut behind me. I stood on the other side of the door. My heart raced. I supposed deep down I hate been waiting for my mate, just like Alex. Only I had given up being as virtuous as him, I instead had taken the more chaotic path, the one where you sleep around until you find them, not that I had really been looking for him.

When I had been younger, I used to doll myself up for every time an Alpha or Beta came to our pack, used to beg Alex to let me go to meetings with him. Between myself and our mother, we’d been handling the pack duties as a Luna.

But I was no substitute.

And my position was becoming more and more wavering. Who would they pair me with? If not James they must have some idea…

“Miss Walton,” a soft voice said, and I look up to see Alex’s secretary had stepped out from her office beside his, “sorry to interrupt you,” she continued.

“Not at all,” I said, plastering a smile onto my face, “what can I help you with Grace?”

She smiled, she had always been a sweeter older lady, a widow who had joined our pack after the passing of her chosen mate. “Alpha Walton had asked me to hand you these things once your meeting was over, there are some plane tickets for your business trip and his notes for the meeting.”

She passed me a thick manila folder with some plane tickets and other loose papers paperclipped to the front of it.

“Your flight is this evening at six,” she said, I frowned and looked at my watch.

“Did he really dump all of this on me three hours before the flight?” I said.

Grace smirked and shook her head, “you know how he is.”

I sighed, “I do,” I closed the folder and tucked it under my arm, “was there anything else?” I asked.

Grace nodded and procured an envelope with my name scrawled across it, “he said to hand this to you, he wasn’t entirely sure how you would be feeling after your meeting, so he thought it best to keep it short.”

I nodded, “did you know what he talked to me about?” I asked her, raising my brows as I looked down at the older wolf before me.

She shook her head, “no ma’am, what the Alpha said stays with him in his office, he had it sound proofed after he took over from your father. Said to me it was something he hated about waiting outside his father’s office was being able to hear half a conversation. Or just about anyone could be privy to a private conversation.”

I nodded in agreement. He wasn’t wrong, father was notorious for yelling and it being heard halfway throughout the pack house.

“Honestly, and just between you and me, Miss Walton. I think he wanted to be able to take his mate in the office, what a shame our Luna hasn’t come home yet.”

I smirked, covering my smile with the back of my hand, “well, it is always lovely seeing you Grace, but I best be off.”

“Of course, of course, you’re always a busy young woman.”

I smiled and began walking off down the hallway. I tore the envelope open and pulled out the hand written note my brother hand scrawled on a piece of paper. I slowed to a stop as I began to read it.

Emery,

I feel stupid writing this done, but to be honest I was a little afraid to talk about, well, the things we talked about in my office. I feel as though I had no right to bring up those issues, you are not a child, and I am not Mum or Dad. So, I’m sorry.

And thank you for not killing me.

Don’t bother going home tonight, Dad was very emotional after finding out about you and James, started cursing him out, I’ve just transferred James out to some patrol duty as far away form Dad’s house as I could get him, so your “friend” is still alive when you return. I hope, no promises.

I didn’t have enough foresight to get someone to pack for you, and I don’t want to ask someone to go in because it will give away to Mum and Dad that you’ll be out of town for the weekend. So please just knock yourself out in the city and put it on the pack card – I know you have a copy in your wallet, buy yourself a new wardrobe and some of those ridiculous heels you love to wear.

Stay safe, try not to scare the CEOs too much and put your business degree to some use.

Love you always.

Your Big brother,

Alpha Walton.

Fuck you Alex, I rubbed at my face and looked around the hallway to make sure no one could see me tearing up.

‘I love you too’, I said down the pack link. He let his chuckle ripple back down the pack link in reply.