Acceptance: ALPHA Series Book 2

Welcome to Book 2, in the Alpha series! I hope everyone who enjoyed ALPHA will enjoy this fun story. Many Alpha readers have BEGGED for a Selene/Lucas story so of course I had to give them what they wanted!

For all my new readers, though it's not necessary to read Alpha before reading this, you may need to read book 1 first just to get a feel for the characters personalities and a get a little more background BUT you don't have to.

I cannot wait for you all to get a better glimpse into how Lucas and Selene came to be!

Until next time readers!

—-

Year 1

-Selene-

“Happy Birthday!”

The sudden loud greeting from my family startled me from my sleep making me jump up and pull my covers close to my chest. “What the-“

There surrounding my bed was my entire family still dressed in their own pajamas. My mom and dad wore happy smiles on their faces while my sisters all seemed annoyed to be awake right now.

Same here sisters.

“Good morning sleepy head! It’s time to get up, today is your birthday!” Mom says moving to pull the covers away from your body.

“The big 13 kid. How do you feel?” Papa asks with a cheesy grin on his face. I glowered at the man who knew all too well that I wasn’t happy about being awoken like this.

“I told you she would hate being woken up like this. We should have stayed in bed.” Adira grumbles leaning against my bedpost.

“Yeah.” Natalia yawned out “I woke up 20 minutes early for this? We have school today, I could have used some sleep.”

“Oh hush up all of you.” My mother scolds then returns her attention to me “I made your favorite breakfast, chocolate chip waffles. Now get up, get dressed and meet us downstairs.” She pressed a kiss to my forehead and began shooing my siblings out of the room.

As much as I hated this type of celebration I knew my mom thrives for it. So I would give her this at least until next year.

“Hey Papa?” I called out before he left the room.

“Yeah kid?” He asks, holding the knob of my door.

“You promised you’d take me to the training fields today. We’re still going right?” I questioned nervously. I had been begging and begging my dad to bring me to the training fields.

It’s always been a dream of mine to be a warrior. Unlike Adira, I wouldn’t have any titles holding me back so I could train with the big boys and learn how to fight. Papa would tell me that I was too young and that most young wolves began their full training at thirteen.

Well now I’m the perfect age and he promised he’d take me.

My dad chuckled and nodded his head “Of course. Who am I to deny the birthday girl something she wants? But you better get ready, you still have school today.”

With that my dad left me alone to my thoughts. I sighed and threw myself back into my pillows. I was finally a teenager. Was this how it was supposed to feel? I mean, I didn’t feel any different and I don’t think I looked any different. I still felt like Selene.

There wasn’t much time for me to lay in bed. Knowing that if I didn’t get ready in the next ten minutes my mother would come marching up here to see what was wrong.

And that was something I definitely didn’t want.

Stretching widely and letting out a long yawn and rose from bed and slowly made my way into my bathroom.

I took a moment to admire the girl...no teenager staring back at me. My dark hair was cut into a short pixie haircut that was shaggy and seemed to cover my eyes. My body was scraggly and skinny, most of my clothes hung loosely on me. I was tall for my age, I almost reached the same height as Adira and she was sixteen but that’s where the similarities between us ended.

Ad and Nat were both 17 and 15 and had gotten their more womanly figures while I on the other hand have continued to be built like a little boy.

Not that I minded, I didn’t want the unwanted attention that my sisters got for their looks. I was content with the way I was.

Throwing on a pair of skinny jeans, a tee shirt, and old worn out sneakers, I grabbed my backpack and hauled it over my shoulder before making my way downstairs.

Mom wasn’t kidding when she said she had made breakfast for me. Stacked high on a plate were 5 large chocolate chip waffles. I stared at the dish in front of me in disbelief “Uh mom, really you didn’t have to make this much.”

“Selene if you want to grow into a strong wolf you need to eat to keep your metabolism happy.” My mother pointed out from the sink where she was washing dishes.

“I want to grow into a strong wolf not a fat one.” I replied while attempting to eat the large amount of food in front of me.

Adira, Natalia and Emilia let out giggles as they too ate from their over packed plates.

My dad snorted and downed the rest of his drink “Speed it up kid, I have to get you and Emilia to school before my meeting. Adira, is Lucas picking you and Natalia up?”

“Yeah Dad.” Ad replied carelessly as she typed away on her phone.

“Make sure you’re back on time today, you still have your Alpha training this afternoon.” He adds in moving to say goodbye to my mother.

“I got it dad.” Adira stressed out with a roll of her eyes.

I watched as dad embraced and kissed my mom. The gesture made me feel an unfamiliar tug in my stomach.

Would I feel the same way when I met my mate?

Mom always told us about the electric feeling we’ll all experience with our mate. Watching her and dad always made even me want to meet the person I was destined to be with. But I wasn’t in a rush, I was only thirteen.

The honking of a car horn broke my gaze from my parents and turned to see Natalia and Adira jumping up from their chairs “That’s Lucas. We’ll see you later guys.” Adira called out as she pulled open the door and ran towards the small gray car sitting outside our home.

I tried to peek out the open door while my sisters left the cabin to try to get a glance at my sister’s best friend.

Lucas Steele.

I felt my face grow warm at the thought of the future beta. I wasn’t one for having crushes and I definitely don’t have one on Luc, but I have always thought he was cute...for someone so scrawny.

But I couldn’t have any affection towards Lucas. One he was my sister’s best friend and two, everyone knows that they’re mates. And when they turn eighteen they’ll become a mated couple.

The thought churned my stomach.

But it was hard not to think that. Those two were inseparable. It got pretty annoying at times. Especially when Lucas was always visiting here. It was hard to keep my not crush on him at bay if he was always around.

“You ready to go girls?” Papa asked.

I nodded my head and got up followed by Emilia who put on her backpack that was a little too big compared to her 11 year old body.

She reached her hand out and grabbed my father’s. He smiled at the gesture. I crossed my arms together hoping he got the message that I wouldn’t be holding his hand. He needs to remember I’m wasn’t a kid anymore.

Unlike the high school, the middle school was only a few minutes away from our home so Papa could walk us every morning on his way to the pack house.

We stood in front of the gates of the school and as usual all of our schoolmates and teachers whispered among each other at the sight of the Alpha. I don’t get why they’re still shocked to see him. Dad walks us to school everyday.

“Alright you two. After school I need you to walk straight to the pack house okay? Your mother and I will be there working.” He kissed the top of our heads then grinned down at me “Find me later Selene and I’ll take you to the training grounds.”

Unable to contain my excitement I bounced up and down before giving Papa a thumbs up.

Today was going to be the best day ever.

Today... was the worst day ever.

Not only had school dragged on for what felt like eternity but I had not one but three pop quizzes in my classes. Quizzes that I was most definitely not prepared for.

I tried not to let school damper my mood but it was pretty hard. As soon as the dismissal bell rang I bolted from my seat and made my way outside to meet Emilia.

After that we both raced down to the pack house. Being taller and lankier than my little sister I was able to beat her no problem. We both panted as we reached the front door of the pack house.

“One of these days I’m going to beat you Sel.” Emilia says trying to catch her breath.

“In your dreams E. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to meet Dad. He’s taking me to the training grounds!” I brag, moving past my sister.

Emilia rolled her eyes and made her way towards the kitchen where she’d begin her homework.

I stood in front of Papa’s large wooden office door and hesitantly knocked on it.

“Come in.”

There were two sides of Papa I was used to, one was the Papa at home, he was nice and liked to smile around us, especially mama, then there was Alpha. Papa tended to be more serious and didn’t show his emotions.

As I opened the door I immediately saw my father hunched over his desk and scribbling his signature on documents. He looked up momentarily to see that it was me and set down his pen with a small grin “Hey there birthday girl. How was school?”

“It was okay.” I shrugged before bouncing over to his desk “When are we going to the training grounds? You promised, remember?”

Papa let out a deep booming laugh and stood to his feet “I did promise that didn’t I?”

I nodded my head eagerly.

“Well come on then. Let’s get going.” He gestured for me to follow.

It didn’t take us long to get to the training grounds. The field was filled with Dad’s warriors all training in a different way. Some were in wolf form while others were fighting hand to hand. There were even some handling weapons!

“Woah.” I was utter awe at the sight before me. This was even better than I expected.

“Alpha! What a surprise to see you.” Beta Steele greets as he jogged over to us. Lawrence Steele was Lucas’ father and Papa’s close friend, he took care of the warriors in the pack. They all were under his command.

I liked Beta Steele, he was kind and liked to tell jokes but I knew he was more strict than anything. Lucas was raised on a tight leash, at least that’s what Ad tells us.

“Morning Beta, I promised a certain someone a tour of the training grounds. My girl wants to be a warrior.” Papa nudged me with his shoulder making me blush slightly.

“Is that so?” Beta Steele rose a single brow “Well then, why don’t I introduce you to our other juvenile wolves and let you train for the day?”

My eyes widened and I glanced up at my dad in excitement, I hoped he would see from my expression that I was begging him to say yes.

His single nod was all Beta Steele and I needed before he led me away from my father.

I felt myself shrink into the beta’s side as we walked past the towering grown wolves. They all turned their attention to me and bowed their head in respect. Of course they would, I was the Alpha’s daughter, these men were sworn to protect me and my sisters. Didn’t make them less intimidating.

“Chin up little one.” Beta Steele chides gently “You are going to be a warrior, we don’t show fear or intimidation.”

I nodded my head taking in his words and moved away from his side and tilted my chin up.

“Very good.” He praised with a nod.

Our walk was short and soon we were among the juvenile wolves. Teenage boy wolves. There wasn’t a girl in sight. I felt my confidence dwindle slightly.

“Lucas!” His father called out startling the boys.

Suddenly all eyes were on us and I felt like an exhibit in a museum. The boys stared at me like they had never seen a girl before.

I narrowed my eyes and glared back making some look away. Except for the one boy who makes my cheeks redden. Lucas grinned my way before jogging over to his father and I.

“Sup Dad.” He greets wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Lucas was much more cute up close. With his shaggy brown hair and golden brown eyes, I had a hard time looking away. He was almost as tall as Beta Steele as well, both were at eye level with each other.

“Selene is here to train with you all for the day. Alpha would like to see how she does with the juveniles. Show her the ropes.” He pushes me forward gently and I feel even more exposed than ever.

Lucas stared at me as if he was seeing me for the first time. I fidgeted nervously under his gaze. “Sure Pops. We’re doing some basic exercises today, shouldn’t be too hard for her to keep up.” He smiled over at me before nodding at his dad.

“Alpha will be watching, you do best to make sure your boys know that.” His father warned eyeing the teens who were now glaring at me.

“Got it Dad.” Lucas brought his attention back to me “Alright Sel, we’re learning some basic hand to hand combat. Think you can handle that?”

Can I handle that? Of course I could, idiot.

“Sure.” I say blowing my bangs out of my face. Lucas led me to the circle of boys who looked disgusted I was even joining their training.

“Okay boys. Looks like we have a newcomer joining us. This is Selene, the Alpha’s daughter. She’ll be training with us for the day.” Lucas grinned looking down at me.

“You can’t be serious Luc, I mean she’s a girl. Girls don’t fight.” One of the younger boys called out.

“Dead serious. Now partner up, we don’t have much time until dinner.” Lucas orders.

Even though he was only 16, soon to be 17, Lucas held the same authority his father had. The Beta gene was definitely there and I knew he’d make a great leader one day. There was a reason his father allowed him to train the 13-18 year old wolves.

Lucas partnered me up with Kris, he was 13 like me and I recognized him from school. He didn’t speak much and was pretty reserved. He had blonde hair that was cut short, deep blue eyes, and was the same height as me.

He wasn’t smiling but at least he didn’t look disgusted by my presence.

“Alright Sel, we’re only practicing how to properly punch and dodge, try not to hurt each other too much okay?” Lucas jokes before leaving us alone.

“Uh hi, I’m Selene.” I greet as we both got into a stance.

“Kris.” He replies then begins to move. His fist came at my face and I gasped before ducking down. My knees hit the ground and I nearly fell over.

“Whoa are you okay?” Kris asked helping me up. I could hear the other boys laughing and embarrassment swept over me.

“I’m fine.” I pushed him away and stood upright.

“Don’t dodge like that.” Kris advises “it’ll be much harder for you to retaliate if your knees reach the ground. Dodge to the left or right. Wanna try again?”

Blowing out a breath I nodded my head. This time when Kris threw a punch at me I dodged to the left making him stumble slightly.

“Impressive. You catch on quickly.” He grinned, making me smile back.

Kris and I practiced for the rest of the time, though I was sore and was covered in sweat, I had never felt so much happiness in my life. This was where I belonged.

“You were great today Selene. I hope you come back, you’re pretty cool.” Kris says as we finished out last spar.

“Me too. Maybe we can be partners during training.” I shrug wiping the sweat from my face. Having to train in a t shirt and jeans was terrible and I hope I was able to come back and train in actual workout clothes.

Kris and I began walking towards the pack house where I knew my father was waiting to hear how my first day went.

What happened next was unexpected and hurt like hell. I felt something stop my stride causing me to trip and hit the ground, hard.

“What the hell guys!” Kris exclaimed angrily after seeing the culprits.

I looked up to see a group of boys laughing and circling around us “What’s the matter princess? You should really learn how to walk!” One of the boys jeered at me.

“Leave her alone Mike!” Kris moved to help me stand.

“What? If she can’t handle a harmless joke then she shouldn’t try to be a warrior. Girls don’t belong with us anyways.” He glared at me.

“You’re the only joke here.” I spit back meeting his glare with my own. I wouldn’t let these idiots bully me. Papa raised me better than that.

“What the hell did you just say to me princess?” Mike stepped forward before pushing me to the ground.

I winced as my elbows scraped the rocky ground. Not only were my knees cut up now were my elbows. The sharp burning pain made tears well up in my eyes but I held them back.

“Hey what the hell do you think you’re doing Mike?!” Suddenly Mike’s cool boy exterior disappeared and was replaced by fear as Lucas ran over to us.

“Nothing! We were just talking!” Mike lied as his goons tried to back him up.

“Talking huh?” Lucas asked before he saw my scraped knees and elbows. A dark look flashed through his face before he glared over at Mike and his friends “You all know better than to put your hands on a girl, not only that she’s the Alpha’s daughter, someone you’re training to protect. Should we let Alpha Emilio know what you’ve done here?”

Shaking their heads in fear, Mike and his group began to beg for Lucas not to tell my father. “Fine. I won’t say anything but tomorrow you’ll run five laps around the pack as punishment. Consider that mercy.”

The boys nodded their heads before scurrying off.

Lucas nodded his head at Kris in thanks before turning his gaze to me “Are you okay Sel?”

“I’m good.” I replied dusting off my clothes feeling slightly embarrassed “Those guys are just idiots. I wasn’t scared of them.”

Lucas let out a chuckle “That’s good to hear. So what do you say about coming back tomorrow for more training? I saw you and Kris and I think you have great potential to be a warrior, I can give a good word to my dad.”

“Really?” I asked in shock. I didn’t think I did all that great today but I wouldn’t not take advantage of this opportunity.

“Yeah. So what do you say Sel? You in?” Lucas rose a brow and I grinned in return knowing I couldn’t say no.

“I’m in.”