Rise of an Alpha Female (Two Moons Book 1) Read online

  "Any time, girl!"

  ***

  It's graduation day. The Alpha is reciting the Oath of Duty and Allegiance to the Oasis Pack and everyone in the plaza finishing warrior training is repeating it after him.

  "I, Jena Abbyline Rork, warrior of the Oasis Pack,

  From this day forward,

  Swear to defend the pack, its members, and its lands,

  In the face of all adversities and from any that wish harm upon us,

  By the trade of my life, if it be needed.

  Failure is not getting up when thrown down,

  Failure is refusing to learn from my mistakes,

  Failure is ignoring a command from a higher ranked wolf,

  Failure is not looking out for the wolves under my care,

  Failure is not an option,

  Failure means death."

  "Congratulations everyone! There will be a grand celebration tonight. We all know you earned it. And you get tomorrow free, so you can mend your headaches," the Alpha says with a smile and everyone present, warriors, parents, brothers, and sisters start to cheer, howl and whistle.

  "I wish I had a funny-looking square hat to throw up into the air!" Hannah whispers to her.

  "You would just look ridiculous if you did," Jena answers with a smile.

  "You girls up for an early drink before the party? I got a special blend of my cousin's fermented cactus brew." Joel grins widely, hugging Hannah from behind while moving his hands towards her chest.

  "Sure, why not? Coming hun'?" Hannah asks, moans slightly then slaps his hands away, and Jena can't help feeling a little bit of envy towards their relationship.

  Those two have known they are mates for a little more than three years and they still act like they just found each other.

  Her friends remind her of how her mother and father used to be around each other before her mother died in the landslide two years before.

  The toll on her father was great, but he appears to have recovered rather fast, for the good of the pack of course.

  Or so was the message he tries to relay to the others, through his attitude and his smile.

  A smile that sadly never reaches his eyes; except when he is talking to Jena in the privacy of their home, remembering her mother, his wife.

  Some nights she wakes up finding her father sleeping in the living area, under her mother's portrait, puffy checks and napkins all around, more often than not. There is nothing much she can do about it, but bring a pillow and a blanket, trying to make him comfortable.

  "Hey! Are you listening? Calla to Jena!" Hannah waves her hand at her, snapping her fingers in her face.

  "Huh, what?" Jena answers confused.

  "You were daydreaming, woman! She asked if you are coming," Joel adds.

  "Coming where?" Jena asks, trying to focus.

  "To have a drink, silly!" Says her friend, rolling her eyes.

  "Sure, let's go!"

  ***

  The blackness is so blissful; there are no expectations, no absurd limitations, no...

  "Wake up, youngling!"

  Is that Conall's voice? Go away!

  "Jena, it's time to wake up, young lady!"

  Stop poking my ribs; I want to sleep!

  "Your father is coming."

  My father is coming. But sleeping feels so good! Wait, my f...

  "Father is coming! Where? Hide me!" She blurts out.

  "Calm yourself, young lady. Nobody is coming, but you need to wake up." Conall says.

  "Why are you yelling? Oww, my head," she groans, pressing her palms against her temples as if trying to squeeze out the painful pressure.

  "Well, you shouldn't go to a celebration already intoxicated, missy. Especially on that makeshift brew you youngsters try to hide away and drink."

  "Shshhhhh! Not so loud! Shit! I'm sorry Master at Arms; I didn't mean to order you about! Where am I?"

  "Well lass, you were slobbering all over the eastern sentry post. I've never seen a pair wolves as flustered as the ones on duty here. They were very happy to see me, and I couldn't understand why when they pointed this way and then suddenly 'heard' some 'noises' and disappeared to investigate. Not sure if they were more afraid of you waking up, or the Alpha finding out where you were. Now get up, straighten your clothes and walk it off. Oh, and clean yourself up! You're filthy, and you stink; pretty sure you need to burn your clothing just to be on the safe side," he says with a grin leaving Jena, now redder than a ripe tomato, to pick herself up and bugger off.

  A few minutes after, the two guards return, looking slightly embarrassed.

  "Thank you, sir. That was..." one of them says.

  "Unusual, understandable and not something worth repeating to anyone. Anything unclear?" Conall lets his authority encompass his words.

  "Everything is crystal, Master at Arms. We wouldn't dream of saying anything..." the other wolf adds.

  "About what?" Conall promptly interrupts.

  "No idea, sir. Can't remember what I wanted to say," he quickly catches on.

  "Exactly! Carry on!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  ***

  After Jena straightens herself to a presentable level and composes her expression to hide the monstrous next-morning-headache, she begins to look for her friends. Finally spotting them by the fountain, she heads over.

  Having an open-access water source in the middle of the pack settlement is a sign of great wealth, so when there are foreign delegations visiting, her father always makes a show of bringing them over to have a drink, using one of the many crystal clear glasses found on top of the nearby stand.

  Moons I hope there are no delegations visiting today!

  "Some friends you guys are. Why did you let me drink that much and then, why did you leave me alone? I thought we were tight!" She says, pouting.

  "I'm sorry Jena, I... I mean we..." Hannah tries to explain, blushing.

  "What she means, is she got a little distracted, then a little absorbed in the heat of the moment and then she was downright busy screaming my na... Ouch! What was that for?" Joel complains, after receiving an elbow to the stomach from his mate.

  "That's for being a jerk and trying to embarrass me in front of my best friend!"

  "Oh my God! You guys totally did it!" Jena squeals in delight. "Did he mark you? Did you mark him?" She adds jumping to pull down Hannah's turtleneck.

  "What, no! We..." Hannah's cheeks going from a moderately embarrassed salmon to a mortified crimson while trying to defend herself, swapping away at her friend's hands.

  Jena raises an eyebrow at her best friend, suspicion rising. She turns her gaze to the young man, squinting her eyes into a menacing line of deadly daggers.

  "Joel!"

  His warrior training quickly puts him on alert under the scrutiny of the unexpected predator before him.

  "Did..."

  Step.

  "you..."

  Step.

  "mark..."

  Step.

  "my..."

  Step.

  "best friend..."

  Step.

  "without her approval?" And she is upon him, lifting him up by the neck against a nearby house's wall in one swift motion.

  Her tone holds promises of pain, her fingers already giving him a taste.

  Hannah is trying to pull her friend back, but with little to no success.

  "Jena, stop! He didn't hurt me! Jena, please, stop!" She pleads with her friend and de facto top of the class.

  "Jena! For fcuk's sake listen, just look at my neck!" Joel says, pulling his shirt down and away from his collarbone with one hand, while the other is around his neck to prevent her from completely cutting off his air supply.

  Acknowledging his display, she instantly let's go and steps back.

  "I'm so sorry, guys! I don't know what came over me."

  "Are you all right?" Hannah checks her mate like she is worried he could vanish into thin air.

  "I'm alright, beloved. Gonna have a nasty brui
se though," Joel answers, kissing her hands slightly.

  "I'm just going to go," Jena states, feeling like the fifth wheel for the x-teenth time but with a spoon of guilt on top this time.

  "Wait!"

  He has one hand on Jena's shoulder, holding her in place.

  She freezes but doesn't turn around.

  "I'm not upset; you were just defending a weaker wolf from a potential threat. I understand," Joel adds.

  "Hey!" Hannah interjects.

  "I said weaker, not weak, honey. And I only meant in comparison to her wolf," he explains earnestly.

  "Plus, it's a little embarrassing to admit it, but she started it! Not only that, but she marked me first! And she didn't ask for permission either! Though I would have given it anyway."

  "I knew that!" Hannah jumps to saying.

  Jena faces them, smiling slightly.

  "Again, I'm sorry guys. Please forgive me, Joel!"

  "Forgiven and forgot! Come and hug me!" Joel answers.

  "Oh, you guys! Come here!" Jena says, throwing an arm around each of her friends and happily squeezing them, relieved they are not upset with her.

  "Can't breathe, help!" Hannah manages to whisper.

  "Oh, sorry!" Jena lets go and smiles sheepishly. "I'm so happy for you guys. So when are you moving in together?"

  Hannah blushes again, but Joel answers unaffected:

  "Well, we need to have our positions entrusted to us officially, then our ceremony, and then we can request permission to build our own place unless Hannah wants one of the vacant houses."

  "I see you've given it some thought, buddy," Jena says, proudly. "He's a keeper!" She winks at her best friend.

  "Of course. Soon after that, we can start working on a litter of pups," he answers.

  "Joel!" Hannah growls at her mate. "I'm not ready for pups, and I won't be for a long time! I have lots of things to do and experiment until I'm ready for any pups." She stomps her foot as she says the last part.

  "We'll see," Joel adds.

  "No, you won't!"

  "Aham."

  "Shut up!" Hannah growls again, this time stomping her foot on Joel's, who yelps in pain, then storms off.

  "Don't worry, bud. She'll come around. You have lots of time to convince her." Jena grins at Joel.

  "I know. But I like to tease her. And after last night, I don't necessarily want pups. However, IT. WAS. AWESOME! So awesome, that I want to practice pup making, over and over again!" Joel adds, raising and lowering his eyebrows in quick succession.

  "You are such a dog!" Jena answers, half smiling and half frowning at him.

  "Nope. Just a very horny, happy wolf." His grin is as wide as the Oasis.

  "Bye Joel! You're still a dog, though."

  She waves as she turns a corner away from him.

  "Even so, you love me anyway!" He shouts back, but she doesn't bother answering him over the distance.

  Of course I do, Joel! As long as you keep my Hannah happy, you have a spot in my heart, my friend.

  Chapter 2 - Expectations

  "Settle down everyone, settle down! Your Alpha is ready to address you now!"

  "Thank you, Beta Lindator! Please, everyone, take a seat."

  And as one the entire crowd sits down on the lush grass of the central plaza, the biggest communal place of the pack, the one place that can fit all of them, either during training, group practice, festivities or pack meetings.

  "My dear friends, wolves, parents, children, and children that could be parents. You know who you are." Laughter erupts from the crowd but dies down quickly.

  "Last week another group of our young wolves graduated from the warrior training program. These wolves have become full members of our pack after taking their vows in front of everyone present. Some you may know, some you may not, since their parents live here at the central settlement or in either of our advanced trading outposts. Some have come from afar just to have the best training in Southern Calla, and I dare say in all of Calla..." howls, laughter, and shouts of approval happen at that,

  "... conquered by our fair ways, our beautiful, exquisite women..." whistles from the men present,

  "... our strong, powerful males..." claps and appreciation howls from the females,

  "... have decided to stay and join us, making us even stronger..." happy shouts from everyone,

  "... but of course some of our own, either through mating..." whistles and lewd gestures,

  "... or because they honestly didn't feel like they fit in..." boos and loud verbal disapproval,

  "... but..." the loud disapproval continues

  "Let your Alpha speak, you disrespectful mutts," the Beta demands in full force, and the crowd is instantly silent.

  "Thank you, Lindator. Though I understand your reaction to someone wanting to leave, so too you have to understand and appreciate the honesty of the wolves that will leave us.

  But all is not lost, as we may yet gain new friends, trading relations and perhaps alliances with the packs they will end up in." Murmurs of approval follow.

  "So we have gathered here again today, for the assigning of positions to our newly graduated wolves. But before that..." slight whispering of disapproval,

  "... the Master at Arms will address us." Complete silence.

  Conall comes to the slightly risen podium, grumbling obviously.

  "I know, you all want to get on with it, and though I tried to convince the Alpha to skip this part, he is, as usual, too pigheaded to get the point." Loud gasps, mostly from the foreign guest wolves.

  "On to the point – This group of wolves..." he continues indicating the group of graduates with an encompassing move of his open hand,

  "... performed adequately..." Smiles on the faces of the older wolves, probably remembering the Master at Arms' speech from their own graduations.

  "... or they wouldn't be graduates, would they now?" A few laughs can be heard, while everyone is smiling.

  "What I would like to mention..." Silence and intrigue showing on the faces of most,

  "... is a she-wolf qualifying as a warrior brawler, as the bruises on her peers can attest..." Murmurs of approval from the graduation group, yet disapproval showing on the faces belonging to most of the elders.

  Jena is feeling uncomfortable and starts blushing.

  "... and I can say, even though a mere female, her performance as a warrior brawler was adequate... " some smiles from the crowd,

  Jena is furious, her skin the color of angry red.

  "... and sometimes, above-average." Silence and perplexed expressions on the faces of many of the older wolves. A barely perceptible smile of satisfaction showed by the Alpha.

  Jena is fuming, her face dark, and a small circle has been formed around her as the other graduates both give her space and keep curious onlookers' eyes away.

  "Now, our Beta will continue with the positions." The entire crowd claps politely.

  A few wolves closer to the podium hear Conall growl something in the line of 'I hate these speeches!' and smile sympathetically at him.

  "Oh, bugger off!" He snaps, and they jump out of his way, but keep on smiling.

  The Beta starts reciting the names, qualifications and corresponding positions from one of the scrolls he has with him, not before a short introduction.

  "As you all know, or should, our training has four qualifications or roles, according to one's combat prowess. These are, in order, support, scout, warrior, and brawler. Failure to get one of these means you failed the training program.

  As for the assigning of positions into sections, these are, counting from the outside towards the center of the settlement, the Roaming Patrol section, Sentry section, Home Guard section, and finally, the Personal Guard section. Now on to the actual announcement.

  Irvine – warrior – assignment Roaming Patrol.

  Gragas – scout – assignment Sentry.

  Felicia – scout – assignment Roaming Patrol.

  ...

  Hannah –
support – assignment Roaming Patrol.

  ...

  Mack – warrior – assignment Sentry.

  Joel – warrior – assignment Home Guard.

  ...

  Alastair – brawler – assignment Personal Guard.

  ...

  Jena – assignment Pack Diplomat."

  Jena storms out of the graduates' group, in search of the Master at Arms. Most of the elders showing disapproval and some satisfaction.

  The Beta ignores the commotion and presses on.

  ...

  "Vanessa – support – assignment Sentry.

  These are all our graduates.

  Alpha," Lindator faces the Alpha and bows submissively.

  "Thank you, Beta Lindator. I would also like to thank our Master at Arms, wherever he may be since he never gets to see the end of such a meeting..." Knowing smiles and laughter from the older wolves.

  "... and let you all know there will be another celebration tonight!" Howls of approval.

  "Could we have done this assigning of positions last week along with the graduation? Of course, we could have. But isn't any reason for a pack celebration a good reason?" Louder howls and shouts of approval.

  "See you all tonight! Dismissed!"

  ***

  "Conall!" She yells after him.

  He knew this might happen, so he is hurrying away from the crowd with long, purposeful strides.

  "Conall, stop!" Jena yells again. She has been running to catch up to him.

  They are now a good distance away from the living area and definitely out of earshot.

  She finally catches up with him.

  "I have questions, and you are going to answer them," she says, but it comes out more like a growl because of her anger.

  She grabs his shoulder, intent on forcing him to face her.

  Conall places his opposing hand on his grabbed shoulder to hold her in place, then raises his free elbow, and spins towards Jena, trapping her and forcing her to the ground, placing one knee between her shoulder blades.

  "Is that so, young lady? And how are you going to do that while hugging the sand? You are so angry that you are making the most elementary of rookie mistakes. How many times have I told you children about acting when emotionally compromised?"

  "I just..."