Chapter One

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"Lex,you have to wake up now!" 

The voice reached through to the very depths of my mind and my dreams. The silhouette of the beautiful man before me was fading and I needed to know more. A part of me felt as if he was tearing a piece of my soul as he left. 

I was fully awake now and not pleased by the fact that Lucretia had woken me up. For all the love we had for each other, we were complete opposites in one respect above all. She was a morning person and I was a night person. This had resulted in an agreement between us. I wouldn’t disturb her sleep at night and she wouldn’t dare come into my room in the morning UNTIL I chose to wake up. 

“Ana Lucretia Michaels, you better have a very good reason for being in my room this early in the morning.” 

I muttered, holding back my own growl of discontent. 

“I’m sorry, Alexandra Marie Pierce. I know the ridiculous rule but it’s 10am already! You should be up by now! I’m bored and I miss you.” 

Lucretia complained, reverting back to the one character trait she beheld that both annoyed and endeared her to me. Despite Lucretia being the precious daughter of the third strongest Alpha in the werewolf world, she was a genuine soft girl at heart. Spoilt by her parents, she carried out her duties as expected of her whilst still holding firm to her childish tendencies. 

Her need for attention from those around her had brought forth certain conflicts between our friend group but we also understood that it came from a good place. A place of genuine love and concern. Some found it selfish. We simply opted to embrace her, flaws and all. Just as she had for us. 

I was, however, not feeling very generous on this particular morning. Insomnia was something I struggled with and being able to finally sleep meant stretching my sleeping time well into the morning. 

I haven’t slept for more than five hours! 

“So you chose to wake me up because you were bored?! Go to the boys! They’ll entertain you!” 

I could feel myself get angrier and angrier as I faced her fully. She seemed to have recognised her mistake, eyes downcast as I scolded her. That small gesture was enough to make all my discontent disappear. 

“I’m sorry, Lex. I did go to hang out with Seb and Evan but they’ve left for the pack meeting. Which reminds me...we need to get ready for that. It’s one of the reasons I risked waking you in the first place. Your Dad asked me to come get you for the breakfast meeting. It was super impromptu but I guess they have something important to tell us…” 

I didn’t stick around to listen to my best friend’s rambling as I used my werewolf speed to launch out of the bed and towards the shower. 

“Ah hell, Luci! I thought we talked about prioritising certain conversations! You leading with that important piece of information would have saved us a lot of time!” 

There was something about her little mischievous laugh that made me smile. Despite many thinking she was an airhead, forgetful and a plethora of less than pleasant things that had to do with her quirky personality, I knew better than to underestimate her. 

“Oops...Sorry, Lex.” 

I knew she was not sorry as she perched herself against the door frame, light airy laughs escaping her lips that were infectious enough to make me laugh as well. This was what our friendship almost always looked like and I wouldn’t change a single thing. 

Satisfied with my look, I launched out of the room with Luci in tow who was laughing hard at my messy hair. 

“It looks like an actual bird’s nest, Lex! That’s so cool!” 

This was the main conversation the entire way as Luci guffawed so loud, the pack members glanced over to us with small smiles as they greeted us. 

“Ha. Ha. Very funny, Miss Debutante.” 

I mused as I tried to pat my platinum blonde hair back in place to return some modicum of order to the actual bird’s nest. Luci rolled her eyes at my dig at her outfit. Our fashion sense was something that we equally differed on. 

Whilst she was a colorful girl with dresses and preppy skater skirts that made her beauty stand out even more, I was a monochrome girl with black as my favorite outfit choice. 

The pack house was moderately packed with Omegas who gave us simple nods of acknowledgement as we proceeded towards the dining room where they were setting up for breakfast. 

The house was originally meant to house the Alpha, Beta and Gamma of the pack and their families but my father, the Beta, had requested our own home after the friction filled meeting between the former late Beta’s son and myself. We still didn’t get along and those feelings were clearly mutual as Gary Michaels glared at me as we entered the room. 

“Jeez, what crawled up your ass and died, Gary?” 

Luci declared as she rolled her eyes at her cousin who simply glared back at her comment that earned her a disappointed shake of the head from her mother. Her father simply sighed in exasperation. Reed and Ivan chuckled silently, both of them ignoring my father and Gamma Richard’s look. 

“Now, children, we agreed we would all try our best to get along, yes?” 

Flora Michaels stated, staring down her son who rolled his eyes at his mother’s words before returning to his meal. 

“Indeed. We are all a family.” 

My father, Beta Avarn Pierce, stated as he kissed my cheek once I settled beside him. I let the Omegas serve my breakfast as Luci stubbornly pouted even as Alpha Reed and Luna Camilla hugged her good morning. 

“He started it. I was just defending my girl.” 

Luci winked over at me as we dug into our breakfast, each of us ignoring the elephant in the room. 

“I called this impromptu breakfast meeting because I have some news. The Alpha’s meeting has been moved up to this Friday. Rogues have caused havoc in the human world once more. The Royal family is concerned by the escalating events. They shall be sending one of the Noble Alphas from one of the Royal Families to represent the King during the meeting as well as the Beta of the Royal Pack. We need to speed up the preparations. Avarn and I must go ahead and receive the Royals. Richard shall be accompanying Camilla to receive the invited Alphas." 

“That leaves the rest of you to handle the finishing touches. Sebastian, I’ll need you and Evan to work together and get some of our men to escort the Council of Elder Alphas. There shall only be two in attendance and the King requested your grandfather’s participation. He shall land Friday morning with Elder Alpha David Ryland. Lucretia, you shall handle the preparations for our guest’s sleeping quarters as well as the food selection for the formal event we shall hold after the meeting. Flora, could you please assist Lucretia in this?” 

Alpha Reed paused, waiting for her response. 

It wasn’t that Lucretia couldn’t pull it off. She was an excellent planner when it came to such events. Alpha Reed always tried to ensure to involve Flora in one way or another and fill the void left by her mate which was a big loss. It was a wonder that she was still as strong as she was and so kind, full of love. 

It's probably why she, my dad and Gamma Richard get along so well...They both understand the impact of losing your mate… 

“Of course, Alpha Reed. I’d be happy to work with Lucretia and guide her if she needs me.” 

Aunt Flora winked at her niece, the two sharing knowing smiles. It was not the first time they had worked together.

“Alexandra, I am going to need you to ensure that the security protocols we agreed upon have been followed to the letter. We cannot afford any mistakes with how important this event is. I know you are more than capable of handling this by yourself but I shall have Gary assist in any way he can. I need you two to work together and ensure a seamless experience for our guests. I know you can put aside your differences and get this done, right?” 

Alpha Reed finished the delegation of duties, his eyes firmly planted on the two of us as we shared mirror expressions of displeasure. I was in no way interested in working with the man who had brought me anguish since my father and I joined the pack all those years ago. My three friends knew this as each of them gave me a knowing look. Sebastian turned to his father, about to plead for him to reconsider when I shook my head, stopping him. 

Everyone was surprised by the turn of events, including Gary who had been complaining to his mother silently. I had surprised myself by refuting the future Alpha’s help. I did not wish to disappoint the family that had taken my father and I in and welcomed us despite not being native to the BloodRose pack. 

Such receptions were not common in a society where the pack you were born into was your identity. It was why Rogues existed, wolves who had no packs and thereby slowly receded into becoming feral beasts with no pack mark to call theirs and no home. We would have suffered the same fate were it not for Alpha Reed. 

“Understood, Alpha Reed. We shall do our best.” 

I responded, earning wide smiles from Luna Camilla and my Alpha who were visibly proud of my change in opinion as was Aunt Flora and my Father. 

“Well done, my sweet girl.” 

My Father stated as he planted a small kiss on my cheek before joining in on the conversation that shifted into general news. 

“Do you know which noble is coming from the Royal Family? It would be good to know so that we can ensure we prepare their room according to their specifications.” 

Lucretia mused, genuinely curious for the person’s identity that somehow captured my own interest. It was peculiar for the Royal family to not reveal the emissary being sent but it was not uncommon. 

“Oh come on, little sis. We all know you want it to be Noble Alpha Lord Caspien.” 

Sebastian rolled his eyes as he called out his sister’s obsession with the named Alpha. Even as the two siblings engaged in a heated verbal argument, I couldn’t help but think of Lord Caspien. He was a powerful force to be reckoned with and very handsome at that. He had stolen multiple hearts, including that of my best friend even though she had never met him. 

“Enough, children. We shall know when the time comes. In the meantime, we shall prepare for our guest as we would any other. Are we clear?”

Luna Camilla chastised her two children who nodded guiltily and frowned at Evan and I’s silent chuckles at their meek responses. The two were deathly scared of their mother’s wrath. Heck, even the Alpha himself tried not to annoy the Luna. 

I turned to my father at that moment, hoping to see the same amusement in his eyes but his expression was blank and stoic which was a rarity for him. He was always playful and fun with a vibrant personality. 

That’s weird..I do hope everything is okay… 

I mused silently, indulging the excitement within me at the visit that I had no idea would change my whole life… 

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