Chapter 3 – Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel

Filed To Story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel

“I will not need an entire night just for that. I will know within five seconds if anyone in the group is my mate.” I grumbled.

“The Elders seemed to think you should spend some time alone with each one of them if possible, but as much time with the group as a whole if not.”

“If they’re not my mate, then spending more time with them won’t make a difference. These glorified speed dating traps they’ve set up for me won’t change anything at all.” I yelled.

“Hey, don’t snap at me, I’m not the one who set all this up, alright.” Noah commanded, dropping his work facade for just a moment as he smiled at my frustration. I had to remember he was my friend, and this wasn’t his fault.

My anger was getting the better of me. I had been on edge for weeks now, and things were likely to get much worse with what was to come. Throw me into a battle with another pack and tell me I might not come back alive, and I’d jump in with both feet. Tell me that a rogue is challenging me for my position as Alpha and needs to be put into his place, and I will knock him down a peg or twenty. Tell me that a warlock has kidnapped a human child and needs to be dealt with stealth and precision, and I will be first on the scene.

But tell me I need to be made to socialize with a gaggle of giggling she-wolves that think they have a chance to be the next Luna, or think they have a chance to be the next one to warm my bed for a night. That they think they might have a chance at my money, or the status I could offer. Whatever the reason was, it would always be the same. They would always be the same. Women were shallow, useless creatures that used you to their own end and then just left you without so much as a word.

That’s why I don’t want a mate. Women only care for themselves. There may have been a few exceptions, like his mother. Before the incident, she was the greatest woman in the world, without a doubt. But now, now she was just a shell of her former self. She just sat there, day in and day out, in a catatonic state, like a vegetable. She sat staring out the window and drooling on herself. She hadn’t moved, spoken, showed any kind of life at all. Not since the betrayal seven years ago that had led to my father’s death. The betrayal of a woman who only cared for herself and no one else. I couldn’t let someone like that ruin my pack again, I simply wouldn’t allow it.

*****

Riviana

The first thing I noticed when I got home was that my Aunt Eve had made my favorite dinner, Honey Garlic Pork Chops. The second thing I noticed was that Grandfather was there. I hadn’t noticed him first because his car wasn’t there and the food overpowered his scent, otherwise I would have smelled him long before I had seen him. No matter the circumstances, Grandfather used them against me, pointing out my lack of tracking his scent as further proof I was not one of them. I wish he would stop it already; I already knew I wasn’t a wolf.

“I see you are the same as ever, Riviana.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Grandfather.” I lied, with just the slightest hint of sarcasm in my voice. “To what do I owe the pleasure of having you visit me today?” I asked him. He grimaced. Grandfather knew I was forcing myself to be polite to him.

“I have come bearing warnings for the upcoming full moon gatherings. And I have prepared your attire for tomorrow’s event.”

“That is very kind of you Grandfather, but I already had something picked out.” I told him. I had not expected him to buy me an outfit for the gathering.

“Did you buy it new for this occasion?” He asked, already seeming to scoff at my answer as if he was predicting an unfavorable response.

“No, but it is something that I have not really worn before.”

“Then it is unacceptable. This is too important of an event. You must have a new outfit for tomorrow night and each of the subsequent events. There is still a chance you will meet your mate and be bonded from there onward. You must make the best first impression possible. For what other purpose did I spend my time and money training you?”

“I wouldn’t know?” I told him, sounding annoyed. This was typical behavior for Grandfather, of course, but I had expected it to end when I turned eighteen and proved to be useless to him. But apparently, he was still hoping to marry me off to someone dumb enough to mate with a girl who had no wolf.

Grandfather had his secretary show me the dress that I would be wearing to the gathering tomorrow. It wasn’t too bad, thank the Goddess. It was a dark midnight blue that would complement my pale complexion nicely. It was made of silk and felt wonderful to the touch. The hidden undertones in the blue were shining as the light hit it.

The front was cut a little low for my taste, but from there it went up into three straps on either side of the bodice, the straps went over the shoulders to connect and then fan out in the opposite directions. The straps connected to the sides of the dress and another purely decorative set of three straps came out across the lower back connecting in the middle.

Altogether, the straps created an elaborate design across the back. And with the bodice going up so high with the straps, the plunging line in the middle didn’t seem so bad, but time would tell when I tried it on. It must have been either specially made or hemmed to be perfect for my height. Compared to the other women in the pack, I was short. Like, really short.

The average woman in the pack was around five-foot-nine. Some were taller, and some were shorter by only a margin of a couple inches. Me on the other hand, I was five feet five inches tall. Almost half a foot shorter than all the women. And considering that all the men were taller than the women, that made them all tower over me.

There were the few rare cases where a man was closer to the height of the women, but none was shorter than five-foot-ten in the entire pack. That was another reason I was considered a freak among the pack. But the height could have been overlooked if only I had shifted into a wolf by the time that I was eighteen.

“It is very lovely, Grandfather.” I told him, which was the truth. “But you did not need to go through the trouble of getting something so obviously expensive.” I told him, reminding him that he was supposed to have cut me off. How am I supposed to go on in peace if you show up at random like this?

“I most certainly had to. Who knows what kind of monstrosity you would have chosen for tomorrow evening? You are the only unwed female in our family, we must put our best foot forward.” He was of course slipping into his old ranting again. Couldn’t you ever just do something because you love me or cared for me, Grandfather? Is that too much to ask for? I asked myself while consciously trying to hold back the emotions that threatened me. Emotions had no effect on Grandfather, I had learned that long ago.

Grandfather had apparently decided to stay for dinner, which was unusual to say the least. But once he was gone and life was back to normal in the house, we were all able to relax. Even uncle Wesley got tense when Grandfather was around. But soon, the night was over, and the day of the dreaded gather had arrived.

I was so nervous about that damned Harvest Moon Gathering that I couldn’t sleep and was awake before the sun was even up. I went for my usual morning run earlier than I typically did so instead of just running the streets of the compound until I got to the exit and then running either to town or half way, depending on my mood, I decided to run out of the gates and then into the woods.

The ground there was more difficult to run on, but it also felt so invigorating to run in the woods. Having grown up with the forest nearby had given me a deep love for running among the trees. The dark canopy of leaves above me, the musty earthy smell of the dirty churning beneath my feet. The smells of the forest were so familiar to me that I would recognize them anywhere.

I was running at nearly top speed when there was something in the way the forest smelled that I didn’t recognize. Something that stirred something deep inside of me. Something that made all the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention and all my senses go on high alert. They simultaneously screamed danger and I want more at the same time. I knew whatever, whoever, it was that I should not stick around.

There was someone else in the forest, or they had recently been there. Someone who smelled like chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, and the forest after the rain. It was sweet, spicy, and robust, and mixed with my favorite smells of the forest. It intrigued me to no end, but something told me that I needed to get away from that area, away from that scent, right away.

I turned around and ran as fast as I could back to the road. I ran back through the gate of the compound and didn’t stop until I got back home. By the time I got there, my heart was about to burst out of my chest.

*****

Riviana

*****

After I was finished being primped and pampered by Aunt Eve and put in the dress that Grandfather had brought, I was ready for the dreaded gathering. Juniper and the others were going to pick me up on their way, it would be easier for me with them there.

When we left my house, which was located in the upper section of the compound thanks to my family’s status, or previous status, we headed to the northernmost road. I had lived in the compound my whole life, but even so, I had never actually been to the Alpha’s house before.

I had gathered with everyone at the clearing where important meetings and events were usually held, unless the weather was too bad. But I had never actually been to the Alpha’s residence, and judging by Juniper’s response, neither had she.

“This is actually exciting.” She exclaimed as we drove up the long, long driveway that led up to the Alpha House. At the back of the compound there was a small road, but this road was actually a driveway. All the houses in the compound stopped before the forest started. All except for the Alpha’s. The Alpha House was at the end of a two-mile-long driveway, weaving between the tall, thick trees as the road sloped ever upward. The farther into the forest you went, the higher into the mountains you went. The Alpha House wasn’t very high, but it was still impressive to see.

I noticed several strings of lights strung between the trees. I was pretty sure that they had been hung just for the gathering tonight, but how was I supposed to know for certain. Whatever the reason for the lights, though, they gave off a beautiful yet eerie glow. It was strange, we had only left at a quarter to seven, but it looked like it was full dark outside now. The sun shouldn’t have set that quickly.

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