The Alpha's Embrace

Serenity Walker is the name of the only female alpha. She is the alpha of the tranquility pack. The pack is located in Midgrove forest in a valley surrounded by mountains on the Northside. Eleven years have passed since Serenity challenged her father for the title of alpha and killed him by ripping his throat out. This sparked outrage within the pack. The rite of passage for new alphas wasn't like this. Unless the alpha in question was a bad alpha or an outsider challenged the alpha in question, killing was a bit excessive. However, Serenity stood tall, covered in her father's blood, and dared the pack to challenge her authority. Dissatisfied with Serenity, they indeed challenged her. Not only because they thought she was weak, but because she was a woman. A woman should never lead as alpha is a thought they all collectively had. But when Serenity thrashed all eight challengers back to back, they finally became hopeless. She proved herself to be strong. Stronger than her father, and strong enough to fight so many people without a break. With her show of authority, Serenity picked out her second in command. Her beta, Thomas Welsh. He was the only one in the pack who believed she could change things. After all, he had been secretly training with her for five years and never once won against her. Together, Thomas and Serenity worked to build a prosperous pack. The first thing they did was silence the opposition within the pack. Serenity had to go around and beat every warrior and scout in the pack single-handedly to make the wolves within them submit fully to their alpha. When a wolf submits to its alpha, it doesn't matter their thoughts, they can never disobey a direct order from their alpha. With the warriors and scouts submitted, Serenity and Thomas turned their attention to the internal affairs of the pack. Running a pack was not a child's game. The warriors and scouts played an important part in the pack's safety, but when it came to internal affairs, politics came into play. Serenity didn't come to play by the rules. Instead, she uprooted the rules and changed the system. Making bold decisions and investments that seem ludicrous at the time. The pack struggled with internal warfare for three months before Serenity gradually took over and started shuffling around people. In that short amount of time, she placed the people best suited for the job in various positions. Some were promoted, and others were demoted. Either way, Serenity made many enemies in the battle. However, they would not be able to challenge her authority any longer as word spread that the tranquility pack had a female alpha. This was naturally met with ridicule, and a nearby pack took the lead by attacking tranquility in hopes of taking it over completely. It was in this battle that Serenity's strategies proved to be second to none. She hunted down the enemy wolves, killed off the rival alpha, and took in those who surrendered. Those who resisted, even if they were children, showed no mercy. She wanted obedience. It branded her as ruthless, a brand she welcomed as it sent a warning to her enemies within and outside the pack. Though the other alphas from the surrounding packs do send scouts from time to time over the years, no war has broken out, which allowed Serenity and Thomas to properly grow the pack resources. They built the pack from the ground up, schools for the children, a pack hospital, pack houses, roads, and businesses. It was quite the development for a small pack like theirs but with mandatory drills and Serenity's strong leadership. They became strong, and regardless of the opposition, Serenity had many female warriors. She had even made her Delta and Gemma females. As alpha, not many had Serenity's accomplishments. However, everybody has flaws. And even though Serenity was a strong and powerful alpha, she was also flawed. Her biggest flaw had to be the reluctance to look for her mate. Little did she know that her mate would walk right into her life. On that fateful day, Serenity sat in her office after training her wolves for the morning, reading the reports from last night's patrol. Nothing unusual happened, but there weren't any sightings of rogues. There hasn't been a rogue sighting for the past week since the newly crowned king's entourage got closer to the pack. The new king is the youngest son of the former alpha king who stepped down after the untimely passing of his mate. His name is Jorah Lupe. Jorah is said to be charismatic, lively, and smart. He has more than once complimented Serenity when he was the crown prince. Not that she would know that because this information was given to Serenity by Thomas. "Ren," Thomas burst into her office with a big smile. "Aren't you excited?" Thomas was like a child high off candy, hoping from one leg to the other in excitement. His green eyes shined as he stared at his expressionless alpha. "For what?" Serenity humored him by asking. Thomas stopped moving and slammed his hand down on the desk, making a loud thudding noise. "For the king's arrival, he steadily compliments you every chance he gets. Such a progressive man deserves the crown," Thomas excitedly told her. "Uh-huh." Serenity's lips twitched as she nonchalantly made a noise of agreement. "Wouldn't it be great if the king was your mate? Think about it. A man who admires you from afar becomes your mate. It has the makings of a hit love story." Thomas rambled on. "Haaaaa...." A loud sigh came after Thomas' words. "I'm sorry, Serenity." Everest apologized as she walked into the office. She walked towards Thomas, who was smiling sheepishly at her, and tugged at his ear. "Stop bothering Serenity when she's working, you idiot." She berated him before sending Serenity an apologetic smile. "No, I'm sorry you're stuck with that idiot." Serenity smiled at Everest. "Serenity's always working, so when can I bother her then?" Thomas complained in a grumble, making Everest pull his ear harder. "You also have work to do Thomas!" Everest snapped at him as she tugged him to the door by his ear. "See you when the king arrives, Ren." "Bye Everest, bye Tom." Serenity shook her head at the two as she said goodbye. Those two were the perfect pair. As goofy as Thomas may seem, he was a very serious guy on the surface. It's only with Serenity and his mate Everest that he shows his silly side too. But what Thomas said lingered in Serenity's mind. 'What if the king was her mate?' she wondered how she would reject him. A mate is one thing Serenity could not afford. But if the king is her mate, that would be more difficult to handle. 'knock, knock.' The knock brought Serenity out of her thoughts. Serenity raised her head to see who it was and a smile spread across her face. "Well, if it isn't the birthday girl!" Serenity stood up from her chair and walked around her desk. "Aren't you going to give your big sister a hug?" "Why should I? You haven't told me happy birthday yet." Serenity's sister Serena pouted. "Happy eighteenth birthday, Serena!" Serenity spread her arms and gently told Serena. Serena smiled and rushed into her sister's arms and snuggled into them. "Thanks," She mumbled to Serenity, who patted her back gently. "You're an adult now, but that doesn't mean I won't have your ass for disobedience." Serenity squeezed her sister gently before letting her go. "As if," Serena snorted. "By the way, my wolf feels restless. Did your wolf feel restless when you became eighteen?" Serenity's smile stilled for a second, and before Serena could catch the shift in her emotions, Serenity pulled Serena for a hug again. "Restless wolf, your mate's near us, little piggy!" Serenity explained to her sister. "What! My mate?" Serena's eyes widened in shock. "No.... no way." Serenity pulled back from the hug and looked Serena in the eyes with her hand on her shoulders. "No, don't worry, Serena, I'm sure your mate is going to love you. Every last bit." Serenity gently tried to console her, but Serena pushed Serenity away. "Yeah, right," Serena huffed, her face darkened and her lips pursed. "He's going to love that I'm a defective wolf." "Serena!" Serenity's face hardened when she heard Serena say those words. "What Serenity? Am I wrong?" Serena sneered at Serenity. "Who the f**k will watch me and say I want to be with her? A defected wolf?" "Your mate!" Serenity asserted, "Your mate will want to and if he doesn't, I'll beat him up until he does." "Ha," Serena laughed sarcastically, "That's rich coming from you. You're such a f*****g hypocrite." "Serena," Serenity growled. "My situation and your situation are entirely different." "How is it different? You, a perfectly normal she-wolf, refusing your mate for no reason, but when my mate refuses me for the reason I'm defective, you want to beat him up?" Serena argued. "You're not defective. You're just a bit different. My reasons for rejecting my mate are way too complicated for you to understand." Serenity took a deep breath and tried to explain calmly. "You're a f*****g hypocrite!" Serena fumed as she turned on her heel. "What reason can you possibly have to reject your mate? Then you say my mate has no reason to reject me? Ha!" Serena walked out of the office, not forgetting to slam the door on her way out, leaving Serenity in shock. It was the first time Serena ever snapped like that at Serenity. She would never have thought things would become so heated within a few sentences. "My reason, huh?" Serenity sighed as she spoke softly to herself. "You're not the only one who's different, Serena." Serenity ran her hand through her messy short hair. What Serena didn't know was Serenity's wolf was also restless, her mate was close by too. And with the knowledge that the king was close by, Serenity couldn't help but think the worst.