Choice of The Alpha

1.12

As I wake up in the morning, I lay there thinking about the day. Today is the day that we have the funeral. Following the funeral, everyone is going to gather at our house. This will be the first time that I meet everyone. Not only meet them, but meet them as wolf to wolf. It’s a scary thought. To realize that I am going to meet the entire pack. The pack that expects me to lead them. I’m not sure how the day is going to go.

I head into my closet to try and find something appropriate for a funeral. I’m not sure if I should dress in black for the funeral and the party, or if I should wear something else for the party. Who has a party after a funeral? I grab a cute black dress. It has a V cut neck and goes to my mid thighs. I figured it’s black for the funeral, but also cute enough for a party.

I head upstairs to check with my mom to make sure my outfit is okay. As I get to the top of the stairs, I can smell waffles. Going into the kitchen, I see my mom at the counter using the waffle maker making us breakfast.

“Hey Mom, is this OK for the funeral?” She turns and looks at me. Her eyes light up and she smiles.

“That is perfect, sweetie. It will be just fine for the funeral and will work for the party as well. A pack funeral is a little different than you might expect. It’s hard to describe, you will just have to see it.” She turns back to the waffle maker And finishes making our waffles.

“So what exactly should I expect?” I walk over and sit at the counter.

“Well, for one, we’re not going to be at some stuffy funeral parlor. A wolf funeral takes place in the woods. We will return them to the ground from where everything comes. Then the pack goes for a run. Everyone will shift and go for a run in the woods. In respect of the fallen warriors. That will be Sasha’s time to shine. You will show the pack who she is and who you are. The pack will mingle and you will all get to meet each other in wolf form. This will be your chance to show them your strength.” She walks over and puts a plate of waffles on the counter next to me and then she goes and grabs some plates for us. “It can be a little scary, especially since you’ve only shifted once and you haven’t met the pack before. But I know that you can do it. You are strong, which means Sasha is strong.”

“So you mean that there will be a bunch of wolves running around the woods and this is how I’m going to meet them? How exactly do I shift anyways? I don’t know how it happened last time, and I’ve only done it once.” I grab a couple waffles and put them on my plate and then reach for the syrup.

“It’s easier than you might think. Sasha will know how and she will help you.”

“Sasha, is that true? Will we be able to shift with everyone else?”

“Of course. You don’t have to worry about a thing. When it’s time We will shift just like everyone else.” I can feel her confidence. That makes me feel better.

“Mom? Does it hurt?”

She looks at me with sadness in her eyes. “Honestly, honey, I’m not sure. I don’t have a wolf, remember? From everyone I’ve talked to, you don’t feel a thing. They say that it is exhilarating and can be addictive. But I can’t honestly tell you from experience.”

“So what are you going to do? You can’t shift and join us.”

“I will stay behind at the burial site. And once everyone has gone out. I will come home and prepare the house for the party. After the run, everyone will head here. That is when you can meet everyone in human form.”

“Great, I can’t wait.” I say sarcastically.

After finishing breakfast, I helped my mom with the dishes. Then I head outside. I just want to relax for a while before the funeral. I lay down on one of the patio chairs and just start soaking up the sun.

At some point, I must have dozed off. I was woken by someone shaking my arm. I opened my eyes and I look up to see Chad. He looks amazing. He is wearing a dark blue suit. The color makes his eyes seem brighter. So now his eyes are a bright blue with little sparkles in them. His hair is combed to the side. It’s still wavy, but it looks smoother. I’m not sure how else to explain it. He has it brushed the side and it falls in gentle waves.

Chad smiles at me and chuckles. That’s when I realized I was staring. I quickly look away from him and sit up.

“Your mom sent me out to get you for the funeral. It’s time to get ready to go.”

“Thanks, Chad, I didn’t realize I was so tired. I must have fallen asleep.” I get up out of my chair.

“Shall we go then?” Chad holds out his arm and waits for me to hook my arm with his. “You look very beautiful by the way.”

I blush and look down at the ground. “Thank you.” He leads me up and into the house.

As we enter the House, I see Chad’s mom, Katie, and Amy, our neighbor talking with my mother. All three of them turned to look at us. They smile with glints in their eyes.

“Looking good, you two.” Amy says.

Katie just smiles and winks. My mom is smiling, but she also seems sad. I know she doesn’t want me to get pushed into choosing a mate. Chad is nice though. I could be happy with him. Not now, or even anytime soon. But some day maybe.

Chad seems strong and well liked. I should get to know him better. Maybe the pack knows what I don’t. That he would be a good leader.

“What about John? He’s already a leader.” As if I needed a reminder about him, Sasha pipes up with her own little comment.

“Shut up Sasha. You know we can’t be with him.” I try to get him out of my head. I can’t be thinking about him, not now.

As we get closer to the group, my mom looks at her watch. “All right kids, it’s time to go.” We all turn and head out the door.

Everyone climbs in their cars to head to the woods. Chad looks at me. “Do you mind if I ride with you? About a year ago I lost my dad so I know what this is like and I figured you could use some support.”

I think about that for a second and realize it wouldn’t hurt. “Sure, you can ride with us.”

We climb into the backseat together and my mom starts the car. As we’re driving towards the woods, Chad reaches out and holds my hand. It sends a little thrill through me. I know I don’t know him very well, but he is certainly good looking and supportive. I look over at him and he is looking down at his lap. He feels me looking, so he looks up at me and smiles.

“Sorry, but funerals can be a little depressing. It reminds me of when we buried my dad. On top of that, this is the funeral for the alphas. The whole pack is broken about losing them.”

My mom huffs at that statement. You can tell how she feels about it. She clearly does not agree that the pack is broken without them. She probably thinks they’re better off. Frankly, from what I’ve heard, I don’t blame her for her feelings.

“No offense, but what makes it such a big deal? I know they were the alphas, but they don’t seem to have been that nice.” I hear my mom choke back a laugh from the front seat.

Chad looks up at me. “I guess you wouldn’t know, would you? The alphas hold the pack together. Not just because they’re leaders, but because we are all bound to them. When a pack loses the alphas, it hurts the entire pack. We feel it physically as well as mentally. And with no leader to replace them, it makes it even harder. The Alphas take the brunt of the pain from the pack. No matter what happens, the alphas feel it. With the alphas gone, the whole pack feels it now.”

“Oh.” I look down at my lap. “I guess I didn’t realize that. So everyone felt the pain of losing them?”

“Yes and now every time someone gets hurt the whole pack feels that too.” Chad squeezes my hand. “But it will be ok. The pack just needs a new alpha.”

I look up at him and see that he is staring off into space. He has a dreamy look on his face. Probably imagining himself as alpha. That pisses me off and I pull my hand out of his and stare out the window.

We are on the way to bury my grandparents and here he is talking about being the new alpha. Seriously how rude can you get?

I can feel him staring at me, so I glance back at him. He looks shocked and hurt.

“Did I do something? I was only trying to help you understand how the pack feels. I’m sorry if I upset you.”

I melt a little at the sincerity on his face. He really didn’t mean to offend me.

“Sorry. I just don’t like thinking or talking about this whole alpha thing. I get that the pack needs an Alpha but I’ve only known about all of this for a couple of days. And really, we are on the way to bury my grandparents that I never even met. Now is definitely not the time to be talking about that.” I avoid talking about the whole mate part of that situation. I don’t want to hurt him, but I also don’t want to get his hopes up.

“It’s ok I understand. It’s a lot to process.” He reaches out and squeezes my hand.

“Ok kids we are almost there.” I look out the window and see we are pulling up along the edge of the forest. There are cars all over the place and people milling around in groups. As we pull up, everyone turns to watch us.

“Alright, Sasha. Here we go.” I feel her prick up and confidence wash over me.