The Alpha's Other Daughter

Author POV Luna Cindy called out in pain after hours of walking up and down, drilling a hole in the carpet as Cindy waited for the labor to begin in earnest; Cindy, at long last, thought it was time for the birthing room. In response to Cindy's call, Alpha rushed in and gently took her hand in his left hand and his arm behind her back as he led her to the birthing room. Having done this three times before, he was less anxious about child birthing. ‘Send the pups to the games room, please, Julie!’ the Alpha calmly called over his shoulder to his Beta’s wife, a lovely young girl who has been through the last few births and knows what to expect. Julie nodded and gathered the young pups. ‘Come, little ones, the Luna will bring two new siblings into the family soon. Let's go to the games room and play while we wait for the arrival.’ Julie coaxed as she pushed the little ones down the long hallway towards the games room. Emily POV The games room was huge; it was housed towards the back of the packhouse; it held at least four pool tables for the older pups, many tables full of assorted board games, an area to paint or draw, and four enormous televisions for the game box. The boys seemed to love the PC games on the computer more than the board games, so the four screens were always on, with boys fighting over the controls to take turns with the games. I don’t like or want to play in the games room. I thought to myself and considered what else I might be allowed to do while waiting for my mother to stop crying out. I may be only two years old, but I knew what the cries from my mother meant: pain, a feeling I knew so well, having hurt myself more than once in my short life and a bleeding knee that hurt a lot. I'm a gifted child and have an almost photographic memory. It took me a while to understand that not everyone remembers as I did. At two, my wolf, Silver, was already talking to me in my head, teaching me many things. My wolf told me that others don’t remember the same and that I should not worry about it. Most don’t get the wolf until they are ten and shift at sixteen unless they are high-born like the Alpha. Then you can change at twelve, some even earlier, but it is rare for earlier than ten. ‘Beta Julie?’ I pulled on Julie’s skirt to get her attention and hopefully not to get scalded by her. Beta Julie looked down at the little pup, smiling at me expectantly. She seemed to be in a good mood then. ‘Yes?’ Julie queried sweetly. ‘Can I go outside and play? I don’t want to be in here, I whispered as softly as I could. ‘Of Course, my dear, don’t wander away too far. Mother will want to show you the new pups when they are born.’ She answered with glee. It had been a long pregnancy, and everyone was looking forward to the pups being born, as long as the mother made everyone know she was pregnant with twins and was grumpy a lot of the time. I nodded my head and left, skipping down the hall, through the kitchens, and out the back door. I took a deep breath as the sun hit my face. I was headed for the chicken coop, along with those cute little chickens. The chickens had some more baby chicks a few days ago, and those little yellow fluffy blobs that ran on tiny legs were fun to watch them run. I also wanted to check for eggs so our cook could make us some cakes while I was there. I liked collecting the eggs and feeding the chicken. They would make me giggle as they followed me around the enclosure, pecking at my feet for any crumbs I had dropped. They seemed always to be hungry. The chicken pen was giant and housed over five hundred chickens. They would cluck and dig in the ground, some hiding under small bushes, burying themselves in a little hole they made, and covering themselves with sand and dirt. It made me laugh at the antics these chickens could get up to. One place that I would crawl through was a small hole in the fence I had found a little while ago. It had not been repaired, so I quickly dusted off the dirt from my knees and started to look for eggs. I walked into the coop, a large room with lots of lengths of wood the chickens sat on at night and boxes full of hay they would lay their eggs in. I carefully collected the eggs and put them one by one in a bucket, then went to the box with food, walked back outside, and threw a handful of grain around. It was fun playing with the chickens. My sister Charlette did not like the chickens; she said they smelt awful, and chicken poop was everywhere. But I did not mind the poop, and I liked the chickens, and it was a place I could go when I didn't want to be near my sister. I crawled back out and headed to the kitchen, where the cook had a place for the eggs. I knew exactly where to put them. Passing by the cook, the cook called out to me, and I stopped and turned to look at the cook. ‘Sweetheart, how many eggs did you find?’ the cook, Nancy, asked kindly. Nancy was a loving lady, always with a big smile and warm hugs for me. Nancy was old, but I could not tell how old; she was just older than my daddy. ‘Fifteen eggs today, miss Nancy.’ I proudly smiled and lifted the bucket to show her the whole bucket. ‘Wow, there are a lot of eggs today. Well done, young pup.’ This comment made me beam with happiness. Nancy was a friendly person, one I would find when I needed a warm hug. I can count to over one hundred now and know all my letters. The cook said I was clever, but I don’t think I do. I still have lots to learn. I am only little. This amazed many older people. I was slowly learning to read, taking time in the library pups section, but some words were still difficult. My wolf helped sometimes, but a wolf can't really read, or so I thought. Why would they need to? ‘Emily? Emily? Where are you, child?’ called Beta Julie from the hallway. ‘In the kitchen,’ Nancy called back to me singing. ‘Come child, you have two new brothers.’ beckoned Julie, and I moved forward and took Julie’s hand. Slowly, I walked up the stairs, each step a task as I had little legs and could not keep up with Beta Julie, who had released my hand as I started to climb the stairs and reach the third floor where my mother was. I needed help to keep up. Beta Julie had already reached the room Mother was in and had disappeared into the room without a backward glance to see how I was doing. Entering the room, I could see my older twin brothers, Jason and Justin, both had jet-black hair and hazel eyes. The image of my father, beside my father, was Charlette, the image of my mother with ash-blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Father had a bundle in each arm, showing Charlette the little ones to me. ‘Come, Emily, and see your new brothers,’ my mother called encouragingly. I came closer, and Father moved his arms so I could see the heads hiding in the blanket folds. Both had ash-blonde hair and blue eyes like my mother. I was confused-why was I the only one with jet-black hair and deep blue-almost violet eyes? Again, I felt the odd one out; even my father was cooing over the boys and how much they looked like their mother. Lifting my hand slowly, I stroked the head of one of the boys gently, in awe of the little pups. I look forward to holding and playing with them, though I doubt I will be allowed. They were too small. ‘Come, children, let your mother rest, she has to be tired after giving you two more pups to play with; plus, it is dinner time; eat and get ready for bed.’ The Alpha shooed the four pups out the door and down the hall to the stairs. I looked and sighed back down the stairs. Father wouldn’t let them take the lift yet, saying they needed strength that walking up and down the stairs would give us; I wished I was allowed to use it. That night, I slept soundly, dreaming of running in the forest with my wolf. My wolf purred softly in my mind, not like a cat, just a rumbling sound. It was calming for me and helped me sleep.