Becoming Alpha

Chapter 2

Callum was not shocked when he opened his eyes and found his two best friends standing in his parent’s room. Although he could hardly see them through his tears, he saw the sorrow in their eyes.

They were close and had been friends straight out of their mother’s wombs. He could only imagine they must have felt his distress through their bond and came to him regardless of the hour or the trouble they would be in.

Rocco stared at the three boys in the room, then looked down at his dead mate. The pain he felt could not be described. His mate was dead in his arms, a possibility he had never thought could ever happen.

There was blood everywhere, it covered the floor where she had been laying. Splashes of it stained the walls and bed. It had been a gruesome act, that much was clear. He could tell a wolf had ripped his mate’s throat and killed her. Rocco closed his eyes and tried to calm down. He felt rage mixed in with loss so painful it threatened to stop his heart. For a moment he contemplated dying because he couldn’t imagine living without her for even a second.

Then he looked to his son, the boy’s face was wet from tears and his eyes were wide and stared at his dead mother. Two things went through Rocco’s mind. He had to live for his son and this was not a sight the boy should continue to look at.

In a quiet voice he addressed the other two boys in the room. They were all almost the same age as his son but he knew they would do what he asked. “Mattias, Oscar, get your friend out of this room.”

Callum’s eyes widened further, suddenly alert and wild. “No!” he shouted and tried to grab his mother.

Rocco kept a tight hold on his mate’s body and pulled a sheet from the bed to cover the body. He shouted over his shoulder, “Now, boys!”

Mattias and Oscar moved forward stiffly and each grabbed an arm. Callum tried to fight their hold but eventually the boys carried him out of the room. When they got to the hallway, all three boys sat on the floor. Mattias and Oscar held their friend as he cried and they offered the only comfort they could, which was their presence and promise that they would always be there for him.

***

“This suck,” Mattias muttered with a frown and gave the surrounding view a disgusted look.

Oscar snorted and rolled his eyes. “Any other useful observations you would like to share?”

Mattias glared at him. “I am just saying…”

“No, you are just being irritating. It’s not like we are here by choice,” Oscar interrupted with anger. He then looked to Callum who sat quietly on the hood of the car as they waited outside the school.

Callum sighed when he caught his friends’ eyes studying him. “I’m fine. And you are both right.” He looked at Oscar. “It does suck that we are forced to leave the park lands and hide in this small human town and attend school like regular people just to keep me safe.”

“You know I don’t mind that we are here for you, I personally would have never let you come here alone,” Mattias hurriedly said. “I know Oscar feels the same.”

“I do,” Oscar confirmed. “Alpha Rocco didn’t need to ask; we would have followed you anywhere.”

Callum tried to smile but his face would not bother with the effort. “I know. I would do the same for you. Still sucks that now we have to live secret lives.”

“Hmm, not for long…just long enough till you are old enough and strong enough to take over from your father. Or at least older then now and just stronger.” Oscar mused out loud.

Mattias gave his friend an incredulous look. “Just? We are talking years, dude. Anyway, you are still right…it is not forever. I just don’t understand why we have to attend school and what disturbs me even more, why did the old man have to come with us?”

Callum almost chuckled, the old man in question was one of his father’s enforcers, Davidson Bridge. And the man was not as old as Mattias stated it. The man was only forty-three but he understood the frustration even though he also understood his father’s reasoning on the matter.

“Can you imagine two fourteen-year-olds and one grumpy fifteen-year-old living alone in a human town?” Oscar asked with a look that told his friend he thought he needed a brain transplant.

“I am not grumpy,” Mattias retorted.

Callum sighed again and stopped listening to the light argument between his friends. It had only been two weeks since the death of his mother and he was still not himself. In fact, he was not sure he would ever be himself again.

He could still see her laying in a pool of blood when he closed his eyes. But he could also remember how she smiled and hugged him every morning when he woke up. The loss he felt almost made breathing painful. He missed his mother and now he was far from home and couldn’t even be in the house that held all the memories of his mother.

He stared at the school building in front of them and frowned. His father had made the decision to take him out of the pack lands when they had discovered that the intruder had entered his room and trashed it, indicative that whoever it had been, had also been looking for Callum.

Even though Callum had felt guilty for not being there to save his mother, his father had soon explained that he too would have been dead had he been in the house that night. It became clear that someone had set out to eliminate the entire alpha family.

Rocco was convinced there was a traitor in the pack and had refused to take chances with his only son. That was how the plan had been formed.

Callum would leave the pack lands and hide in the small town of Hillcrest until he was strong enough to return and take over as Alpha.

Mattias and Oscar had only to hear the plan before they both announced that they would go with him. His father hadn’t even finished asking their parents before they declared their loyalty to the alpha’s son. The thought brought a small smile to his face. Callum could not deny he had good friends.

Even with the addition of Davidson as their guardian during their time here, Callum couldn’t deny the presence of his two friends made it all better.

Callum saw Davidson exit the building and walked towards them. “Everything is set, boys. You start school on Monday,” he announced as he reached them and went straight to the driver’s door.

“Fantastic,” Mattias muttered sarcastically.

Callum chuckled softly and shook his head. He got off the hood of the car and walked over to his friends. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders and looked at the school. “Think of it as another adventure, boys. And don’t forget…we are more than average humans. We will rule this place and have some fun doing it.”

Mattias and Oscar did not respond. They were just glad their friend showed any form of enthusiasm. They had been worried about him, and even though they knew he was still hurting and far from being normal, he at least was trying to reassure them, which proved he was getting better.

They turned away from the school and jumped into the car with their appointed guardian. None of the boys paid him much attention and he returned the favor. He was only there to guarantee their presence did not attract unwanted attention from the small community, pay bills and to make sure the boys were safe.