The Alpha's Fox Mate

Graduation

“Come on, Marcy! Show me your Alpha smile!” my best friend said excitedly as she took a selfie of us.

This morning, just like most of them in Florida, it was sunny. Three years had passed since I turned eighteen and got my wolf. I was dressed in my black and blue academic regalia, proudly holding my diploma close to my chest. The girl beside me had an expression of pure exhilaration; her alluring hazel eyes were twinkling under the sun and her wavy caramel hair danced freely in the light breeze. Even though Zoe was two years older than me, she had to postpone her studies due to Delta training, so she was graduating the same day as me. She was now officially a Social Media Marketer, and I a Graphic Designer. I would be more thrilled if today wasn’t also the day I’d have to fully step in as leader of Mariners Moon Pack.

“You can’t call me Alpha here! Are you crazy?” I whisper yelled at her. I ended up frowning in the picture. “What if the other students hear you?”

“Geez, chill out girl!” Zoe laughed at my stern semblance. “No one will suspect a thing. Besides, I didn’t say the ‘W’ word.” She’s referring to our species - werewolves.

“Whatever,” I waved her off. “We need to head back. My father will lose it if I can’t get everything done before the ceremony.” I rolled my eyes, gesturing for my best friend to follow me.

It’s not that I wasn’t excited to be Alpha, I just knew the title came with a price - one I wasn’t sure if I was willing to pay. My father had no sons, and my older sisters never really showed interest in taking over. They were a lot more beautiful than me, being exact copies of my mother; they had ginger hair and bright green eyes. Maybe they wanted to stay away from duty to make sure they could take care of their looks. As soon as they met their mates - both high ranking males - they were off to their new packs.

I don’t know why, but the idea of having so much power sounded really appealing to me when I was a child. Being the youngest, I always lived in the shadows of my two sisters, so I was constantly trying to prove my worth. When I was thirteen, I managed to convince Dad to let me start warrior training, and that’s when his attention started to fall on me. The only other girl allowed to take part in training was Zoe, and since she had just started Delta training, she volunteered to spar with me. However, I showed a lot of aptitude in fighting and soon started training with other males. It was then that my father started talking about making me the leader.

According to werewolf law, if an Alpha has no suitable heirs, he has to pass the pack on to someone not connected to their bloodline - an idea my father wasn’t too fond of. While it wasn’t unheard of for females to become Alphas, it was still pretty rare, and most of them suffered major prejudice.

“Don’t start this again, Marcy,” my wolf huffed. “How many times do I have to remind you? You’re a true Alpha. But if you keep second-guessing your capabilities, so will others.”“I’m not,” I bit back. “I’m just dreading the thought of having to deal with a bunch of stuck-up, narcissistic Alphas.”“Kicking their asses sounds pretty fun to me,” Havelock half-joked before retreating to the back of my head.

During my first shift ceremony, the Goddess paired me with a male counterpart. For shifters, getting opposite gender wolves was just a myth. Until, surprisingly enough, it happened to both of my parents; before that, it hadn’t happened in the last millennium. Needless to say, they got pretty scared when they discovered my situation. My father was adamant that I had been paired with some other person’s wolf, which was what had happened in every other case. He even called the pack’s witch, Gwendolyn - who used to work for the U.S. Elder Council - to check on me. Dad only let it go after she convinced him that Havelock was indeed my partner, even if no one knew why.

“Because you’re a powerful Alpha, just like me,” the deep, strong voice rang in my head again.

“Damn girl, I still can’t believe the Alpha gave you this car!” Zoe’s excited tone pulled me from my thoughts. Only then I realized we had made it to my wine-red Bentley Flying Spur. “My Mom didn’t give me s**t. I mean, she said ‘congrats’ and that was about it.”

“You know Delta Alessia was never a fan of you going to college because she wants to make sure you’re not too busy for your duties. I’m certain she’s happy for you though,” I reassured her, opening the door to the driver’s seat. “But yeah, I’m in love with this beauty.” I gestured towards the car panel. “Dad wanted me to get a Porsche just like he always does, but when I saw Ariel, it was love at first sight.”

Zoe stayed silent for a minute. “You named your car after a kids movie character?”

“Oh, don’t act like it’s not perfect!” I laughed as I turned the engine on, enjoying the powerful sound of my new whip. “It’s red and our pack has strong ties to the water.”

“You’re unbelievable!” she huffed, pretending she didn’t find it clever. But I knew my best friend too well; internally, she was cursing me for being so smart.

As we made our way back home, we talked about what we wanted to do now that we graduated. Of course being ranked members of the biggest pack in southern Florida didn’t leave us a lot of time to work, but I had everything carefully planned in my head. I wanted to open a design company, which would allow me a chance to exercise the profession and use my degree, all while helping Mariners Moon grow. The last thing left to do was convince my father to lend me some money, but ever since I agreed on becoming Alpha, he hadn’t really been able to tell me no.

There was so much on my mind that I didn’t even notice time passing by. Before I knew it, we were back in pack territory. I admired the view as we crossed the Everglades National Park, which had officially become Mariners Moon grounds when we reached our current number of members. Whenever I looked at the white papyrus flowers sprinkled over the tall grass, or the wildlife swimming through the clear waters, I was immediately filled with serenity. These swamps had always been my home. Although the scenery might not seem attractive to most, I knew its hidden charm very well.

I parked my four-wheeled baby inside the pack house’s garage, and Zoe and I walked out. It was only 11AM, which meant I had roughly an hour to meet with my father in my soon-to-be office. If I was being honest, I had already been tending to pack matters in that room ever since I turned eighteen, even though I wasn’t officially Alpha yet. We took the stairs to the ground floor of the five-store building, and that’s where we went our separate ways.

“See you for lunch?” Zoe asked me, looking behind her broad shoulders.

“Yeah. Wish me luck!” I said playfully.

“You’ve got this, girl!” she laughed before disappearing into one of the corridors.

As I waited for the elevator, I looked around the recently renovated waiting room. The packhouse had undergone construction to become more spacious for everyone, gaining one more common floor with a public library, an indoor theatre, and a small bar. The decor also changed a little, with the traditional navy color scheme switched to light blue and silver. My mother wasn’t too keen on the previously dark interiors, so a lot more glass windows had been added to let the light in. Delicate vases with small trees and various blue flowers were scattered around, filling the place with life. As different as it was from the house I grew up in, I liked the changes.

I turned my attention back to the metal doors when I heard their classic robotic beeps. I was surprised when my Beta came out of the elevator, bowing his head as soon as he saw me. Standing at 6’3”, Aaron Lawson White was easily the tallest guy around, at the peak of his 26 years. He was also a lot buffer than every other warrior, and his shirt was so tight it threatened to shred at any moment. Just like his father and mother, he had glossy blonde spiky hair, and his eyes were a vivid blue. As God-like as his features were, the mark laying between his shoulder and neck evinced that he was already taken.

Aaron’s mate, Daeva Corbyn, was right behind him. She’s the daughter of the Alphas of a prestigious pack in Canada, but sometimes I wondered if she was a witch in disguise. Her pearly white skin seemed to shine like the moon, contrasting with her deep brown hair and eyes. She always wore makeup and the most elegant clothes, as if she was some kind of queen. You’d think the high ranking women of a pack would stick together, but that wasn’t quite the case. Her previous pack followed tradition strictly, so she despised me for being a female leader - she has ever since she moved here two years ago.

“Good morning, Alpha Marcelline,” my Beta greeted me with a small smile.

“Good morning, Ron.” I nodded at him. “Good morning, Daeva.” I turned to the little devil, but she walked right past me, pretending she didn’t hear me.

Honestly, I was fed up with her attitude, even if I usually didn’t let her get to me. Most Alphas would have a member exiled or executed for such disrespect, but I didn’t want to make a scene. I never had the best relationship with my Beta, so I didn’t want there to be any bad blood between us. As wicked as this snobby girl was, she was still his mate, and he loved her no matter what. I let out a frustrated sigh as I walked inside the elevator.

As I made my way to the office at the left end of the hall, I linked my father to let him know he could meet me there. Of course he scolded me for being three minutes late, but I shut the connection so I could focus on everything I had to do. Stepping in as Alpha was a lot and I had to manage my time nicely if I wanted to run a business in parallel. When I opened the door, a far too familiar smell hit me. It was earthy and masculine, accentuated by the characteristic scent of cedarwood cologne.

“Who gave you permission to come inside my office, Gamma?” My voice was firm and I faked annoyance. The poor man was looking under my desk and ended up hitting his head as he bolted up in astonishment.

Milo Young was a good six inches taller than me, but still smaller than the pack’s Beta. At 23, he was just two years older than me, and aside from Zoe, we were best friends growing up. His muscular build was hidden by a plain black T-shirt, but his tan skin was still showing. His short onyx hair was even wilder today, probably because I had just jumpscared him. The most fascinating detail about Milo were his different colored eyes, which he had gotten from his father - the left one was a shiny hazel, while the right one was piercing blue. He smirked the second he realized it was me.

It is widely known that an Alpha’s right hand is their Beta. But in my case, I was much closer to my third in command - maybe a bit too close.

“I was just dropping off some border security reports, Alpha Marcelline.” Milo straight up dropped to his knees, but I instantly ordered him to stand back up. “I hope my presence doesn’t bother you, Miss,” he whispered in a husky tone as he came closer, wrapping his arms firmly around my waist. I was about to protest when my father burst through the door.

“Haven’t I told you to keep your hands off my daughter, Gamma?” he gritted through his teeth, but the boy didn’t seem to mind him much. He did back off, though.

“I’m sorry, Alpha. Your daughter’s just too irresistible.” Milo smiled playfully. Flirting had always been his favorite pastime.

“Who the hell did you get that from?” I arched an eyebrow at him, referring to his flirtatious ways. But I couldn’t hold my laughter for long, “I heard your father used to be so shy that he ran away from his mate the first time he met her.”

“Why can’t you all just forget about that?” An annoyed Zakai - our previous Gamma and Milo’s Dad - coincidentally walked past the door just in time. “You two weren’t even born when that happened!” He reminded me of Grumpy Cat, and right now, he was wearing his slightly vexed expression.

“I might have told them about it…” My father tried not to look suspicious, but his smirk gave him away.

“I hate you,” Zakai muttered before walking away, dragging his son out of the room with him.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” I asked my father as I closed the door to allow us some privacy.

“Just wanted to brief you on tonight’s events…” he began as he sat down. “And also notify you about your first official meeting. Tomorrow, you’ll be traveling to Midnight Howlers territory to renew our alliance. Lucca, Alpha of Moon Wings Pack, will also be there, so you can seize the opportunity to check the terms on that treaty too.”

I sighed. “Will do. I’ll let Aaron know that he’ll have to come with me…” and come up with a reason for him not to take Daeva with us.

The rest of the talk went smoothly, as did the afternoon. I barely had time to prepare before the sun hid behind the calm waves of the ocean, forcing me to leave the room. The breeze of the November evening wasn't too cold, but the nervousness still made me shiver. As I walked towards the Everglades in my turquoise gown, I noticed the crowd that was already waiting for me - all 756 members of Mariners Moon Pack.

Tonight, I would run with them and seal my fate as the next Alpha.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi there! Thank you so much for reading The Alpha's Fox Mate. I hope you enjoy the story! If you want to keep up with updates and get some extra content (such as character visuals, fun facts, and more) feel free to follow me on my fa.ce.book page, Anne Louise Author Page. I love chatting with my readers, so don't be afraid to reach out to me s2

You're also free to check out my other books:

The Alpha's She Wolf (Complete and edited) - Book 1 in the Switched Series

The Alpha's Fox Mate (Complete and edited) - Book 2 in the Switched Series

The Alpha's Silver Heir (Coming soon) - Book 3 in the Switched Series

Taming My Alpha (ongoing)