The Alpha and the FBI Agent

Mayor Frankie

Frankie

“Am I doing this right, Dad?” I ask the picture frame on what was his desk. I am going over financials for my pack, Midnight Moon, and hoping I don’t get anything wrong. It seems everything I do recently is wrong. That’s what I keep hearing. I am leading this pack wrong or I shouldn’t even be the Alpha.

I run my hand through my short brown hair as I stare at the computer. I glance at the picture of my family. My parents are standing in the middle, while I stand next to my younger sister Jamie and my older brother Carter is next to Dad. We were the picture of happiness, but that all shattered six months ago. My father and older brother were murdered on their way to another pack for treaty negotiations. I was more or less forced into the position of Alpha to keep Midnight Moon from being dissolved.

I used to help Dad with office stuff, so I knew most of it. But I still felt like I was failing. I sigh and sit back in the leather chair that still has my father’s scent ever so faintly. It brings me comfort in times of frustration. “So, Dad? What do you think?” I asked the picture frame. “Of course,” I mumbled and started hitting the keys on the keyboard again. A knock on the door makes me jump, and then my mother walks into the office with a tray of food in her hands.

“I brought you some breakfast. I noticed you skipped it again this morning,” She steps towards the desk.

“I have a lot of work to do, Mom,” I mumble. The smell of the food makes me mildly nauseous.

“Francine Gabriella Abernathy,” She sets the tray on the desk. “You may be the Alpha of this pack, but I am still your mother. And I'm not going to sit by while you starve yourself. Now eat your damn breakfast,” She says in a tone I know better than to argue with.

I look at her, grab a piece of toast, and bite into it. “There.”

“Don’t you snark at me, young lady?” She narrows her blue eyes at me.

“I’m sorry, Mom.” I pull the tray towards me and pick up the fork. My mother, Carol Abernathy, is still the Luna of Midnight Moon. She will be until I find my mate or she retires. I put a forkful of scrambled eggs into my mouth. “Hmm, these are good.”

Mom pulls up one of the chairs in front of my desk and sits down. “Of course it is. We have the best kitchen staff in the region.” We sit in silence while I eat. Mom leans forward and picks up the picture on the desk. She looks it over and runs her hand over it. Losing a mate is the worst thing to happen to a werewolf. I watch as a stray tear rolls down her cheek. “We were happy, weren’t we?”

“Yes,” I reply. “We still are.”

She sets the picture back down on the desk. “I still come down here hoping to smell your father.”

I close my eyes. “I know.”

“It’s slowly fading,” She sniffles. “His scent. I’m starting to forget it. It’s distressing, Ophelia.” She mentions her wolf.

“Mom,” I start to say something but the phone rings. “Sorry, I have to-“ I trail off and pick up the phone. “Alpha Abernathy.”

“Ah, Miss Frankie, it’s Alpha Christopher Clarke,” A familiar voice says, and I have to refrain from gagging. Alpha Christopher Clarke of the Lincoln Shores Pack is a thorn in my side. Ever since I took over, he has been trying to get me to choose his youngest son Harvey to be my mate. Harvey is a complete douchebag, so it will never happen. Alpha Clarke and my father had been allies but never friends.

“What can I do for you today, Alpha?” I said into the phone with great restraint.

“I was just wondering what sort of mess you are in this morning,” He chuckles.

“No, messes, sir. All quiet.” I respond.

“Anyways, Harvey just came back from London. He is keen on seeing you again,” He practically purrs into the phone.

“Is he now?” I sigh. “I was under the impression that he preferred his women half-dressed and dumb. I am fully dressed and brilliant.”

“That’s debatable. A brilliant leader wouldn’t have allowed a rogue attack his first week as Alpha,” The other alpha laughs.

A growl comes from my wolf, Hazel. ‘Can I rip him apart?’

I have to repress my anger. I had just been sworn in as Alpha, and two days later, we were attacked. I was told that it was a test. After Dad and Carter died, the pack took a considerable hit in reputation and strength. I am working hard to fix things along with my Beta Garrett and my Gamma Tyler. “Is there anything else that you need, Alpha?” I say with an edge. “Because I have work to do?”

“Harvey and I are coming later today, remember? To sign the treaty,” he tells me.

“s**t,” I mumble. “Right. What time?”

“The usual time. Have the omegas put champagne in my room. You know what I like,” He explains. “And Harvey needs silk sheets for his bed.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I will see what we can do,” I repress another growl.

“That is all, Alpha,” He drawls out sarcastically. “I would advise you to find a suitable man to rule the pack for you, and Harvey is more than suitable.”

‘Not to mention he has a tiny d**k,’ I thought to myself. “I’ll talk to you later, Alpha.” I hang up the phone and let out a loud sigh.

“Alpha Clarke?” Mom rolls her eyes.

I just nod. “I hate that guy.”

“Me too,” she stands up.

“He wants champagne in his room and silk sheets for Harvey the douche.”

She laughs. “I’ll go see what we can do,” she leans down and kisses the top of my head. “Your father would be proud of you.” She brushes some of my hair behind my ear and walks out of the office.

I push the tray of food away with a heavy sigh and get back to work. Minutes later, another knock, and my Beta Garrett and my Gamma Tyler walk into the office. “Morning, guys,” I say to them.

Garrett’s father was murdered a few days after mine, so he too was thrust into the position of beta. He and Carter had also been best friends, so it was tough on him. “Morning, Frankie,” Garrett greets me. “What’s the haps?”

“Oh, same old s**t, Gar,” I respond. “What’s the haps with you?”

“Tyler and I just got back from patrol,” Garrett responds.

“And?”

“All good,” Tyler chimes in.

“Good to hear. Alpha Christopher Clarke and his son Harvey are coming later today,” I say, and they both make a face. “I know they are awful, but we need the alliance with their pack to secure freight for our factory.” Our pack runs several different manufacturing plants. That is how we make our money. We make various things for everyday life. Alpha Clarke runs a few large logistics companies, and we need his companies to deliver our goods.

“Was he trying to push the douche on you again?” Garrett mentions.

“Of course. I have a v****a, so I can’t possibly know how to run a large wolf pack by myself.” I snort.

“My Dad says you are doing fine,” Tyler sits in the chair my mother was sitting in. His father Aubrey, the former gamma, is still alive and has been a tremendous help to us.

Garrett and Tyler weren’t supposed to be beta and gamma for another two years. That’s when all of our Dads were going to retire and hand to positions to their sons. But of course, that didn’t happen. Things were rough the first few months, but we managed with help from Aubrey and my mother. We still got a few things wrong.

I watch Garrett’s eyes glaze over. “There is some trouble on the eastern border,” He states.

“Rogues?” I ask.

“No, humans.” He huffs. “Anyways, I’ll go check it out.”

“Should I come?” Tyler asks.

“Nah, I think I can handle it with a few warriors, Ty. You were going to check on the prisoners in the Cages.”

“Frankie?” Tyler glances at me.

“Garrett, you go check out the humans, and Tyler, go check on the prisoners.” The two of them leave the office, and Hazel starts to act weird for some reason. I ignore her and look at the computer screen. Hazel is whining and pacing. ‘What the hell is up with you?’ I snarl at her.

‘I feel something,’ She responds.

‘Like what?’ I breathe out.

‘Him.’ She replies.

‘Him?’ I ask her, but I have a feeling I know what she means. Since I turned eighteen, I had hoped to meet my fated mate, but I never did. Now, at twenty-two, I am the Alpha, and my mate is at the back of my mind. ‘I don’t need a mate right now, Hazel.’

‘You always need your mate, Frankie.’ She whines.

I shake my head and try to concentrate, but my wolf is making it impossible. I stand up and walk over to the huge picturesque window that looks out over the pack. Midnight Moon is a medium-sized pack in northern Virginia. We are well obscured from the human world despite being close to the American capital of DC. I watch some pups playing soccer in the field in front of the packhouse. I often stand at this window observing the pack. It’s something I caught my father doing. It was sort of refreshing and comforting to see the pack that relied on me at peace for the moment.

‘Frankie,’ Garrett mind links me. ‘We found the humans. They are police.’ He mentions.

‘Police?’ I snort. Our pack butts up against a large state park that is mostly secluded. It does have hiking trails, so sometimes, humans wander past the borders. We just help them return to the trails.

‘Yeah, they are here investigating a death. It’s one of ours,’ Garrett mentions, and my blood runs cold.

How did I not know a pack member had died? As Alpha, I felt the pulse of everyone in this pack. If someone dies or leaves, I should know it. ‘One of ours? How did I not know that?’

‘He is an omega,’ Garrett responds. ‘Larry Johnson, the school janitor.’

‘Larry?’ I sigh. The name does not ring a bell, and I feel bad for it. I pinch the bridge of my nose. ‘Well, tell the humans we can handle this.’

There is a pause. ‘It’s the FBI, and they are insisting on investigating his death. His body is right on the border, so they have jurisdiction.’

“Son of a b***h,” I curse out.

‘Tell them to come here,’ Hazel interjects.

‘What?’ I scoff at my wolf.

‘Frankie,’ Garrett urges.

‘Fine, bring the FBI people here. I’ll talk to them,’ I respond, and my wolf howls with joy. Garrett has no response, so I get back to work on the financials. About ten minutes pass, and Garrett bursts into the office wearing only shorts and he reeks of leather. Like expensive leather. “Why do you smell like leather?”

He raises an eyebrow. “What?” He snorts. “I just ran here from the crime scene. Drew is bringing in one of the humans to talk to you.”

I nod. “Okay,” I wrinkle my nose. Hazel is humming, and I have to shove her into the back of my mind.

“Are you okay?” Garrett asks.

“Were they all humans?” I ask him.

“Yeah,” He scoffs.

“Are you sure?” I ask again.

“What is up, Frankie?” Garrett tilts his head. “I don’t smell like leather.”

“No, I’m sure it’s coming from you and not my Dad’s chair.”

Garrett chuckles. “Hmm, maybe one of the humans is your mate.”

“Don’t even joke about that.” I snarl.

“Well, I started randomly smelling pineapple, and voila Gail walks into the room and bang, she’s my mate.” He laughs.

“But you knew Gail was going to be your mate. We grew up together, Gar,” I laugh.

“Still, no one else was smelling pineapple.” He laughs again. “Anyways, Drew said they just pulled up in front of the house.”

“Tell Drew to bring the human in here, then. Can you please stay while I talk to him?” I say to my beta.

“Of course, Frank.”

Minutes pass, and Hazel is a total mess in my head. I try to push her back, but she isn’t allowing it. I can’t let a human see me accidentally shifting in front of him. There is a knock on the door, and Garrett stands up and opens the door. The smell of leather intensifies, and I struggle to rise from the chair. My heart stops when a gorgeous tall man walks into my office. He has short brown hair like mine and the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes I have ever seen. He is dressed in a very nice suit with a gun clipped to his belt. I stare at him wide-eyed as Hazel says the word I was not expecting to hear.

‘MATE!’ She shouts.

The man steps towards my desk. “Are you Mayor Frankie?”

I just nod and say nothing. Garrett is behind the man with a stupid grin on his face. I shake myself out of the trance. “Mayor?” I glance at Garrett, and he nods. “Y-yes, I am Mayor Francine Abernathy.” I hold out my hand.

He pulls out a badge and shows it to me. “I am Special Agent Clayton Marshall with the FBI,” He pockets his badge and shakes my hand. Sparks fly up my arm. We stare into each other’s eyes for a moment before he pulls his hand back. “What the hell?” He looks at his hand.

‘MATE!' Hazel gets insistent.

“Is this some kind of f*****g joke?” I say out loud and sit in my chair in a huff while Garrett lets out an amused laugh.