Finding Her True Alpha

Ashlyn I woke up feeling disappointed as I looked at the empty space on my bed. I was hoping Ian, my boyfriend of the last two years and the future alpha of our pack, would have snuck into my room last night. Today is my eighteenth birthday. The first official day I can sniff out my mate. I was hoping Ian would have been here when I woke up since he decided to go out with his friends last night. I didn’t say anything when plans of us hanging out changed, but I should have. I wanted to, but I didn’t want to put on a show in front of his friends when they barged into the pack house yesterday. I just let him go, hoping he would choose me. “So, what do you think?” I asked my wolf, Tundra, as I stepped into the shower. “I don’t know what to think, Ash. I know he cares about us, but is that really enough,” she sighed. My blissful birthday bumble had been popped as I got ready to head to the pack house to find him. I wanted him to be my fated mate. I love him. Before his mother died, I spent so much time with her, even before Ian and I got together. I came here to live with my mother’s sister after both my parents died. She was newly mated and not ready to handle a soon-to-be nine-year-old who just lost everything. Don’t get me wrong, Aunt Grace and her mate, Brad, are wonderful, and I owe them both so much. After I was ready, I looked at myself in the mirror one more time before heading downstairs. Aunt Grace was sitting at the table, looking down at her phone as she sipped a mug full of coffee. “Good morning,” I came up behind her and gave her a hug. “Happy Birthday, sweetie,” she squealed, and I giggled. “You must be so excited for today. I half expected Alpha Ian to be walking in behind you.” “Yeah, me too,” I mumbled, letting her go. “Is everything okay?” She asked me, the excitement of the day now lost. “Yeah, of course, I’m going to go find Ian,” I smiled before walking out of the kitchen to the front door. “Good luck,” she called out as I closed the door behind me. The cold fall air nipped my hot skin as I walked down the path to the sidewalk. The pack house was a ten-minute walk from my house. There was a new dusting of snow, and the early morning sun was still rising over the tree line. It would have been a beautiful morning if my stomach wasn’t twisted into knots. And the closer I walked to the park house, the tighter those knots became. “I’m glad I didn’t eat this morning,” I mumbled to Tundra. “Everything is going to work out, Ash, don’t worry so much.” I stopped at the end of the driveway and took a deep breath before walking up to the oak front doors. As soon as I stepped inside, the most delicious scent hit me. Musk, cedar, and vanilla. “Mate,” Tundra purred, and I smiled. My mate is here. I followed the scent up to the alpha floor, and that's when I knew it was Ian. Other members lived in the pack house, but this floor only had Ian and his father, Alpha Jason. The scent was stronger as I stood in front of his bedroom door. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This was the moment I had been waiting for—for two years. Grunts and groans caused me to open my eyes and look at the door in front of me. “Yes, Ian. Yes, right there,” a woman cried out. Before I knew what I was doing, I threw open the door. What I saw is something I could never unsee. Ian was standing at the end of his bed, naked. Sweat glistened his skin as he thrust his hips. I couldn’t say a word as I watched him with legs wrapped around his waist. Those weren’t my legs. Tundra let out a murderous growl, and the room stopped. Ian turned to face the door, his steel-blue eyes meeting my green ones. “Ashlyn,” he stammered. With his body turned, I was able to see the woman lying naked on his bed with my mate and boyfriend inside of her. Nicole. “This isn’t what it looks like,” he stepped away from her, and Nicole fumbled to get underneath the blanket. My eyes filled with tears as I wondered what I did to deserve this. Ian was my best friend. We have been together for almost two years. The entire pack knew we were together. I felt like a f*****g joke. “It looks like my boyfriend and best friend are naked together. Am I missing something?” I crossed my arms over my chest. Ian stuttered, unable to get the words out as he stood in front of me naked, his d**k covered in another woman. “I’m sorry, my mate and best friend are f*****g,” I yelled. This was all too much for me to handle right now. Their betrayal ripped at my soul. I watched as Ian sniffed the air with his wolf, Jax, coming forward. “Mate,” he exhaled. “Ex-mate, Ian. I, Ashlyn Knight, future alpha of the Emerald Lake pack, reject you, Ian Walker, future alpha of the Blue Moon pack.” I didn’t wait for him to answer as I stepped out of his room, slamming the door behind me. My heart twisted painfully, and my legs wobbled as I grabbed the railing. I needed to get out of here. I couldn’t stay here with this constant reminder of their betrayal. Relief hit me when I made it down the last step and was so close to the front door. I was stopped when strong arms wrapped around me. Ian’s father squeezed me close. He was the father I needed after my own passed. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.” He let me go and stepped back. Looking up at him, I felt like I was going to break. I had so much here, but I couldn’t stay. “I need to leave,” I choked, and his face fell. “What’s wrong? Where’s Ian?” He asked, gripping my shoulders. “The pack. I need to leave the pack.” I stammered as I tried to hold down the need to cry. “Ashlyn,” he pulled me against his chest again, and I was so close to breaking down. I was going to miss Alpha Jason. He had taught me so much about being an alpha and made this place feel like home. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” He mumbled softly as he held me. I shook my head. The moment that happened was raw in my mind, and I wanted to run away. I held onto him when a commotion came from the floors above. “Go, sweetheart. Be safe.” He kissed the top of my head. I looked up at him, and he nodded. With that, I rushed out the front door and ran off in the direction of home. I need to get out of here. I stormed into the house and marched up the stairs to my room. I could hear my aunt calling to me, but I couldn’t stop. The pain in my chest was eating away at my soul, and it burned. “I’m so sorry, Tundra,” I cried, crumbling to my knees beside my bed. She didn’t say anything, only whimpered at the loss of her mate. “Ashlyn, what the hell is going on?” Aunt Grace pushed open my door before she gasped. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” She rushed to kneel beside me. “He cheated. He was my mate, and he cheated,” I cried as she wrapped me in her arms. “Oh, my sweet, Ashlyn,” she exhaled as I cried on her shoulder. I lost track of how long I sat on the floor in her arms and cried. Why would he do this to me? The burning question swirled in my mind as my aunt held me. “Hey, let's head into the city for a few days. We can go shopping and stay at one of those crazy expensive hotels. There will be a spa where we can get pampered. It will be good for you.” I looked up at her, and she smiled, but her eyes were sad. I nodded, and she pulled me close again. “Pack a bag, and we will leave soon. I need to call Brad,” she pulled away, kissing my forehead before looking at me again. “Everything is going to be okay.” She stood up and left me still sitting on the floor. I took a big breath before wiping away the tears on my cheeks. Pack a bag; that’s something I could do right now. I stood up and went into my closet to pull some clothes together. I couldn’t shake what I saw. Ian was my best friend. We were so good together until his mother passed away. That’s when he started to pull away. He spent more time with his friends, drinking. I just never thought he would step out. I was giving him space to grieve in his own way. But I could never forgive that, no matter how much I loved him. “Ready?” Aunt Grace asked from the open door. I was stuffing some clothes into a backpack. I nodded, zipping up the bag. I grabbed my phone charger off the bedside table and stuffed it in my purse before following my aunt out of my room. I needed to get out of here. I don’t have much money, but I will figure it out when I get there. I had to. I couldn’t stay here. My aunt took my bag, and with my purse in hand, I climbed into the passenger seat of her SUV. My mind buzzed with mind links, and my phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it. I didn’t need to open them to know it was Ian and Nicole. But what could they possibly say about their actions? She was my friend, and he was my boyfriend.