The Forbidden Alpha

Chapter 2

Layla

“Wow!” Caroline said as I tried on my dress for the Mating Ball tonight.

The dress clung to my figure perfectly, and a smile spread across my face as I admired my reflection in the boutique's mirrors. It was a long-sleeved gown with a plunging neckline that accentuated my cleavage, and a floor-length hem with a bold slit that reached my thigh. The mauve hue beautifully enhanced my skin tone.

Caroline's reaction was exactly what I had hoped for from everyone tonight as I entered the ballroom at the pack house, but Chandler's reaction was what I anticipated the most. Having dated Chandler for three years now, the initial phase was challenging, to say the least. Certain pack members disapproved of our relationship, openly expressing their discontent.

Chandler is the next Alpha of Moon Stone and as the next Alpha, he is expected to have an equally strong Luna by his side when he takes over the pack. Our relationship is partly the reason he hasn’t been made Alpha yet. Initially, our dating was casual, merely to while away time. We never anticipated that it would endure this long or that genuine feelings would develop between us, but here we are.

Why are so many of the pack members so openly against Chandler and I being together? Well, that’s because I’m not a werewolf like all of them. You see, I am a human. I was Adopted by the Beta Family right after I was born.

My mother and birth mother met in college and quickly became best friends. My birth mother was a year younger than my adoptive mother and had no idea that she was hanging out with werewolves at the time. When she became pregnant with me after a one-night stand at a frat party, she was terrified and had no idea what she was going to do. My mother's family was all deceased, so she had no one there to help her other than my adoptive mother. After some time went by, she slowly became more excited about becoming a mother and began to get her life in order to bring a baby into the world. My adoptive mom was there with her through everything, refusing to let her go through the pregnancy alone.

She was even at the appointment when my birth mother learned she had a serious brain tumor.

The tumor was fast-growing and the doctor advised her to terminate her pregnancy so she had a better chance of survival with adequate treatment. She declined. Her chances of survival would have increased, but they were still low enough that she knew she would still likely lose her battle eventually. As long as I was able to make it through the pregnancy, that was all she cared about and she picked her best friend to adopt me the second I was born.

My birth mother made it a week after the doctor had to deliver me because her blood pressure was dangerously high. One week. My adoptive mom stayed with her the entire time, taking thousands of pictures of all of us before my mother finally passed.

Alpha Riggins had allowed the Wilders to bring me into the pack because of the circumstances. So, that is how I became the human daughter of the Beta Family and a full member of the pack. I couldn’t do what they did, shift and talk to one another through mind links, but they had accepted me, for the most part, as one of their own.

I had to learn to hold my own in school because some of the other kids didn’t like the fact that a human was allowed to go to school with them at the pack school. This led to a few bloodied noses and scraped knees in elementary school.

Growing up, my brother Dustin trained with me daily, ensuring I became stronger and could defend myself if necessary. Now, once they got their wolves, that was a different story. I knew that no amount of training was going to make me strong enough to take on a wolf, but I was still grateful to him for teaching me.

“Is Chandler really going to go through with it tonight?” Caroline asked and i could see her worried expression through the mirror.

I smiled at my reflection again before turning to look at her in the little sitting area of the shop. “He says he is. Now whether he chickens out this time is yet to be seen.”

Though Chandler's father had allowed me to become a part of the pack and had in essence accepted me as a member, he was one of the few who did not agree with our relationship and made sure his son knew that I would never become Luna of the pack. He would openly criticize me whenever he saw an opportunity and had even gone as far as bringing in other she wolves from neighboring packs and forcing Chandler to 'show them around.' Chandler still swore up and down that his dad would eventually come around to the idea. We just had to wait him out a bit.

Well, that was two years ago and we were once again at the point in time when Chandler was supposed to announce that he had chosen me to be his mate at the ball tonight. He had flaked last year saying we needed to wait a bit longer, that his father was so close to seeing things from our perspective, so I had begrudgingly agreed to give it one more year.

“I don’t know why you keep giving that boy chance after chance to stand up to his dad on this, Layla. You deserve someone that chooses you no matter what.” Caroline said, shaking her head.

I sighed, "I don't know either. I just love him and want to be with him, that's all. I'm hoping that with the extra time Chandler still hasn't found his fated mate, maybe his dad's objections will lessen," I said, turning back to the mirror. I ran my hands over the smooth fabric. Tonight, hopefully, would be the night he would tell not only his father but also the rest of the pack that he had finally made a decision.

“What about you? Huh, do you think you will find your mate tonight?” I asked Caroline in a attempt to change the subject.

She shrugged her shoulders and picked at the fabric on the couch aimlessly, “I hope so, but I’m not going to be that bummed out if I don’t like most of the other she wolves.”

Caroline wasn’t like the other wolves, that was for sure. She wasn’t as interested in finding her mate immediately like the others because she loved her independence so much. She was currently in law school at the local college and thought that finding her mate would mean she would have to give up her dreams. She was as smart as they come and would make the pack a fine lawyer one day.

After we left the dress shop, we spent the remainder of the day getting pampered for the night to come. We got our hair and nails done before returning to my house to finish getting ready. Every year before the ball there is a dinner for all the unmated wolves that takes place right before the start of the ball. Not all packs choose to attend the dinner, but for those that do, it's a chance for them to mingle and find each other in a smaller setting before the main ball.

This year’s theme is a Masquerade Ball and everyone will be disguised with small masks, leading to a bit of mystery if you will.

“I love those shoes, but I would break my neck in them.” I told Caroline as I eyed her black strappy heels that added an extra three inches to her already five foot eight height.

She smiled and did a little turn. She had opted for something a bit more revealing for the night and I didn't blame her. She had a body that most human women kill themselves in the gym to achieve. It was a short sparkly sequence dress that stopped just above mid-thigh on her long legs. Her heels were Jimmy Choo and had set her back nearly a thousand dollars from her savings, but she had fallen in love the moment she slipped them on.

“If you wore them more often you wouldn’t look like a newborn baby walking around.” She giggled and I swatted her shoulder with my bag.

“Heels aren’t practical footwear to chase after toddlers.” I said and she laughed again.

“You are right, but you could still wear them when you aren’t wiping snotty noses.” She added and walked past me as I held the door open for her.

“I think I will stick to a shorter heel or flats.” I said, and the two of us went down the stairs to find my brother standing at the bottom waiting for us.

His jaw dropped the second he saw Caroline and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he liked what he saw a lot. He hasn’t been home much in the past five years as he, too, has been away at college learning more about becoming the next beta of the pack.

Within a breath of a second, Dustin had rushed up the stairs and had pinned Caroline up against the wall. His chest was heaving with every breath he took and the look in his eyes was feral.

“MINE” He growled.

Holy sh*t this is awesome. I thought excitedly as I watched the realization dawn on my friend that my brother was her mate. That even though she had no intentions of looking for her fated mate tonight, the Mood Goddess had other plans for her.

“Layla, go ahead to dinner without us. We will follow you shortly.” Dustin said to me without taking his eyes off his mate.

“Okay, have fun you too.” I said with a wink when Caroline’s gaze snapped to mine. “You will be fine,” I said, and gave her a reassuring smile. I knew without a doubt that she would be perfectly fine. Dustin has had a thing for her for years and I think that is why he has stayed away as much as he has since she turned eighteen. He didn’t want to see her with anyone else and had interned, kept himself from his mate all along.

I left the two of them to work their feelings out and headed over to the pack house. It was not that far of a walk and it only took a few minutes of walking before I arrived to see a line of luxury cars that were lining the driveway in front of the pack house.

Gas lanterns lit up the lamp posts along the windows and front door of the large pack house, lighting the way. There were several groups of wolves exiting their cars and making their way up the walkway and inside slowly. I took my place behind a group of she wolves that were all talking excitedly about tonight's festivities. They were dressed in short skimpy dresses and thick makeup that looked like it had been applied with a paint roller. As I stepped into line behind them, they immediately stopped talking and turned to glare at me. I didn’t recognize any of them and from the looks I was getting it seemed that they were not from my pack.

“Who let the human in?” One sneered at me like I was a piece of lint on her expensive designer dress that had to be removed.

“Yeah, it’s not like they are going to let you in any way. This is an invitation-only event. See. Without this you wouldn’t make it inside.” One of the other girls said in a nasally voice.

I didn't reply to either of their comments, choosing to ignore them for the time being as the line continued to inch forward bit by bit. That didn't stop them from continuing to make snide remarks about me the entire time, but I did my best to let it roll off, they would see soon enough just who I was.

It was their turn and they handed over their tickets to the guard stationed at the front door of the pack house. He took each of the cards and placed them in a small basket with several more. “I think you might want to call security sir.” The third girl said in a loud whisper and pointed behind them at me. A whisper loud enough for many bystanders to hear as well.

He simply looked at them dismissively and turned to me and his face transformed into a smile. “Ms. Layla, how are you tonight? You look lovely as always.” Anthony said loudly, so those listening would know that I did indeed belong here even though i was a human.

I gave him a bright smile, “Doing good and thank you. How are the girls? They wanted to join in the fun tonight, I know. They were talking about it all day yesterday.” If their mouths could reach the floor that’s where they would be right.

“Bribery with unlimited ice cream with Nana did the trick.” He laughed and took the ticket as I handed it to him. “You have a good time tonight, Ms. Layla.” He added. As I brushed past the girls, making my way down the hall, I could still make out the words he said before I was completely out of earshot. “She has every right to be here just like the rest of us. She may very well be the next Luna of the Moon Stone Pack.” And I smiled to myself as I heard their audible gasp.

It was nice to know that at least some of the pack members were so openly supportive versus the critical ones. Maybe that support would help Alpha Riggins change his mind about Chandler and I's relationship tonight.

A girl can only hope.