The Possessive Alpha
Chapter 102

ELLE POV

*******FLASHBACK******

The night of Elle’s first shift

The golden aura shining brightly above Charity, Theo, and I settles into our bones as the mindlink of New Moon falls away into the abyss while a new one forms between us. Not waiting for a second longer as the energy finds home and growth within my mind, I let Scarlett’s massive form carry us into the forest as I look to the right and find Theo’s mostly white wolf running alongside me.

But something about his presence and wolf’s ability to easily accept my proposal for Beta as a council member’s son, he shouldn’t be able to….unless…As if he can tell what I am thinking, I hear his baritone voice through the link connecting us.

“Luna, I just realized something…”Theo trails off, his voice hinting at what I already know. Including Charity in the link, I figure we might as well clear things up right now. I let Scarlett lead us further into the forest, relishing the fresh dirt in between her paws.

“First off, it’s Alpha when it’s just the three of us,” I say, through the link, “I will be a Luna when I am with my mate, but I am the Alpha of you. Understood?”

“Yes, Alpha,” they agree easily, knowing from my tone and the power in my words that it is not worth questioning.

“I know what you were going to tell me,” I continue, hurrying with this conversation because I know Damon will come looking for me any second. “But we aren’t going to discuss this now; tomorrow morning at four a.m. Theo’s house. We finally got a lead, and we are ending this s**t once and for all.”

“Should Damon, Drew, and Matt meet us there?” Theo asks, causing Charity to chortle at the thought of any of them waking early enough to go to a four a.m. training session hilarious, and I would have to agree. The only one who might be mildly prepared for that is Matt because his dad is a crazy-a*s Gamma but brilliant.

“No,” I say, a finality in my words, not leaving any room for discussion on the matter. I can tell both of them are wary about leaving Damon out of the next steps, but I have my own reasons for that. “Now, have fun tonight. The real work begins tomorrow morning.” They do not need extra encouragement as they sprint into the woods chasing after one another.

***************************

It’s fifteen minutes after four as I pace in Theo’s living room, impatiently waiting on Charity; where the f**k is she? Theo is barely alive as he sits on the couch with his head resting against the back of the seat while clutching a piping hot coffee to his chest.

As I am about to reach out again through the mindlink, she barrels through the door in clothes kept in bags randomly found throughout the forest for wolves who need spare clothes, her hair disheveled with some leaves and twigs inside, with a smudge of dirt on her cheek and nose.

But none of that is compared to the scent rolling off her, a distinct musky scent that smells like pine trees and firewood. A scent that belongs to the Gamma of the New Moon pack. She knows Theo, and I can smell the distinct scent on her as we glance silently at each other, amusement betraying us.

“Not a word,” Charity growls, clearly cranky about whatever happened between them, but both of us know better than to antagonize her. There is a reason Scar chose her and Summer as our Gamma, and I don’t really want to find out firsthand. Living next to the Gamma family has taught her a thing or two over the years.

“So why did you call us here at this god-awful hour?” She grumbles, plopping down on the couch next to Theo and grabbing his coffee from his hands to take a drink while he mutters under his breath.

“I know what pack I am from,” I say aloud, causing Charity to sit up straight, focused on what I am saying.

“What? How?” She asks while Theo takes his coffee from her hands, taking a large drink before answering her question.

“It’s because of me,” he responds groggily, his body barely awake even with the coffee running through his system. “I don’t understand…” Charity trails off, glancing between the two of us like she is trying to put the pieces together but failing to see the connection.

“Theo’s father is a council member,” I explain, “council members’ offspring cannot become ranked members of a pack unless they a rejoining their pack of origin.”

“Well, that explains so much,” Charity says, “why you two bonded so easily in the beginning. So many of us thought maybe you were mates for a while.”

“Ewww,” Theo grumbles while I chime in with a “Goddess no.”

“So now, Theo needs to tell me everything he remembers about our time together,” I say, looking at him intently as if the intensity of my stare could draw the information from him.

“I don’t remember,” he sighs, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. “Ever since stepping onto this territory, it’s like there are parts of my life that are fuzzy or I have forgotten completely.”

“It has to be the spell,” I mutter as I continue to pace, my mind racing as I try to think of a solution when it hits me in the face. “If being in the territory and near me affects your memory, maybe you and Charity need to step outside the borders and record everything he remembers.”

“Alright, we can do that,” Charity nods, her mind running as she thinks over her own things. “Are we not telling Damon, Andrew, and Matt?”

“No,” I answer to their shocked and worried faces.

“Why not?” Theo questions, clearly unsure about this choice, while Charity nods in understanding, not needing further explanation.

“Because this isn’t about Damon,” I explain, “this isn’t Damon’s pack or his concern. If the roles were reversed and he was the one dealing with this, I wouldn’t be a second thought. I love Damon, but this has nothing to do with him. If I don’t save my pack, will they willingly let me lead? Will they follow my word? Or will they view Damon as their Alpha simply because of his genitals?”

“I guess you’re right,” Theo says as he sits back, turning over my words in his head. “What if Damon never forgives you for leaving him out?”

“Then I will have to deal with those consequences,” I respond, with my head held high, I know what I am gambling with this decision, but it’s the decision I have to make. “But I need to help my pack. This leads me to my next point…” I trail off, looking at Charity, unsure how I will tell her I want to spy on Jonah, her cousin.

“You’re thinking about Jonah, aren’t you?” She asks, clearly understanding where my train of thought has led me.

“I am sorry, Charity,” I apologize, letting her know I am empathetic and don’t want to do this, but his presence and insistence on being in my life make no sense.

“I know,” she sighs in understanding. “I don’t blame you for doing it, something about him seems off lately, and I haven’t fully trusted his motives since your birthday.”

“What about the prophecy?” Theo asks a valid question, but one I still haven’t worked out the answer to.

“I don’t know,” I say honestly, “I haven’t worked that part out yet. We need to figure out the other stuff and see how that fits into it. You guys get showered and changed. Then get off the territory so that you can record everything that Theo knows about his old pack. While you’re doing that, I am going to the security room to find out what I can about Jonah.”

“Yes, Alpha,” they nod in agreement getting up from the couch before Theo takes the steps two at a time to change into fresh clothes. Within minutes he is back downstairs to take Charity so she can shower Matt’s scent from her skin. Departing from the house, Theo and Charity climb into his car and are out of the driveway. As I am about to walk behind the house, a tall, middle-aged gentleman, the spitting image of Theo, pulls into the driveway.

His eyes locked onto me in bewilderment, like he is looking at a ghost; barely putting the car into park, he is out of it, his long legs striding towards me with authority. “Luna?” he says like he isn’t sure if I am real or just a figment of his imagination.

“It’s Alpha,” I say, my facial expression serious, an internal part of me revolting anytime someone calls me Luna. My response leaves him in shocked silence for a few seconds before a thunderous laugh leaves his throat, grating my nerves.

“Seems nothing has changed,” the Beta says through his chuckle, “you always hated that name, even as a child. Anytime one of the boys called you Little Luna; you’d have a fit.” His words hit me as the realization dawns on me that he can remember stuff despite the curse.

“You remember things about my past?” I question, “what about the spell?” My mind reeling at his knowledge and inability to be affected by it.

“Yes,” he says, “I am a Beta council member, witches spells do not affect me the same way they do other wolves.”

I cannot help but scoff at the irony, the one man who could have helped me all along has been right under my nose, but because he is always so busy, we haven’t had the chance to meet formally. “Where do your loyalties lie Beta?” I ask, getting to the point because I have other things I need to accomplish before Damon wakes up and comes looking for me.

“With the true Alpha of Silver Run,” he says, his eyes meeting and holding mine as he reveals the pack’s name. This will make things a lot easier, and now I can see how Jonah is connected to them, “now that it is confirmed you are alive, it is my duty to help you reclaim what is rightfully yours.”

“You won’t tell Alpha Charles and Luna Olivia?” I ask, needing confirmation and reassurance he isn’t going to rat me out to the New Moon Alpha and Luna.

“No, Alpha,” he replies.

“Good, because I might need your help with something in the future,” I tell him before stepping off the porch and down the steps, “stay alert for further instruction.” I don’t give him the chance to reply before running into the treeline to strip down to nothing, throwing my clothes in the bag that was hidden behind a tree. Calling Scarlett forth, I feel my bones breaking and reshifting before four large paws sprint off toward the security center to find the connection between Jonah and the fraudulent Alpha of Silver Run.