Chosen Alpha Read online

  Roman heard footsteps in the foliage and turned to see that Tamara had come and was standing only about two feet back from him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I thought I might find Isaiah here and we could talk about that girl. If you want me to go…”

  The mention of his brother’s name on her tongue made Roman cringe more than it should have. It was not because he didn't love Isaiah deeply. He loved him more than almost anyone who was alive, but there had always been this unspoken thought that Tamara and he would end up together somehow, whether because they wanted to or because they would be shoved together. It was hard to think of Tamara as the wife of the alpha. She had been one of them as a child, playing just as rough as the three boys and sharing all their secrets. She had even kissed Orson once, to calm him down. It had worked, but he had quickly grown out of his need for her.

  “No, please sit,” Roman told her, patting a spot on the rock next to him. She slipped off her shoes and came over to him, her dark hair blowing to the side with the direction of the wind. She sat down next to him, her toes barely reaching the tip of the stream because of her height. Roman smiled, thinking back to when they were kids and used to come there. She would always shove all of them into the water before diving in herself, and they would come home dripping wet and muddy.

  “So, have you seen Isaiah this morning?” Tamara asked, making Roman feel suddenly exhausted. He knew she was asking because she wanted to know what was going on with the witch girl. He shouldn't be sharing such information with her that the alpha might want to keep a secret, but then, he could not picture keeping anything from Tamara.

  “Yes, I have. The questioning has already taken place, and Orson is off somewhere sleeping off a hangover that made him a little less than helpful,” Roman told her.

  “Ahh,” she said. It was hard for her to talk about Orson sometimes. She had nearly thought she would end up with him, but he became more than just a troubled boy as he grew. He became a monster when it came to women. It was sad because Tamara was quite a catch, especially considering she was one of the only young women in the pack at the moment who had not been bred to the brink of falling apart. Her father was too protective of her and would only let her mate with the best, even if it meant fighting off young werewolf men with his bare hands. “How did it go? Or is that bad to ask right now? It seems like I keep asking all of you the worst questions, lately. I don’t know how to help you anymore. Things are so trying and heavy.”

  Roman seemed to look off into the distance as if the answer might be written in the sky somewhere. If someone had told Tamara this is what being an adult would be like, she would have been much more afraid of growing up. Never did she think her childhood friends would be so involved in something like this, even though she knew one would be alpha someday.

  “Just being here is enough,” Roman told her, splashing his feet in the water. It made her laugh, and it felt so good. For just a moment things felt the way they used to.

  Then, another set of footsteps broke them both out of that moment and yanked them violently back into the reality of the adult present. What was happening in the pack was no game. Both of them turned around to see that it was Isaiah, finally come to tell Tamara his decision.

  “I’ll leave you two alone,” Roman said, moving to get up.

  “No, there’s no need for that,” Isaiah said, putting his hand out to stop him. “It would be good to talk to both of you, actually.” Roman was surprised, but they moved off the rock and onto the green shore of the stream, so they could all sit next to each other. Tamara sat in between the brothers, and Roman could not help but think of it as symbolism.

  For someone who had a lot he needed to say, Isaiah was suddenly tongue tied. Two of the most important people in his life were sitting next to him in a spot they used to come to in their childhood, to tells secrets and play together. It was as if he didn’t know how to tell them about the decision he had made and what he needed from them. Isaiah needed, for just a moment, to not be the alpha, but that was never going to happen again. He could feel the red tape it was placing around him like a barrier. No one could get too close anymore.

  “Isaiah, I came here hoping I would see you to let you know that it is chaos out here with the pack. They all want her dead, and they think you are much too soft. I will support you in any choice you make, but I cannot help but warn you that the good heart we all love may just get in your way, here,” Tamara told him quietly, placing her hand on his shoulder.

  Isaiah put his head in his hands for a moment, because he knew already what she would think of his decision. Also, that Roman would resent what Isaiah was about to ask him to do. “I know that I am not going to please anybody with this, but I swore to myself I would not become my father, just because it might be convenient. In just one day, I have already seen what he was up against, and still, I cannot bring myself to go against what I know is right. If it gets me challenged, then so be it. As long as I am alpha, things will be done fairly. That woman was attacked, plain and simple. I do not know by who, but I suspect another pack that wants this territory now that the old alpha is gone. I am not going to let her suffer on her own, going through that excruciating turn, 100 miles from here, just because everyone has developed a strong hatred for the witches, without so much as a cause.” Isaiah was growling in total frustration, thinking about what he had just said. He could not help but notice how Tamara leaned back away from him, as if she didn’t recognize him for a moment.

  “So, you’re going to keep her here?” Tamara asked incredulously, hoping she had heard wrong. Isaiah was going down a dangerous path, and it wasn’t something that Tamara was sure she could watch him go through. She looked to Roman for help, and though she could see the worry behind his eyes, she also saw resignation. Roman was letting it go.

  “Yes, I am keeping her here, and I want Roman to spearhead an investigation team to ensure we can find out who did this, long before it gets out of hand. I want a solid explanation to take to the witches, and I want the ability to prevent this from happening again.” Isaiah could feel the alpha in him coming out as he made another order. He found himself feeling a new anger over everyone’s defiance; everyone’s insistence on going against him with what he knew in his heart was right. “I will be telling every single pack member when I make this announcement, there will be no more questioning of the alpha. This is my job, and I am doing it the way I see fit.” Isaiah knew he sounded childish as he walked away from the two of them, but he also felt powerful for the first time. There had to be a middle ground where he could be tough but still make better choices and maintain who he was. He was going to find it or die trying.

  Isaiah stomped through the brush that would lead him back to the edge of the woods, close to where Annalise was found on the brink of death. He remembered how he had been afraid that this tiny, beautiful, young woman was about to die right in front of him. He didn’t want anyone dying on his watch, not yet. If anyone did, it would be because they had committed a crime, paying the penalty, not because they were a victim.

  Isaiah took three deep breaths, preparing his body for a smooth change. Then, in one burst, he shrank down onto all fours and became the grey wolf, ready to call his pack to him. In his anger, this was how he wanted to meet; as wolves. He wanted to feel that freeness, that animal power, while he made his decision about Annalise known to the pack he had just inherited. He found that, as a wolf, he was much more intimidating.

  Isaiah threw his head back, letting the wind tickle at the hairs on the bottom of his chin, and howled. His howl called for the pack to come, to come and hear what the alpha had to say. No pack member who had changed before could resist that call. That was the point in having an alpha. Once in wolf form, he could control them; he could bend their will to his to save a life if he needed to. His word was law!

  Pack members began to show up. Isaiah looked out across the crowd of his pack, noticing all the colors and sizes of the members. These were his people, his subjects, and
he couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at this. It was something in the brain of the wolf versus the brain of the man that brought the leader in him out into the open.

  Isaiah waited until he saw no more coming, and he began to explain to them why he had summoned them at this time. He would command them to cooperate whether they liked it or not. “I know that we have had a crisis arise on our hands, just hours after I became the alpha. I do not think it is a coincidence. Someone is trying to infiltrate this territory and this pack. I will not allow it to happen. I also will not allow us to forget about the morals we stand by and where we came from. We have a witch in our midst that has been attacked and bitten by one of our kind. She deserves the same right as any human who would have gone through the same thing. She will be allowed to stay here so we can help her with the turn. She is not to be touched. She is to be hidden and kept secret until we have a definitive answer as to who did this. My brother, Roman, will be leading an investigation team to figure out who is after us; our pack and our peace with the coven. I implore you all to join him and help him protect our pack. I am not my father, and I believe all of you know that by now. However, I am still alpha, and I will be respected and obeyed.”

  As he ended, he planted his paws in a solid stance, ready for battle. His head was high, and he let them know he was no wolf to be messed with or questioned, even if they hated him as their alpha. He could hear the murmurs of the naysayers amongst those gathered and then the quieting, as those remembered he could hear them all. They had submitted to the power of the alpha by hearing his call, and he could be in every single mind in the pack. That is how it had always worked.

  Isaiah dismissed them with a warning look. Only Roman and Tamara remained. He could tell Tamara by her white coat and slender frame, much different from any of the other wolves. She rubbed up against him in a show of affection as Roman nodded in approval of his speech.

  Seeing Roman in wolf form after all these years as being brothers was still fascinating. His coat had a brilliant mixture of browns and reds, standing several inches taller than even Isaiah. Sometimes one look at him was all someone out of line needed to straighten out as they did not want to find out what a beating from so large a wolf would be like.

  Isaiah shifted back, beginning to feel deflated now that the rest of the pack was gone. The other two followed suit. “I need to get back to the cabin before someone decides to defy me and attack it, or Orson decides to torture her with his lovely attitude,” Isaiah announced, feeling drained all of a sudden. Did it really take all he had in order to pull the pack together like that?

  “You did a good job. I’m proud of you,” Tamara told him, patting him against his chest before walking away. Roman gave a similar sentiment before going in the same direction. Isaiah was glad that the two of them were still able to be close even after all they had gone through growing up. He wished he could still be so close to them and Orson like in their childhood days. But those days were long gone.

  Isaiah came into the living room in nothing but a pair of shorts. It was early in the morning, the sun barely up for the day. He was going to have a protein shake and an egg before heading for a run. He was surprised to find Annalise on the couch, already awake and vegging out on the reality television shows which had been recorded on his DVR. It had been around a week and a half since he had carried her into the cabin. He had not taken a whole lot of time to get to know her, even though she kept trying to get to know him. Every time he walked into the room, it seemed he had a new question for him.

  “Don’t you have anything better to do than sit on my couch and watch reality shows?” he grumbled, clearly not a morning person. He had given her a perfectly good room to sleep in, and yet she kept ending up on the couch. Isaiah felt like he had no privacy anymore, but perhaps that was what he had signed up for. It didn't help that Hector was also living in the house now, taking up Roman’s old room. Roman himself resided there at times when he was not investigating the attack on Annalise. It was just best to have them on hand to protect her since the pack would eventually feel that bit of unrest again. He could sense it.

  “First of all,” she began; her voice reminded him of someone who was a bit of a mean girl. For a witch, she didn't seem to be that unique or interesting other than the contrast of her long black hair to her bright blue eyes. They seemed to glow in the dark like a cat’s. “I am stuck here in your house in hiding, so no, I don’t have anything better to do. Secondly, that room has been giving me a creepy vibe. I have had a hard time sleeping in it.” He couldn't help but chuckle at that.

  “Is a witch really afraid of the ghosts of alphas past?” he teased, going about his breakfast routine regardless.

  “So, what if I am?” she asked, turning around to look at him as he blended his shake. Annalise hoped he didn't notice how her eyes lingered on his body. It was hard not to notice when you were living in the same house as an Adonis like Isaiah. And she had yet to even skim the surface of all things alpha werewolf. She knew there was a story there, especially the way he and his brothers were always at odds. If she was going to live there for a while, she was determined to start peeling back the layers.

  Isaiah didn't answer her as he went about breakfast, but as he went out for his run, he came right up to her face with a cheeky smile on his face and went, “Boo!” She squinted at him disapprovingly as she admired the view on his way out.

  Isaiah felt strange that he seemed to be becoming friends or tentative acquaintances with his new roommate; a witch turned into a werewolf. It was not something he had expected when he had agreed to keep her safe and help her with her first turn. Yet, there was this easy back and forth that they had when they did decide to talk. He also found an annoying comfort to knowing he was not in that old cabin alone. He hated to admit it because he was such a private person, but maybe he could agree that it gave him the creeps a bit.

  Part of him wondered if she would be willing to bare some of his load. She had no investment in the pack, so she could say nothing about what he should do. Isaiah had been bombarded by worries and pressures ever since his decision to keep Annalise around. The pack wanted a compromise. If a fight might come one day with the coven, they thought they needed more members; strong ones. What that meant for Isaiah was that they wanted him to choose his mate.

  There generally was not any pressure for this until the end of the first year, but with the aging and small female population, the pack felt desperate. They needed him to prove he could provide plenty of little pups in both genders. In fact, they wanted all the brothers to do their part, though no one expected Orson to ever cooperate beyond the occasional one-night stand.

  Who would he choose, and would that be his mate for life? His father certainly had never stuck to one woman, changing mates every five to ten years, until he chose their mother. After her death, he was never the same in that aspect of his life. It was the only sign Isaiah had that his father had been capable of love.

  Isaiah picked up his pace and tried to clear his mind. Maybe the right answer would just come to him. Until then, he would do his best. That was all he could do.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Annalise shot up as the front door swung open to reveal Isaiah’s brother, Orson, with a curious look on his face. With him, came the strong smell of cigarettes that made her cover her mouth in her shirt in order to breathe until she got used to it. “Still shacking up with my big brother, I see,” he commented, giving her a look that she wasn't sure what it meant. She was normally great at reading others, but she had learned over the last few days that Orson was a hard one to figure out. One moment he acted like your best friend, all sunshiny, and the next he was making some rude comment. He was quite a character, and she didn’t envy Isaiah for having to deal with him as both a subject and a family member. It made her think back to her own problems, shaking her head as if it were an Etch N Sketch that she could just erase everything on.

  “How do you think things are going to work out for you once my b
rother picks a mate? Are you all going to share a bed?” Orson continued, pushing her buttons. Normally, Annalise would have something to come back with, but instead, she glared at him with her bright blue eyes. If only she had some magical stare instead of a bunch of spells, she would just freeze him to the spot.

  Annalise had been overhearing plenty of what was going on in Isaiah's life, and she was none too happy about it. She did not know why she was so invested in what was happening to him, but it seemed that despite him being the leader of the pack, all of his choices were slowly being taken away.

  It was no secret that the pack did not agree with the fact that he had kept her there and kept her safe. She hadn’t had the pleasure, or rather displeasure, of meeting many of the other pack members. It was only a few like Tamara, Hector, and some others who came in to voice their opinions frequently. They always talked as if she wasn’t sitting right there. She had never said a bad thing about a werewolf before. Other than worries and a few annoyances, the coven leader, Hyacinthe had not said anything ill of them either. All of her hatred had been against the former pack leader, who was apparently nothing like Isaiah. Annalise got that gist from hearing how others did not like the way Isaiah was not following in his father's footsteps, that tyrannical legacy.

  “Isaiah!” she called, finally sick of looking Orson in the eyes. “Your brother is here.” What was sad, as Annalise looked him over, was that Orson was one of the hottest men she had ever laid eyes on. The man had an eight pack and an incredibly tanned skin tone despite that fact that the sun was not a frequent visitor in Olympia. His face was perfectly symmetrical, and his dark eyes and hair reminded her of old Hollywood stars like Clark Gable. It was a shame that Orson had no respect for anyone around him. He was lucky his brothers loved him so much or they would have disowned him for sure.