CHAPTER 1

The sun rose over the horizon and as it passed through the casement windows of Jane's room, it poured in saturated and golden ray of sunlight into her room.

A sleeping lady tossed and turned to face the window where the sun was coming in from and cracked her eyes open. The sunbeams hit her azure eyes, making it look translucent under the ray of morning as it contracted. Immediately, she closed her eyes and turned away from the window so that the sun rays hit her bare back. She slid her legs down and climbed out of bed.

Still backing the window, Jane raised her slender arms and stretched her body while yawning. Her jet black her swished, following her movements.

Without thinking, she began to walk towards her bathroom, mentally deciding to leave the thick drapes open till the house maid came in and closed them. She did not have the time to face the morning light. It was nerve wracking for her.

As she stood before the mirror glued to the wall and above the wash hand basin, she rubbed her sleepy face and sighed.

Today was the last day of her mourning and she wouldn't be wearing black anymore. Completing sixty days of mourning hadn't been an easy task. Having to go through daily sadness and thoughts about her late father hadn't been nice on her and as she dumped all her black dressing into the wastebasket, she swore never to wear anything that had a touch of black anymore. It would always remind her of her father and she hated to remember. 

Few months before the death of Alpha Hamilton, Jane had gone through a series of stress in order to make him well. Several witch doctors and healers had been brought to heal him from the plague that he had been affected with to no avail. 

Firstly, she had no idea where it came from. Her father had returned one evening from a trip with a high fever and every attempt to put an end to it was futile. His body defied treatment and this was really discouraging. 

It got to a point that the healers and witch doctors refused coming to their mansion to check on the sick Alpha. They all feared that they would contact it, so it was Jane left with her father.

For a good amount of six months, Jane was the one to take care of her sick father and it took a great deal of strength and dedication for her to watch him deteriorate.

Many nights, she had stayed in bed crying till her pillows got wet, crying till sleep left her eyes and she stared at her ceiling all night long, wishing that the next morning, she would meet her loving father awake and strong.

But every morning, she would go to his chambers and he would look sicker than the previous day. It was not encouraging at all and at times, when she would want to give up, the maid who was also a very close friend of hers would always be there to encourage her to keep going.

Mathilde was her only strength at those moments. 

Think of the devil and he would appear.

Jane heard the shuffling of footsteps in her room and she knew it was Mathilde.

"Mathilde?"  Jane called out from the bathroom.

"Morning, Jane." Mathilde called back. "You're awake early today." 

"Yeah, I am." Jane replied, picking up her toothbrush. She switched on the tap and washed the bristles before applying toothpaste on it. "I am excited for today. I am taking up duties as the Alpha of this pack and I should live the position of one."

From the room, Mathilde smiled. "Yeah, that's right. After weeks of rites of passage, I think today is going to be a good day. Yesterday was the last day of your mourning. Are you good?"

Was she good?

Jane stared at her self into the mirror. She looked quite alright. Her face had color, her eyes were bright, she was smiling and there were no tear streaks from last night on her eyes. So, she accepted that she was good. All was good, wasn't it?

She finally replied after several seconds of rumination. "Yeah, I am good. I feel energized and new this morning and I know it's going to be a good thing."

"Of course, my dear friend. Today is going to be a good day." Mathilde replied.

Mathilde was no longer in her room once Jane stepped out of the bathroom. Jane shrugged. They were going to see later this evening like they always did.

Letting her towel drop to the polished wooden floors, Jane stepped towards her vanity table where she performed her morning routine. She took her time, massaging her whole body with essential oils and taking in the wonderful essences into her nostrils and her skin. Jane wanted to smell nice and look good today. She was done mourning and looking like she had stayed in the bushes for the whole of her life.

Once she was done, she went into her walk-in closet to pick out her attire for the day.

She avoided every black outfit in her closet and went for the greys. Even if they represented gloom, it wasn't black. In the past, black had been her favorite color and it dominated her closet, but today, she was going to go with the ashes and the sages.

So, she picked out a sage green halter top and grey pants. Yes, they were a good match of dull toned colors. She would pair it with brown sandals and the only black thing on her body would be her hair.

Once Jane was done dressing up, she went straight to her floor to ceiling mirror and stood before it, studying her outfit. 

Jane chuckled in accomplishment. She wasn't much of a fashion person, but today's outfit turned out to be good. Classic and basic at the same time. She liked it. 

Her blue eyes brightened the dullness of her outfit and once she was done, she clapped her hands, feeling oddly happy and at peace. 

Today, she would finally take up her duties as the Alpha of Blue Creek Pack. For starters, she was a bit nervous as to how people would take the news of a woman being the Alpha of the Blue Creek. It was something that rarely happened and that was if it had ever happened.

In the history of Blue Creek Pack, no female had taken the place of an Alpha and Jane would be the first person to take up that position. She just hoped the people would feel right with it.

So, as she stepped out her room, she walked straight downstairs. Her door was left unlocked and that was how it had always been since the death of her father. Of all the four servants in the mansion Mathilde was the only person who had the right to be in her room without Jane's permission. 

Mathilde was standing at the porch, waiting for Jane to come out of the mansion and as soon as she saw her friend, she beamed. 

"Oh my! Don't you look breathtaking this morning?" Mathilde complimented, taking in Jane's outfit. 

Jane smiled. "I look good, don't I?" 

Mathilde nodded. "Of course you do. It's also surprising that you picked out your outfit yourself. Really surprising. I was expecting to see blacks and ashes on you, but you surprised me with browns and sages."

Jane shrugged. "Change of interest. I do not find black interesting anymore. In fact, that's my worst color now."

Mathilde understood why Jane hated the color and she did not emphasize on it. "So, everyone's waiting at the town hall. They're curious as to why you called for an assembly."

"Well, I am out to shock everyone this morning." Jane said feeling cocky for a moment. "Will you be there?"

Mathilde shook her head. "Sadly, I won't. I have to do a lot of things. And also, assist Tiffany. A lot of people will be coming over for the celebration of your position as the Alpha of the pack so we have to set up everywhere."

Jane did not like the idea of a lot of people at the mansion. She loved her privacy and she wasn't like her father who loved to be around a lot of people. She loved being alone, but what could she do? 

Absolutely nothing. 

Today was a different day, so she was going to allow it.

And as she was about to drive away, she called out to Mathilde who still stood on the porch steps, instructing her to lock the door to her father's chambers.

Mathilde nodded in understanding and Jane revved up her engine before she zoomed away. 

Mathilde smiled as she watched Jane's car cruise to a stop while she waited for the gateman to open up the gates to let her car out.

"This reign will be a monumental one."