Chapter 3: Meeting With Dad - Amelia

After training I run to the dining hall, fill up a plate with as much food from the buffet as I can, grab a bottle of apple juice and race to my father’s office. We wolves burn off calories super-fast thanks to fast metabolisms, so we need to eat a lot for energy and right now I’m desperate to get some food in me, but I need to talk to my dad. So I decide I can snack on this while we have our meeting and then I’ll go back down for more later.

I reach dad’s office and I hit the buzzer next to the door. The majority of the rooms in the packhouse are soundproof. It’s hard to have private meetings or be intimate when people with super hearing are all over the place, so soundproofing is pretty necessary, but that also means me knocking is pointless and him yelling ‘come in’ is equally pointless. So you have two options, use the pack-link for entry or use the buzzer that is installed in every room. The buzzer makes a knocking sound, so it at least has the illusion of someone knocking.

Cool right? I know, I’m the one who came up with it when I was sixteen.

After a few seconds, my dad’s office door clicks and automatically opens allowing me to step in. I close it behind me as I see my dad release the button under his desk that opens the door. Gotta love technology. I walk over and put my plate and juice on his desk, walk around and kiss his cheek.

“Morning daddy,” I say cheerily. He beams up at me and kisses my cheek in return.

“Good morning, sweetheart. James told me how fantastic you were during the obstacle course this morning. Not that I’m surprised,” he says proudly making me grin.

“Not what I was expecting, but I had a lot of fun,” I tell him as I sit down and start eating. “I was thinking Tyson should incorporate more courses like that during future training sessions. Courses that force us to focus on specific senses,” I add. Dad smiles at me with a thoughtful look on his face.

Alpha Elias Dolivo is not just my dad and the Alpha of the Invictus Pack, he’s my idol and he’s been my greatest cheerleader since before I was even born. Dad is forty-eight years old, has blonde hair styled with a buzz cut, is 6’5” with chestnut eyes and off-white skin. Dad still works out like crazy so he’s just solid muscle from head to toe, which is pretty common for Alphas. I got my hair colour and my personality from my dad, the rest I got from my mum.

“It’s good to hear you thinking about how you want to handle the pack once you take over from me. I take it you’ve decided who to name as your council then,” he inquires, and I nod as I swallow some sausage.

“Vitali will be named as my Beta, Tyson as my Gamma and Chris as my Delta,” I say confidently.

“Excellent choices. And thank you for not selecting Ryker as your Beta,” he says with relief.

“I’d rather suck on lupine thanks,” I say while wrinkling my nose. My dad laughs then sighs shaking his head.

“I don’t know what is with that boy. He’s nothing like his father, not that he has to be, but he reminds me so much of his grandmother,” he shudders.

“Maybe if Beta Declan hadn’t spoiled him he’d have turned out different,” I say belligerently. Honestly, Beta Declan isn’t that great either, he just hides it better.

“Now, about your elevation,” he says rubbing his face, and I can see how tense he is.

“You’re not getting cold feet are you?” I ask nervously.

“Absolutely not,” he scoffs. “I’ve already booked my first vacation with your mother,” he winks.

“Oh I see, promote me then ditch me. Thanks a lot,” I chuckle.

“Precisely,” he grins. “But in all seriousness, you know I’ll be forced to ask if anyone chooses to challenge you for the position of Alpha,” He says carefully, and I nod.

While becoming Alpha is in your blood, the system does have to have a modicum of fairness to it. So during the ceremony, anyone can challenge me for the Alpha position, and we must fight to the death – though many civilised wolves just allow the opponent to tap out – whoever wins will get the job. Sounds harsh but we’re wolves, this is just how it works.

Besides, do you want someone around who ultimately wants to get rid of you? Cause I don’t.

“I fear we may have a few challenges,” he sighs.

“A few? As in more than one?” I ask in surprise. He nods with disgust; he’s not happy about this. Again all because I’m a woman.

My parents are strong believers in our creator Morrtemis, our sovereignty-goddess. We even have a temple on our pack lands dedicated to her. Having such strong beliefs in our great Goddess is why they’ve been preparing me to be Alpha since I was born. They believe the Goddess doesn’t make mistakes and if she blessed them with a daughter, it was for a reason; for me to lead the pack in a new era and not so I can be dealt off and become some Alpha’s Luna. Which is grossly common among other packs. The point is my parents believe that things happen for a reason, and so they never questioned for a second that I should be Alpha. Sadly not everyone thinks that way.

Just think over the logic of my species for a moment.

We worship a female deity, the mother of our species. There are many Gods and Goddesses, but she was known for being a fierce warrior who took no prisoners on the battlefield. She showed little mercy to her enemies but would move heaven and hell for those she loved. We honour her, we celebrate her, we exalt her name and yet my species still refuses to acknowledge that a woman can be Alpha. Hypocritical much?

“Amelia, I’ve seen you fight; I know what a strong fighter you are, and I believe you can take on anyone who challenges you. Even those who have trained alongside you underestimate you. I think that once you take out your first challenger the others – assuming they aren’t over-confident – will back off,” he hypothesises.

“We can only hope,” I say with a gentle smile as I take another bite of food. “It’ll be okay, dad, I’m not scared. I’ve got this,” I reassure him as I reach out and squeeze his hand as he squeezes mine back.

I’m digging into my food when dad goes still, indicating he’s getting a link from someone. When his face breaks out into a goofy grin I know what that means, and I can’t help but smile. Dad at wolf speed – which is pretty damn fast – bolts to the door swinging it open and pulls my mother into his office. He kicks the door shut as he dips her giving her a long kiss. She giggles and holds his face returning his kiss.

My parents have been together since she was eighteen and he was twenty but even now they still act like lovesick teenagers, and I couldn’t be happier for them. I hope I have that one day.

Wolves age a lot slower than humans, so both my parents still look in their twenties. My mother is still a beauty. She’s 5’8” like me, with waist-length auburn hair and these amazing turquoise eyes that she so kindly gave to me. She’s naturally very white-skinned but she spends a lot of time in the sun, so she has more of a natural tan now.

She always dresses elegantly; she’s wearing a maroon chiffon wrap-around dress with sleeves and a V-neck that shows a tasteful amount of cleavage – probably for dad’s benefit – and paired that with black leather pointed two knee-high boots. My dad is more a mix of casual and formal, he always pairs slacks with a stretch t-shirt and dress shoes. Quite the hunky look.

I just realised his brown pants and maroon shirt coordinate with mum’s outfit, and I wonder if it’s intentional or after all these years that’s just how in sync they are.

They’re still kissing and now I’m just feeling awkward, so I clear my throat and slowly dad breaks their kiss and pulls them both up, still staring at her like she’s the only woman in the world.

“Keep that up Elias and I’ll forget why I came here,” my mum chastises.

“I thought you came to see me,” he pouts making me roll my eyes.

“You’re a bonus, my love,” she says kissing his pout and walking over and giving me a big hug.

“Oh good, you noticed me.” I tease as I smile and hug her back. She softly smacks my arm.

“Your father has already gushed to me about your performance on the course today, I wish I had seen it,” she tells me.

“I’ll buzz you for the next one,” I promise. She nods and sits down next to me in front of dad’s desk.

I love dad’s office, so much I don’t plan to change anything about it. It’s all wood and deep browns with cream accents. Dad’s large mahogany desk is opposite the door with a large white plush desk chair behind it with a large window behind him with wooden shutters. There’s a lovely nook along the left wall that is flanked by bookshelves on either side. The nook is five glass panels that form a sort of semi-dodecagon shape also with wooden shutters and in that nook against the window are two white cushioned armchairs sitting side by side with a small high circular table between them against the window with a small lamp. Two white cushioned arm-chairs sit in front of my father’s desk and along the right wall is a long four-person white sofa flanked by two bookshelves, with a light brown wooden coffee table in front of the sofa. The entire floor is covered with a white rug with gold and brown accents.

The room is cosy and sophisticated and in just a week it’s going to be mine.

My mother reaches out taking my hand giving me a soft look.

“Just one more week, how are you feeling? Nervous?” she asks softly while patting my hand.

“If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that, I’d have the pack financially set for life,” I say rolling my eyes. Dad sniggers as he takes his seat.

“I shall stop asking then,” she says with a smile. “Now we have everything arranged for your birthday party. The training ground is being completely converted and the staff are making the final decisions on the menu, which you will need to give final approval on, and the whole pack knows to set their calendars. Also, Torie has graciously offered to DJ for your party,” she announces enthusiastically and my face splits into a grin.

“No way, that’s fantastic! Thank you so much,” I exclaim.

 Torie is an Omega, a warrior and our pack’s best tracker. Seriously her nose has us all beat, but on top of all that Torie is the best DJ around. She makes most of her money working at a human club in the city, but she’s often requested by other packs for parties since she’s that talented and doesn’t charge insane fees. So having her DJ my party is fantastic news.

“Don’t thank me, as I said, she offered. Now since we’re having your Alpha ceremony the day after your birthday instead of on your birthday we will have the training field cleared in time for in case…” she trails off glancing uncomfortably towards my dad. I sigh and give her hands a reassuring squeeze.

“In case of challenges. I know, dad told me. It’s going to be okay, don’t stress.” This makes her frown.

“You can ask me to not stress about a lot of things, but don’t ever expect me not to stress and worry about the safety of my only pup,” she scowls, and I give her a sympathetic smile.

“I know, I’m sorry,” I say kissing her cheek.

“Are you sure you don’t want a formal ceremony?” she sighs. “An Alpha ceremony has always been a formal event,” she says trying once again to persuade me to change my mind.

“Mum, we’ve talked about this. The ceremony will be traditional but in a casual setting. Me being challenged is inevitable whether we like it or not and I’m not going through all the effort of doing hair and make-up and squeezing into a dress just to have to ruin it all by stripping down and shifting. It’s just easier if everyone can dress casually, it’ll make shifting easier too,” I explain.

“She’s right, Fleur. I think the pack will appreciate it and it doesn’t hurt to win some brownie points with them early on,” He says winking at me making me giggle.

“I suppose you’re right. A cookout was a good idea, besides there’s always the Vernal Ball next month,” she smiles cheekily.

“Oh, I have made some notes regarding the ball. I have them in my binder in my room. I’ll get them after this and then we can go over them,” I say. Mum claps her hands excitedly.

The Vernal Ball is a mutolupus ball held during the Vernal Equinox every year. Packs alternate every year on who will host it and this year it’s Invictus’ turn. It’s a time for packs to come together and bring some of their of age – eighteen and over – members in hopes of finding their animai.

You see an animai is someone who has been created and chosen by the Goddess Zarseti to be your soulmate. When the Gods began creating different beings, wars tended to break out – they still do, but they were worse then – so to establish peace and bring species together, Zarseti created animais. You can find them once you come of age and when you do an otherworldly bond is formed. You could be fated to anyone; your own species or another. Either way, they are the perfect person to complete you, they become your world; the very air you need to breathe.

So these balls are a good chance to see if people can find their soulmate. You’re not one hundred per cent guaranteed to find them since there is a chance they may not be a member of your species, but statistically, chances are they will be. My mum and dad are each other’s animai, so are Tyson and Evalyn.

The balls also boost morale and encourage inter-pack relations. The Vernal Equinox is when the sun is exactly above the equator and day and night are of equal length. Sun and moon, day and night in complete harmony, the perfect time to bring packs and souls together.

“Maybe you’ll finally meet your animai this year,” my mum says, her voice dripping with glee. Mum’s a big romantic and loves to gush about soulmates, not just her own but soulmates in general. She’s been excited about me finding mine since I turned eighteen, but a quick glance at my father tells me he and I are still apprehensive.

Don’t misunderstand, dad wants me to find my animai, and so do I. Finding your animai is the greatest thing that can happen to us, and some spend their lives searching for theirs.

My pack views the bond between animais as sacred and take them very seriously. To disrespect it in any way is a crime in most packs, ours included. That may sound harsh, but if you knew the damage it can do to someone having the bond broken or abused, you’d understand. That being said, dad and I are both concerned as to how my animai might react when he finds out I’m an Alpha.

“Don’t think like that. He will love us; we are made for each other. No one will be better for him than us and vice versa,” Zara whines in my head, but I can still hear the nerves underneath. I send her some extra comfort through our bond. I don’t want her worrying.

We’re casually discussing more details regarding my birthday, my Alpha ceremony, and the Vernal Ball when I’m interrupted by a link.

“Hey Amelia, where are you?” asks Chris.

“In a meeting with mum and dad. Is everything alright? You weren’t at training this morning,” I say with concern.

“I couldn’t leave Mei,” he sighs. “Think you can stop by our suite after your meeting?” he asks gently, but there’s a tone of pleading. I internally scoff. As if I’d say no.

“I’m going to grab a shower after the meeting and then I’ll come to your suite. I don’t want to stink up your room,” I tease to lighten the mood. He chuckles.

“Much appreciated,” he chuckles. “See you soon.”

And with that, he closes the link, allowing me to focus back on what mum and dad are saying.