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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
In the Chains of the Alpha The Meeting
As if they weren’t having enough trouble within the city right now. Cal found he needed to up his security for the club and the packhouse behind it. Tara called it correctly. The day opened with breaking news about a pharmaceutical lab being raided. The media was ravenous for any information they could get. What alerted the authorities to this company, and it’s practices wasn’t a snitch. But they all out attack on the company and it’s over the top response. When human authorities took a cursory view, nothing added up and the list of illegal acts became apparent. No one, though, was prepared for the victims that were uncovered. These weren’t animals being experimented on, but what they at first thought were humans. Some were, but when the not quite human creatures surfaced, all out chaos hit the airwaves. Cal was sitting there in the meeting of the Toronto Council of Alphas, with NARC Ruling Council representation there watching as things un
In the Chains of the Alpha Day Planned Out
Tara woke up to Rachel standing over the bed, holding an armful of clothing. “Time to get up. We have training in less than an hour. I saw you were still asleep, so I grabbed some clothing suitable to training in from your closet and the shower is hot. Go get ready. Breakfast is light and waiting for when you get out.” “Training? Me? I don’t know a thing about fighting. Or even exercised in my life beyond running once or twice a month in my fur.” “Well, then it’s more than time for you to learn. Seriously, I’m thanking whoever set up fate to make you cross through the door of the club. That pack you belonged to did you a great disservice. Now come on, time is ticking.” She dropped the clothes on the end of the bed. “The personal shopper already dropped off everything you need, and it’s on the counter in the bathroom for you.” Rachel smiled as she left the room and let Tara actually have a moment to herself. It was a fleeting moment. Rachel would be back soon
In the Chains of the Alpha Training Day
“He’s what?!” Tara stepped past the trainer to look more closely at the wolves waiting in the enclosed space. The hedge hid them from prying eyes. Sure enough. There was her brother in a corner sulking. How long had he been here? Why was he here? Why hadn’t the alpha told her he’d shown up? “Eddie? Where have you been? What is going on? Why are you testing to train with this pack?” “Tara. Finally, well, funny you should ask that.” “No. I have instructions you aren’t allowed to speak to each other until he met certain criteria.” The trainer stepped between them before they could hug. “I’m sorry Luna. It’s part of his punishment, and hinges on his successful completion of the initial stages of training.” “What?” “He has to learn respect and prove he can follow through with something. The Alpha believes your brother here disrespected you time and again. He also set you up to end up in a position what you could have been killed on multiple occ
In the Chains of the Alpha It’s All In The Reputation
Eddie wasn’t any better at fighting than Tara was, and it didn’t give Tara any comfort. She’d consoled herself with the idea that he could. No wonder he ran first and called later. Tara had a lot of questions for the alpha when he returned. She waffled between three ways of getting her questions answered. First, she could get in his way and in his face, then demand he answered every question. Second, beg for the answers. Third and finally, try to leave this place. The thing that made her discount option three was the sudden unrest. People were looking for shifters and other supernatural creatures for many reasons. Most of those reasons weren’t friendly. She was glad Eddie was here and safe from the events happening on the streets. Eddie wasn’t allowed to go with her. Though the head of training promised he’d be safe, but the alpha’s judgement had stipulations on what he must achieve before they could reunite for any length of time. “Rachel, do you h
In the Chains of the Alpha New Job
Rachel watched the poor girl struggling. This wasn’t fair to her. Cal insisted she could handle learning the ropes of the club and pack business. What he failed to do was look at her critically. She told him she couldn’t do it job. It wasn’t because she wasn’t smart enough, but because she lacked the education and confidence to deal with the job. It was the connection between the person and the job. She couldn’t read properly, and it was having an effect on her performance. That would become yet another to work on with her. Rachel never found herself a mate, and she was fine with that. But she hated to watch the matings that weren’t exactly happy-ever-after. She often felt like she’d dodged a bullet not when it came to having a mate. Rachel wasn’t sure if this was just something that happened to the young or happened to everyone that found their mate. It’s part of the reason she took the role of Den Mother and Floor Manager. She was out there fixing this a
In the Chains of the Alpha Reality of Being Luna
Tara wanted to believe Rachel. She really did. But there were enough pack members giving her the evil eye to force her to call the alpha’s decisions about her into question. She’d heard someone behind her at one point say to another. “What makes her so special? She looks so ordinary.” Tara pretended not to hear them. But it was Abby who made her feelings know to anyone that would listen. She was angry because she believed the Alpha was hers to claim. Tara was in the way of Abby’s dreams to be the Luna. She accused Tara of being unfit for the position. Until the male who held the key to her chains put a stop to her tantrum, as he called it. He’d gone so fat as to threaten her with some punishment that Tara didn’t understand, but Abby did, and she’d not be on display until he said otherwise. “You won’t understand. Abby is an attention junkie. That’s why she was with Cal. He would display his sessions with her, and she ate up the eyes on her. Taking that away is like sen
In the Chains of the Alpha Meeting Results
Cal walked up the stairs from the basement behind the others, finally leaving the meeting. It’d been draining down there listening to the speculation versus the facts, the plans they made, and the plans NARC made that would change their lives. He would have to go home and change his reputation and how the public saw him. He’d fought hard and lobbied not to be put on display as an example of an upstanding wolf shifter and happily mated. Cal warned them that his mating was far too new to be stable as yet. The response came back quickly to him. Fix it fast. They had days. They needed to ensure that the Fae really had left the city and the surrounding area for everyone’s ease of mind and safety. The problem they dealt with was that evidence didn’t rule out rogue interference or Fae enslaving rogues to do their dirty work. The effort to bring in the lone packs, lone wolves, and rogues for their safety and survival started months ago. That effort
In the Chains of the Alpha Command Meeting
Tara sat in what everyone called her office. She felt like she was drowning in jobs and duties. There were traditions and etiquette she needed to adhere to when dealing with the pack members and the pack’s needs. Her body was exhausted, and she was developing a headache. Tara lay her head back on the chair and closed her eyes just for a moment. She was very aware of the slim collar around her throat, but she needed a brief rest. Just a little shuteye. A quick nap. “No sleeping on the job, dear. I just got a call. We have a staff meeting in as soon as Cal gets back.” Rachel poked her head into the room and announced this. Tara blinked and frowned. “Okay, but I’m not staff, so what has it got to do with me?” Rachel closed her eyes and touched her forehead with her delicate fingers. “Sorry. Staff meeting means it’s a meeting of the pack’s top level command structure. Alpha, Beta, Gamma.” “And?” “Luna falls under Alpha, dear. Cal will expect you a
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In the Chains of the Alpha Conclusion
One Year Later —Tara sat out on the poach behind the packhouse with a laptop open to a spreadsheet. She and Emily were working out the next year’s budget and the projects they’d tackle.With Emily looking after the club while they were up here. It was interesting, to say the least.Tara gave birth on schedule. It was about the only thing that was on schedule these days, and Cal was sitting on a blanket on the grass with one-year-old Natalie Nichols. The apple of her daddy’s eye. She had him wrapped around her little finger and he’d have it no other way.Eddie and his Lycan girlfriend were now running the kitchens here for Rachel. They’d mated and, well… Tara expected to hear that they’d have pups soon enough.Jaxon, well, he was back in the city. Tara wasn’t sure what was happening with him. Cal wouldn’t speak of it. But Jaxon took a leave of absence from his position for a bit. Tara wasn’t receiving the full story. But as far as she could tell. Jaxon may have two mates. One wasn’t d
In the Chains of the Alpha New Territory New Commitment
Five Months Later —Tara felt like the size of a house. She propped her ankles up on her desk and she had to eat her fries with no salt. It wasn’t the same, nothing tasted the same. The poking from inside was regular now and she couldn’t wait for the last six weeks to go by. She’d been six weeks pregnant when her symptoms started and since then, if it wasn’t one symptom, it was another. Tara would be more than happy for these little monsters to enter the world.Cal was everywhere and nowhere, it seemed. He told her to clear her calendar today because he wanted to show her their new territory. The thought of trudging out there was exhausting to her. But she’d do it because he was just so insistent. He promised they’d stay the night out there and come back the next day at a leisurely pace.“You ready to go?”“Yes, I just don’t understand why we have to do this now. When all I want to do is take a nap.”“You can nap in the vehicle on the way. Don’t worry, I’ve packed everything we need a
In the Chains of the Alpha Telling Cal
Tara could feel the ball of conflicting emotions rolling about in her head and her belly. She had a new life inside her. No matter what, she’d never be alone again. But how did she explain all of this to them when the time came?How should she explain this to Cal? He had to be expecting this. Look at the second floor. She didn’t like it necessarily. Their pups living completely separately from us with someone else looking after them. Why hadn’t they spoken about this before?Tara’s eyes closed as the elevator dinged and opened. She’d not thought that it was important before this because she wasn’t pregnant, and they didn’t have any pups. Now she thought of it.This morning, Cal was gone before she got out of bed. This was a day she didn’t train, because there were other things she needed to get done. Which, of course, didn’t get done? A few steps brought her to Cal’s office over the club.She knocked and entered when she received the okay to enter. Tara lucked out because Cal was alon
In the Chains of the Alpha The Verdict is
David Monroe struggle with the enforcer training. His heart wasn’t in it and his skills lay in other places, but everyone lumped him in with the other male Lycans because he was a Lycan. He’d exhausted almost every avenue trying to explain to them he’d rather be patching people up and treating pups with fevers. While he was moping during a break, his phone rang, and it surprised him to see that Emily’s name came up on his phone. “Hello, Emily. What’s wrong? Why are you calling?” He couldn’t think of a reason she could be calling him for, but any chance he got to speak with her was better than nothing. “I’ll tell you, but you have to be very careful with what you say. No one can know why you’re about to be ordered to the Luna’s office. What we need you to do, is slip out of the packhouse. If anyone asks, you’re running an errand for the Luna. That’s it nothing more. What you need to do is go to the closest pharmacy and pick up a pregnancy kit. Come back here
In the Chains of the Alpha No One Prepared Her for a Morning Like This
Again, Tara was up late the next morning. Cal was determined he wouldn’t let her feel like he neglected anything about her. From sympathizing with her, to how her emotions were toward absolutely everything, and he didn’t forget to include planning their future together.Well, he talked, and she mostly listened. What he said wasn’t bad. Tara didn’t have a problem with any of his ideas. She didn’t have much to add or at this time have an emotional connection to any of it.Now, though, Tara needed to get her day going, and she felt like something that had been dredged from a swampy pond. It took only minutes for Emily, her newest staff member, to realize there was something wrong with Tara.“If we had a cat, I’d say you look like the latest thing it dragged home. When will we see you going to a healer?” Emily eagerly asked Tara as she returned from her latest flight to the bathroom. Tara looked at her with an expression of exhaustion.“I’m fine and I’m not planning ongoing to see one.” S
In the Chains of the Alpha A Clue to Follow
“Stone dear, you know I love you. I’m your mate and partner in life. I have always advised you about everything honestly and in your best interest.” Elaine still quietly sat in the sitting room and calmly spoke to Stone. The others had slowly filtered out to go on with their day or to watch their guests leave. “Of course you are, and you have.” Stone looked out the window and watched the vehicles leave. Elaine could see he was distracted by what was going on and his own thoughts. “Then why are you being an ass and not listening to anything I say now?” She let her irritation slip into her voice and she dryly responded to him. Her annoyance was obvious. Stone’s instincts instantly alerted him to the fact that not all was good between himself and his mate. Over the years, that instinct helped him avoid many different disasters from exploding in his face when it came to their relationship. “I’m listening Ellie. I’ve always listened.” “Then explain to me if you listened to me, then why
In the Chains of the Alpha The Trip Home
No one said much of anything on the way home. The privacy divider between the front of the vehicle and the back raised then never went down. Cal pulled Tara to him and sat her in his lap. He didn’t do anything more but let her soak up his warmth and strength. He buried his head into her neck and hair. The smell of the wool sweater mixed with the natural spice of her scent. He instantly felt his aggressive feelings smooth out and gentle. It’d been difficult watching her get so wound up from it all. Tara sat there, and all but purred. As their vehicle made slow progress through traffic, it’s darkened windows gave them the privacy that Cal didn’t care, Tara turned and straddled his lap instead. She didn’t do anything more than that. But his body felt her skirt hike up and he groaned, knowing how naughty she was instinctively gravitating to for comfort. That wasn’t what their mating would ever be based on. He’d never satisfy his needs while she was seek
In the Chains of the Alpha Parting Words
Kole wanted to get back to the gathering as quickly as possible. He didn’t want any misunderstandings between anyone, let alone the two packs. There was no way he’d explain to the pack that their beloved elder and ex-alpha alienated his first born grand pup with blind stubbornness, hateful questions, and fear. That wouldn’t be happening today or any day. Kole wouldn’t risk fighting with Cal. How would it look when the Council of Alphas met? His father always forgot about that. Though the council of alphas didn’t exist during his time in control of the pack. He’d been a forward thinker of his time and moved his pack to a territory that was being noticed by the local humans. It meant he could settle their businesses in, and those humans would see those businesses as founding members of the business community. “Let’s go back down now and please be nice to her. She’s so much like Heather and you wouldn’t talk to Heather that way. Just apologize and let mother do
In the Chains of the Alpha Making Things Clear as Stone to Stone
“That’s my third pup there and his mate. Your uncle, Stephen, and his mate, Ariel. Their grown pups, Erin, and Eric. That about covers your living family here, dear. Everyone sit please. Stone has created enough excitement and drama for one day. She has a sweet soul. Stephen, treat her like you would your sister and don’t act like your father if you know what’s good for you. As for the doghouse, it’s an old guard shack that’s been turned into a bunkhouse for single wolves who, for one reason or another, don’t want to make the trip all the way back to their homes to sleep. It’s affectionately called the doghouse because often there’s trouble between the few mated wolves that stay there.” “Oh, good grief. That’s horrible.” “Oh, don’t think your grandfather hasn’t stayed there a time or two. Though these days he’s more likely to use a guest apartment.” Tara looked over the tissue at Elaine with a shocked expression. “You’re joking.” “No, I’m n
