ALPHA PRIME MAGAZINE JUNE 15th, 202X ALPHA SYLVESTER (SLY) STERLING is the CEO of STERLING INCORPORATED and the current ALPHA of the SILVER CRESCENT PACK. INTERVIEWER: Tell me, Alpha Sylvester, how does it feel running the biggest pack on the West Coast without a permanent Luna? ALPHA SLY: Please, call me Sly. And It feels liberating, Joe. INTERVIEWER: But don't you miss the constant companionship that having a true Luna brings. ALPHA SLY: Not at all. INTERVIEWER: You've been using Rental Lunas since the break up of your marriage to ALPHA LUNA Alexis Greystone 6 years ago? ALPHA SLY: That is correct. INTERVIEWER: You two were once seen as the power couple on the West Coast. She was the daughter of the previous alpha, correct? Everyone thought you'd be together forever. ... ALPHA SLY: Except for her... INTERVIEWER: Do you care to explain...?
[Apple]I don’t remember much of the rest of the day. Beta Rudy carried me out of the office and brought me back to the apartment. I vaguely remember Hazel helping me into some borrowed pajamas right before she handed me a large cup of cocoa and tucked me underneath a large comforter on a small but cozy bed. The next morning I was almost my old self again.There’s a note on the nightstand. “Rudy called. He says you can take a day off of work.”Thank Goddess.Looking over at my phone, I check the date and time and a calendar message reminds me I need to sign up for classes. I haven’t paid yet, and I can’t sign up for classes until I pay. And even though I haven’t quit yet, I have no plans of going back to collect my check. Ugh! “What am I going to do?” I ask Hazel as I eat some leftover pizza from the night before. “I need the money, but there is no way I can go back to that place. It was terrible.” “Alpha Sly feels very protective of you. Alphas are possessive by nature, but the
Against my better judgment, I take his hand. It is warm and soft and as he guides me. I feel a rush of tingles that move along my fingertips into my arm and settle into my heart. His natural scent, like warm nights under the stars, soothes my nerves even as I tremble anxiously. He gives me a small close-lip smile. "Shall we go?"I nod, my throat dry, my heart beating rapidly against the cage of my chest. Following him back to his car I look up to see Hazel watching the street diligently. She waves and I decide to forgive her for being the type of person to push me out the door for a coffee date with a dangerously handsome beast. Sylvester opens the passenger side, and I buckle my seatbelt with shaking hands, still not convinced that this is a good idea. My body reacts strongly to him, a bit too strongly as I cross my legs, an uncomfortable heat building in my core. We drive in silence and I watch the neighborhoods change into densely populated urban spaces and then slowly melt away
[Apple]My heart is racing. "Both?""If you take this position," the alpha explains, "We can find a way to make sure both of our needs are met. Lunas often have side interests, and many go back to school to study a passion," he continues. "Work with me, and we can figure this out together."His face is so earnest, so sincere, that I almost say yes.Almost."Thank you, Alpha Sterling, for the nice morning," I take a step back and his face falls just before it grows cold and hard, hiding away the gentle softness from a moment ago. "It has been nice getting to know you a little better." As I walk away, I feel his eyes follow me, stalking me, hunting me. When I look over my shoulder, his eyes are smoldering, burning with inner heat as he crosses his arms, as if they were the only thing keeping him from rushing forward, seizing me, and taking me back with him wherever it is he goes at the end of the day. And part of me wants him to do just that. Walking in a daze, I somehow make it bac
[Apple]“Your apartment?” I shake my head, confused. “But then where does Hazel live?”“Here with me of course,” he laughs. “Where else would she live?”I feel like I’m at the butt of some terrible joke. Did Hazel set me up to be embarrassed by her boyfriend? Did she lie to me and tell me this is her place with roommates?“The question is,” he finds his keys and holds them up, “Is why you are here. A strange girl in my apartment. Alone.” He tilts his head to the side. “I mean I guess I could just hold you here until you tell me the truth,” he smirks. The young man reaches around me and shuts the door and for a brief moment, our faces are only a couple of inches apart. The smell of crushed leaves and fresh rain wraps around me like a cloak just before he steps back. With his hands on his hips, he looks me up and down. “Are you really Hazel’s friend, or are you here for another reason?”“I have no idea what you are implying,” I stand straighter, finding a bit of courage. “And I don’t
[Apple] Within minutes of meeting the two beautiful young women who run the establishment, I had a part-time gig working the night shift at a catering company along with Hazel, who also works with them on major gigs. We have a big job tonight, and I’m promised that the tips are excellent. When they heard I had waitressing experience, they decided to assign me to work as an assistant bartender. “Oh, you are so lucky!” Hazel squeed with envy. “Bartenders get the biggest tips!” While the pay isn’t as good as Rental Luna, it will help me pay the bills and save a bit to eventually pay Alpha Sterling back for his generosity. With a new spring in my step, I feel hope for the first time in a long time. Hazel is like the sister I always wish I had. I’ve only known her for a couple of days, but I can already feel myself bonding to her as our friendship grows deeper. Until meeting her, I didn’t realize you could learn to care for someone so quickly. “So this is the biology department,”
[Sylvester][EARLIER TODAY]My eyes stalk her as she enters her apartment. The street smells of piss and shit, angry witches, and tired humans. It is a vile pit of a neighborhood near the waterfront in an area ripe for redevelopment. "We need to drag her back to the packhouse," Rufus insists. "This place isn't good enough for our Luna." "She isn't our Luna," I remind him. "Even if she chooses to sign the contract." "She is too our Luna," he snaps back, "Even if you refuse to recognize it. She is ours," he growls. "Mine." Rufus refuses to listen to reason. It doesn't matter how many times I say that she's too young, too weak, and far too human, he is insistent that I am wrong. But I can't have a human mate. No matter how good she smells.I take one last look at her apartment window, her gaze pulling my attention upwards. She is frowning, her brow furrowed.Sighing, I turn towards the harbor and begin my slow march back to the office. She'll come around, I'm certain. The offer I'm
[Apple] The only warning we receive is the flash of his glowing blue eyes. Faster than I’ve ever seen any man run, Sylvester Sterling crosses the distance from the shadows to our apartment stoop as a gracefully dynamic force, grabbing Hawthorne by the collar and slamming him into the wall near the door. “She is MINE!” he growls, his eyes glowing brightly enough to cast my friend’s face in harsh relief, deepening the shadows and highlighting the fear in Thorne’s eyes. “Alpha, stop!” I shout but it’s no use. Whoever is in charge, it isn’t Sylvester Sterling, even if he is dressed like him. “He’s my friend.”“He is an interloper,” his fangs elongate as he tilts his head to the side. “An invader. An enemy. You are MY Luna. MINE. He may not touch what is mine.”"Sylvester, look at me." The wolf turns his head towards me and his eyes slowly begin to dim. "Please listen. We are just friends. This isn't what you think it is..."“MINE.” The word is spoken with so much force that I can alm
[Sylvester]As she takes his hand and they walk up the stairs together, my stomach sinks and my heart feels like it has stopped. As I move towards the car, my leaden legs resist moving away from the place where I held her in my arms, the smell of our mixed scents calming me, relaxing something deep within. “We need to go get her,” Rufus insists. “She needs us.” “Maybe she doesn’t need us” I push back, “Maybe we are the ones who need her.”My phone rings. It’s the council. I don’t want to answer it, but I know that if I don’t they’ll make trouble for me one way or the other. Their message for me is brief, curt, and on the nose. They have a solution to all my problems. I just need to present myself IMMEDIATELY to receive their justice. Well damn. Calling Rudy, I asked him to pick me up and to bring the file he prepared earlier today. "We need to convince them that Apple is our best option," I explain.Rudy sends a car and the ride is silent as I make my way back to Sterling Inc. I'm
[Alexis]The news was broadcast across the city as soon as the conclave of elders was done casting their votes. “It is time that we as wolves took a step towards a brighter future,” Alpha Emeritus Alphonso Greybeard announced, his long hair framing his dignified face for all of wolfkind to view on their screens. “Which is why with a majority vote the council of Elder Alphas have chosen Sylvester Sterling of Silver Crescent Pack to lead us as the next Alpha King.” A cheer could be heard reverberating across the city. It wouldn't have mattered who had won--there would have been cheering just to see a selection had been made. And yet, if you were to pick any wolf out of those in the running based on intelligence, ambition, and charm, Sly was an easy choice. "He was born to it," Alanna agrees in my mind, her chest puffing with pride. "He was born to be king." "He was born a rogue," I shoot back silently. "My father made him a prince." "And you were his princess," she reminds me, sull
[Sylvester]Oh Goddess, what a mess we’ve made of things. My mate…I should have left her alone when I met her all those months ago as a terrified girl from a small town. She’s have been safer with her witch friends, learning about her powers, and growing fully into the bloom of womanhood, without having a political nightmare forced upon her. She’s still so young. Twenty-three. When I was her age, I was a new alpha married to the pack princess still figuring out what my world was all about. Apple is still discovering her destiny, and now she’s Luna Queen. How will I keep her safe now? “Sylvester,” her small voice sounds exhausted. She’s been through so much. Too much considering she’s carrying our pup. “What are we going to do.” That’s a good question. “We’re going to keep her by our side and protect her,” Rufus growls. “You’re their King. She’s their Queen. We need to keep her close to keep her safe.” “If they find out I’m a witch…” her small fists grasp the edges of her dress n
[Apple}"What's my surprise," I try to keep my voice light, even though the joy from the square is quickly dissipating from my system as the weight of what had happened just before sinks into my bones. The hybrids in the witch war, the hate of the people watching Sly speak, the words of the witch in the shop, "I don't do abortions. You're too far along..." Two months, this sweet little life has been trying to show me she's here for two months and I missed it. And now this little life needs me to keep her safe, to keep both her and her father safe. I need to leave to save my family. Pulling over, Sly takes my hand and places it on his chest. "What is it, Apple?""We'ren't heading towards your surprise," I change the subject away from my feelings, not sure how I to say what I need to say.His lips turn downward as a small crease of worry forms between his eyes."The museum, did you know that your father-in-law paid to have it built?"He nods, not surprised. "He had a lot of influence
[Alexis]"Where are you going, Apple? Where have you been?"Hunched in the back of the crowd, I cover my face with a hat as I watch her scamper into a dark alley. My connection, Willow, will arrive any moment now with evidence that will destroy this weak bitch once and for all. She's got a secret. I can tell. A woman knows when another one is trying to hide something shameful. Whatever Apple's up to, she doesn't want anyone else to know.Which means, of course, that I must know everything she's been up to. Every small detail. Looking over my shoulder, I keep my face blank as she follows Sly into a luxury rental. I don't think she saw me. Not that it matters. There's nothing she can do. I know at least one of her secrets, one that can tear everything down if the public finds out. "I'm sorry, Sly. But everyone needs to know the truth about her. Especially you." Dipping into the shadows of the alleyway, I find what must have been her destination. An apothecary shop. Turning the han
[Apple]The faint echo of her words shakes the branches of my mind as my feet, rooted in place, level me frozen, unmoving and staring at the witch before me unblinkingly as my heart and lungs fight to settle.With just a handful of words, everything I knew to be true about me changed.“Two months,” I repeat, placing a hand over my belly. Concentrating on my core energy, I send a tendril of my warmth and light into my abdomen, hoping to find nothing. A faint spark flickers beneath my palm. She's been with me this entire time, from the first time Sly and I mated, back when my life was in danger and he claimed me as his because a life tied to him was better than deathAnd he didn't want me to die.A second flicker flutters beneath my hand. Her wolf. She's a wolf and a witch. A hybrid. Too dangerous to live. The apothecary shakes her head sadly as my feelings telegraph across my face. “You poor child, you had no idea. May I assume the father is…willing to help you care for your child?”
[Apple]The next morning, I wake to find Sylvester gone. My heart jumps until my mind clears from the fog of the night before and I notice a tray next to the bed with a covered plate and a single red rose in a tall crystal vase. The note next to the tray says, “I’ll be back this afternoon. Enjoy yourself. I’ll meet you for lunch.” Beneath the note is a platinum card with his name engraved in bold letters. Below his name is my own, although not quite my own. The card reads:“Alpha Sylvester S. Sterling. Luna Apple B. LeRoux Sterling.”“Cheeky wolf,” I smirk. “When did he have this made? Awfully presumptuous. We aren’t even married.”“Yet,” the voice in the back of my head adds. My heart flips with nervous joy. He wants to keep me. He must have planned that dress to be part of his proposal. He made it look so casual and Hanging from the back of a chair is one of Sylvester’s scarves. Picking it up, I breathe his scent deeply feeling my body calm. I’ve only just woken up but I already
Chapter 084[Apple]Killed for loving a witch. Feeling dizzy, I sat back against the headboard, grasping the sheets in my hand for support as I waited for the world to stop spinning. I wanted to hold Sly, I wanted to comfort him, but I couldn’t when my own heart and mind were spinning. What have I done? Has loving me condemned my mate?“I had been living with Lysander Moon for two years. His mate, I always just assumed she was a wolf. As a child, I didn’t think about those things yet or asked questions about things like that. I had mostly grown up as a rogue and hadn’t spent much time around witches or even many wolves other than my mother. Looking back, I realize there were small signs, but they were very careful.”Sly’s breathing is shallow and rapid as he relives the past. Reaching forward, I place my hand on his clammy cheek. He calms instantly, falling into my touch. Turning his face until his nose rests on my wrist, he inhales deeply. A shiver of gratitude trickles through our
[Apple] After the fiasco with Alexis, Sly decided to spend the rest of the evening curled up in each other’s arms. It wasn’t sexual, but it was intimate, and a much-needed balm to the stresses of the last few days. It was enough just to feel one another and wrap ourselves in one another’s scent. I had never been so driven by my senses before meeting Sly, if anything I avoided feeling too much. I never let Zion get this close to me. Even when I thought I was giving him my love, I realize now that there was always a wall between us placed there by me. Was I aloof with Zion because I wasn’t ready, or was it because he wasn’t my mate? Either way, thank the Goddess that I waited. I couldn’t imagine having him touch any part of me now. It all belongs to Sly. Every part. Lying between his legs, skin to skin, I cuddle up to Sylvester’s chest. His arms, wrapped with a thick woolen blanket, envelop me, pulling me into him. He smells like heaven and I tell him so and he chuckle
[Apple] My handsome mate, the mightiest alpha in the west, is kneeling before me, his heart in his hands. “...You are already my luna. Would you honor me by becoming my wife?” I can taste my heartbeat on the back of my tongue. So much has happened so fast. But when he looks up at me with those eyes the color of the sea, I know I’m lost. Bending down, I answer him with kisses, sparks igniting between us as my energy flows into him from where our lips touch. “Yes Sylvester Sterling,” I smile against his mouth. “I’ll marry you.” Whooping in joy, Sly rises to his feet and swings me around. Laughing, for a moment everything else falls away. The stresses waiting for us beyond this room are nothing compared to the strength of his love flowing between us along the bond, my own witch energy moving through us as well, so powerfully that Sly’s skin seems to glow. Sly is glowing. How? “Sylvester,” I pull away, “Stop. Put me down. You’re…” The door to the shop slams with so much for