Chapter 3

*ALYSSA*

The New Dawn wasn't a small pack, but it wasn't that large either. At least compared to packs that I knew of. There was hardly anyone I didn't know or who I didn't at least find familiar. Except the man I'd been in the water with earlier. I didn't know him. And he also wasn't familiar. I would know because I didn't think I could ever forget it if I had crossed paths with him before.

He was downright heart stopping.

His hair was a dark shade almost like his eyes. I'd never been so attracted to someone's looks. He had an aura of dominance around him that was so natural I was a little taken aback. I hadn't even been able to look him in the eyes for long. There was just something so commanding about him that I couldn't place my finger on.

And his speed. How had he been able to run so fast? I'd been the one to challenge him. I had been heartbroken that my sister had not wanted to speak to me and I had really needed to take the steam off. I was the one person Jenny never turned away from and my parents had forced her to do just that for the first time ever.

My wolf had detected a worthy opponent in him and the competitive part of me had reared its head. In the end I'd lost and he'd won. I'd almost fainted after the run but he didn't look even the least bit tired. I'd even gotten the feeling that he had been letting me take the lead on purpose.

I had never felt so curious about a person in my entire life. I couldn't tell which part of him I loved the most. His human side or his wolf. His wolf was breathtaking. I had been so mesmerized with his onyx eyes and black regal fur, a shade lighter in some places than the rest.

How had I never seen him before?

The door to my room pushed open and I turned around to see who it was. My eyebrows narrowed in annoyance and confusion when I realized it was my parents. Turning my attention back to the blank spot I'd been staring at, I paid them no attention.

"Where's Jenny?" My mother asked.

The flat question had me whipping my head to face my mother. She looked expectantly at me like she expected me to immediately give her the answer to her question but there was a hint of worry in her eyes. Why was she asking me where Jenny was?

I let my gaze slide from her to my father and then back. "Jenny's in her room," I answered a bit tentatively. My wolf was on edge and a dull roaring began in my ears. If my wolf was on edge about Jenny then I knew that something wasn't right. My heart began to race.

My father's eyes pinched as he looked at me like he always did when he was trying to figure out whether or not I was telling the truth. Why would I be lying? "She's not there," He informed me, watching closely for my reaction. "Her door was locked and when we broke it down we discovered that she wasn't in the room."

What?

Utterly confused, I marched past them and headed in the direction of Jenny's room. I left Jenny in her room, I was a hundred percent sure of it. After she had yelled at me to leave her alone, she had locked me out so I wouldn't get back in and try to bother her while she ironed out her thoughts. I got to her room and pushed her door open, not knowing what I was looking for exactly.

There was no way my parents would be joking about something as important as this. Not with guests from The Blue Moon Pack just down the stairs. Her room was empty as a part of me had known it would be. Pulse racing I walked straight to her dressing table and opened one of her drawers. Pulling out her jewelry box, I removed the first layer and then found the note I'd suspected would be there on the second.

My eyes quickly skimmed over her words, dread beginning to spread in my chest. I read the final sentence feeling a tidal wave of different emotions come at me all at once. I was disappointed, hurt, angry, confused, scared and even a little disgusted. Really Jenny? This was the best you could think of?

Running away?

My parents footsteps sounded behind me and I shut my eyes in despair. I already had an inclination as to how this was going to play out. My heart split apart all over again. How could you have done this to me Jenny? What am I going to do with these people? My mother snatched the note out of my hand and no doubt began going through it.

"She ran away," My mother whispered in shock. I had a feeling she wasn't trying to be manipulative around me for once in her life. The shock was real. As was my anger. I bit down on my tongue so hard to stop myself from lashing out that I drew blood. I turned to stare at my parents, making sure that they could read the hostility in my gaze. "How could she have run away? The Alpha of Blue Moon is right down stairs-"

"Really mother?" I couldn't help but interrupt, trying as much as possible to not raise my voice. Dear goddess, I was filled with so much rage I had no idea what to do with it. I had a feeling a run in the woods wasn't going to easily distract me this time. "Your daughter just ran away because of your actions," I gritted out. "And all you can think about are the people down stairs?"

My father's eyes flashed angrily. "Watch your tone young lady," He scolded. I was extremely tempted to yell 'or else what?' at him but I didn't. Even though they were so annoying and frustrating and they irritated me with their actions and decisions more than half of the time, they were still my parents and I still had respect for them. Hell, our relationship at this point was more of Alpha, Luna and pack member than father, mother and daughter.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, making a herculean attempt at calming the storm that was rising inside me. I sat down on Jenny's bed as my father began to pace. I hated that I was concerned at the look of worry on his face when I was almost a hundred percent sure that it was there for all the wrong reasons.

"We can't let them leave here without introducing Jenny to them, Marie" He said to my mother. I narrowed my eyes at him and bit my lip to keep myself from speaking. Why were they so concerned about forming an alliance with The Blue Moon? Why was it so important to them? "It would have been better if we had never sent the invitation out in the first place than for us to have invited them over to waste their time."

Despite my resolve to ignore them and leave the room, I found myself speaking up. "Why is it so important that Jenny mates with him?" I asked as calmly as possible, pleading with my eyes for them to not disregard me for once. For them to acknowledge that I wasn't still a child and that they could actually seek my opinion on things that were important to the pack.

To them.

It was pathetic to realize that even after all these while I still wanted my parents' admiration and respect. Still shamelessly craved for their pride in me and their trust in my abilities. It was sad, really. If they hadn't stopped treating me like a little rebel by now then chances were that they probably never would.

Their gazes locked for a second before my father spoke up. I tried to hide my surprise at the fact that he was even bothering to offer me an explanation. This was definitely a first. "If anything happens to me then there's going to be war." He stated calmly, "You think a lot of the other packs don't know that I have no one to take over as Alpha after I'm gone?"

He walked up to Jenny's room window and stared outside. "And here's the truth Alyssa, anything can happen to me." He turned to fix his attention on me, a sad look in his eyes. I found it extremely weird that he was capable of being so vulnerable. It was obvious from his tone of voice and the way his shoulders were slightly slumped that he was truly concerned.

His gaze drifted to my mother and then back to me. "I could go off to war and not come back. I could sleep and not wake up. What then?" My eyebrows furrowed in concern. Why was he talking like that? "There would be an attack on the pack. A lot of people would be fighting for control and the pack would be vulnerable." Dread slowly settled in my chest. "Your mother, you, Jenny, everyone would be at risk."

My mother walked towards him and put her hands in his, giving him an encouraging smile. "What kind of Alpha leaves his pack unprotected like that? Leaves his family?" He asked, meeting her eyes briefly. "The Blue Moon is the strongest pack around us. It makes sense that we would form an alliance with them." He explained. "Every decision I make is with your mother, your sister and you in mind. And then the pack."

I rose to my feet, already seeing reason with him. I didn't know if he was being manipulative or not but I had to agree that he was making complete sense. The Blue Moon was the strongest pack around. There was no doubt that they already had solid alliances with a few other packs. Getting them on our side would be getting those packs on our side too. If anything should happen to my father, other packs would think twice before they came at us.

"And Jenny has just thrown that down the drain," I was a bit startled to realize that I was the one who had spoken. I was angry at Jenny all over again but this time for a different reason. How could she only have thought about herself? How could she be so selfish?

Shit.

I instantly felt horrible at the direction my thoughts had taken. Jenny was not a bad person. I of all people knew that. Hell, wasn't I part of the reason she had refused my parents decision? Whether or not I wanted to admit it, I had a hand in how this turned out. I had to fix it. She had obviously not understood things from my parent’s side. And for all I knew they were both just trying to manipulate me like they've always done. "So what now?" I asked, my voice laced with worry.

They looked at each other for so long I knew they were communicating through their mindlink as mates. I tried to breathe properly when they both turned and fixed their attention on me. Dread filtered through my chest, quickly spreading to every part of my body. My father cleared his throat lightly. I knew what he was going to say even before he said it.

"We need you now more than ever, Alyssa." His face brightened with a bit of hope. "We need you to take Jenny's place." I released a slow breath at his request already knowing what my reply was going to be. I asked them to give me a minute to change into something better in Jenny's closet and then we exited the room.

I walked slowly down the stairs, my parents a few steps behind me. I couldn't believe that the table had turned so quickly. I couldn't believe that I was actually on my way downstairs to meet with the beast. I shut my eyelids for a moment , reminding myself that I was doing this for the pack and no one else. Not for my parents. Not for myself.

Not even for Jenny.

Taking a deep breath at the foot of the stairs, I took a turn into the grand room and felt my blood turn to ice in my veins. My entire body tensed and I couldn't stop my eyes from widening in shock. My breath hitched in my throat and for a second I forgot to breathe. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was him.

The domineering man from the woods.