Chapter 3

"I am" She stated.  I stood with my mouth open.  She looked annoyed at my silence.  "I am Alpha Fiona Kerian of the Crescent Moon pack".  

A female Alpha! I had never heard of a female Alpha.  Alphas were meant to be males and  Lunas were meant to be the female mate of an Alpha.  Every pack I knew worked that way.  Most male wolves I knew were stubborn and wouldn't accept a female as a leader.  They would say that it was breaking tradition.  Those with extreme views would say that even warriors should be male, arguing that a female's place was to sire and raise wolves.  Those ideas were slowly changing across the country, but some packs with older Alpha's held firm to their sense of tradition, fearing being displaced as packs moved into the modern era. 

While I was taken aback by shock, the more I thought of an Alpha being female the more I liked it.  Maybe this pack would be different from the other.  I looked forward to seeing how Fiona ran her pack and what differences there were with a female leader. 

There was another thought on my mind.  It seemed to dominate the rest. I found myself wondering what Alpha Fiona's and Alpha David's relationship was.  I realised that neither of them was marked.  It was tradition for werewolves to mark their mates a sign that they belonged to another.  Each pair would nip each other at the base of their throat and a scar, unique to the couple, would signify that they belong to each other.  Most mates did this went they first mated, however, some chose to wait until they got to know each other better.  Maybe Alpha David and Fiona were waiting.  Could it be Alpha Fin was worried about giving up power to a male?  After all, if they were to mate, in theory, their packs would become one.  Fiona would have worked hard to cement her role as Alpha; I doubt would she easily give that up to let someone else rule.  They seemed quite close, based on the smell I could tell they had close physical contact since their scents were intermixed.  Maybe they had agreed to wait.

"Or maybe they aren't mates," my wolf Blaze growled from within.  I was surprised that he spoke, normally he is quiet, happy to observe and offer judgement when needed.  Today was different, I could feel his emotions twisting around since we entered the pack borders.  It wasn't noticeable at first, but now, it was hard to ignore.  It was rare he got these feelings.  I wasn't sure what to make of it.   He, too, seemed surprised about the news of a female Alpha but didn't seem to care either way.  Our wolf parts were different from our human parts.  They relied more heavily on gut feelings and would recognise power when they felt it.  Blaze could clearly recognise Fiona Alpha Aura and accepted it.  If Blaze accepted her claim as Alpha then I did as well.

"They smell like they could be mates" I commented to Blaze.  "Or at least spend a lot of time together in close quarters."  I could feel Blaze grappling with something, but he wouldn't tell me what.  I did my best to ignore his emotions and focused back on the pack in front of me.  I realized that I had must have been in my head longer than I thought because Fiona spoke again. 

"Alpha Astor" she spoke sternly "do you have a problem with me being an Alpha?"  It was almost a threat, her eyes with hard, daring me to question her. 

"No problem," I said smiling trying to break the tension.  "I look forward to seeing what you have done with this pack Alpha."  Fiona smiled and continued in her airy tone from before.

"We welcome you to the Cresent Moon Pack Alpha Astor and Beta Clifford," she spoke "You already know that you are the first wolves, other than Alpha David and his family, to step inside that pack since we closed the borders.  We have spent the last three years focusing internally, rebuilding our pack from the ground up.  I believe we have found our way again, so when the King reached out, we decided it was time to rejoin the world."

Her Alpha aura grew stronger as she spoke her next lines. "We welcome the King's Alpha and beta as guests and hope to become strong allies.  I am more than happy to share information about my pack, as I believe we are special, however, I need to establish some boundaries now."  She paused for a second and when I nodded she continued: "We will not have anyone coming in and showing aggression in any form towards any of my pack members.  King's pack or not I expect everyone in my pack to be treated with respect down to the last Omega.  Any hint of aggression or ill intent will be treated as a challenge to me personally.   Am I understood?"

I stood quiet for a second as she glared at me, gaze unfaltering as she held strong to her words.  Her aura spoke to her true power as an Alpha. Her aura was strong and weaker Alphas would have no choice but to submit if she decided to use the Alpha command.  I was the King's Alpha though, so only the King himself could use the Alpha command on me.

I was taken aback by her bold declaration of rules, although I wasn't surprised after the list of rules we had to even enter the pack.  Was she stupid enough to think the King would so openly start a war?  No, he would be far more subtle about it.  Maybe she thought I didn't know how to be diplomatic, even though it was my job. The three years of isolation of the pack probably clouded their knowledge of my role.  They saw the King's demands to inspect the pack as a threat and were putting on a show to avoid biting off more than they could chew.  I bowed deeply throwing one hand in the air.  It was probably a bit much, but I had to take my fun where I could get it. 

"Why of course, Alpha Fiona.  We are simply here to welcome you back into the world" I lifted my head from the bow, making eye contact and winking at her.  I could see David visible stiffen at my gesture,  Alpha Fin however held a poker face.

"Good," she said nodding, ignoring my antics.  She held her hand to me. "Welcome to the pack."  As I reached for her hand the world seemed to go in slow motion.  When we connected sparks were running across my body from the point of contact.  Blaze was screaming so loud in my head I thought I was going to blackout. 

"Mate" he growled, drowning out all other sounds "Mine."