Chapter 1

  Sweat was trickling into some majorly uncomfortable places, but I wasn't about to let that stop me. A little bit of buttcrack sweat was no match for me, I had much bigger things to worry about currently; like the ferocious Alpha in front of me. 

Despite the fact he was older he was no less impressive. Standing tall, over 6 feet, with piercing blue eyes with black salt and pepper hair he was a force to be reckoned with. His muscles rippled and bunched as he readied his stance. In his prime he must have been formidable, it was little wonder he was one of the most well known Alpha's, and most feared even though he was quite a pushover.

"Come on little girl" he growled, a smile on his face.

"You'll be eating those words soon enough old man" I shot back, smiling at my dad.

My dad, Eric, the Alpha of the Blue Moon pack crouched down, ready for my attack. As fast as I could I ran, right before impact I slid under him, and before he could lay a finger on me I had my hand at his throat from behind.

"Surrender yet grandpa?" I chuckled. 

"Never!" Prying me off his back he easily tossed me away, I landed on my feet and sank low. Wiping the sweat from my forehead I grimaced, he had many advantages over me, however, speed was the one I had over him. He was fast for someone so bulky but he didn't have the lithe dancer's build I possessed, and that gave me a distinct advantage. I had been going easy on the geezer, he was after all, elderly for all intents and purposes; even if he could still kick some major ass. He and I both knew I could beat him if I really wanted to, but it was more fun to play and hone my skills this way, who said father daughter bonding had to be lame?

"Are you two going to mess around all day or will you actually do something productive?" Luna Dana, or mom as I called her, sidled up to us, a grin on her face.

 She is the opposite of my massive father, small and petite with a fine boned physique and hair that is not so much grey as it is white and the same bright blue eyes. I managed to get the best of both worlds, my mom's build with my dad's height. Taller than most women at 5'10" with long brown hair and deep hazel eyes I was the almost perfect mix. If they had any other children I have no doubt they would also share my same fate with our genetics, sadly I had no siblings. Which is why as a rare Alpha female my old man was grooming me to takeover one day. We supposed since they already bore an Alpha the Gods decided they did not need another child, within the pack just as many had siblings as didn't so it was not that unusual; simply unusual for an Alpha and his Luna. This fact did not cause any unrest among the pack however, as my dad was a competent, fair and good leader and mom (insert eye roll here) lived to host. So she was forever in the kitchen, meal planning and at the helm of any event we had. You could see her touches everywhere, which made me wonder when I found a mate who was going to do this because it sure as hell wouldn't be me. And I would not assume it would be my mate either, because no one knew if my mate would be an Alpha or another higher rank, and they certainly would not be down to deal with the décor. 

"I was just teaching this brat a lesson" my dad informed my mom with a smirk. 

"Is that so? Sure didn't look that way" she laughed, knowing full well we were just playing. We followed her back toward the pack house, which was bustling with activity seeing as it was almost lunchtime. 

"Yo Cici!" My Gamma Jay waved at me through a mouthful of food. I laughed, Jay was my goofy, loveable Gamma. He was imposing, an ex marine who was still in prime physical condition, tall and made of muscle he had many of the women swooning. His hair was a sandy brown color and floppy, with bright green eyes that always seemed to be questioning it was easy to see why, but his mate was not among his fan club. I snickered to myself, there had been a time when Jay and I had been more than a Gamma and Alpha to be, and while that was fun we had settled into a sort of affectionate friendship; and the love we shared was our steadfast friendship that had existed for over a decade, even when he was overseas. 

He draped a tanned arm around my shoulder, "You gotta try the meat today, I don't know what they did with it but it is AH MA ZING" he annunciated. 

"It's just because you can't ever stop eating, I don't know why we haven't had to roll you out of there yet fatty" my Beta, Christian said, sidling up to Jay. 

"Hey! I don't have anything to show for it so I plan to keep eating this delicious food to my hearts content. I would never want Luna to think the food wasn't delicious since they are her recipes." Jay said, looking mock wounded. Christian snorted. 

Where Jay was goofy and fun Christian was logical and serious, not to say he couldn't be fun because he certainly could. They both brought different things to the table which is why the three of us worked so well together and were the closest of friends. Christian was my same height, with a mischievous grin, brown eyes and brown hair. Both men were made of lean muscle, Jay being slightly bulkier and one of the best fighters, Christian relied on his speed and endurance more to tire the other person out first then attack. Christian had been like a brother to me growing up, and that had continued on into adulthood. His mate Alicia, even referred to me as his sister and him as my brother as it was true, just not by blood.

Giving both my friends a grin, I asked "Well, what if I eat so much I need to be rolled out? Or will you idiots just let me get myself stuck in the doorway?" And sauntered off toward the heavenly aromas coming from the pack house.