CHAPTER 1

The pounding of the paws through the forest path was too strong for the twigs, who had no hope. The gray wolf moved swiftly and steadily up the route, his bag's strap gradually tearing as he went. He stumbled over himself when he stopped abruptly after darting into the clearing and ended up at the feet of a furious blonde. She stomps her foot while crossing her arms in front of her chest and frowning.

She snarls and marches towards a large house, turning on her heel. "You had a meeting at eleven," she says. The wolf changes effortlessly into a man, jogging after her while donning a pair of shorts.

After getting up to her, the man cries, "Lana, no, stop, don't ignore me." I had to put up with that boring a** for twenty minutes, York. This week, you missed two meetings with him. She growls, "You're the alpha, not me." That gaze would kill any rational guy.

He complains, "Ave, you could have been alpha!" You can still do it if you want to!

He tries to calm the situation, but it doesn't work. Lana spins around and puts her hand around his throat.

When he passes her and enters his office, York easily preys her fingers off while rolling his eyes.

"Was it simply Mitch who called, or did anyone else?" He looks over his shoulder and inquires as he enters his adjoining office via the room.

"Dad," she said, "asked why we're still single and then said sorry to me for being rude." As Lana throws herself into her chair behind her desk, she begins to list down the four times Arabella from Blue Bramble called for you.

York gives her a brief moment to assimilate the information before rolling his eyes at her.

"Arabella. I believed I instructed you to get rid of her. He exhales as he puts on a shirt and fixes his glasses on his nose.

"I did. And you messed her up once more. "Now, little fellow, it's your problem," she mumbles, searching through the enormous stack of papers in front of her.

She glances at York, who appears a little frazzled, and checks off another item on the lengthy list to her right. With a sneaky grin on her face, Lana shrugs, "Well, at least she's not pregnant."

"Fuck off, Lana. Don't make me think things like that, York mutters as he unwillingly opens his laptop and runs a hand through his sandy blonde hair.

The rest of the afternoon passes with the Wilcott siblings working in a comparatively quiet environment, interrupted only occasionally by computer beeps.

How does it feel to be unfortunate? the man at the head of the table asks, as the blonde girl straightens a bit and turns her head to gaze at him.

As everyone around her turns to look at the man and begins growling at him, she stays still, feeling her heart tighten a little.

Even though Lana is controlling her rage, her eyes are flashing.

Lana is debating releasing this pitiful Alpha since her wolf is attempting to come to the surface.

The visiting alpha tenses up a little as Lana turns to face him and stares into his pitiful soul with her ice-blue eyes. "Yes, for a while, it was depressing. "But then I realized, I can screw whoever I want and don't have to listen to any man," she smirks, her face turning an angry red.

Will you permit her to behave and speak in such a manner, Richard? Lana's father only raises an eyebrow as he glances up from his tablet computer in response to the man's gasp.

So the fact that I won't have to worry about grand puppies anytime soon is ideal. She also has a lot of talent. A partner would suppress that. "Kyle, she deserves to have fun, too," Richard says, patting his daughter on the shoulder before going back to what he was reading.

The man observes York's continued staring at Kyle and makes a mocking expression. Still single, York? The blonde sighs as he sneers.

"Yes, I am the council's newest Alpha. To the dismay of the red-headed woman, the young man shrugs and says, "I guess I'll just have to retain my whores and my title." Language! Children! She reprimands her before returning to her soup.

Kyle murmurs, "Ruffians, all of them," and the four current members of the Rapid Rock alpha family respond, "Hmm?"

The dumb blond, surfer couple's beautiful looks made other Alphas question them, but it was usually to their detriment. Lana and York were the ideal teams. They ruled board meetings and were icy and nasty.

Their middle sister didn't count because she wasn't a good team player. The two return to their office after the terrible supper, both agitated.

Oh, demon queen, who are you taking out tonight? York makes fun of his sister while practically observing steam evaporating from her tense form.

"Maybe your beta." Maybe it's your gamma. He scowls. "I haven't decided yet," she complains, rolling her eyes at him. He hisses, "Will you leave the Gamma alone? He's so exhausted," and Lana raises an eyebrow in response.

She smirks and licks her lips, much to York's disdain, and says, "He's the gamma for a reason, he prepares and executes very well."

He murmurs, "Holy Christ, if you don't leave him alone, I'll stop going to Arabella," and Lana grins and shrugs.

She laughs and types up some notes from her pages on her laptop, saying, "Suits me either way, find out where your beta is."

"He's mated now, you know that," York complains, his smooth brow marred by a sharp frown.

Lana responds angrily, "Dumbass, I need his help with a file." York silently opens and shuts his mouth.

Ten minutes pass while they work in silence before Lana establishes a mind link. She hisses, "For fuck sake," and stands up so rapidly that her chair topples over.