Hidden Fox

Three

"April?"

My door squeaked on its hinges. It had done that since I was a little girl and we never bothered to fix it. I liked that it alerted me to someone entering, or at least opening my door.

My eyelids felt extra weighted as I tried to pry them open. When I finally got them to slits, Mom's blurry figure was crossing the carpeted floor to the side of my bed. I heard her sigh.

"April, were you up late reading the shifter legends? Again?" That was not the first time she had walked in to find me buried under a pile of those books, asleep with one of them open across my chest. . . or my face.

I pushed myself up, sitting against my pillows. Thud! A book hit the floor.

She continued speaking before I could even bring my muscles to open my mouth, "Honey, I know you want answers, but I don't think rereading the same books are going to get you anywhere."

"I know," I mumbled.

She patted my leg. I hated when she did that, like I was a child needing comfort. "Why don't we make a plan for you to start Alpha training?" I froze at her words. "It will give you something to do, to think about. Something else to focus on. What do you think?"

When I looked at her, I knew she wasn't really asking for my thoughts. It was happening soon, whether I was on board or not. I did not want to take over as Alpha. Not any time soon, at least.

It was less common for an Alpha's firstborn to be female, which worked out great. The son became Alpha when he was around 18-25 years of age and the daughters went to their mates' packs. But I was the firstborn. And I was a girl. And I had not found my mate yet. That meant I was expected to be Alpha.

Again, I didn't really answer her. I just stared, my eyes round and unblinking until she headed for the door. "Get dressed and come down for breakfast. We'll discuss more."

Ugh.

I pushed the comforter off of myself, letting more books slide to the floor with a round of thuds. Carefully, so not to step on them, I walked across the room to my conjoined bathroom. It was a long room that held two sinks and a large mirror over the countertop and then forked off to a separate area for the shower and toilet. When facing the sinks and mirror, the toilet was behind me and two doors were on either side of me: the right one open to my room and the other to May's room. I figured she was already up and downstairs.

In a rush, I did my business, brushed my teeth, and pulled my pin-straight brown hair into a knot on top of my head. A few tendrils near my forehead got missed, so I merely tucked them behind my ears.

Mom said to get dressed, but I didn't feel like changing out of the sweats I was wearing. So I didn't, and just headed down the stairs to the dining area. The rest of my family was already there, even my grandparents — the previous Alpha and Luna. I took a seat next to my grandmother, kissing her on her cheek as I sat down.

Mom sat across from me, and she gave me a look that said why didn't you get dressed? I shrugged at her, not really seeing the issue. It was just a casual breakfast with the family, and it wasn't like I was wearing tiny shorts and didn't have a bra on!

An omega scurried in with a cart full of food trays and began serving us, starting with the elders and then the alpha pair, as they were taught. When a plate was placed in front of me, I thanked the omega before the steam hit me in the face, making my mouth water. Our plates were each stacked with a few pancakes each, doused in syrup. August dug in immediately and May wasn't far behind.

Grandpa leaned over the table to where he could see me. "So, your mother tells me you're ready to get started?"

May, who was seated to my left, perked up. "Started on what?"