An Alpha's Alpha

Duty

Elenor lingered by the door as Liam held it open, knuckles turning white with the force of his restraint as Elenor tried once again to convince Jake that now that the she wolf was healed, she should leave.

Crouched beside the sleeping she-wolf, Jake leant against the coffee table. Both Elenor and Doc had assured him that the she-wolf would be fine, but his wolf remained restless.

The evening was drawing in and through the open door, past the insistent body of Elenor, Jake could see his pack beginning to gather.

Routinely his eyes flickered to the clock that hung above the abandoned fireplace that his mother had insisted she wanted, but never had the time to use.

Jake didn't need to check the time, or see his pack gathering, his wolf knew that the moon was rising. It called to him like nothing else in this earth and gave his already restless wolf another reason to be on edge.

Just before the full moon each month, his pack would hunt together. It was a ritual, his pack'ss ritual, and one that he had never missed, cancelled or delayed.

Every fibre in his body wanted to cancel tonight's, even his wolf seemed keen which surprised Jake. It was the one time that Jake really felt like a wolf. So akin with nature and at one with his pack.

Leaving the ticking hands, Jake's attention returned to the she-wolf. He didn't want to leave her, not whilst she was still unconscious, but he had a duty as Alpha to do so. He'd already let his pack down today, he couldn't face himself if he did it again.

Part of being Alpha is never getting the chance to be truly selfish. Yes, his wolf wanted to curl up at her feet like a house cat, but Jake could also sense the need to run within him. A primal need, his wolf needed to be released, to feel the earth beneath his paws.

Sensing the turmoil within his Alpha, Liam caught his attention and signalled for them to talk in the kitchen. Elenor was long forgotten, and was knocked back with the front door as Liam let go.

With a grunt, a snarl and a throw away comment about the state of the pack, she left Jake's house. The tension seemed to spill out of the room with her exit, and Jake felt the tiniest bit of control return to him.

"You can't cancel the hunt."

Jake studied Liam's face for a moment, leaving his beta to sweat. "I know." He admitted, his hand running through his hair as he looked down at the ground and shifted on the balls of his feet. "I need you to stay here."

"I know," Liam replied in a similar tone to Jake. "You want someone with her at all times."

Almost embarrassed to admit it, Jake's swift nod was all he'd give to confirm it. "I'm going to go and round up the pack. I'm sorry Liam." He promised as he met his Beta's eyes for the first time. 

Liam gave him a short smile and nod, before clapping him on the back. "It'll be fine. It might give me a chance to work out what you think is so special about her." Both men fell into silence as their attention turned to the peaceful she-wolf, unaware that she was healing quicker than they'd realised.