The Alphas' Daughter (Alpha Eyes: Book 2)

Chapter 1

Two years later...

"Happy birthday, Karina!" my mom sang, setting a plate of waffles in front of me, complete with a candle.

"Thanks, Mom." I quickly blew out the candle so I could dig into my breakfast. Mom and I had a big day planned ahead.

"I smell birthday waffles!" Dad swooped into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "Happy birthday, princess."

I nodded my thanks, mouth full of waffle. As much as I wanted to spend time with both of my parents on my birthday, Dad had a lot of alpha business on his schedule. Now that I was legally an adult, he planned to jack up my training to become the next alpha. He spent a lot of time keeping peace in the pack so they would accept me without challenge.

"Alphas."

I looked up as the beta-in-training Mark strode into the kitchen. Not gonna lie... he was really cute and very fit. I wouldn't have minded if he turned out to be my mate, but I doubt the moon goddess would pair an alpha heiress with a beta twice in a row. Besides, I wasn't feeling the mate sparks.

My mom met him by the doorway and took the gold envelope he'd brought.

"This looks formal," she murmured.

"What is it, hun?" Dad stuffed a forkful of waffle into his mouth. Immediately, he got that bite-of-heaven glassy-eyed look. He loved waffles.

"Happy birthday, Lady Karina," Mark whispered to me, adding a little bow of respect.

I mouthed a thank you before he backed out of the kitchen and out of sight.

Mom opened the envelop and pulled out the embossed card inside. She scanned the words, her eyes going wide. "It's an invitation... to the lycan's celebration ball. The three of us are invited to the lycan's territory!"

"The lycans?" I squeaked. My wolf stirred at that announcement. Despite the years of silence, she hadn't forgotten their visit.

"What are they celebrating?" Dad added.

"Uhm..." Mom read the card again. "One of their daughters found her mate, and one of their sons turned 18 last month. They're celebrating both."

"Are we going to go?" I had to ask since I wasn't sure of the relationship between our pack and the lycans. This could be a trap for all I knew. We hadn't heard from them since that visit.

"Of course we'll go," Dad answered. "It's a great honor. They were gracious enough to invite us, so it would be an insult to refuse."

Mom tore her gaze from the fancy invitation, sharing some weird look with Dad. "It's in four days. We'll have to leave tomorrow to get there on time. "Karina, is it okay if your birthday shopping trip gets cut a little short?"

"Mom..." I rolled my eyes. "We're going to a ball... hosted by the lycans. I think that will balance anything we don't do for my birthday."

She beamed at me. "Then hurry and finish your breakfast. We have to find you a dress for a lycan ball."

I shoveled the at couple bites of waffle into my mouth. Normally I wouldn't be excited about shopping for a dress, but this was not a normal occasion. We were going to a lycan ball!