Raised by Wolves

10 The Alphas*

Random fact...
Wolves are gluttons! They can eat over 20lbs of meat in one go! The crazy thing is they will then go a week without eating. I'm not about to fast for a week! Sorry, this girl got ta eat! I will literally puke if I don't eat.

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"This is ridiculous!" An Alpha yells.

I sit next to Alic and watch the chaos. All the Alphas came to the meeting with their own seer. I'd never heard of them, but apparently, once they started talking about an Alpha King years ago, packs started hiring them.

"It's necessary." Alic replies.

"I won't take any!" The Alpha states.

"Nor I!" Another adds.

"The rogues WILL be accepted into packs. If they cause problems, you can have them punished. If the offense is worthy of them being rogue, you send them to me, and I'll take care of it. Abolishing random rogues will protect us all. Do you want these demon wolves to continue attacking us?" Alic lectures.

"I'm not taking in filthy rogues!" The Alpha growls.

"Then others will. They will have growing packs, and you will not. I'm sending word to all rogues this week. I will make a list of any pack accepting them. To join, they must enter in human form and request entrance into the pack. If you are willing to accept these wolves, sign your pack." Alic says, and Malakai sets a tablet on the table. The Alphas begin passing it around and all sign except the outspoken one.

"So all packs will accept the rogues aside from Ice Winters. That makes this easier. Do not complain if your ranking falls Alpha Gerald." Alic warns.

"This will destroy your packs, and mine will be safe. I will not be the one to regret this decision." Alpha Gerald says.

"Then it's decided. We will eliminate rogues so the hunters can't use them against us. Thank you for your time, Alphas." Alic says dismissing the men.

"They agreed more easily than anticipated." I tell him.

"I'm not sure they truly agree, but they kept their mouths shut at least." He mumbles.

"You are the King." I tell him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"You already know that, Bella." He smiles, looking down at me.

"You had those Alphas submitting to you." I continue, playing with his hair. I watch his eyes flutter closed.

"Mmmmm... you need to stop, little Bell." He groans, placing a hand on my cheek.

"I don't think I want to." I tell him kissing his hand.

"You're killing me, Bella." He says, leaning forward so our foreheads touch.

"I'm your mate. Am I not allowed to touch you?" I ask.

"I...Mmmmm... Bella, please... you don't know what you are doing." He says, holding my hands to stop me.

"Don't I?... you treat me like your pup, not your mate. I'm not a pup!" I growl at him standing up.

"There is so much you don't know. You may be physically grown, but you are still a six year old up here." He says, pointing to my head.

"No, I'm not! It's not like I stopped growing and maturing just because I was a wolf. I was an Alpha for goodness sake! I had plenty of males try and become my Alpha Male! So don't think I don't know what being a mate means! Just because I didn't know the word doesn't mean I don't have feelings for you! And now with my wolf... I want you, Alic!" I rant panting heavily by the end of it.

In a moment, I felt his lips on mine. I was stunned at first but quickly melted into him. I don't know if I'm doing this right, but he seems happy if the rumbling in his chest is any indication.

"I want you too, Bella." He mumbles, pulling away. "But I want you to have the ceremony we should have had first. I know you don't care but I want to give you everything. I want to be sure you understand what you are asking for... plus, my dad is a little upset that I couldn't control myself and marked you without a ceremony."

"He's mad at me? I'm the one who marked you first." I say.

"No! He blames me. You didn't know any better, and I never explained anything." He tells me.

"Sooo... what is this ceremony? You werewolves seem to have a lot of them." I ask.

"We werewolves do have a lot of ceremonies. This one is like a wedding we exchange vows and have a party with our family." Alic explains. "Actually, my Gamma Chris is about to have his mates ceremony. As my Luna you would be invited if you want to come."

"That sounds perfect." I smile at him.

"You are so beautiful." He mumbles, and his lips are once again on mine.

"Ahem." Someone clears their throat, gaining our attention. "Your dad wants you over for dinner, and your mind link is off... I see why now!" Malak laughs, and Alic gives him a dirty look.

"Leave." He commands.

"And what do I tell Clayton?" Malak asks.

"We're on our way." Alic sighs. He stands up and takes my hand. "Come on, Bella."

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"Alaric, glad you could make it!" Alic's father greets him. "And the ever lovely Isabella!"

"Hello, Mr. Grayson." I smile at the man.

"Please, it's Clay." He smiles back. "How many times do I need to remind you?"

"Sorry Clay... thanks for having us for dinner." I respond.

"No problem, I love having my kids over... this house gets lonely." He says.

"Well then, I'll have to bring your boy over more often." I tell him nudging Alic.

We walk into the dining room to eat. It's mostly small talk until we hit dessert.

"So, dad." Alic starts as he takes a spoonful of ice cream and hot fudge brownie. "Bella and I were thinking about having a little ceremony for the family. Considering our mates' relationship has progressed abnormally, we thought a little get-together would normalize everything." I see Clay's eyes light up at the idea.

"That sounds great! Bella, are you truly okay with this? I know my boy has little self-control, so if he is pushing you..."

"No, no, Alic isn't pushing me." I cut Clay off. "In fact, I think I was the one pushing for us to be more... he just insisted on the ceremony first... I don't even know what it is, really."

"Oh, sweetheart, you're gonna love it! Every little wolf dreams of her mates ceremony. Well, we need to invite the families, of course, and the Alphas or former Alphas Aaron and Lilly...." Clay continues to list people, and I can feel sadness creeping in. I don't have any family... this will be Alic's ceremony... his family.

"Dad Stop!" Alic's voice breaks me out of my thoughts. "Bella, are you okay?" He asks, placing a hand on my back. I nod to him, trying to smile. "You're not. I can feel it." I glance up at him and over to his father. I can't tell him he can't have his family just because I can't. Alic nods at me and then turns to his father. "I was thinking something smaller, Dad. You, Ruby, Malak, Aaron, Lilly, and Eric." On the last name, Alic looks to me.

"Beta?" I ask, and he nods.

"Former Beta Eric is your family. I think he should be there... that is if you want him to." Alic says.

"Yes! Thank you!" I nod hugging him.

"We don't need a big thing. Just the people closest to us." Alic says to Clay.

"Of course, son... I was getting carried away with myself. I think that sounds perfect... but don't let your sister in on it, or it will be the biggest gala you have ever seen." Clay laughs.

"I was hoping you'd help plan it... Seriously, Dad, you are a helpless romantic. Would you do this for me?" Alic asks.

"Consider it done." Clay smiles at us. "Fear not Bella. Your ceremony will be magical."