Alpha Alexander | astera22

Chapter 1

Of course, she didn't know I was here.

We didn't play to win money - we had too much of that anyway. We played because it required rational and careful thinking, a good skill to develop, my father used to say.

"I heard there are a couple or so Alphas here," I whisper by his ear as I walk past. The other players have already started their next round, as the dealer hands out the new cards. "Don't think I should make them lose. Who knows, maybe I'll get a death sentence if I prove myself better than them."

Richard didn't look impressed with my last comment, as he watched me walk away. I had a feeling he tried to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

I held a grudge over Alphas in general, understandably. All my life I was taught to serve my Alpha and what an honour that was - to have Beta blood was a very good place to be. You were respected and paid very generously. Your family was spoiled, given all they ever would need in the world, and were promised to be kept safe.

Too bad that you, as the Beta were not.

I couldn't leave to go home without my family friend however, so I decided to opt for the bar located in the large room, but to the side. It wasn't very busy since most people here come to gamble, not to drink. This made it nice to just sit down and not be hit on by hungry men - who I found had one thing they loved more than they did young girls and sex. Money.

It was safe to say there was a lot of that being thrown around the tables, where I was not.

I order some wine and whilst drinking it in intervals, swirling the remainder in my glass, looking at how well the reflection went with my similar coloured nails.

There was a lot of noise everywhere, people, mostly male wolves, shouting with enthusiasm I lacked of. I wasn't in the mood to have fun tonight and would have rather gotten drunk instead. Richard wouldn't approve of that idea, since taking me home a mess would be harder to explain to my mum who currently thinks we're still coming back from a horse racing event.

I was dressed that way, so she didn't really question it.

This makes me take a moment to stare at the almost empty glass - at my reflection in it. I could see the big, black hat that covered my face when I looked down. I was wearing a formal dress with heels, which was my usual attire anyway so it wasn't suspicious in the slightest.

I blended in quite well here too, even though there weren't many women who came to play poker.

A sudden sound of applause coming from a group of people by a different poker table caught my attention. The one receiving the attention was a young, yet attractive looking male, dressed in a suit and tie with messily styled, medium-dark hair. He had a sharp jaw line and even through his clothing, you could tell he works out.

I force myself to look away though; even though my mum didn't teach me a good hand at poker, she did teach me to value my independence. She had a mate and loved him beyond limit, but she had a zero tolerance policy about being told what to do by him, or any other male for that matter.

Our Alpha was an exception, even though my father did have to remind her who she is from time to time and that her protests are not in place with the leader of the pack we were a part of.

I had my own views about mates though, partly influenced by her personality I found inspiring.

I wanted to be free and independent - it's all I ever wanted. In fact, I even considered being a Rogue, but I knew my heart was too kind for the lifestyle they had. I wouldn't be able to kill, and I cared about people too much. Even though my mother always said she loved that about me, I saw it as a weakness occasionally.