Not My Alpha (Completed)

Chapter Thirty-Seven - Eden

Eventually, Samuel broke the silence. His tone was no longer sorrowful or troubled, but tired, and drained. "We're recovering, you know, but the whole pack took everything pretty hard. Riley, especially." He shifted his weight. "You don't just get over losing your mate."

"When did it happen?" 

He thought for a moment. "Just over a year ago."

I raised my eyebrows once more. "I didn't know it was that recent."

Samuel shrugged his shoulders, rolling them at the same time. It did little to relieve the stress etched into his joints. "It's been a hell of a year. The pack's doing better, but Riley is still adjusting."

I hesitated, biting my lip, before slowly saying, "He seems fine to me." It was meant to come out as more of a question, but I failed miserably at hiding my suspicions. Riley didn't seem like he was dealing with the loss of his soulmate, rather he was happily carrying on with his superior life. 

Samuel eyed me warily. He raised an eyebrow as he spoke his next few words. "You see what he wants you to see. Riley still has an entire pack to take care of. He can't just break down and leave them."

"Oh," I breathed, biting my lip. "Well, why couldn't you just take over for him?"

Samuel sighed, heavily. His shoulders slumped forward ever so slightly, and he stopped fiddling his fingers. "I'm not an Alpha, Samantha."

"Why not?"

He looked up at me, head tilting. "You don't know how anything like that works, do you?"

I shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. Because I grew up isolated from the wolves, I knew nothing about the way their lives or the hierarchy worked. Sure, I knew the basics, but beyond that was nothing more than a mystery I previously had no desire to solve. Now, however, I was realizing that this was knowledge I needed to know. If I was going to spend my life with Samuel, it would benefit me to know how that life worked. 

"I know the basics," I told him, looking at my hands. 

He laughed once at my response, but his voice was still tired. "Riley is the Alpha, and so was his Father. He'd have to die for another Alpha to take his place."

"So, it follows the family?" I questioned Samuel, and he nodded. "Well, what if there's no family when an Alpha dies?"

"Then the Beta would become the Alpha." He paused, then added, "The chiefs would have to approve it first, though."

I rubbed my forehead. "Chiefs?"

Samuel was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts. His mouth hung half open, like it usually did, as he searched for the right words. "A chief," he started slowly, "is basically like the Alpha you know, but higher. They take care of other Alpha's and their packs if there are disputes or something of the sorts."

"I had no idea there were more of you," I grumbled. It was meant to sound bitter, but it came out more of an afterthought. 

"That's not even the half of it, Samantha," he laughed. 

I puffed my cheeks with air and let that out, slowly. "That's enough for me."

"For now," he stated, moving on. "It's a lot, I know."

"This is all a lot," I said to more to myself than Samuel. Of course, he caught it, and he gave me a small smile. 

"You'll be out of here soon enough and then it'll get better."

I shrugged, keeping my thoughts to myself. In all honesty, I didn't think it would ever get better. It would just get manageable. We'd find my mother, and that would make things slightly easier, but after that, my life would consist of pleasing two werewolves.