The Captured Alpha

Chapter One

"Yesina!  They're back!"

My eyes jerked up from the book I was engrossed in as Emilia burst into the room, her black hair an untidy mess of curls.  Even in an absolutely panicked state, my best friend was as adorable as could be.  It was no wonder she'd had suitors lined up since the day she turned 18, awaiting her father's decision for her future mate.

I sighed and slid a bit of fabric into the book, marking my place.  It had been a very exciting part of the book; the knight and queen had just been discovered by the jealous king, and there were sure to be some major fallout from that.  But there was no stopping Emilia when she was in one of the moods.

"Calm down," I reassured her, brushing my brown hair back behind my ears.  "Calm down and tell me the whole story.   Who's back?"

She paused and took a deep breath, fanning her face with one delicate, pale hand.  "I'm... I'm sorry!  But your father...  Your father's back!"

I leapt up from the softly-padded chair I had been sitting on, and my book dropped from my lap to the floor with a rustle of pages.  "Is he okay?"

"Yes, yes, yes!  He's fine!  But they've brought..."  Emily seemed to nearly choke on her words, unable to force them out. "They've brought a..."  Her hands fluttered about her face before she gave up and pointed to the open window.

I gathered my skirts up in my hands and ran to the window, looking down at the courtyard below.  There was my father, armored in chainmail and boiled leather, as tall and gray-haired as ever.  He is safe, I thought with a deep sigh.  Twelve years ago, my mother had failed to return from a scouting mission, slain by the enemy, and I could never rest when my father was leading them.  It was his duty as Chief, I knew, but I prayed every day to the goddesses old and new for his safe return.

But what is Emily so on about? I wondered, scanning the crowd of men outside.  There were fewer of them than had left; they must have encountered a Pack of werewolves.  There was my father's second-in-command Ranmel, there was Emily's childhood friend Tristan, there was...

My breath caught in my throat.  There was a man I did not recognize.  Our Clan was never large to begin with, and it had only gotten smaller as the fights between the Shifters and the werewolves continued.  And I knew every single fighter, by sight if not by name.

This man had never crossed my path before, of that much I was certain.  He had a shock of jet-black hair to rival Emily's, and he stood the same height as my father, who was the tallest in the Clan.  His shoulders were broad and muscular, clad only in a simple tunic, with no armor.  And he was bound at the wrists and ankles with heavy chains.  My father held the end of the chain as though it were a leash, smiling broadly and laughing with the men and women who came rushing up to welcome him home.

"They've brought a werewolf," I whispered, my chest tightening.  Beasts of the night, the foul monsters who sought to take over our lands and make us slaves or worse.  And they had captured one.

My father looked up in that moment and saw me standing at the window.  "Yesina!"  He called, waving broadly with his free hand.  "Come down and see the pet I've brought you!"

I should have brushed my hair or changed my dress into something nicer, I knew, but there was no time.  I envied Emilia again for a moment as I darted out of the room--even at her most flustered, at her most unprepared, she looked an absolute vision, like a porcelain doll.  I, on the other hand, was sure to look a scattered, disheveled mess with a tangle of blonde hair and a dress that had was stained from yesterday's dinner.

I flew past her, sprinting in my bare feet down the stone hallway and uneven steps out to the courtyard.  I could have run faster if I had shifted, but shifting back in the courtyard would have been a bit more exposing than I was ready to do, especially when I was not quite yet eighteen.