Alpha Desmond novel Chapter 1

***22 years ago***

“This is the dumbest idea you have come up with yet. We are going to get in so much trouble.”

I laughed at one of my buddies who was crouched behind a tree with the rest of us. There were five of us hiding behind trees, looking at the football game that was going on at the time.

“They are the ‘Lobos’! How is this not the greatest idea ever? Plus, it’s not like we are going to get caught!” The soon to be Alpha of the New Mexico pack, Felix, chastised his friend.

I smiled. “He’s right though. If your father catches us, not even the goddess could save our asses.”

“Oh come on Des, he can’t do shit to you! You’re already Alpha.”

Shaking my head, we watched the game. The University of New Mexico was not known for their football team and they were living up to that expectation. However, you wouldn’t know it by how rowdy their fans were being. It was as though they were number one. This was going to top my list of stupidest things I had ever done.

“Alright. Let’s get ready. It’s almost halftime.”

I took off my shirt and pants as the others did. I placed my boxers on the pile of folded clothed and stretched.

“Goddess Des, you’re a fucking beast.” I raised an eye at Felix, who had his hands on his hips staring at me.

“Not all of us have time to slack off. I’ve been Alpha for three years.”

“Yeah and yet here we are…” His friend Ken piped up.

Laughing, I shrugged. “If we don’t get caught, it’s fine.”

There was the roar of the crowd and we watched the band come out. There were also the cheerleaders and their mascot. I rolled my eyes. Next to me, Felix winked and shifted into his wolf form. He was a brown and black wolf, much like his friends. I took a breath and let my body shift. The bones cracking and separating, readjusting and forming again. My paws hit the ground and I looked at the boys, they were smaller than I was but I knew I stuck out far more as the only pure black wolf.

Felix barked and turned around, running toward the football game. We all followed and howled in unison. As we cleared the short fence of the outdoor field, we heard hoots and hollers from the crowd. However, the band and cheerleaders knew this was not part of the halftime show. We looped around the whole field, growling at the opposing team before howling again as we ran on the Lobo’s side. They were all standing and cheering.

We were only supposed to make one pass, then run back into the forest. As I passed the last set of bleachers, I caught a smell and I skidded to a halt. For the first time, I felt my wolf fight me for control. He snapped and howled, pushing against my control. I turned my head and slowly walked toward the bleachers. The cheerleaders started to scream but I didn’t care. I smelled my mate. The scent was flowery and sweet, my wolf eyes sweeping over the crowd.

Felix came over to me and tried to push me away but I snapped at him. He seemed to back away for a moment but then pushed me harder. He growled and finally, I turned, not able to find my mate immediately in the crowd. We raced off together, the whole football field erupting in chaos.

“What the fuck dude?” Felix shifted and so did I.

“I smelled my mate. Fucking hell, I need to go.” I started to walk out but Ken put a hand on me. I growled and he lifted his hands off.

“Des, you’re naked. The only place you would be going is jail.”

He was right and I turned, grabbing my clothes off the ground. I threw them on and walked past all four of them. The football stadium had all but cleared out, the game cancelled for fear of an attack from wolves. I hopped the short fence and stalked over to where I first started to smell my mate. They had been sitting near the back of the bleachers.

Following the scent, it looped around back and through the buildings. I followed it and the further I walked, the more I started to panic. My wolf was pacing back and forth in my head, also starting to worry. My pace picked up as I followed the scent to the parking lot. Looking around, there were a lot of people mulling around, after the game was cancelled. My eyes roamed over every car and I tried to follow the scent but it was cut off at an empty parking spot. I stared at it, whining.

A hand clasped my shoulder and I looked up to see Felix. He had a look of pity on his face. Shaking my head, I didn’t want to believe it. They had to be somewhere, had to get out somewhere. My heart was starting to pound harder, every beat hurting more.

“Maybe they are on the territory?”