The King's Alpha novel Chapter 3

***Two Weeks Ago***

Shit shit shit. I was going to be late. I had been searching for a book or really a journal from Alpha Killian, three Alpha King’s ago. I finally found it, but I had been so deep in my search, I didn’t realized it was ten minutes past the High Council meeting that was supposed to start. I raced through the long corridors the castle and up the stairs before turning into a door.

I fumbled with it before I finally got it open and closed it behind me quietly. The main floor of the High Council had their seats behind a long table. From what I understood, the old High Council used to have robes they wore but now it was just formal attire. There were seats surrounding the high chairs and table. Those were for any onlookers, people who had come with the parties requesting an audience, or people like me who worked with or for the High Council.

Rarely did I sit on the main floor. Usually, I sat in the balcony above. From below, you couldn’t see anyone sitting up in the balcony. Not unless you moved to stand at the railing. The balcony had two doors to get into it, but the three rows wrapped around three sides of the room, save for the main doors.

I sat behind the High Councils seats, in case I needed to step up and speak as Alpha King. It also allowed me to listen without people knowing I was listening.

Settling into a seat, I noticed that they were speaking to a vampire couple and I was glad I didn’t miss anything werewolf related. The couple were asking permission to start a new coven. Normally, that wouldn’t need the council’s approval but apparently the size of it, they wanted to make sure the High Council knew. Since the fiasco with the BloodHunter coven, large covens were typically looked at with a suspicious eye.

“You have worked out the land in which your coven will stay?”

“Yes, High Councilor Jessica. We have made the arrangements and have made sure that no one will be dealing with the human population in the city over.”

I smiled. If they were going to make the sale, High Councilor Jess was the person to start with. She took over one of the vampire seats when there was the shift in power. It happened before I came but Grandpa and Mom explained that the old High Council were out for themselves most of the time. They didn’t care who was hurt in the process. Mom, Grandpa, Dad and few other prominent people saw to the shift in power. Whether it was forcing an early retirement or death. Either way, the new council I respected and they handled things fairly. They would also be more apt to help when someone needed it.

The meeting continued and there were another four different requests. Apparently, there were six today in total. After the first one, I had opened my book and started to read. It didn’t seem like anything was going to be crazy today.

“The final one will be here in twenty minutes. We will take a break until then.” High Councilor Mark, a werewolf and a previous Alpha, declared.

I leaned back in my seat and buried my nose deeper into the journal. It was fascinating. Alpha King Killian took on the war with the Vampires. The BloodHunter coven wasn’t as well known or at least the name wasn’t well known, so it just felt more like it was a war against all vampires. It was him though that realized it was a select few. He actually helped in making peace with the unrelated vampires, one of them being Grandpa. His choice to not view everyone as one lump group saved not only his pack but also the werewolf race as a whole.

We nearly lost half of our kind during those beginning years of his reign. The history books were quick to list his achievements but I was more interested in his personal journals. I knew it couldn’t have been easy and I was right. His personal journal was riddled with the pain he felt for his kind. His subjects that were being killed when he felt powerless to stop it.

“Earth to Vale. Anyone home?”

I looked up and nearly jumped out of my seat. “Goddess, Jess. Don’t scare me like that.”

“You are the only werewolf I know who would be so into a book that you wouldn’t notice a vampire walking up to you.”

I rolled my eyes and set down my book. “Why am I being graced by your presence, High Councilor?”

Jess rolled her eyes. “You were late today.”

“Yeah? And? I didn’t miss anything important.”

She took the book out of my hand and I growled. “What’s so interesting about some stuffy old book? You know, we could make history, you and I.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me and I shook my head.

“No thanks. While I’m sure you could tell me about how you lived three hundred years ago, I’d rather you not talk with your mouth full.”

Her jaw dropped and she went bright red. “Vale Everfell! If your mother could hear you, I wonder what she would say!”

I laughed. “Nothing. She can’t talk, remember?"

Her face paled and her jaw dropped further. “Vale!"

Shaking my head, I tried to control my laugh. “Her joke, not mine. She’s more crass than I am. She used to derail my dad so bad when he would slip up.” I mimicked my dads voice. “‘Why can’t see what I’m trying to do?’ ‘Because I can’t see you, nitwit.’ His whole argument would go out the window.”

Jess laughed. “Christ. I don’t think I could have handled it.”

“Seriously though, what are you doing up here?” I looked at her seriously.

Jess was beautiful. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and if you ignored the face that she was over four hundred years old, she was a man’s dream. As a horny teenager stuck inside a castle full of mostly old men, Jess and I had fooled around more than once. But she wasn’t my mate. She was someone I considered a close friend, but never anything more. She never asked for more either.

One drunken night, she had confessed that she would never fall in love again. After watching so many people die over the hundreds of years, it finally scarred her enough that she refused to have any meaningful romantic partnerships. A friend and a fuck buddy was all she could handle. Something I was more than willing to provide.

She had met my mom a few times over the years and while I know my mom knew about us, she never said anything about it. Mom was particularly open when it came to relationships. My dad was very firm on the ‘don’t fuck with anyone outside of your mate’. He said it wasn’t worth it and may ruin your relationship with your mate in the future. Mom had little to say though. She would smile and just say the heart wants what the heart wants.

“I think the last group is a pack thing. I know it’s something the previous High Council handled that’s now biting them in the ass but it might be something you’ll need to take care of.”

I nodded and sighed. “I guess I’ll hold off on reading then.”

She sneered. “Sorry to interrupt your time, your majesty.”