Chapter 1 Chapter 1

ALEXEI'S POV.

"You'll never be alpha of Ash moon pack, you wolfless weakling," luna Mya spat the words at me with a rage I felt all the way down to my toes. Her words were laced with venom, causing me to reel backwards from the force of her hatred.

We were both in the hallway of the newly built church.

Father's corpse was barely cold in its casket yet my step-mother was already trying to find a way to rip me off of everything that father had passed over to me – everything that was rightfully mine.

Ever since my mother had died, father had hardly looked at any she-wolves. It didn't matter that they were trying to sink their claws into him. He was interested. But then, one day, when I was twelve years old, he had come home with a wolf with goddess like features.

Mya.

She was the total opposite of my mother, the late luna. She had an annoying habit of latching unto father's arm like a piece of badly chewed gum.

Father had introduced Mya to me as his chosen mate. A week later, they were mated.

At first, luna Mya had pretended to like me but over time, it became quite apparent that she favoured her daughter, Freida, over me. It didn't matter though. I barely cared that I was loathed by my step mother. In truth, the feeling was incredibly mutual.

With father dead, she finally felt comfortable enough to reveal her true colours to me.

It was why she felt emboldened enough to pull me into the hallway and try to intimidate me.

"Your father, may the moon goddess bless his soul, he made a terrible mistake naming you as the next alpha of Ash moon pack."

"Really?" I sneered at her, barely refraining myself from lashing out at her. "And why is that?"

"You must be really dumb if you truly want me to spell out to you the fact that you're weak, pathetic and wolfless."

She scoffed in indignation, pointing an accusing finger at me. "What could a worthless semi lycan like you know about running a pack?"

I pursed my lips, as I allowed her words to sink in.

Her words hurt. They were like shards of ice on my skin.

"I'm sorry I'm such a source of disappointment to you," I muttered, swallowing the lump in my throat. "Can we please not do this anymore? This is father's funeral. Insulting me and trying to covet my birthright is a slap to father's face."

"I'll talk to you whenever and however I want," luna Mya seethed, stepping closer to me. "This is your last warning girl. Rescind the title of alpha. Freida is more deserving of the title."

"Of course. She's your daughter after all," I clenched my fists, sounding bitter. "Listen to me Mya, I am not giving up my title or my inheritance. Father named me as his heir for a reason and I am going to do my best to see it through. As for being wolfless, I'll have you know that I'm working on it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a funeral to go attend. Unlike you, I actually care about paying my final respects to the late alpha of Ash moon pack."

The last sentence came out in the form of a sneer. I stepped backwards away from her. I waited until there were at least a dozen feet between us before I turned on my heels and made my escape for the funeral hall.

***

Father's funeral was held at the newly built church. The hall was parked full of delegates and representatives from different packs, all present to pay their final respects to the former alpha of Ash moon pack.

The graveyard was quiet as everyone watched the fall of snowflakes upon the sleek beige casket.

I stared numbly at father's pale skin, staring back at me from the open casket, and for a moment, I forgot to breathe. Next to me, Brandon gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, reminding me of his presence.

He was my destined mate. After my fight with Luna Mya, he had found me trembling in the hallway and had escorted me back outside, lending me his strength and his unwavering support.

I was lucky to have him. Now that I was well on my right to being the next alpha, I couldn't wait to be mated to him officially - to rule Ash moon pack with him right by my side.

It was all I ever wanted. We talked about it, Brandon and me. Our plans for the future. The kind of rulers we would be. The kind of pups we would have.

I seldom imagined myself being as open with anyone else, but with Brandon, it came naturally to me. Not only was he my lover, but he was also my soulmate and my best friend.

I was grateful to have him. Grateful that he was right here by my side.

To my right, luna Mya stood rod stiff, staring straight ahead, trying to put up appearances as the matriarch of the perfect wolf family. She was wearing a net hat that obscured her eyes from view. Next to her was my step sister, Freida.

Freida wore a net hat identical to her mothers, but where her mother was cold and unflinching, Freida was a sobbing mess. There were tears in her eyes, that she kept trying to dab at with a handkerchief.

I felt sorry for her. I loathed how much Luna Mya kept trying to wedge a rift between us. It always seemed to backfire though, because regardless of what the Luna tried to do, Freida and I were still pretty close.

Finally, after what felt like forever, father's casket was lowered into the ground.

The funeral was over half an hour later.

Back at the Ash Moon manor, there was a lavish reception being held there.

Brandon remained glued to my side the entire time.

We glided across the crowd together, putting up a united front.

We greeted the guests together. Listened politely to stories about the exploits of the late alpha Rowan Lovegood.

By the time the reception ended, it was dusk and I was bone tired.

Brandon led me up to an isolated balcony and wasted no time sinking his lips deeply into mine.

He kissed me with a mixture of softness and depth.

It was a soothing kind of kiss, that seemed intent on sucking all the sadness out of me.