Curse of the Hybrid Alpha

I had a simple saying, "never react in blind panic when you're faced with a scary situation."

Guess what though? Fate had a saying too. "Never make rules without consulting me first."

After its saying is a maniacal cackle that I would normally have found comical, not so much today.

Panic, of the hot, blind and wild variety, is swimming through me; running along my veins on torrents of fire.

My eyes scour the entire congregation of smiling faces, coming to rest on the one person I don't want to see today or ever, sitting ramrod straight in the first pew.

Our eyes lock on each other and a veil of anger covers me from the inside.

Proud and stubborn, regally dressed and oozing selfish success is none other than my traitorous Alpha - because I refuse to call him my father - Dimitri Vocci.

His golden gaze burns on mine, a silent dare for me to question his authority. His lips are pressed in a flat line, awaiting patiently the submission he knows would come next.

I lower my eyes, dropping the now wet gaze to my stiletto clad feet, almost lost under the lace veil of my gorgeous wedding dress.

I have never been able to stand up against him, whether as a daughter or pack subordinate; but nobody says I cannot silently hate the very thought of his existence. Which is exactly what I plan to do from this day onwards.

My fingers curl on the glittering design of my gem laced dress, twirling the stones softly. I would be in awe of the beauty that is sitting gloriously over me if I didn't already have the knowledge of an awful future. Beginning today.

KIENA

"Ms. Vocci, last daughter of Alpha Dimitri, do you bind yourself to this man? To fight with, support, give heirs, and become flesh and blood with him, till death do you part?"

Xhecon stares at me expectantly, an air of arrogant dominance pouring off him in violent waves. I can feel the stillness of the air as the entire combination of Whitevalley and Dark forest packs hold their breaths in anticipation.

My response would be the key to securing an alliance that benefits no one but the Alphas involved, at least that's what it seems like to me.

My mouth moves before I can stop it. "No." The sound is feeble though, barely audible even in the hush of the cathedral.

I know the exact moment the pack priest catches my response. His breath hitches and his eyes widen to very large proportions. I would laugh, but that would mean death so...

"What did you just say?" Xhecon asks in a cold hum, his voice menacingly low.

I square my shoulders and raise my chin defiantly. I did say I would rather die than be forced into this mating sham, so here goes.

"I said no. I refuse to be mated, or bound if we're speaking more accurately, to Alpha Xhecon. I am not a trade piece."

Collective gasps ring out in the room, and my father booms in fury. "Kiena Vocci! I forbid you from going against your Alpha." He adds in a much lower tone, one that is supposed to be terrifying but really isn't; "That is an offence punishable by death."

"That is only if I am a member of that pack, father. I denounce the Whitevalley pack from this day, I am no longer one of your subjects."

Father's eyes are round in shock, his lips parted on an exclamation that would never have voice.

"You would not survive a day as a rogue, Kiena." Xhecon threatens softly from beside me.

"There's only one way to find out."

All of the panic I thought I had shoved aside comes back swarming in, clawing at my throat with renewed strength. Holy shit!

I didn't just! Did I just? Oh hell! Well fuck! Oh my...!

Before the exclamations finish fighting for dominance in my head, I dash off; racing away from the alter with a burst of speed no one anticipated.

"After her. Now!" Father commands as I race away from the ruined ceremony.

Footsteps ring out after me as trained hunters from our pack dive after me in hot pursuit.

I might not be trained, but I am sneaky, and my being annoyingly small gives me a lot of bonus points when it comes to running away. I know, I've tried.

I make it out of the building and head in the direction of the parked vehicles, but run straight into a wall. A very warm, very moving wall.

"What the fuck! Can't a girl just..?" The words die in my throat as a pair of rough hands grab hold of my shoulders, halting my fall.

My eyes rise on their own accord, passing by an impressively toned chest and working their way up to a set of muscular shoulders, over a strong neck, angled chin, somewhat hollow cheeks, chiseled jaws, until they come to a stop on a pair of obsidian orbs; staring down at me with cold intensity.

Holy shit! What in the name of masculine perfection is this?

"Step away from the girl." The command is low but firm, coming from one of the dimwits that had been sent after me.

"I am not going back in there with you, go back and tell them you lost me." My response is out even before I completely spin around to face him.

"They would smell my lie even before I completely told it, so please do not be an orchestrator of my death and come with me." His voice holds a pleading note, one that immediately reminds me of the terror that prompted my fleeing in the first place.

"Then tell them the truth. I sent you away because I am no longer a member of the pack and do not answer to any of them."

"He would do no such thing," Dad says as he steps outside with an enraged Xhecon by his side. "I must have spoilt you silly, that is why you think you have the right to make decisions on impulse and run away from your mating ceremony."

A laugh bubbles out of me, dry and humourless. "I don't think you can imitate the act of spoiling if you tried, at least not with me. I'm sure Zara can relate though, remind me again why she is not here?"

"Who is the man holding onto you?" Xhecon asks, ignoring my argument with my father, and drawing my attention to the tower of heat I had all but forgotten.

The obsidian-eyed god, who had been silent during the whole exchange responds. "Zedane Rhage, Alpha of the blackwater pack."

His voice is delicious, it sounds like the undercurrents of rumbling thunder; starting from his belly and vibrating its way through his chest and out his throat. I would moan just from the sound of it, if the circumstances were different.

Xhecon smiles a devilish smile at the introduction, "You grew quick."

"As would be expected of every healthy pup."

What the fuck? Am I hearing things clearly? Is he so young that Xhecon knew him as a pup? How old exactly is Xhecon?

Xhecon chuckles quietly, the sound ringing with the promise of violence. It's all the man knows.

"Nice to see you again after so many years, Zedane, but I'm afraid you have to step away from the girl. We have unfinished business." He says the last part with his eyes locked on mine, and I work really hard to suppress a shiver.

"It pains me to inform you of how I am unable to carry out that request." Is that humour I hear in Zedane's voice?

"Excuse you?" Xhecon asks.

"I cannot let Kiena go."

Wait what? Did he just say my name? He knows my name? Is this the right time to freak out over that fact? Because I'm freaking the fuck out.

"Why?" Both Dad and Xhecon question in unison.

"Because she is my mate."

KIENA

Hold the fuck up! Did he just say MATE? As in bound by magic, flesh, blood and pack? Surely even my imagination cannot be that good.

When last did I get my ears cleaned? Oh curse my deformative memory! Dear Whatever powers that be, I promise to be thirty percent more awesome than I've been in my 24 years of existence; just let me hear clearly what this handsome rock is saying.

"What did you say?" There's a visible vein throbbing at the center of Xhecon's forehead, the tick tock rasp of the beast within him.

"Kiena Vocci is my mate, and I have come to claim her. I see no reason why you should even expect an explanation when she owes you none, and me even less."

That's what he said. That's exactly what he said. But wait! Hold on a second.

"You have no idea what it is that you're getting yourself into, son." Dad's voice is laced with unsurpressed venom.

"I believe you would do me the honour of enlightening me."

"You've been Alpha for how long exactly? A week? Trust me, you do not want to be starting a war with Whitevalley."

"I've been Alpha for 3 years, and my pack has grown considerably in that time, I appreciate your interest. And I do not see how I encroach close to danger with the Whitevalley pack, seeing as my mate no longer belongs there."

Xhecon's jaw twitches, and I watch his fists clench at his sides; his eyes blinking a dangerous shade of green - his wolf's.

"She is my mate, Zedane, not yours. There's a reason she's clad in a wedding dress."

"Is there a reason why she was running for the hills when I found her? Is she maybe terrified of what the possibility of an eternity with you would be for her?"

"That is none of your business, step away from my mate."

His hold on my shoulder tightens, and I hear something dangerous lurking in his voice when he speaks again.

"Do you Kiena Vocci, take Xhecon Luther as your mate?"

I steel myself, swallowing past the fear induced by all three Alphas emitting dominance.

"No. I revoke his offer to mate." My voice is surprisingly steady, and my gaze is firm enough to not miss the anger that flashes in Xhecon's eyes.

"Do you take me, Zedane Rhage, as your mate?"

"I do. One flesh, one blood, one pack, one magic and one lifetime."

I feel the weight of that promise sink deep into me, weighing me down with the ignored consequences of what I have just done. Holy cow!

"Judging by your expression, you're just now realising the full extent of that vow." Dad's tone is mocking, but his jaw is steel hard from the pressure of his clenched teeth.

I swallow, because he is right. I did not think at all before I made that decision. I just swore away eternity to someone I do not even know. Sure, he is good looking, extremely good looking; but he also looks like he has permanent romance with a frown.

"I don't think there is anything that could possibly be worse than an eternity with that undercover grandpa you were willing to hand me over to."

Despite the thread of dread tingling along my spine, I force the words out; making sure that they are ringing with conviction.

I feel a slight movement behind me, like some particularly giant sized rock just had his breath catch in his lungs. Did he find what I just said amusing? Oh wow.

"I'm sure you wouldn't feel that way an hour from now when you are trapped in a loveless mating with a toddler alpha and a half formed pack," Dad warns in a deceptively soft voice.

I don't think I would be exaggerating if I say I can see the tinges of amusement blinking from his hard eyes. The man acts like he enjoys my suffering, I have to wonder what exactly I ever did to never be good enough.

"Loveless mating? I was resigned to that fate already, I'd just prefer it be with a man that is worth looking at. And toddler Alpha? I don't think you and Xhecon combined can measure up to the level of dominance this "toddler" possesses; it's all I can sense," I throw back

"Being a pack Alpha goes beyond just being a dominant wolf, Kiena. But I doubt you could possibly understand that."

I scoff. "Of course you're talking politics. You both should be good at it, excellent even. I'd be surprised if you weren't, considering how malicious and manipulative you are. I would mention deceptive, cunning, reckless, heartless, tyrannical and all the other bad words I cannot think about in this scorching heat, but I'm sure you already get the message."

"I would love to stay here and listen to all what you lovely family have to say to each other, but I have somewhere to be and I'm taking my mate with me." Zedane throws in, cutting off whatever response my father's open mouth was going to spew.

"I would be very careful of my standing in pack hierarchy if I were you, seeing as you have no alliances with powerful forces," Xhecon advises, but you can hear the underlying threat in those words.

"If you were me. You're not. And not everyone is accustomed to licking ass to seek alliances, I can take care of my family and my pack."

"And don't think you know the first thing about healthy alliances either, all you do is take advantage of packs in need. I feel sad for any shewolf who ends up as your mate." My words are curt and direct, my eyes trained on Xhecon's.

"That's how the world works, honey. It's a jungle where only the fittest survive."

"First off, eww! Don't fucking call me that again, I couldn't be more disgusted if I tried. Secondly, you have no idea what being the fittest entails, you're a weak bastard with political connections and a twisted mind."

Rage flashes in his gaze, the green of his wolf evident in his usually brown depths. He jerks towards me in response, fueled by anger and no grace whatsoever.

Zedane steps around me to block me from view. "I would stop right there before I do something that guarantees my death." His threat is delivered in a low, calm voice, but is brimming with intensity.

I don't see when Xhecon halts, but I hear a satisfied "Good" from Zedane before he turns around and ushers me away from my old life, and into a new one.

We make it all of five steps before I hear my father's voice call out, "Kiena Vocci, you cease to be my daughter from this day. I break off all ties that connect me and all that is mine to you, and I forbid you from ever stepping anywhere near us. Your failure to adhere would mean a declaration of war from the blackwater pack."

An audible gasp leaves my mouth at the briskness with which the delivery was made. Oh. My. God!