Alpha's Beta

The day you're destined to find your mate is meant to be the best day of your life. It was for me. When I hit eighteen, I found out that the Goddess had paired me with one of my closest friends.

Jason. He was the son of my dad’s beta, and they were both over the moon for us. We were already so happy.

But there was a hitch. In a few months, we'd be off to college, and I wanted to soak up the whole experience. We were cuddled up on my couch when I lifted my head to look at him.

“Jason?” I asked.

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

“Can we hold off on the ceremony until after college? I want to fully experience college life, and I think it might be tough for both of us if we become mates right away.

You’ll be swamped with your football scholarship, and I've signed up for so many classes. I think it would be too much if we added the mate bond into the mix.”

“Are you…rejecting me?”

“No way! I love you, really, but I want to wait until after college to complete the mate bond.”

He was hurt, and I hugged him tighter to try to ease the tension. I was right, and he knew it.

It would be tricky for us to find time for each other with all the college activities, and that would hurt us both if we completed the mate bond.

Plus, I would probably get pregnant, and I wasn’t ready to be a mom. He nodded, but his blue eyes were icy as he pulled away from my hug and looked at me.

“Fine. We’ll do it your way.”

He got up and walked away from me, but I didn’t follow. He needed time to adjust, and I would give him that.

We started college, and it was everything I had hoped for. Classes kept me busy, but luckily, I was rooming with my best friend. She was also a werewolf from my pack.

We were studying with humans, but the pack had a fraternity for all pack members to justify our closeness and the need to always be together.

To keep the numbers high enough to justify having a fraternity, we would accept humans that we would eventually turn into werewolves. In that spirit, we would always admit a boy and a girl each year.

As the future alpha, I should have been president, but I didn’t want the job, so I left it to Jason.

He would be my alpha mate, so it was okay by me, and it was good practice. As a beta, he was more than capable of handling it.

The older members were happy to help organize our first party on campus. I was glad to be surrounded by my friends, but then I saw Jason with a human girl, and they were touching!

I shivered; my wolf was repulsed to see our mate with another female.

I soon found out that Jason was bitter about my decision and had started dating human girls and sleeping with them to get back at me. To retaliate, I did the same.

This went on for two years, and I was slowly reaching my limit.

I was having breakfast with my best friend Kristen when I saw Jason walk by with his football teammates. I shot him a glare, and he glared right back.

It was the first day of college, and we had to go recruit new members together. I was so not excited about it.

“Arya?”

“Yeah?”

“Are we going for a run tonight?” Kristen asked.

I shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

She saw me glaring at Jason and sighed.

“When are you two going to stop acting like children?”

I frowned. “Never. He started it.”

“Arya, grow up, please. The pack will feel better if our leaders start to love each other instead of fighting.”

“I know… I didn’t mean for things to turn out the way they did.” I sighed.

“I know, girl, but Jason got hurt pretty badly by your decision. He may be acting like a jerk, but he loves you deep down.”

“You know I love him too, but I won’t back down.”

I heard a growl nearby and raised my scowl to meet his glaring ocean-blue eyes. He ran a hand through his sandy blond hair to try to calm down enough to talk.

He was holding the sheets of the potential pledges. Great.

“Here’s your sheet,” he said, handing Kristen and me a sheet. “I also wanted to tell you that I got a call from your dad.”

“Yeah?” I scoffed.

“Arya…,” he warned.

“What do you want?” I snapped.

“It’s about the next hunt. You’re in.”

“What?” I gasped.

“That’s final.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. Who did he think he was?

“Don’t talk to me like that!” I retorted, using my alpha voice. “Remember where you stand.”

He recoiled and growled in submission. He didn’t like it, but I was the alpha.

“Thanks for the info. I’ll talk to my dad.”

He growled again before leaving. Chad, my best friend, looked at me apologetically before following Jason. He was the gamma and on the football team. Kristen looked at me.

“Well…that was intense.”

“That jerk, he won’t disrespect me just because he’s my mate. I’m the Alpha here.”

She sighed. “You high-ranked people. Stop acting like stubborn idiots.”

“I’ll think about it. First, I need to call my dad.”

She nodded. The hunt was our trial to incorporate human pledges into our frat. We would chase after the humans in wolf form, and if they managed to not get caught, they would join the frat.

I had never participated before because as an alpha, I was too dominant and scared the humans away.

It would be risky for me to join; my wolf was full of rage because of our mate. I called my dad, and he picked up right away.

“Arya, everything okay?” he asked.

“Why am I to join the hunt? You know it’s not a good idea.” I got straight to the point.

“You’re ready,” he answered in a neutral voice.

“Are you saying that because you want me to mess up and realize I need to complete the bond with Jason?”

He sighed. “Your ridiculous idea of having a normal—almost human—life in college is none of my business. You do what you want.”

“So, why am I being roped into this hunt?”

“You’re the alpha, for the time being. It’s your duty. Embrace it.”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. My father had a knack for that. He was disappointed that I hadn’t immediately mated with Jason and was still resisting it.

He couldn’t grasp that I wanted to take things slow. It wasn’t typical for werewolves to delay this long.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” I snapped back, my voice almost a growl.

“Good. You’re finally getting it. I’ll be expecting your report.”

The call ended, and I was left gasping for air. I bolted from the cafeteria, my best friend trailing close behind.

“Ary…you okay?” she asked.

“Far from it. He’s treating me like a kid. He thinks I need Jason to keep my wolf in check, which I don’t,” I growled.

“Sweetie, I know you. I’m just like you. You need him for that, just as much as he needs you.”

I clenched my jaw. I knew that, but I had made the choice to fully experience college life, and an alpha never goes back on her word.

It might have been childish, but I had made up my mind that as soon as Jason slept with his first human, I wouldn’t back down. He would be the one to come crawling back, begging for forgiveness.