The Alpha's Feisty Mate

Preparing for Alpha Drake

Isabella POV

There was a group of guys standing outside the packhouse doors chatting. We got closer, and I saw that it was Declan, Jet, Jordan, Derek, and two other male warriors. They all turned their attention to us.

 

 “Hey Bella, looking good tonight,” Jet said, throwing me a devilish and playful wink. Always the flirt, I thought to myself. But honestly, I knew he was just joking around, and besides, I liked Jet. He's respectful and funny.

 

 I just rolled my eyes and smirked at him.

 

 “Don’t hit on my sister, ass clown,” Declan said while slapping Jet on the back of the head. Jet let out an “ow” while rubbing the back of his head. I chuckled at the two of them.

 

 I noticed Derek standing beside them, roaming his disgusting eyes over my body. He stopped and spent way too much time staring at my boobs. Derek has always rubbed me the wrong way. Unlike Jet's respect for women, he looked at women like they were just objects to be owned and possessed. He's sleazy in my eyes.

 

 “Eyes up here, loser,” I said to Derek while pointing to my eyes. He smirked.

 

 “You’re disgusting,” I said while exaggerating a disgusted shiver.

 

 Declan glared at Derek for checking me out, but Derek didn’t even acknowledge him.

 

 “Well, Clair, I think I’ve had enough playtime with these kids. You coming?” I said as I started to walk away, shooting Clair a look over my shoulder.

 

 Clair chuckled and said good night to the group before following me inside.

 

 “I’m off to bed, see ya in the morning,” I told Clair as I headed in the direction of my room.

 

 “See ya tomorrow,” she replied as she walked towards her own room.

 

 Once in my room, I stripped off my sweaty clothes and hopped in the shower. When I was done and dried off, I slipped on a pair of underwear and a black tank top before climbing into bed.

 

 The late-night training session took the energy right out of me. I must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing I knew, my alarm was waking me up.

 

 I looked over while turning it off and saw that it was 5:00 am. Here we go again, I grumble to myself as I sit up in bed, rubbing my sleepy eyes.

 

 I quickly showered and got dressed in my black spandex shorts and pink sports bra. I slipped on my white runners and tied my hair in a messy bun.

 

 I grumble to myself at the thought that Alpha Drake would be arriving today. Just great.

 

 Bri, my wolf, has been bugging me all morning to go for a run. It’s only been a day, and my father's new rule was already proving difficult to obey. I let out a heavy sigh as I left my room.

 

 ‘We can’t go for a run alone, Bri. You’ll have to wait,’ I said to her in defeat.

 

 Bri huffed but retreated to the back of my mind.

 

 I headed to the kitchen to grab a quick bite to eat before the nightmare of a day started.

 

 The kitchen was starting to fill up with warriors who usually grab a light breakfast before hitting the training grounds.

 

 I grabbed a bacon and egg breakfast sandwich and sat at a table where Declan, Jet, and Jordan were already seated. I grumbled out a good morning to the group, and they all just chuckled at my moody morning routine.

 

 “Isabella, Alpha Drake will be here around lunchtime. Father wants both of us present to greet him and his men when they arrive,” Declan said with a stern look on his face before continuing. “I suggest after that, you disappear for the rest of the day and avoid Alpha Drake at all cost,” he finished, giving me a pointed look.

 

 “Ya, ya, Don’t worry. I don’t want to be anywhere near the man,” I grumble back.

 

 “I’d actually like to see Isabella and Alpha Drake fight,” Jet said with a chuckle. “I can honestly say I don’t know who would win, the ruthless Alpha or the craziest and strongest she-wolf.” He continued to chuckle and shook his head at the thought.

 

 I pouted my bottom lip and showed my disappointment with his lack of faith in my fighting abilities.

 

 “You know, no big bad Alpha stands a chance against me.” I teased back.

 

 “Ya, she’s cray-cray. My money’s on Isabella.” Jordan joined in with a chuckle. I winked at him, showing him my appreciation for his support.

 

 “There will be no fighting, Isabella,” Declan said in a serious voice sending me a pointed look.

 

 I just shrugged my shoulders innocently.

 

 Clair showed up and sat beside me at the table before asking what we were talking about.

 

 “Oh, we were just taking bets on who would win, Isabella or Alpha Drake, in a one-on-one fight,” Jet said.

 

 “Well, knowing Bella, I’m sure we’ll probably find out soon enough.” Clair chuckled. “Do you seriously think a dominating Alpha male will not set off our little firecracker over here?” she asked with a head nod towards me.

 

 “Hey now, I’m going to be on my best behavior,” I said while batting my eyelashes, glancing over at Declan.

 

 Everyone chuckled except for Declan, who just shook his head with disapproval.

 

 After we were all done with breakfast, we walked toward the training field.

 

 “Attention, warriors. We are going to be doing some training in our wolf form today,” Declan announced to the crowd of warriors.

 

 Bri was jumping for joy in my head, so excited to let loose and kick some wolfy ass.

 

 I moved behind a tree, stripping off my clothes, and quickly transformed into my wolf before stepping back into the training field.

 

 Everyone was in their wolf form except for Declan.

 

 “Aright, everyone, I want you to start your training with a half-hour run and stay together. No one is to steer away from the group. Understood?” Declan announced, and everybody nodded their heads.

 

 Jet and Jordan took off running, and everyone else fell in line behind them.

 

 Bri, my wolf, was faster than everyone else’s. It didn’t take me long to pass Jet’s and Jordan’s wolves and end up leading the run. I had to hold Bri back a little, so we didn’t lose the group.

 

 We ran through a clearing in the forest, and I spotted something off at the far end. I was too far away to make out what it was, but I got a faint scent of copper that seemed to get stronger the closer I got.

 

 As I approached, I slowed to a walk. I recognized that the copper smell was actually blood, and I could make out a body lying at the base of a tree.

 

 The rest of the warriors were still running to catch up with me. I could see them at a distance in the clearing.

 

 I came to a stop in front of the body. I immediately recognized her as being one of our omegas named Teresa.

 

 Omegas were lower-ranking. We treated all ranks equally. It just meant omegas usually weren’t strong enough to be warriors. They served their purpose in the pack doing other jobs, like cleaning, cooking, or teaching the pups.

 

 Teresa’s body lay there lifelessly, and claw marks completely shredded her body. It was an absolutely horrific scene. Her eyes were open but drained of all life. All that was left was the look of absolute terror from what happened to her before she was killed.

 

 Pinned to the tree above the body was a note, "You have something I want. I will stop at nothing to get her."

 

 My heart clenched, and my anger was building at the sight in front of me. Who would kill a poor innocent woman like this?

 

 At this point, other wolves started approaching my location. Jet and Jordan were the first to catch up with me. They took in the scene, and I saw the shock on their faces. While they processed what was happening, I shifted into my human form and walked away towards the other quickly approaching wolves.

 

 I was naked, but wolves were used to seeing each other naked. It’s not a huge shocker. I usually avoid showing off all my lady bits to the entire warrior squad, but right now, I didn’t care—the least amount of people that see Teresa’s dead body, the better. I wanted to avoid the entire pack panicking because of some sicko out there murdering our innocent pack members.

 

 Once I was far enough away, I stopped the wolves from approaching. “Runs over. Head back to the training field,” I commanded the warriors. I could see confusion, but no one questioned my Alpha command. I may not be the Alpha, but my aura wasn’t something the pack could ignore.

 

 Once the wolves turned and headed back, I went to join Jet and Jason. They both still appeared shocked at the scene.

 

 I took a minute to mind-link Declan, so he was aware that the warriors were on their way back to the training field early.

 

 I also mind-linked my father reporting our findings.

 

 My father and his Beta arrived on the scene within fifteen minutes. The look of shock was evident on their faces when they took in the background. It wasn’t a pretty scene. Like it’s one thing to kill, and it’s a whole other thing to tear someone to pieces. Teresa wasn’t a fighter, so I knew overtaking her should not have required this amount of force and violence. It’s truly disgusting.

 

 My father ordered me to leave the scene and head back to the training field with Jordan and Jet. He told us that he would be taking care of the body and notifying Teresa’s parents.

 

 She was only 21 years old, far too young to die.

 

 Before we left, my father reminded us to keep this scene on the down low to prevent any panic. We all nodded in understanding before shifting back into our wolves and heading towards the training field. Once we arrived, I shifted to my human form and got dressed.

 

 I had enough training for the day, so I decided to head back toward the packhouse.

 

 I got to my room and lay in bed, replaying the morning events. Many emotions ran through my head, anger, confusion, fear of more attacks, sadness for our poor pack member, Teresa, and her family. I literally laid there for hours, completely spaced out with all my thoughts.

 

 Time flew by, because the next minute, I snapped out of my thoughts by a mind-link from my father. 

 “Isabella, meet me at the front door of the packhouse. Alpha Drake will be arriving any minute.”

 

 “Yes, father,” I replied with a grumble.

 

 I had totally forgotten about Alpha Drake.

Chapter 7 - The Alpha's Feisty Mate