The Alpha's Other Woman by Vielle Nye (best fiction books of all time .txt) 📖

I pushed my nearly cleared plate away. "Well, I'd better get to work."

Samantha laughed. "You were never this diligent when we were kids."

"I never had a reason to be," I told her with a wink, before heading off to my office.

—————

I spent the morning going over paperwork involving the luna side of running a pack. After wading through the expenditures for various necessities, I turned my attention to another pack issue. One of our elementary teachers had found her mate and gone to his pack, and I somehow needed to find a proper replacement. Samantha was temporarily covering her classes to help out, but she typically worked with the pack doctor, and I needed to find a way to free her up again. She herself said that she had "no gift with pups without broken bones" and wanted to be returned to her regular duties as soon as possible.

I was trying my best, but there weren't a lot of wolves that were willing to even temporarily transfer packs for lower level tasks. I had sent out letters to our allies a week ago in the hope that they might have some young and hopeful mateless wolf who wanted an excuse to meet new wolves, but so far even that had come up empty.

It was a shame we couldn't simply hire a human to teach, but there were too many secrets on pack lands to allow any in. The hunters were just another headache if we inadvertently revealed the supernatural world to an unaffiliated human.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I needed to manage the situation, since people were always more critical of my performance than they would be of a destined luna. If they believed I had been chosen by a higher power, they would have assumed that I was the best choice automatically.

On the other hand, since Dane had chosen me, everything I did had been constantly scrutinized to see if I really was worthy to be the acting luna. It had been terribly intimidating when I had first begun, but I now felt like I handled it well and the pack had come to trust me.

I couldn't afford to lose that trust, so I simply had to find a new teacher to take over at least until we found one of the younger wolves with a gift for the task.

My nose twitched just as there was a sharp knock on the door.

I smiled. "Come in."

The door opened to reveal a smiling Dane. "Busy?" he asked.

"Just trying to sort out the teacher situation," I said, returning his expression with my own.

"Still no luck?"

"Afraid not."

He crossed the room and rounded my desk. "I'll beg for one while I'm over at Blackcreek."

"Aw, thanks, Alpha."

He leaned down so that he was level with me in my chair and brought his mouth to my own. I enthusiastically responded to his touch and shifted my body to meet his. He groaned and after a long moment, pulled back. "Afraid I don't have time right now to have my way with you here and now."

"You sure?" I teased.

"Alpha's always right. He doesn’t want to be right now, though."

I laughed as he stood up again. "Well, you can always come back here later."

I saw the interest in his eyes as his mind wandered through the possibilities. It wouldn't be the first time. "We'll have to do that."

"Have a safe journey, Alpha."

He grinned and with another kiss, turned to leave me smiling in my office. The door shut behind him and my smile faltered. I turned my attention back to my work.

The rest of the day was busy but uneventful. Dane made it to Blackcreek without any issues, and I turned my mind to what needed to be done.

Around supper, I received a call that Dane would not be heading back that night. Unease brushed me, but I told myself that I was being silly, and I had Samantha try to convince me of the same as we sat around finishing our supper with her mate.

It was strange that Dane was not returning. Blackcreek was so close there was no point in not coming home. I worried that there was danger on the horizon, but I did my duty and pretended that his behaviour was perfectly normal to keep the rest of the pack calm. There was no reason to worry them over what was almost certainly nothing.

I slept fitfully in bed alone that night.

The next morning, Dane returned. I didn't see him, which was strange, but I heard through other pack members that he was back. Normally after a trip, he always came and greeted me right away upon his return, and my worries doubled at that change in behaviour. Had something serious happened? Things had been peaceful with our pack for so long. I could feel a strange tension beginning to run through the pack, as if everyone else knew something bad was on the horizon.

By the afternoon, I could no longer bear waiting. I mind linked Dane.

"Dane? I've heard you're back."

It was a long moment before he responded.

"I am. I need to talk to you later."

A lump formed in my throat. Was he really just going to say that and then make me wait? "You're scaring me."

There was another long pause before he said more and it only served to increase my tension.

"Dane?"

"Sorry. Actually, I'll come talk to you, now."

His words should have made me feel better, but they did not. A minute later there was a knock on my office door.

"Come in," I said, nervous rather than excited to see him unlike the previous day.

Dane walked in, but instead of coming straight to me, he sat in the chair on the opposite side of the room. He was strangely silent.

"What is it?" I asked, unable to bear waiting any longer.

His expression was dour. He inhaled deeply. "I found my mate."