IN THE ARMS OF MY ALPHA By Cassandra M Prologue

Caspian – 15 years old

Andrea – 12 years old 

CASPIAN.

I was sitting on a boulder in a meadow, overlooking the whole territory that belongs to the Silver Moon Pack. I was just here with my father to visit his friend, but since I had nothing to do here, I decided to check the forest ground and ended up in this place.

To say that this place was beautiful would be an understatement. It was magnificent. It reminded me of the hillside in our own territory that I visit often. So even if this place wasn’t ours, I felt solitude here. It felt like home.

My eyes were busy scoring the whole area when I heard movement from my back in the bushes a few feet away. Leaves rustled and small footsteps thudded against the ground. I turned my head back. It wasn’t long before a small figure emerged from the bushes, panting from all the running.

Andrea.

Her big doe eyes widened at the sight of me, and I could see apprehension flashing in them. I offered her a welcoming smile, letting her know that she was in a safe place with me.

“Hey! Come here! Are you okay?” I motioned with my hand, asking her to come over.

“What are you doing here?” She asked with a soft voice. Her gaze was everywhere except on my face.

“Hiding from the world. And you?” I chuckled, but it was the truth.

“Hiding from Riley. He wanted to play board games with me, and I said I didn’t want to, but he keeps coming to me.” She let out a deep sigh before standing in front of me. “Is it okay if I sit there?” She asked politely, her finger pointing at the space beside me.

My eyes shifted to the space beside me as I inched to the other side to give her space. “Of course, why not? I don’t own this place.”

“Papa said you’ll be the next Alpha, just like Riley and I must be respectful around you…” I just chuckled at her words and didn’t say anything, just patted the space beside me.

“Where is Alia? I was hoping to play with her today.” She asked as she sat beside me.

“We couldn’t wake her up early and we didn’t have time to wait for her, so we left without her. But I’ll tell her that you looked for her and maybe next time she’ll wake up early.”

She just nodded her head, “Is it nice in your territory?”

“Yes, I love it there.” My answer was from the heart.

“I want to go there… Will you take me?” She asked innocently enough that I couldn’t help but grin at her.

“I can’t just take you. You need to go there with your father.”

She opened her mouth to say something, only to close it when a voice erupted in the air.

“Andrea! Andrea!” I knew that voice, and I just shook my head in annoyance.

Andrea’s eyes widened as she stood up from the boulder and started pacing back and forth in front of me. “Riley is coming…” she said in a hushed voice, and I wasn’t sure if she was saying it to me or herself.

“I need to hide…” she said, and the next thing I knew, she was already beside a big, tall tree and was trying to climb upon it.

“You know, he can still smell you, even if you hide up there,” I told her in a low voice, watching as she attempted to climb with no success.

She didn’t say anything, but she kept trying to climb, and when I couldn’t bear seeing her slide down too many times, I stood up and rushed beside her.

I grabbed her small waist and pressed her body closer to mine. She let out a hushed gasp before she wrapped her legs around my hips and snaked her arms around my neck.

I climbed the tree flawlessly, which I’ve done too many times during my Alpha training. I didn’t stop climbing until we almost reached the highest point, but it was far enough that our scent wouldn’t linger on the ground.

Her face was so close to mine that I could smell her sweet cinnamon breath.

I was trying to control my wolf, Zion. He kept on growling in my head and wanted to surface. Like me, he was enamored by Andrea’s sweet scent.

Being the firstborn of pure-blood Alpha parents, I shifted on the last full moon before I turned 15. It was an ordinary occurrence for the next Alpha, and it was the same reason that I had to go far up in the tree.

Riley was already 16 and the next Alpha of this pack. It means that he has a wolf as well and would be able to smell us if we were nearby.

Andrea’s clutch on my neck tightened as the rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs were heard. It wasn’t before long that Riley’s form came into view below us. He was sniffing the air, and I had a gut feeling that he had caught our smells. I was just hoping it would be too faint for him to move on and search somewhere else.

Andrea was still tightly clinging to my neck until she lowered her head at the nook of my neck. Her breath was running on my skin, and I was doing everything I could to restrain myself from taking advantage of our position. She was only twelve. And yet, she was making me feel something I had never felt before.

I closed my eyes and tightened my grip on the branch I was holding while my other hand was keeping her steady in my arms.

It was then that I realized how perfectly she fit in my arms as if she belonged there as if she belonged with me.

“Is he gone?” Andrea’s soft voice snapped me out of my thoughts and made me open my eyes. Her eyes were staring at me as if her life depended on me.

“Let’s wait a couple of minutes before we go down.” She just nodded and rested her head on my neck again.

I let out a deep sigh before asking her, “Are you comfortable or do you want me to adjust our position?”

“I’m okay, Caspian. It actually feels good here.” Her sweet voice reached my ears, and I couldn’t help but smile widely while my heart fluttered with happiness.

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Caspian – 18 years old

Andrea – 15 years old 

CASPIAN.

“Caspian, please! I don’t want to go!” Her voice followed me as I walked down the stairs, treading my way to the living room.

I didn’t dare look back because I knew once I did, I would lose my stance and might give in and let her stay with us.

Small footsteps followed after me, and not long after, a small hand wrapped around my wrist, tugging it for me to look back.

“Alpha Caspian…” Her voice was breaking and it was shattering my heart into pieces. “Please…”

I closed my eyes for a moment before turning to face her and finding her kneeling on the ground, her tear-stricken face tilted up, her eyes looking at me, pleading.

“Stand up, Andrea…” I controlled my voice to stop it from breaking. I wanted to pull her into my arms, but I knew better.

“No… Please, Alpha. Don’t… send me away. I’ll do better. I will help… around here. I will work. You… don’t need to pay me. I will do everything. Everything. I can clean… the pack house. I can wash clothes… and dishes…” She was stuttering in between her sobs, and I couldn’t take it anymore.

I pulled her up from kneeling and cupped her face, my eyes boring deep into hers. “Andrea, just a few years. Just be patient with me. And then I will take you back.”

“Please, Alpha… I’m begging you… Let me… stay…” Her tears were streaming down my hands, and the walls I had built were slowly melting.

“Andrea, enough! You need to go!” I raised my voice because I don’t know how long I could stand seeing her like this. She needed to leave now.

Her body started to shake before she slapped my hands away from her face.

“I hate you! I hate you! I thought you cared for me! But you were just showing off! Now that your father and my father are gone, you’ve shown your true color! You don’t care about anything but being an Alpha!” She shouted those words, and the hatred in them was shattering my heart into pieces. If she only knew.

I watched as she ran towards the entrance and out of the packhouse as my hands coiled into fists. I was trying to restrain myself from following after her.

This was for the best. I kept reminding myself.

After a few seconds, my Beta, Paul came inside the house. “She’s in the car now. We’re leaving. Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”

I shook my head, my lips pursing. “Go. I have already talked with the headmaster at the boarding school. They’re expecting her and they’ll take care of her. Drive safely.” I turned around without waiting for his reply and was about to head to my office when I saw Alia, my sister leaning on the walls of the hallway.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Caspian? She just lost her father too, and you’re sending her somewhere she doesn’t know anyone. We need each other right now.” She said in a soft voice, her eyes were still puffy from crying.

“I already made my decision, Alia.” I dropped my gaze away from her and continued walking.

“She’s going to hate you for this.”

“I know,” I answered with a defeated voice.

But I don’t have a choice. I have a pack to manage. And I was falling in love with her.

I needed her away from me or I would lose myself in the process if she stayed.