Alpha Female - Book 1 -Under Major Editing-

Chapter 20

Things in the Silent Ash pack were eerily different in the days following Andrew Danielson's death. He had been a beloved alpha, same as his luna who went before him. The pack loved and respected them, and his death had affected them all. The pack warriors seemed to be letting up on their training, not seeming to be as motivated as they once were. The people in general had seemed to lose what joy they had at their former alpha's death.

Nicole could tell there had been a shift in the pack. There had been a shift in herself, in her wolf, pushing her to do better and be stronger. Her emotions were still all over the place, and she often found herself snapping at the smallest of things. Aldrich seemed to be her biggest trigger. He made her feel weak when he was around, especially when he began ordering people around like he owned the place. Her wolf at first had been so ready to submit to the man, ready to have his pups, ready to be his Luna; but she felt different now. When Nicole had accepted Aldrich as her mate, he had promised to be her equal. He promised he would never expect her to give up her role, and he would never order her around as she had seen some alphas do their luna. But yet, the very next, if not same night, he promised her dying father he would do the exact opposite.

She almost didn't believe Lance when he told her. She actually got mad, demanded he open up his mind link and show her exactly what he had heard. He did, and reality set in. She felt used, and naive. How could she expect a man to see her as anything other than a weak woman? That's what all the other alphas saw.

Countless alphas all across the country had visited her pack, asking her father to let them have her as a mate. Despicable is what they were, trying to buy her like she was some piece of land they longed for. She thought her father had seen something different in her, but in reality, he was just waiting on the right male to pass the pack off too.

Still, she found is confusing and somewhat endearing that Aldrich just stood and took the disrespect she had been showing him. She would yell at him, scream, and slam her fists on his chest. He just stood there, letting her until she was calm. She wondered if he had been the same way when his parents died.

Looking in the mirror of her office bathroom, Nicole felt herself wanting to cry. She blinked back the tears, smoothing out the legs of her black jumpsuit. Her fathers ceremony was starting soon, and she was dreading it. She had chosen to wear a plain black jumpsuit, with her hair left down and natural. Her slightly curly hair cascaded down her back in waves, and her feet remained bare as was the packs tradition. She hadn't put on any makeup, not having the energy to even attempt it. It wasn't much of a big deal how you dressed at a burial ceremony in her pack. All that mostly mattered was being there.

A soft knock could be heard from her office, making her turn and walk out of the bathroom to see who was there. Lance stood in the doorway, dressed in a pair of black pants and a white button up, his feet also bare.

He gave Nicole a small smile. "How do you feel?"

Nicole took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "Okay. I guess." she simply answered.

Lance gave a sad smile and a nod. "Are you ready?"
Nicole nodded, stepping out the door with Lance following behind.

They walked out the pack house, making their way to the burial grounds where her fathers pyre was at. In the pack it was tradition to be buried one of two ways: burial or cremation. Burial was reserved for the lower ranked wolves who didn't serve much use in the pack other than being a member. Cremation ceremonies were for the higher ranked wolves, more specifically the alpha, beta, gamma, and their families. They believed it was harder for higher ranked wolves to go to the other side due to their stronger ties to the pack. Cremation and spreading of their ashes helped them move on to the Moon Goddess.