Chapter 1: A Son's Throne

“Alpha Ash.” The beta greeted the newly crowned alpha with a bow. The man seated across the desk merely chuckled at the title as he swirled his drink around in his glass.

“Yes?” He questioned, not bothering to give the beta the formality, the pack had deemed him a threat with everything he had been doing. But, they had no choice but to obey him since the passing of his parents. He had taken the title of Alpha before he could even shift, and once he could, he set out on changing the pack and their old ways.

“There’s been… Complaints…” The beta murmured as those eyes stared at him, they had changed colors over the years, still silver and brown, but the silver stood out more now than it did when he was younger.

“What kind of complaints?” He stood, setting the glass down on the desk beside the mountain of paperwork he had yet to complete.

“Well, a few of the omegas have been complaining that the punishments for disobeying have been too harsh. The pups are afraid to come out and play in the open for the fear of upsetting you… And many find it hard to approach you, simply because of being brushed off with their concerns.” The beta kept his gaze elsewhere as he then continued to talk, not wanting to see the alpha’s gaze turn sour. “Not only that, but with the strangers from other packs coming in and out of the territory… They don’t feel comfortable living here unless we can assure them safety.”

“Well, we can start first with you looking me in the eyes when you talk to me. I did not select a beta to be a weak minded individual when it comes to talking to their alpha.” Ash growled harshly, the beta straightening and meeting his gaze finally. “Secondly, if the punishments are harsh, then they need to listen the first time.”

“I know but-…” The beta was cut off before he could finish his thoughts, a growl bubbling in the back of his throat.

“But nothing Liam. Do you know how hard it is to manage the finances of this pack, running my own multimillion dollar company and working with the others from various packs and having them get along?” Ash snarled, he kept quiet about running a shifter mafia, that he knew could cause trouble not only in his own pack, but others as well. “I make these changes to keep everyone in line. The way that they should be, times are changing and packs are too. I expect ours to be at the top.”

“Would your parents have felt this way? Would they have wanted to see the pups huddled inside their parents houses, playing with each other only in passing?” The beta questioned, a loud growl erupting from Ash.

“Don’t you ever f*cking bring my parents up again Liam. You may be my friend, but you know very well they would have wanted what was best for this pack.” Ash slammed his hands down on the desk, the glass shaking from the force of it. “They loved me, but they loved everyone in this pack more. They died protecting this pack, and I am trying to do the same. The ties I have to other packs should not be questioned, instead they need to be greeted kindly and treated like one of us.”

Liam said nothing as he eyed Ash warily, the alpha radiating every bit of that power he held. He cleared his throat, signaling that he was done with the conversation. “I am… Sorry for bringing your parents up. Forgive me… I will talk to the others, and I suppose there will be a few other shifters joining us for dinner?” Liam questioned as he stared at the alpha before him.

“No, they will be my company for this evening. I have a meeting to attend, if they are here, you can bring them up.” Ash responded as Liam nodded in understanding. The blonde sighed softly as he then turned and walked out of the office, taking the silent dismissal as a hint for him to leave.

It wasn’t much longer after Liam had left that Ash was leaving the pack house. Again. He had other business to attend to and several of the other newly crowned alphas had come along with him. The business deal they had been working on finally closed, and they had gained a lot of income from that. Some were thrilled and congratulated each other, others were silent about the whole thing.

A club was a good place to celebrate, many of them had decided as their driver had pulled into the parking lot, the music loud enough that they could hear it from inside the car. The majority of them had jumped out as soon as the car was parked and went racing up to the doors, gaining cheers from those inside who recognized them.

Ash was the last one out of the car, he had made his way up to the doors and stepped inside, a few had merely nodded in his direction as the only indication that they knew who he was. He ignored them for now, he wanted to be anything but the Alpha of Elmwood at this point as he slid into an open bar seat. The music nearly gave him a headache as he ordered a drink.

“Make that two.” His wolf stirred at the voice, his gaze drifted over to the stranger that had sat beside him and his entire body went rigid as he met the most stunning blue eyes he had ever seen.

One word rang out clearly, enough that he thought a hush had fallen over the crowd. “Mate.”