A New Kind of Alpha

NOT EDITED:

One month later...

The air felt a little peaceful in Blood Venom today as I walked around the pack territory. After all, it was a month after the un-cooperating Coucil members executed, and the Council officially disbanded. I felt more connected to the pack as I addressed them as Luna for the first time on the day of the execution, and a feeling of relief washed over me as they embraced me as their Luna in return. It was easy to connect with them regarding the absence of Axel, and their genuine words of encouragement really helped me step into my role as Luna.

I took a deep breath, feeling the freshness of the air and the slight mist of the water from the nearby waterfall. In just a span of a few months, the whole system in the pack was shifted, and for the first time, the ominous feel of Blood Venom dissipated. Of course it did, the Council is gone and the big bad Alpha is still laying unconscious in a hospital bed. Instead, a mere 19 year old girl, who failed the Lunar Trials, is running the pack, hoping that a semblance of normalcy will resume. But normal in Blood Venom was never that good.

It's as though even the trees knew that something was different as they lightly swayed with the breeze. For the first time ever, Blood Venom was starting to feel like home.

I waved to a few guards who were doing their rounds of the territory, and they bowed their heads in acknowledgment. I have come to know the pack territory well and the names of all the warriors who do rounds of the territory. The responsibility of being Luna and continuing Axel's work was resting on my shoulders, but it wasn't something I couldn't handle. I couldn't help but let out a small smile as I thought about the person I was before I came here and the person I am now. In just a few months, I have grown so much. Yet, a part of me still wishes I were the naive girl that was dreaming about her mate being her knight in shining armor, ready to sweep her off her feet. I wasn't the same, but Blood Venom wasn't either, and hopefully if my kids ever lead this pack, they wouldn't be leading the most dangerous pack. Instead, they would be leading the most prosperous, fairest, strongest, and most welcoming pack.

I decided that I should head back and get back to work. I had a small break, but Alpha work isn't over, especially as I am still cleaning up the messes Axel caused during the time I was gone. Without someone to give me good guidance about things, I had to learn everything on the job myself. Axel's grandfather occasionally gave me some advice, but whenever I asked a question he just waves a hand, and laughs, "You're doing fine, don't worry about it. I'm not Alpha anymore, please don't rope me back into it."

My heart hurt a little as I thought about Axel, and I thought that I should visit him at the hospital after I get some work done. He was getting better, but at a much slower rate than we had anticipated. I knew that I couldn't spend the entire time in his hospital room, no matter how lavish it was. I had work to do that needed me to be on the ground and running and meeting with other Alphas and restarting alliances. I haven't had the chance to see him as often as I wanted, but I had been spending my nights in his hospital room. The days, however, were for the pack. I think it's what he would have wanted me to do anyways. As for me, there wasn't much time to take care of myself, but I am no longer losing as much weight as I once was. I'm definitely close to being a skeleton now from all the stress and feeling nauseous all the time, but at least I am eating a bit more.

"Calista!" I heard my sister call for me as she stood on the balcony of her room. My smile widened as I saw her excited face. It was nice to have her visit, and even though she doesn't really like Axel. I feel as though she is warming up to him and actually wants him to wake up, which felt nice for a change.

"What?" I yell back, mirroring her excitement. Her smile was infectious, so I smiled back, but a part of me was still forcing the smile. I always didn't understand why Axel rarely smiled. Yet, here I am only 2 months into this, and I feel myself starting to have a rougher exterior. When did I age so much? Maybe it was when I saw my mate get poisoned or when I killed a person, or when I started to run a whole pack. Not sure what the exact turning point was, but somewhere along the line, I changed.

"There's a surprise waiting for you at the hospital!" she shouted.

I stood dead in my tracks. Does that mean what I think it does? Is he awake? Is Axel back? My heart missed a thousand beats before it started hammering in my chest again, and before I knew it I bolted towards the hospital, only hoping that this wasn't another one of Corrine's dumb jokes. I don't think I have ever moved that fast in my life, not even during the Lunar Trials, and my legs felt like they were on fire. But I just pushed harder, making my way between the group of people that was surrounding Axel's room until I finally stood at the door.

I pushed the door open, and there he was. His eyes locked with mine, and his green orbs said all the things that we both couldn't say out loud. But I felt them. I felt my heart skip another thousand beats, enough that I was going to faint, as I remembered the first time our eyes locked. I think people got the hint to leave us alone because before I could catch my breath people were gone from the room and it was only us.

"Hi," I said, still rooted in my spot a few feet from his bed.

"Hi," he answered with a million dollar smile that I never thought I would ever see.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up," I said as I took a few steps closer to his bed and sat next to him. I wanted with every fiber of my being to just reach over and hug him and smother him with kisses and just throw myself over his body. But, I restrained myself. He didn't need an erratic teenager right now. He needed someone calm, collected. He let out a little chuckle and whispered, "Come here," as he placed a hand on my face and another on my waist, and pulled me closer to him, capturing my lips with his.

I think that moment was pure bliss.

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I looked up as I heard Axel's office door open, and he walked in, with a towel around his neck and some sweat still on his chest. He was excited to go back to working out with Mason and Jace, and it was a good distraction for him. His body had taken a hit after being bed ridden for months and sick from toxic chemicals in Wolfsbane. But, he is enjoying working out and bringing his body back to 'tip-top shape' as he refers to it. He was told to rest and take it easy. So, I was still taking care of managing the pack, but he refused to sit around and not do some exercise to feel like himself again.

"Love what you have done with the place," he said, looking around to see that I have adjusted a few things in his office and made it more my style. He continued to walk in, rested his hands on the table and leaned over to plant a kiss on my cheek. Then sat down on the chair that opposed the desk. I thought about how every time I came into his office, the situation was reversed. How I would be the one sitting in his spot, most of the time shaking in fear.

"Yeah, I thought I would add a little Calista flare to it. If you want I can put everything back to the way it was when you go back to taking over," I offered.

"Nah, it feels way more homey like this, and honestly, I am liking the vacation aspect of being an Alpha. I sit around and do nothing, get all the respect, and leave you to do all the work. Why didn't I think of that before? I could have put you to work a long time ago," he teased. I knew how much this pack meant  to Axel, and letting me run it, even when he was able to was the biggest testament to how much he trusted me.

"I'm not letting you off the hook that easy," I joked as I tossed him a file of the new training program that I was creating. "What do you think?"

"I think that our neighboring packs would love this program. You really are doing a great job as Alpha, Cal," he smiled.

"Don't you mean Luna?" I ask.

"What's the difference?"

"Are you really not going to go back to being Alpha?" I ask, curious to hear what he was going to say.

"Of course I am. I know my duty to my pack, and I know that for a pack to run smoothly, both the Alpha and the Luna are necessary. But for now, I think not only the office, but the whole pack needs a little bit of Calista flare."

"Good, because I was thinking of letting you take over when you are feeling like yourself again and going to college."

"What?"

"Yeah, I really want to go. It'll be fun. I want to have that experience, and I really want to get a degree. It's just that there is so much that I want to do and see, and after everything that happened, I just have a new perspective about life and what I want to do."

"We don't have a university in our pack."

"Yes, but some other packs do. And, since I've taken over, I've started some alliances with some packs so it would be a good show of trust if I start going there and staying at their pack. I would be representing Blood Venom."

"Is this your way of leaving again?" he asks with a small voice.

"No, I don't want to leave! I just want to find out more about who I am and what I can do. College will be good for me! I have so much to still grow and improve and discover about myself. And I promise, I will see you all the time. You had the chance to do all of it, and I want that too."

"Okay. Have you already applied? A few alphas still owe me some favors. I can get you accepted into any school you want."

"I want to do this on my own. I had really good grades in school, and I think I can get in based on my own merit. But thank you for having my back on this."

"I have been thinking a little about what you said, and I think I might go to therapy. Find a way to get over my demons and move on from my past. This will be good for the both of us."

"Would you like me to go with you?"

"No, like you said, I think this is something I need to do on my own. I have a lot of room to grow and improve too."

"Okay," I smile, happy to hear that he is recovering both physically and emotionally.

"Now, my Luna, do you want to join me at Lover's Grove? We can go skinny dipping and then watch the sunset together."

"As long as you promise that we'll somehow share another princess moment," I said with a smile as I grabbed his hand and rushed us out of the office.

"Always," he answered.