Page 7 of Fated to the Alpha

Therefore, he elected to work longer hours, as well as take the occasional weekend project to earn a little extra to stash away. But, with luck, they wouldn’t have to stay in Tolstone long enough to incur any significant debt against the Prime Alpha. To do that, Shane had to get moving on finding a new territory for his pack. He just wasn’t sure where to start.

That thought, that his stay in Tolstone was temporary, brought both hope and crushing disappointment. There was only one thing in Tolstone he wanted to take with him. Kimberly Ross.

Seeing her the night before had been nothing short of a whirlwind that kicked up sand in his eye while offering a refreshing breeze. Her rejection of him, the way she glared and basically told him to fuck off, was the stuff of his teenage nightmares. Only back then, he could wake up and remind himself that it was all in his head. Kimberly was his and always would be. Until she wasn’t.

“You’re here early.”

Shane looked toward the door at the top of the stairs that led down to the antique store. He had met this alpha at the last meeting, two weeks ago. Gage Phelps. Dark hair, green eyes not unlike Kimberly’s, tattoo sleeves, and he exuded a cocky male energy. He was supposed to be one of the best mechanics in Tolstone. He didn’t run his own shop, but all the shifters were told to take their cars to him for any maintenance or repairs. He still wore his grease-stained uniform shirt, with his name embroidered on a patch on his chest.

“Came straight from work,” Shane replied and tapped his booted feet together. A bit of dirt sprinkled from the grooves on his soles. “Looks like you did too.”

Gage gave a casual wave and headed for the coffeemaker sitting on the kitchenette. “I was buttoning up a transmission tune-up on a Chevy. Took longer than I wanted. Want a cup?”

The alpha held up one of those instant, single-serve cups, and Shane shook his head. “Pass. I like real coffee.”

That earned him a chuckle. “Fair enough.”

More footsteps sounded up the stairs. Sheriff Cole Spradley, an alpha who was about his father’s age before he passed, stepped into the room with Hank Cooper, Dominic’s beta. Muscled and a hair taller than the rest, Hank radiated beta energy by just walking into the room. From what he had heard, the husky beta operated a dog shelter in Tolstone. Shane couldn’t imagine Hank coddling strays or walking chihuahuas, not when the dark green staff shirt of the shelter stretched across his broad chest and sleeves hugged his massive biceps. If he had been dropped into the Warrington pack, Kevin would have recruited him faster than a cat scrambling off a hot tin roof.

Cole went to join Gage at the counter. “I’m not picky,” he said. “Start me a cup, will ya?”

The older alpha wore a navy-blue cop uniform, with streaks of gray in his dark hair, and a stare as sharp as a dagger. The sheriff’s pack was as permanent to Tolstone as its businesses and streets, from what Shane had been told. Unlike other packs that came and went through a revolving door, Cole never left, presumably to help enforce order in the town, hence his role as the sheriff.

The Prime Alpha’s beta ambled toward Shane. “How’s the job with Ferrin?”

Though it was Dominic’s pull within the community that got him the job, it was Hank who managed the housing and work assignments. He was the one who gave over Shane’s resume, but it was up to Shane to nail the interview and get the job. That part wasn’t a guarantee, but Hank took his responsibility seriously and wouldn’t let a shifter go jobless for long.

“It’s good. I appreciate that you took the time to pair me with a job like that.”

It was then that Shane noticed Hank carried a thick folder and dropped it at his feet. “It doesn’t always work out that way.” A bit of sadness touched Hank’s New York accent. “Do you know how the rest of your pack is doing in their placements?”

Shane mentally fumbled, trying to remember all the jobs his packmates had been offered while the coffeemaker percolated in the background. “I haven’t heard any complaints.”

Just then, Dominic entered the room. His keen shifter hearing had picked up Shane’s reply.

With a pleased sigh, he said, “No complaints. Music to my ears.”

Short black hair and icy blue eyes, Dominic might have belonged better on a magazine cover or movie poster than in a dusty antique store full of old shit. But beneath the plain gray shirt and faded jeans was a shifter unlike any Shane had ever met.

The Prime Alpha, to other shifters, might have looked like a typical alpha. Nothing special. Until a shifter focused and let their wolf sense the absolute abundance of dominance that he carried within him. It was subtle, for sure. Shane didn’t notice it when they met for the first time, but at every meeting since then, he had the feeling he shared space with an incredibly powerful alpha. More powerful than him and his late father combined.

Shane’s gaze bounced around the room to the three alphas. Which did Kimberly belong to? She had only mentioned a merciful alpha the night before by the creek. Who did she mean? Or did she mean none of them? He still didn’t know why she was in Tolstone and what exactly happened to her after her family was kicked out of Warrington. Since he promised to leave her alone, he doubted he’d ever find out.

Despite his burning curiosity, he didn’t want to break his word. He wouldn’t bother her again. She deserved a kept promise, as much as he ached to redeem himself in her eyes and pick up where they left off somehow.

“Do newcomers often complain?” Shane asked as Dominic took the seat on the other side of Hank.

The Prime Alpha crossed his arms and reclined back in the chair, glowing with the kind of confident and relaxed energy he expected from an alpha. “There’s always someone or something that gets in the way of a smooth transition.”

Gage left the kitchenette to take the seat next to Shane. The smell of oil, grease, sweat, and old body spray was strong. “Yeah, or in my case, it took some arm-twisting to make sure everyone was comfortable. Remember how long it took Kimberly to finally confess that she wanted an upstairs apartment so she wouldn’t have to hear footsteps across her ceiling?”

Shane had to keep himself from launching out of the chair to grab Gage’s collar and shake out more information about Kimberly.

Instead, he stayed as cool as a cucumber or at least tried. “Kimberly is in your pack?”

Gage looked at him sideways as he took a long sip of his coffee. The curiosity amongst the other shifters in the room was palpable.

“You’ve met Kimberly?” Dominic asked before Gage could answer.