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I crush the empty water bottle in my fist and toss it toward the trashcan in the corner. “As if I’d do that,” I scoff, wiping my mouth off on an arm.
Hank’s technically my beta, though he holds the position in name only. As the strongest male in our pack aside from myself, I threw him a bone by granting him pack rank as a way to placate any aspirations he might’ve had for assuming power. He’s been happy enough to play along and doesn’t question why I keep him at arm’s length. Meanwhile, my mom has assumed the role of my real second-in-command, content with being the one behind the scenes pulling the strings.
I’m no puppet, but I let her guide me to a certain extent. After all, I owe her everything.
Mom pushes up from the edge of the bed with a sigh, stepping around it to approach me. “You seem tired,Mijo,” she croons, searching my dark eyes with her matching ones as she reaches up to cup my cheek. “Haven’t you been sleeping?”
“Not well,” I admit. I never do when we move to a new place, always on edge and on the lookout for potential threats as we get settled in.
“Anything from the six-pack yet?” she questions.
“Just that we have to keep away from their territory for the run tonight.”
“And after?”
I shrug a shoulder. “We’ll see. They said they need some time to fully vet us before agreeing to let us in, but I don’t see that being a problem.”
“Because there’s nothing to find.”
“Exactly,” I nod.
I don’t mention my little stalker girl or the fact that she was probably sent out here today to try to dig up dirt on us. As soon as I saw her on her laptop, I knew, and that’s why I approached her- because I wanted her to know that I knew. If you confront people rather than sneaking around, it lends to the belief that you have nothing to hide. It was also pretty damn entertaining to watch her get all flustered and scramble for a lie to cover her trail.
She’s cute. I know I met her with Maddox and the others yesterday, but I was too distracted by my mission to reallylookat her. Today, I couldn’t look away.
Uptight blondes aren’t my usual type, but for her, I may be willing to make an exception. I’ve just gotta figure out who the hell she is first. My stalker girl must hold some position of importance within the six-pack since she came out with thealphas to greet me, but since I can’t recall her name, I can’t exactly look her up.
I suppose she could be one of their mates. I didn’t scent a male on her, so if she is, she isn’t marked yet. Or she could be just a girlfriend. Maddox nearly took my head off when I introduced myself to the curly-haired brunette, so it can’t be him. Maybe the blonde guy?
“I’m proud of you, Javi,” Mom says, patting my cheek and jolting me back to reality.
I hadn’t even realized that I’d drifted off in thought. I hope to fuck it doesn’t show on my face, because for some reason, I don’t want her to know about my stalker girl. Not yet, at least.
“Thanks, Mom,” I reply, offering her a tight smile.
She withdraws her hand, retreating a step as the warm expression melts from her face.
There’s the cold bitch I know so well.
“Stay the course, Javier,” she reminds me, a look of steely determination in her eyes. “Don’t lose sight of our goal. The pack is depending on you.”
“I know.”
“I’mdepending on you.”
“I know, Ma,” I huff, stabbing my fingers through my hair. “I’ve got it handled.”
“That’s my boy,” she says patronizingly, giving me a shallow nod of approval. Then, without another word, she turns on a heel and heads for the door, evidently done grilling me for the time being.
As soon as she leaves, I flop down onto the bed with a groan, scrubbing a hand over my face and blinking up at the water-stained ceiling tiles.
Despite the stress of the responsibilities, I never take my role as Alpha for granted. I was born for this. I’m good at it. I earned it.
Still, some days I wish I could be someone else.
4
“Ready to run?” Iver asks, clapping his hand on my shoulder and startling me out of my thoughts.
