Summer's Alpha (2 page)

“Get up.”  Autumn
shoves at my shoulder.  “Summer, get up.  You have to fix breakfast.”  I
stretch and look up into her almond shaped blue eyes.  Her white blonde hair is
up in a high ponytail.  “Are you awake?”  I nod.  “Are you …?”  She pointed at
the duffle.  I nod again.  “Okay.  I don’t blame you.  This whole thing sucks. 
Daddy is being an ass.”  I smirk.  I refuse to talk with him in the house.  He
can hear everything we say.  His ears are unbelievable.  “He’s in the shower,
your secret is safe.”  She hugs me when I stand.  “Where?”  I shrug.  “Okay. 
Keep in touch.”  Autumn and I have discussed this whole mating with Jackson
thing at length.  She hates the idea because she is in love with Tim.  I hate
the idea because I know that they will both be miserable but mostly because
with every fiber of my being I believe that he belongs to me.  He is
mine
,
even if he doesn’t feel the same.  He can never belong to Autumn because I
would rather die than know they are together.  Daddy sucks.    

“I will.”  She
turns and leaves. 

Breakfast is
uneventful.  We aren’t big talkers in the morning.  Autumn is busy with her
cell texting someone.  Freddy is eating his eggs with his eyes closed and dad
is surfing the internet on his tablet.  I look around at them, my family.  I
miss Kelly.  Her eggs were better than mine are.  Jackson is at the patio
door.  I motion for him to come in.  “Breakfast if you haven’t eaten.”  I point
at the stove.  He shakes his head. 

“Sir?  May I have
a word when you’ve finished eating?”  Dad closes the cover on the tablet and
carries his plate to the sink.  Dad thinks Jackson wants to talk about him
mating Autumn.  He probably thinks Jackson is ready to get started.  Boy is he
ever in for a surprise.

“My office.”  He
gestures at Jackson.

“I’ll clean up.” 
Autumn offers giving me a look, and I hurry to my bedroom.  Normally I would
listen to their conversation through the wall but not today.  I know my dad. 
Jackson is about to suffer the wrath of my father, you don’t question a
decision that he’s made and come away unscathed.  I haul my duffle onto my
shoulder and leave a note and my cell phone on my pillow.  Nobody will find them
until tonight when I don’t come home but I need the ten hours or so to escape. 
I’d like to kiss Jackson goodbye but he belongs to Autumn now.  I can’t stay
here and watch him with my sister.  It will rip my heart out. 

Out on the highway,
I watch the signs go by.  I’ve been on the road seven hours now.  I only
stopped for gas and to pee.  I’m getting hungry and the sun is starting to dip
lower in the sky.  There is a town in ten miles and I wonder if there is a pack
close by.  I’ve never known anyone that switched packs but I know it must
happen.  I think it’s best to lay low for a while until I decide if I want to
stay and so my dad doesn’t come after his bargaining chip.  I’m further from
Kelly since I went the other direction, Dad won’t expect that.  I left my cell
phone in my room because he can track it.  It’s too hard to hide from GPS.  I
will need a new one if I want to get a job though.  My boss knew two weeks ago
that I was leaving the parts store, I gave my notice, and he paid me in cash to
help me out.  He isn’t pack but I can trust him.  He said he would play dumb if
my dad came around and he would give me a great reference if anyone called. 
He’s a nice human.  My dad hates humans since a human killed his father.  What
did he expect to happen though while he was running around all wolfed out near
the farmer’s sheep?  Duh!  Wolf or not, you have to be smart.  Stay away from
sheep and the business end of a rifle.  Farmers are touchy about their
livestock.  I’ve stopped at a hotel that looks run down and cheap but I want to
be easy with my cash.  I have plenty on me but I don’t want to waste any of it,
I still have to find a place to live.  It seems like a nice town so far.  It’s
clean and I don’t see any of the crack heads or winos’ hanging around that Dad
always harps on when he talks about the city.  I get my key and go to my room. 
There is a payphone outside of my room so I call Autumn.  I push the star and
six seven so the number won’t show up on her phone.  Dad is smart so, he’ll
look for that and drag my ass home.  “Autumn?”

“Hey Sissy!  Where
did you end up?”

“Not sure yet, I
just wanted to let you know that I’m okay.  I don’t know if I’ll settle here
but I was tired so I stopped.  Have I been missed?”

“Not yet.  You
should keep driving.  He talked to Jackson this morning and they nearly came to
blows.  Jackson told him that he would not mate me.  Thank God because eww.”  I
laughed at that.  Jackson is far from eww.  “I know you think that he’s hot and
I guess he is good looking but Tim is ….”  She took a deep breath and sighed. 

“I know.  You
should mate him.  Let him claim you.  Just turn your tail up and let him take
you Autumn.  Then dad won’t have a choice.”

“Really?  He
won’t?”  My sister’s a submissive wolf and is certainly not strategically inclined.

“No.”  I really
hope that she does not mate with Jackson.  I couldn’t bear it.

“Then why didn’t
you do that with Jackson?”  It’s not as if I haven’t wanted to forever.

“We aren’t like
that.  He doesn’t like me that way.  We’re friends and that’s all.  If he’d
ever shown an interest, I would have.  I hate the idea of Dad destroying yours
and Jackson’s lives the way he did Kelly’s.  Be happy Autumn, have Tim, make
him yours.  It may cost him pack position but you’ll both be happier for it.”

“Thanks Summer,
I’ll talk to Tim tomorrow.  For the record, you’re wrong about Jackson.  I
don’t know exactly what he said but he was putting up a good fight for you.  Hey
got to go, he’s coming.”  She clicks the phone off.  Neither of us wants dad to
know that I’ve left yet or that she knows all about it.  What did that mean? 
He put up a good fight for me.  Yeah right.

I crawl under the
quilt in my hotel room after a shower and food from the restaurant next door. 
I have a chair wedged under the doorknob just in case and fall asleep a lot
faster than expected.

I have a dream
about Jackson.  He’s in the woods howling as if he’s mourning someone.  I
wonder who he’s lost.  I can feel how empty he feels, how hollow his chest is
and I wake up crying.  I miss him, not in the sense that I haven’t seen him in
a long time but in the sense that I know that I won’t see him again.  It’s
weird but it seems like the feelings are real not just a dream.  I should’ve
told him but knowing Jackson, he would’ve confronted my dad and told him that I
would leave.  After that, I would spend my days chained up in the basement
until my dad and his council decided what to do with me.  No thanks.  Jackson
may be an alpha but it’s recent.  My dad has been an alpha for forty years and
he is so much better at it than Jackson is.  I shower and brush my teeth.  Time
for breakfast, I eat more fast food which is getting old.  I drive around town
and check it out.  I see a few help wanted signs and an apartment building that
rents month to month.  I go into the places with the signs and the woman at the
bookstore hired me on the spot.  It was the third place that I applied and I’m
thinking that this is fate.  I explained that I was new in town and just striking
out on my own.  She said that I could rent the apartment over the bookstore if
I was interested. 

“It’s small but
it’s clean and furnished.  All that I ask is that you keep an eye on the
place.  I can’t afford an alarm company and if there is someone here, it will
deter a break in.  The place next door got robbed a few weeks ago and I am a
little frightened.”  Her deep brown eyes twinkled with mischief and I liked her
immediately.  Her name is Shirley, she’s in her fifties I would guess, and she
seems genuine.  She’s wearing a wedding ring but I don’t scent a male.  Huh. 
Maybe divorced and can’t let go?  Maybe she is a widow but it’s been awhile
because she doesn’t seem sad.  Time will tell.  “What do you think?” 

“How much is the
rent?”  I ask trying to do the math in my head that will tell me if I get to
eat. 

“I will tell you
what, I will give you the first six months for free, but if you don’t work out
in the store, you will have to go.  After the first six months, we will do an
evaluation and you will be up for a raise, then the rent will be two fifty a
month.  A girl has to eat, right?”  I smile and stick my hand out.  She shakes
it.  “No pets, except a fish if you want.”  I nod.  Not a problem, I don’t need
another mouth to feed.  “Okay then, let’s go up, and take a look.  There is a
stairwell here and one around the back from the outside.  The same key opens
both doors.”  I look around the bookstore.  It’s large to be an independent
store.  I can’t wait to dig into the shelves.  I love to read.  Shirley turns
the closed sign around and clicks the lock then leads me up the narrow
staircase.  She unlocks the door at the top of the stairs then hands the key to
me.  After turning on the lights, she steps out of the way for me to go
inside.  It is small but it is so cute that I smile.  The kitchen is definitely
a one-butt kitchen but it has all of the essentials and a small table with two
chairs.  There is a red checked tablecloth covering it with a salt and peppershaker
against the wall.  “There are dishes, they’re mismatched, but they work.” 
Shirley grinned and went through to the living room.  “There is one TV with
basic cable.”  There is a couch against the far wall covered with a quilt.  A
window seat overlooks the back of the building and I plan to spend some time
with a book there.  A recliner sits in the corner next to a bookshelf full of
books.  It’s quaint.  Shirley is going to the bedroom.  A full sized bed
covered with another quilt fills most of the room but there is a dresser and a
tiny closet.  I don’t have many clothes with me, just what would fit in the
duffle.  I will find a thrift store and supplement my wardrobe.  She flips a
switch and I am looking into a tiny bathroom.  It has a sink, toilet and shower
stall, perfect.  “What do you think Summer?”

“I think it’s
perfect, when can I start?”  Her chocolate eyes dance.

“You’ve been on
the clock for twenty minutes.”  She winked.  “You can move your car to the lot
behind the store.  Your meter is running out by now.”  I hurried outside and she
was right, one minute left.  I pulled my little red compact around the back of
the store and locked it.  I went inside through the back door and wove my way
through the kitchenette and tall shelves from the back to the front to find
Shirley.  She spent the rest of the day training me on how to shelve, price the
books, and work the cash register.  I am already familiar with most of it since
I worked in the town library in high school before going to the auto parts
store for more money.  I can’t help but smile every chance that I get.  I’m
free.  I can do for myself, be myself, and take care of myself.  I don’t need
my father to dictate my life.  This is America and I am supposed to have the
right to pursue happiness.  Nowhere does it say that my father has the right to
use me as bait.  Take that Daddy.

The store closes
at seven and Shirley locks the door on her way out.  I am to use the back
outside entrance when the store is closed.  I lock my door and skip down the
steps to the car.  I plan to get gas while I am out, some groceries and find a
thrift store in case I need anything.  After filling the car, I drive to the
grocery store a block over.  I can walk here if I want to.  It isn’t far. 
There is a huge thrift store next to the grocery store but it’s already
closed.  It is open from nine to five and I work from eleven to seven because
Shirley plays bingo.  Not a problem, I love to sleep in.  I will come back here
in the morning though before work though and look around.  Taking a cart, I travel
up and down the aisles with a secret smile on my face.  I am really doing
this.  I can grocery shop for me, buy what I want and eat what I want.  I pick
up some turkey breast.  It will make a nice meal now, and make sandwiches
later.  The best part of it is that dad hates turkey but he isn’t here to
dictate what I buy.  Ha!  Once I’ve paid for my groceries I head home.  Wow. 
Home.  My home.  It is my home without anyone telling me what to do!

With the groceries
put away, I eat a bowl of cereal for dinner.  Dad would never allow me to do
that at home. 
A wolf needs meat
.  My father’s voice echoes through my
brain.  A wolf needs cereal loaded with sugar once in awhile too!  I can’t wait
to sit in that window and read in the sunshine.  I study it thinking about the
most comfortable position to sit and read.  I clean my dishes and head for the
shower. 

At nine the next
morning when the elderly woman opens the front doors of the thrift shop, I am
there waiting.  I smile and hear her growl.  Shit, wolf!  I didn’t scent her
and that could be dangerous but not nearly as dangerous as the perfume that she
is wearing.  Wow.

“You don’t belong
here girl.”  She hisses.

“I’m new in town. 
I just got in yesterday.  I didn’t know there was a pack in town.  If you can give
me your alpha’s address, I will check in with him.”  She nodded.

“You go do your
shopping and I will write it down dear.”  That was easy enough.  Now how do I
convince the alpha that I come from nowhere and that nobody is looking for me? 
If he calls my dad and checks in, I am going to be in huge trouble.  I don’t
feel like shopping any more but I find a few pairs of pants and some shirts
that will fit me and are in decent shape.  I bring them to the counter and give
her money.  She gives me a card.  It says Larry Miller – East View Pack and
there’s a phone number.  I stick it in my pocket and thank her then take the
bag of clothes.  I walk back to the bookstore.  When am I supposed to call this
alpha wolf?  Perhaps I should just show up at his door.  No, that’s rude.  Crap. 
I want to be free at least for a while.

“Is something
wrong Summer?  You seem distracted.”  Shirley was sipping some fruity smelling
tea.

“I went to the
thrift store this morning and the woman was kind of mean to me.  I’ll get over
it, I promise.”  I try for an encouraging smile.

“Evelyn?”  I
shrug.  I didn’t ask the old bitch for her name, I should have.  Then I would
have something to call the woman that ruined my life.  “Was she as old as dirt,
have blue hair, stink to high heaven, and was she as wrinkly as a paper sack?” 
I laugh, loudly then cover my mouth and nod.  “And I suppose she growled at
you?”  I nod again.  Where is Shirley going with this, she isn’t wolf, I would
scent her.  “I was married to the alpha dear.  He passed nearly a year ago in a
violent car crash.  I know what you are so, you don’t need to hide from me.” 
My mouth was hanging open.  “Larry Miller is in charge right now but he’s only
a beta.  They are looking for an alpha, you don’t know of one that is available
do you?  I think you may be one but a female won’t do, they’ll want a male or
at least a pair.”  My eyes blink hard and I can’t believe my ears.  “I, um,
yeah, I kind of do.  He’s young, he’s never led a pack before but he’s smart
and I think he could handle it with some time and patience.”

“Are you two…?” 
Shirley waggled her eyebrows.

“Best friends
since I was two?  Yes.”  I smile gently.  I know where she was going with that
and as much as I’d like, no we two are not.

“Call him.  They
are desperate.  It’s been a year since Mark passed.  I will speak to Larry on
your behalf and we will set up a meeting with your friend.  What is his name? 
And how old is he?”

“His name is
Jackson Reynolds and he was twenty-three last month.”  I nibble my lip.  I’ve
been independent for one day and already I will have to call Jackson.  I’m
already looking forward to one of his bear hugs.  I feel the deep hollow
feeling in my chest again.  It’s weird but every time that I think about
Jackson I feel a deep loss, like I’m in mourning.  Shirley was dialing her cell
phone and I went back to shelving the books that I didn’t finish yesterday.

“Summer?  Larry
would like to set up a meeting with your Jackson.  Can you get him here?”  My
brows furrow and I sigh.  I can’t help it. 

“Can I be straight
with you?”  I ask.

“I’d hoped you
already were.”  That sounded like a scolding.

“Oh, I have been
but this could get me into trouble.”  She pulled me to one of the couches and
tugged me down beside her.  “I am the alpha’s daughter.  Jackson is supposed to
mate my sister Autumn but they don’t like each other.  I love him, like a
friend.”  I corrected when she grinned.  “Anyway, I ran off.  I didn’t have
permission to leave.  My father wants to sell me to the highest bidder in
exchange for an alliance.”  Shirley looked angry.  “I don’t know who I want to
mate but I don’t want to be used like that.  I don’t want to mate someone that
I don’t know or that I probably won’t like.  My other sister Kelly was and her
mate made her his punching bag.  My sister is the sweetest thing to grace this
planet so I know that her mate is just…evil.  I don’t want that for myself. 
Even though I am not my sister, and as alpha as I can be, I cannot overpower a
male.  I’m just not strong enough.  When he gave Kelly away, we all figured out
that Jackson and I are both alphas.  Point is that if my dad finds out where I
am, he is going to drag me back.  I don’t know if Jackson will be able to get
away without my dad knowing.  I’m scared.  I don’t want to go back.”

“You have the
right to change packs.”  She says and I scoff.

“Yeah, tell my dad
that.  As far as he is concerned, he has paid my way for twenty some years and
he owns me.”  I sigh.

“I will and no he
does not.”  Her brows rocketed up her forehead.  I shook my head quickly.

“I didn’t mean…” 
Shirley laughed and squeezed my thigh.

“Call Jackson, you
can use my phone.”  Shirley went to the back of the store to the small
kitchenette to make herself a cup of tea.  I swear she drinks the stuff by the
gallon.

“Hi Jackson.”  I’d
pushed star six seven to block the number.  If this doesn’t go well, I don’t
want Dad to find me.

“Where the hell
are you Summer?”  His voice roared at me.  Uh-oh, alpha and pissed, that is a bad
combo.  There is a long pause and then he sighed.  “Summer, don’t hang up,
please tell me where you are.”  His voice is softer now and he sounds different
than he did at first, nicer.  My guard went up.

“I’m safe.  I have
a job and a place to live.  The place where I am needs an alpha.”  I say,
carefully choosing my words.  I mentioned that you were available and they want
to meet you.  Their alpha died and they need one.  Would you be interested in
the job or would you rather wait around for my dad to cave and hand it over?” 
There now, he has an option and if he says no, I will hang up.  He never needs
to know where I am.

“Summer.”  He
takes a deep breath and I know that his eyes are closed.  He is leaning against
a tree because I can hear the birds and his body scratching the bark.  “Where
are you?”

“Yes or no
Jackson?”  I will not give up my new independence.

“Yes, of course
yes.  I miss you.  Where?”  He sounds so lost and my heart clenches.

“No.”  I have one
of those flashes of brilliance.  “I will meet you and bring you here.  I don’t
want you to know where I am, if you don’t know, you can’t tell.  I do not want
to come home.  I do not want him to sell me like a cow Jackson.  If you can’t
agree to my terms, I will tell them that you weren’t interested.”

“I won’t tell on
you Summer.  Jesus, I’m smarter than that, don’t you trust me?  I don’t want
him to do that to you either.  We’ve been best friends too long for that shit. 
Besides, since you ran off your dad is on a rampage.  It’s probably better if I
don’t know.  I have to get out of here before he grabs my dick and sticks it in
your sister.”  I gasp then giggle.  “Where and when?”  Shirley is lurking
nearby and pointing at her watch mouthing ‘now.’

“He’s like seven
hours from here.  I want to meet him and bring him in blind so if it doesn’t
work out he has plausible deniability.”  She nods.

“Who are you
talking to Summer?  Who are you mixed up with?”

“My boss.  Meet me
at the truck stop on route nine near Bartles, how long will it take you to
gather your things?”

“Twenty minutes. 
I will see you in five hours give or take?”

“Leave your cell
at home, he’ll track it if he gets wind of you leaving, and Jackson, make sure
that he doesn’t.” 

“You got it
babe.”  The call ended.  Babe?  Since when does Jackson Reynolds call me babe? 
Weird.  I am nearly giddy.  I can’t wait to see him.  My chest feels lighter. 

I’m in Shirley’s
white sedan waiting for Jackson.  She thought that it would be good for me to
be in a car they didn’t know if they’d followed him.  I’m avoiding interested
stares from truck drivers walking around.  Jackson pulled in and parked in a
lot off to the side.  The sign said long-term parking.  The truckers must use
it while they are out on the road.  He walks inside the store for a few minutes
and I see him give the clerk money.  He has a cup of coffee with him and he
comes out and stands on the curb.  I don’t see any other passenger vehicles
around that I haven’t already identified as people that I don’t know.  I roll
the windows down and I see his nose twitch.  He’s gaze flashes amber when he
finds me.  He looks around and hurries to my car then climbs in.  His arms are
around me in an instant and he’s crushing me against him.

“Summer.”  He
growls into my ear.  Oh God that voice.  He nips my neck.  “I missed you, so
much.”

“I was gone a day.
 Chill out.  Here put this on.”  I hand him the sleeping mask that Shirley gave
me.

“Seriously?”  I
nod and he smiles.  The dimples at the corners of his mouth deepen and he pulls
it over his eyes.  “You aren’t going to take advantage of me are you?  Please?” 
His smile broadens.  I take his coffee from him and sip it.  I’m already tired
and I have to drive or give up my location.  I see him stiffen but I start the
car and pull out of the truck stop.

“I don’t want to
be found Jackson.  You know if he thinks that you know he will bully it out of
you.”

“I know.  I will
do my best to protect you, I promise.  You’re dad is ape shit though.  If you
do go back, you are going to be beaten.  He is livid.  He’s asked every pack
member six times about your whereabouts.  He is convinced that we are all in on
it.  Meanwhile, Autumn let Tim claim her.”  Jackson laughs, the deep hearty
sexy sound fills the car and I smile while my core clenches.  This has to
stop.  He will scent my arousal and he doesn’t want me like that.  I don’t want
him to know how stupid I am for wanting him.  “When she stomped up to him in
the middle of the playground and pulled her shirt collar aside for him to see
Tim’s mark, he slapped her so hard that I think her head spun around.  When her
ass hit the ground, she laughed, told him that she was moving out and that she
wouldn’t be his pawn either.  It looked bad.  I mean I’m glad that she did it
but she should’ve confronted him at home, not in front of everyone.”  He was
solemn now.  “The pack is getting restless.  Your dad can’t control his own
daughters so how can he control a pack.  The pack is getting restless and he’s
getting more out of control.  Your dad needs a woman.”  I made a face that he
couldn’t see.  Eww.  “Then when Autumn told him that it was your idea, the shit
hit the fan.  He tore the house apart.  Freddy has been sleeping in the cave in
the woods because he’s scared to death.  If this works out, we should bring him
too.”

“At least dad
hasn’t any plans to barter with Freddy’s future.”  Jackson is reaching for the
coffee and I hand it to him after I take another sip.  I hear a growl rumble
through his chest when he sips it and I wonder what it means.  I’ve never heard
that one before.

“How long do we
have to go?”  Jackson asks and I hear his cell phone chirp.

“Did you bring
your phone Jackson?”  I nearly wail.  He digs it out of his pocket and I snatch
it from him.  There is a text message from his brother that dinner is ready. 
At least he didn’t tell anyone.  I roll the window down then throw it out.  “I
told you to leave it at home.”

“Sorry, I
forgot.”  He reaches over and squeezes my arm.  “I won’t tell you that it was
expensive and I need it.  I screwed up, sorry, it won’t happen again.  How much
longer?”

“An hour.  We’ll
sleep at my place tonight then you’ll meet Larry first thing tomorrow.  If
you’re staying fine, if not I will return you to the truck stop and what you do
then is up to you.”

“And if I’m
staying you are taking me back to get my damn truck.”  I laugh.  His truck is his
baby.  It was his grandpa’s and willed to him.  Jackson spends most of his
weekends working on it or rubbing it with a diaper. 

“Okay yeah, I can
do that.”  I adjusted my grip on the steering wheel.