The Alpha's Heir

“Excellent!” a male voice called out from behind a tree after Daria’s arrow hit the center of the target that was mounted on a stake about 100 feet from where she stood.

It was her tenth shot on target this morning, and she was already exhausted after a grueling battle training earlier. The sun was shining now, and she was sweaty and thirsty.

“This is a good time for a break, yeah?” she called out to her trainer who had stepped out of his observation post behind a tree to retrieve her arrow. They were in the woods away from home where nobody could disturb them.

“I get to decide when you can take a break, but seeing as you’re practically melting in the sun, I think I’ll have to agree with you this time and call a time out,” said Kane with a smile.

“Thank you,” she sighed and hurried to take shade under an almond tree where she grabbed her water bottle from her bag of supplies and took a long drink. As much as she enjoyed these daily trainings, Daria believed that she had learned everything there was to learn about combat and self-defense, and she had a good mind to tell her father that it was time to take things easy and give her a breather.

“Is it break time already? The sun is barely peeking out through the clouds, and you two are lounging?”

“Speak of the devil,” Daria muttered when she heard her father’s voice from somewhere behind her. He had a habit of showing up unannounced during her training to observe her progress.

Lucas Braveheart was a tall, charismatic, and heavy-built Alpha who could still be regarded as eye candy even in his middle age. His dark hair was greying at the temples, but it added an extra charm to him, and Daria could see why the females in their pack always swooned whenever he showed up. He must have been a knockout in his younger years.

“The sun is blazing, Father, not peeking,” laughed Daria. “Besides, Kane said it was okay if I took a break now. We still have the rest of the day to train and that reminds me of something...”

“What?” asked Lucas with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t you think it’s high time we took things easy with the training? I am just as good as Kane, and I can take out any opponent that comes my way. Also, it’s not like we are going to war or anything like that, so…”

“Daria, if you prepare for an emergency long enough, it will never come,” said Lucas wisely. “Do you know what that means?”

“Yeah. If I’m always prepared, I’ll never be caught off-guard,” she replied in a bored tone.

Lucas looked up toward Kane and nodded slightly to the trainer. Without warning, the other man took to his heels and transformed into a werewolf as he sped toward Daria.

Her wolf sense picked up the signal that she was about to be attacked, so she turned around just in time to catch Kane in mid-air and push him back with full force. He landed on the ground heavily but got up immediately and came at her again with bared fangs and unsheathed claws. Daria ran in the opposite direction while her trainer chased her like a mad beast.

When she reached what was supposed to be a dead end, she ran up the large oak tree and hoisted herself into a back flip, landed on the ground, and shapeshifted into a werewolf behind Kane who hadn’t expected that sudden change in tactics. Before he could turn around, she grabbed him by the neck and squeezed it. He did a front flip, and they both landed on the ground with Daria beneath him. With all of her strength, she rolled him over, putting her on top of him while she continued to squeeze his neck. She was in the perfect position to snap Kane’s neck like a twig if she got the order to do so. She looked up toward her father, and when he lifted one hand up, she let go of her trainer and got off him.

“Impressive,” said Lucas dryly. “But I suspect that Kane was deliberately being lenient with you. I refuse to believe that he is not strong enough to haul you off of him and punch you into the ground like a sack of grain.”

“Father!” she protested. “I disagree with your assessment. I had him in a tight choke-hold. I could have snapped his neck just now if you hadn’t stopped me.”

“Maybe, but I’m not convinced,” replied Lucas. “Break time is over. Get back to training.”

Daria groaned. “Am I ever going to be good enough for you, Father?”

Her father’s face softened. “Daria, you are already good enough for me, but I want you to be the best werewolf around here. You are going to be the leader of the pack one day and I want to make sure that I am leaving my legacy in safe hands, do you understand?”

“Yes,” she said quietly.

Lucas walked up to her and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Your grit reminds me so much of your mother,” he said softly. “You need to remember that the pack does not respect only beauty, but also strength and confidence, and those are the qualities that your training is supposed to teach you. And don’t forget that you are a female which means that you will need to go the extra mile to convince those strong-willed males in the pack that you are a worthy leader. That’s no small feat, but I believe in you, Daria. You are my sole heir, and it is your right to take my place after I am gone. I will not live forever, Daria. Nobody does.”

His words touched her deeply, especially the part about him leaving her eventually. She couldn’t imagine a life without her father who had been her only parent since she was born. Her mother had died while giving birth to her, and a part of her had always felt guilty about that even though her father had told her repeatedly that it wasn’t her fault.

“Now get back to your training, and I will see you at dinner time,” he said.

“All right, Father,” she replied and gave him a quick hug before he left.

************

Lucas could tell that there was something bothering his daughter tonight. She was unusually quiet and barely eating her dinner.

“What is it?” he asked her without preamble.

Daria sighed. She knew what her father was referring to because he could always read her like a book, and although she had played out this scene in her head many times, she still couldn’t bring herself to say what was on her mind.

“Go on, say it,” he urged her when he saw her hesitation.

She squared her shoulders, looked him in the eyes, and said, “I believe it’s time for me to find a mate.”

He continued eating as if she hadn’t said anything, but then he looked at her again and said, “No.”

Daria couldn’t believe her ears. “No? Why?”

Her father ignored her and made a show of drinking from his cup of water, then he continued eating again.

“Father, answer me,” she demanded impatiently. “Why did you say no? Am I not old enough to have a mate? Will you ever let me be mated or are you just going to keep training me to become a warrior queen who is doomed to spend the rest of her life alone?”

Lucas sighed. “You will not spend the rest of your life alone, Daria, and I am not training you to become just a warrior queen. I am trying to groom you into a worthy luna who will command respect and be in charge of the pack. You are about to become the first female leader of this pack, a feat that no other female has ever achieved before. I want you to be focused on that alone for now and leave mating for later.”

She was silent as her father spoke. She might not entirely agree with him, but she knew he was right about being the first female pack leader. The thought of being in charge of the pack one day both excited and terrified her in equal measure.

“Besides, I don’t want you to be mated to just any available male,” Lucas continued. “Trust me, Daria. You don’t want to be tied to the wrong partner for the rest of your life. I had a beautiful bond with your mother, and I want that for you too. True love is worth waiting for, and I want you to experience it just as your mother and I did.”

She smiled at her father. She loved how his face softened and his eyes sparkled when he talked about her mother. As much as she felt a yearning to be mated to her life partner, she was going to take her father’s advice and wait for that time to come organically instead of rushing it.

“You are right, as always,” she conceded. “I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed and wait for my Prince Charming to find me.”

Lucas chuckled. “Fairy tales are for children, darling,” he said and rose to his feet. “I’m going to bed.”

He kissed her forehead and whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Father. Goodnight,” she replied softly.

**********

Daria woke up to the sound of loud voices and commotion outside her bedroom. She checked the bedside clock and saw that the time was 11:55 p.m. She threw back her covers and got out of bed to investigate the noise outside. When she stepped into the hallway, she was surprised to see half a dozen silver-backed werewolves from a neighboring pack running around and trashing their home.

“What the hell?” she shouted angrily, drawing their attention.

“That’s his daughter. Get her too!” one of them yelled, and three of his kind rushed forward to attack her.

She stood her ground and swung at the first werewolf to reach her, sending him flying backward as her fist connected to his jaw. The second one pounced on her, and she heaved him off, tossing him away like a bag of trash. He flew off and hit the wall hard, creating a huge crack in it. The third one was quicker than the rest, punching her ribs before she could stop him. His assault knocked the wind out of her, but she recovered quickly and dodged his second blow. By now, the others were back on their feet and were coming for her too.

“Think you’re so tough, huh?” one of her attackers taunted her. “Let’s dance!”

All three of them came at her at the same time, burying her under their weight. She changed into her werewolf form in that instant and flung the three werewolves away as she rose to her feet again with a piercing howl that sent shivers down their spines. With the speed of light, she went after the first, capturing his neck between her jaws, ripping through his skin, which created a huge gash that oozed blood.

Then she was on the next guy, lifting him up with her muzzle and ramming him into a nearby wall so hard that his bones broke. The third one took to his heels after witnessing the ghastly death of his friends, and he ran out of the house, followed by the others.

Daria chased them outside and saw that there were more of them fighting with her pack members. She looked around, searching for her father frantically, but she couldn’t find him.

“Let’s go!” yelled the one that appeared to be the leader of the intruders, and his pack instantly obeyed and took to their heels toward the woods.

A few of her pack members chased after them to make sure that they were indeed leaving and not planning to hang around and come back later.

“Where is Lucas?” Kane asked as he walked up to her. His mouth was bloody, and Daria could tell that he had been fighting with the intruders.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I thought he was out here. I’ll go back inside and check if he’s in his room.”

“That would be odd with all that ruckus that has been going on,” said Kane, following her into the house.

Daria knew what he meant, and she too found it curious that her father was nowhere to be seen at a time like this when their pack was under attack. He should be at the forefront of this battle, kicking those idiots in the ass, but he was unusually MIA.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw that his bedroom door was open, but it was dark inside. “Father?” she called out tentatively before entering the room.

Kane flicked the light switch on, and they both gasped when they saw the state of the room. The whole place has been thoroughly trashed as if the intruders were searching for something. Daria ran to the adjoining bathroom to check if her father was inside, but it was also empty.

“Father!” she screamed. “Father, where are you?”

“I think you know the answer to that,” Kane said calmly.

“No,” she whispered, refusing to accept what that sinking feeling in her gut was telling her. “No,” she repeated.

“Alpha Lucas has been kidnapped,” Kane said flatly.

Daria collapsed to the floor, transforming back to her human form.

“They kidnapped my father,” she said before dissolving into tears.

“Pull yourself together, Daria,” said Kane sternly. “This isn’t the time to fall apart. We need to inform the rest of the pack immediately and go after the silver-backs. The sooner we go after them, the better our chances of getting your father back alive.”

That last statement got her attention, snapping her back to her senses. “You’re right. We need to act fast.”

“I’ll go out now and rally up a search party.”

“No,” she said, rising to her feet. “Not you, Kane. I’ll do it. Now that my father is gone, I am the Luna of the pack, and it is my duty to lead.”