Page 3 of Midnight Moon
“Next time, we’re totally going to smoke your asses,” Stephanie tossed back.
“Unfortunately, there won’t be a next time, at least not for a while.” My father, the Summit Alpha, entered the conversation.
He distanced himself from the crowd of pack members who’d found entertainment watching our competition. He stopped when he stood in front of the four of us.
Stephanie, Mike, and Hunter immediately straightened, giving their alpha their respect through their attention.
“You overestimated your speed.” I met my dad’s bright green eyes, mirror images of my own, and I didn’t miss their flash of disappointment.
“I know,” I admitted.
“The Summit Pack won’t perform well in the Alpha Games if you don’t recognize your own limitations and seek alternative solutions.”
The tips of my ears burned hot with embarrassment.
He was right, but that didn’t make hearing his criticism any easier, especially in front of an audience.
“I know,” I repeated. I had nothing else to say.
“Come now, Benjamin,” my father’s beta, Nathan, spoke up. “This challenge was just practice. Blair won’t be so rash during the real thing. Isn’t that right, Blair?”
I parted my lips to answer but was interrupted when Nathan continued.
“Besides, Blair’s partner in the Alpha Games will be Hunter. They’re bound to be more successful as a team.” Benjamin gave his son a sly look. It was a look that started when I’d turned eighteen, and Nathan and my dad had decided, not-so-subtly, to try to hook us up.
As the alpha heir, I was slated to take over leadership of the Summit Pack. There was only one problem: I was female.
Not that being female was a problem. It was just that there had never been a female alpha before.
Not once.
Naturally, news of my inevitable ascension to the leadership role was met with mixed reactions from our pack members.
The more old-school shifters weren’t fans of the idea, but the notion seemed more palatable when my father began to hint at a potential mating between me and another pack member—namely, the beta’s son, Hunter.
Needless to say, I’d opposed the arrangement. The thought of my position only being secured if I mated with a strong male partner was nothing short of insulting, and I’d refused to agree to it.
However, my father eventually persuaded me to, at the very least, not outright reject the idea in front of our pack members. I was only twenty-one. I wouldn’t take over as alpha for another four years at least. In the meantime, I could continue to train to be alpha while minimizing the disappointing whispers behind my back.
While I agreed to keep an open mind about a future mating, that didn’t mean I considered Hunter a potential mate. Like all shifters, he was tall, muscular and easily more attractive than the average human. But we’d grown up together.
It didn’t matter that most of the single females in my pack would trip over themselves for the chance to mate with the beta’s son. I wasn’t interested.
Not that my lack of interest deterred Hunter’s dad.
“Hey!” Stephanie protested her father’s praise of Hunter at her expense. She crossed her arms and shot her father a glare. “That’s rude.”
Nathan smiled at his daughter. “No offense, Honey.”
“Offense taken. I’m just as smart as Hunter.” To say my best friend had a competitive streak with her brother would be an understatement.
Stephanie and I had been best friends since the age of four, and I couldn’t remember a single game of Candy Land, hide-and-seek, or basketball when she wasn’t trying to best her older brother. It didn’t matter that he had three years on her. Stephanie wanted to prove she was just as good as him at everything, which was why she agreed to be my partner in these challenges in the first place.
I felt bad that we’d never managed to beat him.
“You and Blair performed well this challenge,” my dad offered, placating my indignant friend. “You should be proud.”
Stephanie’s head lifted. “Thank you, Alpha Ben.”
