I woke up to pounding. Whether the pounding was from the celebration last night catching up to me or from the door, I wasn't sure. I groaned loudly, hoping that they would take the sign and leave me alone if there were a person at my door.

The pounding didn't quit, and a voice joined it in attempting to rouse me from my comfortability. "Alena, there's an emergency meeting of the Alphas; we need to get prepared."

That shot me out of my bed, and I ran to the door, swinging it open to face my brother. "Damir, I promise if you're joking, I'll flay you and feed you to the fish."

He shook his head and pushed me back towards my room. "You need to go get changed, the Alphas will be here between ten o'clock and eleven, and it's already nine. Alpha Sebastian requests you to be in full representation of our pack and our position." I groaned but nodded and shut my door.

I'm not too fond of last-minute meetings. I wish we had weeks of notice to ensure I would have enough time to plan and set everything up. As a delta, my job is to prepare everything for meetings. I am responsible for seating charts, menus, the organization of visitors, and welcoming guests. I tend to lean toward the fraternization side of the job, while my brother and co-Delta, Damir, takes more of the logistical side.

I trudged through my sleep and slight hangover into the bathroom, where I scrubbed my face and wiped down my body to release the sweat from the night before. If it were any typical day, I would have woken up early enough to have a full shower before the meeting. Today, though, I have no time. I pull a brush through my hair and fluff the bottom to bring out the curls that come naturally. I inherited my brown hair from my mother, and I was lucky to have that reminder of her in daily life.

My watch reads 9:09 AM, and I see the day of the week. Thursday. This makes the meeting even more strange. Most meetings with the alphas take place on Mondays or Fridays. I shrug off the thought and make my way to my closet, feeling more awake after washing my face. I grabbed my floor-length blue dress and my white sash. The blue dress represented my pack, and the blue was as close to the color of our river as possible. Sometimes I wish it could replicate the foamy tips of the rapids or the murky brown of the runoffs. The solid, deep blue would have to be enough. The white sash represented my position as delta. After pulling them on and setting them where they belong, I ran a brush through my hair, threw on some eyeliner and lipstick, then made my way downstairs to the meeting room.

Entering the meeting room, I saw my brother dressed in the masculine version of my outfit. I internally pouted at the fact that he wore pants while I had to wear a dress. I followed behind him, ensuring everything was set to perfection until a buzz went off on my phone.

Damir had set the alarm on my watch for when I needed to be on Alpha watch. I turned off the alarm and walked out of the meeting room, going to the front door of the packhouse.

I'm lucky. I participate primarily in the business aspect of the pack and not nearly as much with the physical part of being a werewolf. To tell the truth, I hated taking my werewolf form. We called it shifting, and it indeed was a shift. I wasn't in control of my personhood anymore, but some animalistic part of myself took the reins. I preferred, instead, to remain in the offices, taking care of requests there. If Papa hadn't been so absorbed in the fighting, maybe he would have been inside and safe that night. I shook myself and focused on my job instead. I tidied up the foyer of the packhouse, making sure it was utterly presentable. The maids had been through to clean the marble floors and make sure that no dust lingered on the pillars, but to me, even a chair that wasn't appropriately angled was unpresentable.

The foyer was simply a taste of what the rest of the packhouse looked like. The first floor of the house was mostly all offices, and they all generally looked the same; it also held the kitchen used for large feasts. The marble floors with cream and grey accents gave off a welcoming but regal feeling, and Alena felt comforted simply by being in the building. Following the gorgeous floors led to either a stairway or a hallway. Taking the stairs up led to the bedrooms of those who did not desire to live alone. Young adults occupied most of the rooms, especially those who no longer wished to live in their parent's house but didn't completely want to be on their own either. The hallway led to the offices, but first, it led to the meeting room. The meeting room was the size of a small lecture hall, enough to hold at least 40 people. The floor of this room was also marble, and the longest wall was entirely made of bulletproof glass. Safety was a number one concern of the pack and using bulletproof glass allowed for an extra layer of protection.

Every member of the leadership of the River Keepers pack had their own office. Damir and I requested a connected office, so our offices had a door between them. Usually, the doors were reserved for mated couples, but we both had to be able to communicate openly because of our combined job.

The thought of the word mate made me bristle. Last night, the fun party that still has my head pounding was partially a celebration of my eighteenth birthday. I could connect with my mate through his scent now, but he was nowhere to be found at my party. I was honestly slightly shocked. I wanted my mate to be a member of the River Keepers, but I guess I'll have to go outside of my pack to find him. I know it would be so much easier to allow him to come to find me. I'm young, though, and have a long time for him to locate me. My main hope is that I can retain some of the duties that I have through being delta. I genuinely enjoy interacting with members of other packs. One of my few wishes for my mate is that he allows me to continue interacting with various community members.

The door to the foyer opened quickly, and I jumped at the sudden movement. Damir joined me in the entry as we watched out of the glass doors. My watch read 9:54 AM, which meant they would begin rolling in any minute.

Damir pulled at his sleeve, and I could tell he was itching to get out of the suit and back to the training grounds. We took Papa's death very differently, Damir and I. I became secluded and avoided the physical aspect of pack life while he pushed himself more and more into training, vowing never to fall as our father did.

Sometimes standing next to him made me feel even more alone. His presence reminded me of what was lost, but I had to push through and remember what I still have available to me.

I leaned against Damir, and he pulled me into his side.

"I'm sorry, Alena. I know you were excited about the party yesterday." His gentleness catches me off guard. I was getting used to his callousness due to his training.

Shrugging my shoulders, I looked up at him. "I'll be okay, Damir. As long as I keep showing my name, I'll be okay."

Damir rolled his eyes at my statement. He thought that my beliefs about names were utterly unfounded. "You're always a light, Alena."

Delta is a weird title for our position. It's the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, yet we're technically third in command. There was previously a position called gamma, but that had nearly died out. There were very few packs that still used a gamma. Deltas and betas split the duties now.

The beta was the second in command. Betas handle all of the pack warriors, keep them under control and prepare them during training in case of battles. The beta is not a position reserved for males or females and is best fulfilled by a couple. Often during the chance of having a beta pair, the female nourishes the community by caring for elders and the injured. If there is only a single beta, male or female, they must take that full responsibility.

I'm lucky to have my brother split the delta responsibility with me because I couldn't imagine trying to do all of the work that the both of us do at once. Deltas are primarily in charge of guests and passage into and out of the pack and through travelers.

The Alphas, the highest-ranking, are in charge of overseeing the pack and its businesses, including trades with other packs. They are also responsible for resolving conflict in the pack. Alphas can be male or female as well, despite the standard line of thought currently. A male Alpha's mate is always called the Luna, but a female Alpha rarely has a mate, and if she does, he becomes the "second Alpha" while she retains the original Alpha title. I think it's an ingenious way to ensure the one born with an alpha name retains the title and the power. We have very few female Alphas in our kingdom, the most well-known one being the Queen Alpha herself, Queen Lux. She was born the Alpha Princess, and her mate became King Alpha in the title, but she was the one who ruled comprehensively. Their son, the Prince Alpha, would become the King Alpha, and whoever became his mate would be Queen Luna, a lucky girl.

Prince Griffin was said to be much nicer in his youth than many of his ancestors had been. He cared greatly for the people around him while still retaining the power and strength it took to control multiple packs. I knew he was powerful, even just by his name. Griffin meant strong lord, but a griffin was also a mythological creature known for bravery and strength. I'm not familiar with the Prince, but it's highly likely he'll arrive today for the meeting. He had his twenty-fifth birthday recently, and he will be preparing to take over for the Queen. He had spent the seven years from his eighteenth birthday until now at a neighboring kingdom working on his training. 

I've been around the alpha prince multiple times since his birthday, and he hasn't scented me as his mate. I guess I just haven't been lucky enough yet. Damir said it might have had something to do with my age, but I know that's not entirely it. I know I haven't been able to smell outside of my wolf form for a year now, but I refused to tell Damir. If he knew, he would take me to Dr. Huxley. I had only ever been there once, and it stemmed from my disdain for names. Huxley meant "inhospitable place," and seeing as I would have to stay at the hospital for testing, I didn't quite feel comfortable.

As a black SUV with deeply tinted windows rolled up to the main doors, I straightened up and stepped away from Damir. He adjusted his collar and stepped forward. I stepped next to him and walked ahead, opening the door on the right. He followed suit and held the door on the left open, creating a large open walkway for the Alpha to enter.

Let the fun begin.