Chapter 65

“I love you, Kataleya. More than my own life,” he whispered.

I gave him a small peck on his lips and whispered, “I love you too, Justin. More than my own life.

We stood there for a few more seconds before he finished picking up the shopping bags and we finished our trek back to the packhouse. Once we had delivered everything to our room and I finished putting everything up, Justin asked if I wanted to go with him to his parents’ home. His sister had returned home from university and he had been anxious to see her. It was, also, her birthday and he had gotten her a gift. His sister had been pestering him about when he was going to get to meet me, which she had been truthfully looking forward to too.

I am nearly positive that we met before she started university, but honestly, I have no idea. Back then, I was still dealing with my own trauma, so I was not really giving anyone the time of day to even care. Truthfully, I didn’t care. My trauma, it had destroyed me and my very fundamental being.

I was excited about meeting Justin’s sister. Well, I am excited about meeting her “officially.”

We left the packhouse and Justin asked me if I wanted to walk there or drive. Since it has been nice out, I decided we could walk since it is almost winter. By the time that winter hits, it will be too cold for us to take these types of walks.

Once we arrived at his parents’ house, I stood outside for a few additional minutes before Justin asked me if I was ready to go inside.

I guess it is now or never.

I said that I was excited to go, but I never said that I was not nervous about being around his family again.

Once we entered the house, I saw a small blonde blur rushing down the stairs. She attacked Justin by jumping into his arms. He barely had enough time to let go of my hand before she was on him.

“Jessica, calm down. I have missed you too,” he laughed, while petting the top of her head.

“I have missed you so much!” she squealed.

I let out a small growl. More accurately, Skye let out the growl using my body. Skye is very territorial and she has her body wrapped around Justin’s torso. Deep down, we understand that she is his sister, but it does not stop us from wanting her not to touch our mate.

I stood awkwardly to the side. I don’t want to insert myself into their conversation, but at the same time, I am starting to feel awkward standing here, switching pressure between each foot.

Justin’s mom and dad walked into the room. The first thing his mom did was walk up to me and give me a small hug. “Thank you for giving them this moment. It has been a long time since they have seen each other and they were incredibly close as kids,” she whispered to me.

I nodded my head at her. “I understand,” I mumbled, “I get like this with my brothers sometimes. Usually, we are rarely a part for long periods of time.”

Justin’s mom cleared her throat. “Justin, how rude of you to not introduce your sister to your mate and future Alpha. Kataleya, I am so very sorry. I promised that I would raise him to have a shred more of respect and manners.”

His sister finally released her legs from around Justin’s waist and took a step back. She took a look around the room when her eyes landed on me and it  was like she finally realized that I was standing here.

“Oh my goodness! Where are my manners?!” she gushed. She rushed over to me before I could even respond. She gripped my hand and then pulled me to her, engulfing me in a hug. “My name is Jessica and I am Justin’s younger sister. You must be Kataleya, the future Alpha. Oh, how I have heard so much about you!”

I laughed. She talks a mile a minute. She reminds me of some of the children in the pack that I deal with whenever I go for a walk. There are plenty of times children will stop me when I am walking, so that they can interact and talk with me.

“It is nice to meet you, Jessica. Justin has told me so much about you,” I responded.

“I forgot how it feels to be the first female Alpha?!” she excitedly exclaimed.

Justin interjected before I could respond, “Geesh, Jessica, give her a chance to respond. You are overloading her with questions.”

His mom laughed, “Some things just never changed,” she said as she walked towards the kitchen.

Justin wrapped his arms around me and walked me towards the kitchen. We took a seat at the island and watched as his mom began to make the preparations for dinner.

Jessica came and sat on my other side. “You never answered my question, Kataleya. How does it feel to be the first female Alpha?”

I laughed. Of course, I figured she was not going to forget her questions anytime soon. I might as well answer it honestly and truthfully, she is going to be family after all. “Please, call me Kat, Jessica. No need to use my full name; I prefer it. As for your question, it is kind of nerve-wracking. I feel like everyone is constantly watching me and waiting for me to mess up. I feel as if I constantly have a target on my back. My dad has had several Alpha’s appear with the intention of trying to get me to be ‘promised to their sons’ in order to form a treaty. The most disgusting one was an Alpha trying to promise me to his ten-year-old son. I would give it all up to be normal though. I have never regretted agreeing to take my brother’s spot as Alpha, but sometimes I wish I was a man, so that I would not be looked at like I am some piece of meat or a prize to be won.”

Justin reached over and squeezed my knee. ‘It will be okay, I promise, love. You know your dad would never promise you an Alpha son, especially knowing that you have your mate. I will never leave your side. I promise. I will always be here.’

I looked over at him gratefully. “Thank you,’ I mouthed to him.

“Let’s change the subject,” his dad stated as he walked into the kitchen.

I shot him a grateful look too.

That was how our evening went. No one mentioned me being the future Alpha and the struggles that I was facing with, not only the leaders of my pack, but, also, the rest of the world. His family acted as if we were just a normal mated couple. They did not ask the burning questions that they had, such as if Justin was going to be named my Luna. They just let us enjoy a night by ourselves as a family.

The truth is, my father has done everything he has possibly been able to think of in order to protect me from the sad reality. I heard one of his conversations with King Lucas and Luna Everleigh without meaning either. They were talking about me and my dad was telling them about the sheer number of Alphas that were constantly lining up in order to take my title from me and my own right to my pack.

I was eternally grateful to Justin’s family for treating me as if I was already one of them. I guess I technically was, since Justin and I have officially marked each other. I was grateful his family, including his sister, stopped asking me questions about what it would mean once I took my oath as Alpha and how it would change the pack hierarchy as we know it.

You know, the funny thing about female Alphas is that they are myths and legends and they never know what might have truly happened to any of the other so-called female Alphas. I know I am not a myth. I will make a name for myself and I will fucking survive this.

In the current pack hierarchy, there are generally many females that have no rank or title, even if they are mated to someone of rank. They are meant to be a good mate who is submissive to their mate, but I want that to change. In a pack, the only female that receives a title is the Alpha’s mate, the Luna. Beyond that, none of the other “ranked females” have titles and I want that to change. I will be that change. I will show them that just because I am a woman does not mean that I cannot do the same thing that a male can do. I will go down in history as the one to change the pack hierarchy.