The Eresthai Series

Book 1: Victoria, the Supreme Alpha

VICTORIA

The choice to suppress my wolf wasn’t one made by me. I was too young to understand what was happening, too young to understand the effect I was having on my pack.

All the elders in the pack knew, of course. They remembered feeling my wolf’s aura as a toddler, but they all kept quiet, and I grew up thinking I didn’t even have a wolf.

Can you imagine? Being the offspring of two fated alphas while being the only one of four kids without a wolf?

And yes, the kids at school were dicks and reminded me about it every day, just in case I had forgotten. They tried their best to bully me about it, but when you grow up with three older brothers, you grow a thick hide.

The opinion of the pups in my pack meant so little to me that there wasn’t much they could say or do to hurt me. And if things ever escalated, my big brother, Felix, would always be there. And I mean always.

I don’t know how he knew, but he was the future alpha of the pack. Whenever he came to my aid, everyone scattered into the wind.

Felix never told my parents about the bullying—I asked him not to. Especially not Mom; she was the scary one of the pair.

It’s not often you get a female alpha, let alone a fated pair of alphas. We asked about it, but Dad said he only ever heard of it happening once before.

That pair never had any children. Apparently, the female was injured at an early age and was unable to carry a child full-term.

So there I was, a nine-year-old werewolf girl being sat down by my two alpha parents, trying to understand why I’ve been wearing something called a suppression charm ever since I was a toddler.

I had never questioned the necklace before. I thought it was a family heirloom, and as the only girl, it was automatically handed to me. That’s what I’d thought until Leslie, my only friend, wanted to try it on.

She burned her fingertips trying to take it off me. It wasn’t a normal burn either: her hands turned black, and they stayed that way for about a week.

Werewolves are highly allergic to silver; it’s always been that way. So how had I been able to wear this thing for years without being burned like Leslie was?

“You inherited the alpha aura, sweetheart,” said my mother. “You’re going to inherit the pack when you’re ready.”

My parents never sugarcoated the truth from us; it’s always been that way. You’ll find nothing here but the blunt truth.

I looked over at Felix. “But Felix is the oldest. He’s going to be alpha.”

Most boys dreamed of being an alpha, to be the biggest and the strongest, the leader of the entire pack, respected by all. Felix didn’t look disappointed or even angry with me. He must have known all along.

He just looked at me, shaking his head and shrugging nonchalantly. “If the Moon Goddess has chosen you to be alpha, then it’s not my place to fight it.”

My jaw literally dropped. I looked at the twins; the only way to identify one from the other was by their scent. Without a wolf’s nose, I’d never been able to tell them apart. “And neither of you inherited it?”

Axel and Oz shook their heads in unison.

I looked down at my fidgeting fingers, trying to think about what this meant. It didn’t make sense. How could I be an alpha when I didn’t even have a wolf?

“You do have a wolf, sweetheart,” my dad said, as if reading my mind. He joined us at the kitchen table, just having made himself and Mom coffee.

“You were the first out of all the kids to get your wolf, and she’s so badass that she scared the shit out of everybody. Hence the charm.”

I touched the charm around my neck with my fingertips.

“Uncle Keo made it. It’s filled with wolfsbane, your blood, and water from the Moon Well. The magic within suppresses your wolf from being detected by other wolves, lycans, or vampires—anyone who can sense magical beings.”

“So I’m not just a human then?”

“No, darling,” my mom replied, shaking her head. She managed a soft smile at me, but I could tell there was something more they weren’t telling me.

I looked down at the charm; it was a little bottle with an array of moonstones around it. “But if I’m a werewolf, why doesn’t this hurt?”

“The Moon Goddess saw it fit to bless you with a gift,” Mom said into her mug before she took a sip.

“What gift?” I’d never felt different or more special than anyone. I was just a normal girl. What could the Moon Goddess possibly want with me?

“We don’t know exactly, but immunity to silver is definitely one,” Dad said. “I think now’s the time we started taking that thing off and doing some training. Figure out exactly what you can do.

“It’s important that you learn every aspect of yourself and get to know your wolf. The ignorance of not knowing will only breed fear. And if you’re going to lead this pack one day, there can be no room for ignorance.”

We’d always been taught that fear could save our lives, but it could also make us stupid. The best way to stay alive was to be smart, and to learn and train to calmly assess the situation we were in.

It wasn’t just about the basics, like survival skills, fighting, or catching food in the wild, but reading the people around us, understanding people and their motives.

In this day and age, it was people that were the monsters, and if we couldn’t see through their masks, then we were in big trouble.

I looked at my dad. He was once the alpha of a small roaming pack. They called no one place home, only making sure to stay within reservation lands.

He met my mom by complete accident when she was visiting her sister in a smaller pack. He smelled her scent in the wind and ran all day to find her.

He had wanted to be with his mate more than he wanted to be alpha and chose to leave his pack in Uncle Keo’s hands.

Wait—Uncle Keo was a moon shaman, the one who had made my charm. Maybe he would know more about this whole gift business?

“Daddy, you said my wolf…scared people?” He nodded. “And that Uncle made this?”

My dad nodded again. “I know where you’re going with this, kiddo, and you’re right.”

He hesitated. I could see he was trying to hold something back. “Your uncle is ready to receive you into the Moonlight Pack for training, if that’s something you would want to do.”

My brothers all looked at our dad, not just surprised, but clearly a little jealous.

Werewolves from roaming packs were stronger and faster and had better senses than wolves from homestead packs, from living in the wild and their connection to the Moon Goddess.

At least that’s what Dad had told us. It was something to do with sleeping under the moonlight.

When he told us that, I had slept outside for a few nights. That’s how badly I wanted a wolf, and without one to keep me warm from the elements, I was sick for weeks.

“He’s prepared to take on all of you.” Dad looked at my brothers. “Your sister will need you, boys.

He took my mom’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “When we eventually pass, you four will need one another. You are the future of this pack, all of you, together.

“But you need to understand that life in a roaming pack isn’t easy. You’ll be in wolf form the majority of the time. There’s no power, no cell phones, no Wi-Fi. There’s only life and working to keep it that way.”

“No school,” Axel and Oz said in unison, looking at each other. They tried to keep their happiness hidden, but it was obvious they would come with me.

It wasn’t even a choice for me; I knew I had to go. I wanted to know my wolf. This necklace didn’t just hide her from my pack, but it cut her off from me. I was incomplete.

“I’ll go. I want to see this badass wolf for myself.” Felix shot a wink in my direction.

My dad looked at the twins, who were staring at each other in that creepy way they did when they were mind-linking.

Axel and Oz both looked at me, then Dad. “We’ll go.”

My brothers. They cleaned my scraped knees, they carried me on their backs when I got too tired from walking, and now they’re giving up literally everything to live with me in the wild.

***

A month later, there was talk among the pack about a giant white wolf on our borders. My dad knew immediately it was Ghost from the Moonlight Pack, who had come to collect us.

Eventually, the entire pack gathered to get a look at the giant roamer wolf and to see us off. My parents had prepared us for this day; Uncle Keo had said someone would come for us.

The boys had packed nothing since they could shift, and we would make the whole trip on foot. Depending on how fast we were, it would take three to four weeks of walking.

At first, I didn’t think this Ghost fellow would be that much bigger than a normal wolf. But then I saw him.

He was ginormous, about the size of a horse. His coat was pure white, painted with blue tribal patterns around his neck and front paws. His eyes were like rich, warm amber.

I must have been gawking because Mom pushed my chin up to close my mouth. “Your dad is bigger than this guy,” she whispered into my ear.

“Really?” I looked at my dad as he talked to the white giant. I’d never even seen my dad’s wolf.

Just the idea of him being a roamer was enough for others to keep their distance. But all I saw when I looked at him was my big, cuddly dad. I guess there were some things I didn’t see.

My dad turned to face me. “Victoria,” he said, addressing me in front of the entire pack.

I steeled myself and approached him and Ghost, who watched me with his golden eyes. I stopped before him, clinging onto the straps of my backpack for dear life.

Ghost had to first accept me into his pack; only then could we mind-link. It occurred to me he had no intention of shifting into human form, so I bowed my head and closed my eyes.

I felt him push his forehead against mine, and after a moment I heard his voice in my head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Victoria. My name is Ghost. Come stand beside me and let your brothers approach.”

I did as I was told and watched him accept Felix and Oz into the Moonlight Pack. Axel eyed Ghost suspiciously before eventually bowing his head and standing alongside us.

As I scanned the pack, I saw Leslie meekly waving at me. I waved back and took a deep breath.

“It’s time,” Ghost mind-linked before turning and walking away. “~Don’t look back, Victoria.~”

One by one, my brothers turned and followed Ghost. I took one last look at my parents before turning around and following them.

When we were out of sight, deep in the woods, I heard my parents howling into the wind. I wiped away the tears forming in my eyes and kept walking until I bumped into Ghost, who seemed to have waited for me.

He lay down on the ground. “Hop on, Victoria. We have a long way to go.”

I looked around and saw my brothers had already shifted into wolf form. “Oh, okay.” I awkwardly climbed onto Ghost.

“Hold on tight.” Ghost stood up and started off slowly through the trees. After a moment of silence, he linked with me again. “~Look to your left.~”

I saw nothing but trees. My senses weren’t as keen as a wolf’s, so I looked harder. And that’s when I saw it, a dark-reddish wolf with dark markings around his face.

Daddy?! I smiled, trying not to cry any more. That was enough of that. ~Be strong.~

I wouldn’t see my parents again until the shitshow that was my eighteenth birthday.