Page 6 of The Witch’s Daughter

“It’s no trouble at all.” Liz smiled coyly as she opened the linen closet and restocked it with towels. “I was just about to strip your bedsheets.”

Tell her to stay the fuck out of there.

“No,” I growled, then scolded my beast for riling me up. “I mean, no, thank you. As I said before, I can do my own laundry.”

“If you’re sure…” Her smile wavered. “It’s just that Alpha Oscar insisted the best way to serve our pack is to serve our Alpha with all of his needs.”

My jaw clenched at her words, praying she wasn’t one of the many females who’d suffered the old bastard’s rules. “That’s part of the reason I’m standing here today and he isn’t.”

“And that’s why I’d like to make your life a bit easier.” The smile returned to her pretty face as she leaned against the wall.

“Goodbye, Liz.” I stood to the side, giving her ample room to pass and making my point clear.

She pouted a frown, but that didn’t stop the sway in her hips as she slowly made her way down the hall. I wasn’t a total beast, but I did stare a little too long after her. It was early in the morning and I’d had a late night getting the pack set up for my departure today.

I still needed to finish getting ready.

The sound of the front door opening and closing and then opening again had me marching towards the living room. “I’m serious, Liz…”

My voice trailed off when I saw Beta Victor standing there. Unlike the she-wolf, he was not pretty. He dressed sharp in a pressed suit like many of the older shifters did. And like most of them, age had softened his features and belly. Silver streaks lined his slick black hair, but his eyes still danced with youthful humor.

He arched one of his bushy eyebrows. “Liz?”

“No.” I growled, turning away. “Let me at least put pants on before you start to ask questions.”

Being Alpha for Cadejo pack came with a learning curve. I was still trying to figure out how to deal with these shifters coming and going from my home and business.

But Beta Victor had been a guiding force throughout it all. He served Oscar as his Beta before me, and I had to wonder how much of me being Alpha now was orchestrated by him.

Not that I blamed the man for what he’d done. If anything, I owed him. If he hadn’t shown up in my life as a pup, I’m not sure I would’ve lived to see today.

Alpha Oscar had loved power. Biodiesel was his poison of choice. And he’d wielded control with an iron fist, gouging the earth in the process. No other alpha wolves had been allowed in this pack, and only rumors told what happened to those unfortunate children born.

I just happened to be not only an alpha wolf, but a wolf-witch, or wolf-warlock if we were being gender specific. Had Beta Victor not found me and whisked me away to be trained, assuring Alpha Oscar I’d be a great asset to the pack one day because of my special skills, then I might not have been around to finally challenge the bastard and put an end to his tyrannical reign.

Beta Victor wasn’t overly affectionate with anyone but his wife and daughters, but he was the closest thing I had to family left on this earth.

It was why I tolerated his prying. Well, that, and he was a good Beta.

“You could do much worse than Liz,” Victor said as I came back in the room, all packed for the quick trip.

I laid down the brand new leather travel bag I’d bought yesterday and said a silent prayer to the gods for luck before killing the rumors before they started. “There is nothing between me and Liz.”

At just over a thousand shifters, Cadejo pack wasn’t overly large, but rumors moved fast in the fields. I wanted to ensure I didn’t play the games of my predecessor by showing females favor and pitting them against each other.

Beta Victor unbuttoned his suit jacket as he sat on the brown leather sofa. “Since you haven’t found your fated mate and you won’t court any of the eligible ladies, can I ask what your future mating plans are?”

Tell him to mind his own business, my wolf snarled.

I ignored the beast’s frustration. It wasn’t the first time we’d dealt with something like this.

“I don’t plan to mate.” Not that I hadn’t tried it over the years, but I’d made my peace with the facts of life.

“It’d go a long way with earning the respect of the pack if you brought in a Luna,” Victor said.

“They don’t respect me?” I crossed my arms over my chest and eyed my Beta, because I hadn’t seen a single person in this pack not rush to swear their allegiance to me after I’d liberated them from Oscar’s control.

“That’s not what I mean.” He sighed.