The Alpha’s Magic Queen – Like most girls, I always picture my high-school prom, and I’m absolutely no different. My friends and I are gearing up to go dress shopping, but my parents just can’t seem to grasp how much this matters to me! They insist I stay away from anything that might damage my image or draw negative attention to our family name. Apparently, being the beta’s daughter means I’m kept on a tight leash when it comes to having fun. Naturally, I use every chance I get to enjoy myself and live my life to the absolute fullest. My mom tells me I remind her of who she is before she finds her mate, so she tends to cut me a little slack, but my dad is an intense enforcer of the rules. My mom, Gwen, stands 5′ 6″ with a toned body and light brown hair that falls to her chest. She’s a warrior in our pack, and she teaches me how to fight starting when I’m five.
My dad, Gideon, is 6′ 7″ with a football-player build that looks like he could bench a car. Ink covers him from head to toe, and he wears slick black hair. He never takes it easy on me, and he’s annoyed that I’m not a boy, but that never stops him from raising me like one anyway. I enter every competition the boys do, yet I still can’t manage to beat him at his best. He believes I’m good enough and that I should earn the beta position when he steps downif I can straighten up and stop giving him headaches. I start laughing as I remember all the lectures he delivers to me over the years. “What mate wants a girl who parties and is fast and loose with the rulesespecially an Alpha who would ever want you as a beta!” I laugh, because I grow up with the future alpha, Kaelen. He’s my best friend, and once in a while we kiss, but I save my virginity for my mate. Kaelen is 6′ 8″ of pure muscle with short black hair, and he wears a tribal tattoo that runs from his chest to his shoulder, wraps around his neck and arm, and stretches across his back. With piercing, bright blue eyes, he’s basically sex on a stick.
His temper fits his bad-boy appearance, but he always has a soft spot for me. I know for a long time that I always hold his attention. At 5′ 7″ with a slender, toned figure, waist-length dark wavy hair, and emerald green eyes, I tend to catch more than a few guys staring. Still, I think most of them only look because they assume they can earn the beta position, so I usually ignore them. “Hurry up, Ava!” my best friend Serena shouts. She’s stunning, with creamy mocha skin and shoulder-length black hair. Even though she’s only 5′ 5″, she carries herself like she’s eight feet tall. I hop up from my vanity and sprint to the front door before she decides to climb the stairs. I keep her waiting one time before, and she nearly tears my door off its hinges! “Coming! I gotta finish my makeup,” I say, a little breathless. “Finn, Kaelen, and Garrett are already in the car waiting for us.” Finn is another warrior’s son. He’s 6′ 6″ with pale skin, hazel eyes, and shoulder-length blond hair. He’s attractive in his own way, but there’s a softer look about him. He always has eyes for Serena, even though she never pays him any attention.
Since she’s the gamma’s daughter, she gets the same lectures I get. Garrett is her brother and Kaelen’s right-hand man, since the two of them are born only a few days apart. He’s 6′ 6″ and darker than Serena, with jet-black hair and the same dark brown eyes she hasthose eyes with a gold fleck in them that she inherits. Apparently, it’s just one of their family traits. “Bye, mom and dad!” “Bye, honey. Behave, and mind-link me if anything happens! And don’t get into a fight this time!” Dad yells from the kitchen. It only happens once, and I win, so it isn’t my fault the guy can’t understand the word no. Dad isn’t overly worried this time because I promise the boys are with us and can “protect us.” Like I need a guy to protect me. I roll my eyes and step outside with my arm draped over Serena’s shoulders. “Hurry up, girls! I am not free all day long,” Garrett yells. “Oh, shut up, Garrettyou’ve got nothing but time today,” Serena snaps back as she slides into the back seat of Kaelen’s Cadillac Escalade.
Naturally, I climb straight into the front passenger seat next to Kaelen. Some people assume Kaelen is my mate; we don’t think that’s true, but we aren’t against it either. I’m treated like it, and I never really mind. “I should be the one up front. My legs are way longer than yours, Ava, and if we have to jump out fast and fight, I need better access than the third row,” Finn complains. “Oh yeah? Want another rematch, Finn?” I raise an eyebrow at him. The last time he questions me, I drop him more times than he can count, and he still claims he “lets me win.” Everyone bursts out laughing except Kaelen, who just lifts an eyebrow at Finn. Finn is an excellent warrior, but when beta blood runs through your veins and you train since you’re five, not many people can really measure up. “I’m only trying to be a gentleman, Ava. I’d like to treat you like the princess you are,” Finn teases. All he earns from me is a snort and an eye rolland from Kaelen, a growl deep in his chest. “Anyway,” Serena smirks, “what kind of dress do you want to get today?” “Hm,” I ponder, “maybe a skin-tight one that stops right below my ass, with a deep V-neck that’s sheer.” “The fuck you are!” Kaelen growls.
I laugh so hard I almost choke. “I’m kiddingjeez. I honestly don’t know. But I do want one that’s floor length!” “Well, I want a short one that makes my legs look longer and hugs my curves.” “Serena, mom and dad will kill youyou know that, right?” Garrett asks, dragging a hand down his face. “You’re going to be what gets me killed,” he mutters, and with our wolf hearing, every one of us hears him. “I’m their princessthey won’t! And besides, if I find my mate, they can’t say a thing!” Serena says, her eyes hard with determination. I recognize that look; once she has it, there’s no changing her mind. Our “prom” isn’t really a prom, exactly. It starts as a traditional prom, but over the years every unmated eighteen-year-old begins crashing other packs’ prom nights, hoping to find their mateor, if not, at least score a quick lay.
My birthday is the day before prom, only a week away, and I’m thrilled. At last, I get to find out whether Kaelen is my mate or not. Every time I think about it, a strange sensation twists in my stomach. What if he isn’t my mate and he ends up choosing another girl? Would I actually be okay with that? Deep down, I always like the way he protects me, but he does it so I can still smack a guy around, while he watches closely to make sure I don’t get hurt in the process.