The alpha 8 protect proc.., p.1
The Alpha 8: Protect. Procreate. Prevail., page 1
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Cast of Characters
Abigail: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Ginger hair. Tan fur.
Adam: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Aiden’s beta. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Muscular build. Tan and yellow fur. Short temper. Deceased.
Aiden Jansen: Werecat alpha (mountain lion) Blair’s previous alpha. Tall. Blond hair in a man bun. Deceased.
Allison Barnes: Werecat (mountain lion) Nikita’s younger sister. Long brown hair. Azure eyes.
Amber Jansen: Werecat omega (mountain lion) Married to Jonathan Jansen, mother to Aiden and Max Jansen. Dark brown hair. Dull green eyes. Deceased.
Angela: Werecat beta (lynx) Islander. Auburn hair. Light-brown eyes. Organized.
Annika Roswell: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Mainland. Petite. Strawberry-blonde hair. Enormous dark green eyes.
Arielle: Werecoyote omega Jesse’s half-Filipina omega. Warm brown hair. Reddish-brown eyes. Russet brown fur, bottle brush tail. Chocolate-cinnamon scent. Rescued from Gray Mackenzie.
Arthur Mordaine: Avian Jesse’s shifter lawyer. Tall and rail-thin. Curved nose. Gold, circular glasses. Short brown hair. Black feathers.
Benji Shaw: Werewolf beta captain Jesse’s half-brother and best friend. Dark blond hair. Hazel eyes. Gray fur. Viola student at Everleigh University.
Blair Avalon: Werecat omega (lynx) Jesse’s omega. Dyed black hair. Honey-colored eyes. Vanilla and honey scent. Sister of Gemma Avalon. Rescued from Aiden Jansen.
Brenden: Werecoyote beta captain Mainland. Jet-black fur. Rangy build.
Caleb Moreno: Werecoyote beta Mainland. Copper-colored skin. Black curly hair. Reddish-brown eyes. Bronze-colored fur. Smoky markings on paw and snout.
Cameron: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Tan and white fur. Youngest pack member. Best friends with Finn.
Charlie: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Curly blond hair. Blue eyes. Tan fur with a black mark under his chin.
Charlie Jansen: Werecat infant Islander. Dirty blond hair. Green eyes. Son of Aiden Jansen and Sarah. Five years old.
Christopher: Werecat beta (lynx) Mainland. Long dark hair. Blue eyes. Campus security.
Clarice Osborn: Werewolf omega Theo Finch’s omega. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Previous alpha was Gabriel. Wanted shifter. Deceased.
Coral: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Quiet by fierce. Sweet, angelic smile.
Daniel: Werecat beta captain (mountain lion) Islander. African-American. Very strong. Wanted to be in the military.
Dexter: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Messy black hair. Bright blue eyes. Tan and blond fur. One black ear. Childish attitude. Youngest member of the pack. Nickname is Dex.
Dr. Chase: Human Jesse’s professor at Everleigh University. Crow-like woman. Wrinkly face.
Dr. Stenton: Werecoyote Monroe town doctor. Black hair.
Duncan: Werewolf beta Mainland. Ginger hair. Green eyes. Freckles across his nose.
Eliza: Werecat beta (lynx) Mainland. Sleek black hair. Pale eyes. Zane’s twin sister.
Elliot: Werecat beta (lynx) Islander. Curly blond hair. Greenish-brown eyes.
Ethan: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Black-brown hair.
Eva Rafe: Werewolf beta captain Jesse’s aunt on his father’s side. Dark brown hair. Icy-blue eyes. Silvery coat that’s sleek and full.
Finn: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Messy blond hair. Best friends with Cameron.
Florence: Human Waitress at Alice’s Restaurant. Bright ginger hair. Forest green eyes. Assisted Jesse with information on the were-hunters.
Frederick: Werecat beta (lynx) Islander. Curly brown hair. Very quiet. Boyfriend of Lily.
Gemma Avalon: Werecat beta (lynx) Mainland. Brown hair. Hazel eyes. Sister of Blair Avalon. Campus security.
Grace: Werecat beta (lynx) Islander. Short brown hair. Green-brown eyes.
Gray Mackenzie: Werecoyote alpha Arielle’s previous alpha. Long, highlighted, curly hair. Blue eyes. Orange-brown fur with black-tipped hairs. Deceased.
Gregory: Werewolf beta Mainland. Buzzed brown hair. Gray eyes.
Gus Dunn: Werefox beta captain Short blond hair. One green eye, one brown eye. Rotund figure. Red fur. Deceased.
Hailey: Werewolf omega Jesse’s omega. Brown-and-blonde streaked hair, often dyes some strands in different colors. Green eyes. Light-gray fur, white speckled chin and stomach. Ears are a darker shade of gray. Honeysuckle and lavender scent. Deceased brother was a were-hunter.
Hannah Pierce: Human Jesse’s class partner at Everleigh University. Blonde hair. Dark brown eyes. Former cheerleader.
Harry: Werewolf beta Mainland. Short brown hair. Blue eyes. Muscular build. Dark gray fur. Like a big brother to Hailey.
Hazel Wise: Human Shifter Detection Department agent. Long, mahogany hair. Almond-colored eyes. Heart-shaped face.
Holly: Werecat beta (lynx) Islander. Ginger hair. Green eyes. Orange-brown fur.
Hope: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Short golden hair. Brown eyes. Very shy.
Hydra: Selkie beta (orca) Long black hair. Soft gray eyes. Scar on left cheek. Black smudge on eyespot.
Jack Nolan: Human Neat brown hair. Grayish-green eyes. Dark stubble. Previous student at Everleigh University. Musician who offered Jesse a part in his orchestra.
Jackson: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Short dark hair. Cyan eyes. Blond and tan fur.
Jake Woodruff: Human Jesse’s friend. Member of DnD group. Film Major at Everleigh University.
Jesse Rafe: Werewolf alpha. Tan skin. Dark brown hair. Blue eyes. Black fur. Violin student at Everleigh University. Parents were Ivan and Miranda Rafe.
Jonathan Jansen: Werecat alpha (mountain lion) Gray-blond hair. Blue eyes. Married to Amber Jansen, father of Max and Aiden Jansen. Deceased.
Jude: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Neat and tidy. Good friends with Kora.
Kahn: Werecoyote beta Mainland. Black hair with silver strands.
Karina Barnes: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Mother of Nikita and Allison. Widow of Anthony Barnes. Brown hair. Teal eyes.
Kasia: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Red hair. Green eyes. Motherly. Girlfriend of Spencer.
Kassidy: Werewolf beta Mainland. Curly black hair. Brown and gray fur.
Kiri Everard: Werecoyote beta Mainland. Platinum-blonde hair. Reddish-brown eyes. Ash-colored fur. Map enthusiast.
Kora: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Blonde hair with silver highlights. Gray eyes. Neat. Good friends with Jude.
Kristina: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Mainland. Black hair. Pale green eyes. Campus security.
Leo Williams: Werecoyote beta Mainland. Hawk-like nose. Sand-colored hair. Hazel eyes.
Lily: Werecat beta (lynx) Islander. Blonde hair. Bright green eyes. Girlfriend of Frederick. Worst vegetarian ever.
Lyla Jansen: Werecat infant Islander. White-blonde hair. Brown eyes. Daughter of Aiden Jansen and Olivia. Three years old.
Marco: Werecoyote beta Mainland. Flaxen-haired. Stocky build.
Marley: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Turquoise eyes. White tufts of fur on ears.
Max Jansen: Werecat alpha (mountain lion) Golden hair. Emerald eyes. Broad build. Lived off parents’ wealth. Deceased.
Newt: Werecat beta (cougar) Max’s beta. Bald head. Scar on neck. Broken front tooth. Deceased.
Nikita Barnes: Werecat omega (mountain lion) Jesse’s omega. Light tan. Caramel-brown hair. Teal eyes. Golden fur. Citrus-sweet scent. Creative writing major at Everleigh University.
Noah: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Brown hair. Yellow-brown eyes.
Olivia: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Curly, light-red hair. Brown eyes. Mother of Lyla Jansen.
Parker Little: Human Jesse’s friend. Red hair. Freckles. Wire-framed glasses. Member of the DnD group.
Peter Daughtry: Werecoyote Mainland. Gray hair. Retired park ranger.
Poppy Jansen: Werecat infant Islander. Black hair. Blue eyes. Always wears hair bows. Daughter of Aiden Jansen and Sophie. Four years old.
Professor Collins: Human Jesse’s music professor at Everleigh University. Short brown hair.
Quinn: Werecat beta (lynx) Islander. Short brown hair. Sea-blue eyes. Mother of Rebecca Jansen.
Raina: Werewolf beta Mainland. Long, curly red hair. Her brother was her previous alpha.
Randell Snyder: Werefox alpha Shoulder-length, greasy brown hair. Scar from right eye to cheek. Red fur. Deceased.
Rebecca Jansen: Werecat infant Islander. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Speaks with a lisp. Daughter of Aiden Jansen and Quinn. Four years old.
Rhett: Werewolf beta Mainland. Curly black hair. Blue eyes. Gray fur.
Roman: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Sky-blue eyes. Short black hair. Neat freak.
Sabine: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Max’s beta. Blonde pixie cut. Petite build. Deceased.
Sarah: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Dark blonde hair. Green e yes. Mother of Charlie Jansen.
Serena: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Mainland. Golden hair. Beauty mark on right cheek. Campus security.
Seth: Werewolf beta Mainland. Buzzed blond hair. Brown and gray fur.
Sophie: Werecat beta (lynx) Islander. Black hair. Brown eyes. Mother of Poppy Jansen.
Spencer: Werecat beta captain (mountain lion) Islander. Ginger hair. Wanted to be a football player. Boyfriend of Kasia.
Steph: Werecat beta (lynx) Islander. Long blonde hair. Organized and playful.
Thalia: Werecoyote beta Mainland. Tawny hair. Blue, doll-like eyes. Tawny fur with a fluffy tail.
Theo Finch: Werewolf alpha Black fur with patches missing and covered in scars. White triangle on chin. Murdered Jesse’s parents. Deceased.
Thomas: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Mainland. Sandy hair. Blocky glasses. Wants to be an engineer.
Travis Kelly: Human Jesse’s friend. Member of DnD group. Mexican-Irish nationality.
Wren: Werecat beta (mountain lion) Islander. Always wears sunglasses.
Zane: Werecat beta (lynx) Mainland. Black hair. Pale eyes. Eliza’s twin brother. Campus security.
Chapter 1
I glanced out at the rugged mountains and lush forests as we drove deep into the heart of British Columbia. The sun shone brightly through the window, and I muffled a yawn with my fist as I tried my hardest to fight off the sleep that threatened to take over my body.
It felt like my pack and I hadn’t stopped since we stepped off the superyacht a few weeks ago, and I was so glad I was still on summer vacation. I had no idea how I ever managed to be the alpha of an ever-growing pack, kill off threats, and keep up with college work all at the same time.
But at least we had finally neared the end of our mammoth-sized to-do list, and it wasn’t like we didn’t know how much Theo Finch had left behind when I killed him.
“You all good, Jesse?” Christopher asked as he pressed down on the brakes to take a turn in the road.
“Ah, yeah, I’m good.” I smiled. “Nothing that a cup of coffee won’t fix.”
“There’s a gas station up ahead if you want me to stop?” the werecat beta suggested.
“Yeah, and you can get me a Red Bull while you’re at it!” Dexter shouted from the backseat.
“Calm down, Dex,” Spencer chuckled. “I don’t think you need any more caffeine.”
The laughter and carefree ambience in the Jeep helped to keep me awake, and I found myself joking around with one of the youngest members of my pack instead of falling asleep.
Dexter acted like he had an IV filled with Red Bull constantly hooked up to his veins.
“I’d rather we just got this over and done with,” I said to Christopher. “We can stop on our way back.”
“You got it,” he replied.
Spencer, Dexter, Christopher, and I were on our way to visit the last of Theo Finch’s werewolf betas, who I had recently added to my pack. They were situated on the outskirts of Babine Lake, and part of me wished we had more time to walk around and explore the area.
The scenery was incredible, and it seemed like a tranquil place to live, from what I gathered looking through the window. The water was crystal blue and as flat as paper, a curtain of thick forests surrounded the lake, and the outline of the rolling mountains were shadowed in the distance.
I still much preferred living in Monroe, but if my family and I had to leave for whatever reason, then Babine Lake would have been a contender for a new location.
From the information I had received, forty-five of my new werewolf betas lived in a section of this forest, and it was my job to introduce myself and show my face.
Due to the sheer size of Theo Finch’s pack, there was simply not enough time in the day for me to visit everyone. So I had split my pack up into separate groups in order to share the workload, and Dexter, Christopher, and Spencer had ended up with me.
I wanted to include the recently-trained islanders in these missions, like Dexter, mainly to give them a better understanding of how I worked and what I needed them to do. They all knew how to fight, and I no longer needed to train them when it came to that aspect, but none of them had ever left Oregon. Aiden Jansen, their former alpha, pretty much kept them caged on the private islands, so it was my job to free them, so to speak.
The four of us had been in Canada for almost two days. We flew to Prince George airport, went through customs, hired a car, and then began the road trip to visit the two final groups of werewolves. It had been a successful trip so far, but I was desperately looking forward to returning home to my wonderful omegas.
All of a sudden, the satnav on the dashboard of the Jeep pinged as we reached our location, and I shut off my thoughts as Christopher found a place to park.
We had stopped on a gravel road with giant trees on one side and a beautiful view of the calm lake on the other. There was a small wooden deck with two chairs that looked out across the water, and as well as the scent of nature all around me, I also picked up on the familiar, fruity scent of the betas nearby. There weren’t any omegas in this particular area, but I knew that already.
However, what I really loved about this spot was that apart from the occasional call of a bird, I couldn’t hear a thing. Just pure, uncontaminated nature.
That was, until Dexter left the car.
“Duuude!” he cried as he scuffed the gravel with his feet. “This place is awesome!”
“Okay,” I chucked and patted the werecat’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”
There was a cut off within the wall of trees, and as we followed the pathway, we came across seven wooden lodges situated in a curved line. They were all made from cedar, and each lodge had identical wrap-around porches and wide, open windows. The pathway snaked off to each lodge, and there was an enormous, unlit stone fire pit in the center with ten chairs around it.
I imagined each cabin had to call dibs on the fire pit whenever they wanted to use it.
The werewolves had been informed that we were going to arrive, so the forty-five men and women didn’t look at all confused when they left their lodges.
However, they didn’t all look overly pleased to see me, either.
The majority of betas locked their hands together as they peered down at their feet, whereas others glanced at me with a stink eye, like I was the last person they wished to see.
I knew the group wouldn’t have welcomed me with open arms, especially those who had been friends with Theo, but there wasn’t a lot they could do. And as long as they followed my rules and completed the jobs I set for them, then I could look past the resentment and disapproval.
This was the way things worked in the shifter world. They’d get over it eventually.
“Thank you for meeting with me today,” I said as I took a single step forward. “I realize you’d probably like to enjoy the summer sun, so I don’t plan on staying here for very long.”
“Good,” a man muttered under his breath, but my heightened hearing caught it.
The man in question was over six feet tall, with long, straggly dark hair, tanned skin, and tribal tattoos on both arms that ran from his shoulders to his wrists. He wore nothing but beige cut-off shorts that stopped at his knees, and a pair of white sneakers.
I knew nothing about this man, but from the look of boredom that covered his face, I could tell he was going to be harder for me to befriend. He had the sort of expression on his face that Aunt Eva used to warn me about, and how my face would have stayed like that if I kept it up for too long.
But regardless of the man’s clear dislike, I chose to ignore him and continued to talk.
“I wanted to introduce myself in person,” I said. “My name is Jesse Rafe, and I understand that a lot of you were good friends with Theo, but–”
“You don’t know anything about Theo,” the shirtless man cut me off with a snarl. “And if you think a kid like you can do better than him, then you have another thing coming.”
I wasn’t sure how old this man was, I assumed somewhere in his early thirties, but if he was trying to intimidate me, then he needed to try harder.
“Ignore Kyson,” a woman spoke up from the front of the group. “He’s just pissed that Theo never made him a captain before he died.”
“Fuck you,” Kyson mumbled before he cleared his throat and spat between his feet.
The woman rolled her dark eyes, and she flicked her burgundy hair over her shoulder as she turned her back on the angry beta. I spotted a silver hoop in her right nostril, and there was a curved barbell through the tail of her left eyebrow.
