Aella
21 Years Old / Alpha Heir
Pronunciation: Ay-lah
The door to my father’s office creaks open, the sound warning me that my life is about to change. The study is a warm space filled with dark wooden bookshelves that reach towards the ceiling like ancient trees. The room smells of aged leather and paper; a scent I’ve always associated with wisdom and guidance.
Usually, being summoned here means I’m in for a new learning experience with my father since I am his only Alpha heir. Maybe a discussion about pack politics or perhaps a lesson on the importance of our history. Today though, the air feels different—dense.
My eyes catch sight of a stack of formal papers neatly arranged on my father’s mahogany desk. Official pack seal… That can’t be good.
“Aella, come in,” Father’s voice reverberates from behind the desk, where he sits with his usual composed demeanor. He’s Alpha and Capo of Chicago; an Italian mafia sect that controls the city.
“You wanted to see me, Father?” I say, moving close to his desk and trying not to show how I’m trying to make out the pack seal on the envelope.
He sighs deeply, gesturing to the leather seat opposite him. “Sit down, Aella.”
Confused but obedient, I sank into the leather chair across from him. I haven’t seen him look so lost in a long time and he takes another moment before he speaks.
“Aella, you are to be betrothed to Alpha Roman of the Black Veil Bratstvo,” he says, the weight of his words falling like a sledgehammer.
I’m speechless for what feels like an eternity, then I leap to my feet again. Alpha Roman? The Black Veil Bratstvo, a ruthless sect of the Russian Bratva, are known for their bloodthirsty ways as well as their cold-blooded tactics in war and politics.
Alpha Roman, their Pakhan and leader, is the worst of them—or so the stories go.
“Are you serious, Father? Alpha Roman is… We’re in a war with the Russians!”
He shakes his head. “That will soon end with this,” he says, gesturing to the papers in front of him.
“You can’t possibly mean that! What about my training? My ambitions?” I scoff, shaking my head in disbelief. “I’ve shown leadership qualities, haven’t I? Aren’t I being prepared to be a future Alpha female?!”
“Aella,” he cuts me off sharply, the familiar resolve hardening his eyes. “This is not up for discussion. An alliance with the Black Veil Pack will strengthen our pack’s borders, not to mention end this bloody ten year war. Our future as a pack depends on solid alliances, and right now we cannot let this gesture of peace from their side go.”
Anger boils inside of me, my heart pounding like a war drum. My own father, the man who taught me to value freedom and strength, is trading me like a pawn for political gain.
I’ve become a commodity, a thing to be bartered like a prized sheep.
“So that’s it?” My voice trembles, not with fear but rage. “I don’t get a say in my own future? You’re going to marry me off to a man known for his cruelty?”
He looks at me, his eyes glinting with emotions I can’t fully make out. I am his only daughter, his only blood heir who he has trained to take over from him in the future and yet…
“Aella, sit down,” Father commands, his eyes shifting to Alpha red and pointing to the chair opposite his desk again.
When he looks at me again, his eyes are the color of dark soil, deeply rooted in centuries of tradition and authority. Alpha by blood, he has ruled out pack for years, just like his father did before him.
I obey, my eyes still fixed on the stack of formal papers before him. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
“I am,” he says, the word solidifying in the air between us like an invisible wall. “An alliance with the Black Veil Pack is a strategic necessity. They have resources and warriors that we lack. Combined, our packs would be unbreakable.”
“Strategic necessity? Father, we’re talking about my life. My future. How can you gamble that away so easily?” I scoff, my voice quivers, but I steady it, not wanting to show too much weakness… Then my eyes widen as I realize something. “There’s an outside force, isn’t there? Another power bigger than our pack and Alpha Roman’s.”