Chapter 11
Zella
Zella's POV
Oh, Goddess, I do love this man. Most women would be threatened if their mate had a female best friend, but given Cayden's never-ending desire for me—a desire which only seems to grow the longer we're together—I know have nothing to worry about. I'll admit I was a little put out when I first met Cayden and discovered we were mates, but he quickly assured me that he and Scarlett have been lifelong best friends and reached that "point of no return" in their friendship a long time ago. Then I met Scarlett, and between seeing their dynamic and quickly learning what an honorable Alpha she is, my concerns were put to rest. And with Cayden being her Beta, it's obviously important that the two of them be close. Not to mention, it's pretty badass being in a pack that is led by one of the only female Alphas in the country!
I have also forged my own friendship with Scarlett over the years, separate from either of our relationships with Cayden, so I have gotten to see, up close, just how smart, hardworking, fierce and thoughtful our Alpha is. Being Cayden's mate makes me the Beta female of the Crimson Snow Pack and therefore a ranked member, which was almost expected of me seeing that I am the daughter of the Betas of my former pack, the Obsidian Falls Pack. While that pack is run by an honorable Alpha, it didn't take me long to see the difference in his approach to ranked mates compared to Scarlett's. While most Alphas, including my former one, view the mates and key members of the pack, part of the glue that holds a pack together, they don't often rely on the mates to be active members of the leadership team. So, you could have been a Lead Warrior, offering training and strategic insights to your pack, but if you find yourself mated to a ranked member of another pack, you may still be a kickass warrior on the battlefield, but you likely won't be called into strategy meetings.
But that is not how Alpha Scarlett operates. She values me, Asher and Lupita, the Gamma and Delta mates, just as much as the wolves she appointed to their roles. She appreciates the training we had and the roles we played in our previous packs, and counts on us to be the same strong and thoughtful leaders that our mates are. As far as Scarlett is concerned, her leadership team isn't just herself, Cayden, Bree and Jacob, but their mates, too. A lot of people are surprised when they learn this about our pack, but it was never surprising to me. Sure, it took me a period of adjustment because while I am the daughter of Betas, in my childhood pack, my parents weren't necessarily treated as equals members of the pack's leadership, so as a girl, I was raised watching what my mom did more than what my dad did, so I had never sat in on strategy meetings or been part of leadership workshops. But Alpha Scarlett is something of a trailblazer in the werewolf world and while she knows she can't rock the boat too much without creating waves, she is still determined to bring about change and part of that change includes making sure that mates have equality in the packs. Historically, all ranked positions were held by men, so their female mates, while technically ranked members, weren't really seen as pack leaders. But as a female Alpha with a female Gamma and a female Head Tracker, Alpha Scarlett wants to hear from everyone. She wants everyone in the pack to know that all wolves are equally important to the pack, and that her leadership team and our pack our stronger, happier, and healthier because it includes the strengths and insights of the mates.
Luckily for me, I graduated from a human university with a degree in Military and Strategic Studies, so while I didn't grow up being exposed to the traditionally male aspects of a Betas role, I made sure I got the training I needed. People thought I was nuts for choosing that as my college major. After all, as a female, what are the odds that I'd ever actually be called upon to use that knowledge? That would be mate's role, obviously. Little did they know, the Moon Goddess had other plans for me. Did I instinctively know that somehow? Maybe. Or am I just a stubborn female Beta who isn't going to be told what she can and can't do? Very likely. Which is perhaps why the Moon Goddess saw fit to mate me with a strong, feminist Beta who values me for all that I am and put me in a pack with a fierce female Alpha who will kick the ass of any dude who gets in her way. As they say, the Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes.
These are the thoughts I'm having that fill me with gratitude for the life I have, as my hot, sexy mate picks me up and sets me on the edge of his desk. There are many things about Cayden for which I'm grateful to the Moon Goddess and his prowess at making me see stars is high on that list. After the tension of knowing that there had been vampires at our border and a human had been found dead, my nerves were in desperate need of my mate's bedroom (or in this case, desk) skills. So, I turn my thoughts from gratitude for my pack to instead gratitude for my mate and his magical tongue as he slides my jeans down my legs, kneels in front of me and begins eagerly licking and lapping up my desire, which he insists tastes like warm cherry pie.
Chapter 12 coming soon