Courting the Alphas

By River Ramsey

Destined love. Sounds grand, doesn't it? 

Not so much when you're on the other end of the equation. My groom-to-be dumped me the day before our wedding, but when the mysterious pack Alpha offers me the chance of a lifetime—to choose my own mate—my circumstances change overnight. Now I find myself torn between the ex-friend I've never quite gotten over, the pack's resident Mr. Right, and the one man I can't have: my ex-fiance's father, the Alpha himself. 

I thought being abandoned hurt more than anything, but this choice is tearing me apart. More than just my happily-ever-after depends on making the right one. 

This is a standalone approximately 26,000-word Reverse Harem novella with sizzling hot romance, for audiences 18+ only.

• Language: English
• Publisher: River Ramsey
• Release date: Jul 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393020783

Book preview

Chapter One

True love. It’s a hell of a drug.

It can make a person do crazy things—things like running away from all their obligations, including their fiancee, and leaving their life of twenty-six years behind all for the chance at a happily ever after.

The other side of the fairytale you never hear about is the one who gets left behind. That’s me. The Grey Forest pack’s resident jilted omega and bride-to-be-never.

If there’s one thing I’ll say for my ex, at least he didn’t leave me high and dry on the day of our mating ceremony. He had the decency to do it a whole day ahead of time.

Granted, the caterers were already booked and the non-refundable deposits were made, but it could have been worse. Instead of being the object of pitying gazes from our pack members at the end of the aisle with my five-thousand-dollar mermaid gown on, I got to enjoy the experience while crafting last-minute place settings with my bridesmaids.

And hey, it’s not like the honeymoon went to waste. My InstaStalking habits tell me that Jeremy and Elaine are enjoying that all-expenses-paid spa retreat in coastal Ireland far more than he and I ever would have. After all, they’re soulmates. According to the text he sent me at approximately one a.m. last night, while I was knee-deep in taffeta and martinis, he knew it from the moment he met her and he tried—he really, really tried—to resist fate’s pull in order to fulfill his obligations to me and to our pack. That has to count for something, right?

Prick. I can’t even be mad at Elaine. I fell for the same baby blues and cheesy promises she did. In the end, I guess he really meant them with her. I was just practice.

Somehow, I feel like the pack Alpha is taking it harder than I am. Sure, I’ve been crying and drowning my sorrows in Chunky Monkey for a few days, and I’m running out of sweatpants, but Darien is Jeremy’s father and his behavior is an equal reflection on both of us. At least the other members of the pack will tell me they don’t blame me for scaring him off to my face and whisper the truth behind my back.

The Alpha has asked me to meet with him today, and despite the fact that the distinguished little flecks of gray around his temples are the only hint that he’s actually much older than forty, he’s old school enough to have summoned me with a letter. Werewolf genes come with some perks, even if we are bound by the whims of the moon.

I look down at the letter in my grasp and bite my lip. It’s simple, but it’s loaded.

Jessica, please come to my office once you’re ready. There is much to discuss.

He’s the only one in the pack who still calls me by my full name, rather than Jessie, and I can hear it rolling over his tongue in that rich British accent. The thought of it makes me shiver, an unwelcome reminder of just how close I am to the rush. It’s a period in every omega’s life when she reaches the age of twenty-four or thereabouts, for reasons known only to the moon goddess, where all the less civilized instincts that come with being a werewolf are magnified a hundredfold.

In about a week’s time, I’m going to be contending with bloodlust and the old-fashioned kind, simultaneously craving to devour any prey in range while longing to be devoured by the nearest Alpha male in an entirely different way. There are warning signs a few months out. Mood swings, being unusually flushed, and the types of strange desires the other omegas warned me about, like it meant the beginning of a supernatural haunting.

Then again, given the choice between riding out the rush as an unmated female and living with a poltergeist, I’d happily choose the latter. If Jeremy had kept his word, I wouldn’t be in this mess. Our mating was arranged by the pack elders years ago, and while neither of us were exactly given a choice in the matter, he could have at least chosen to bail months ago when there was still time to find me another mate. I would still be heartbroken and humiliated, but at least I wouldn’t be facing the prospect of an unattended rush with no relief in sight.

Now the whole pack, including my Alpha, knows what a pathetic spot I’m in. As much as I’d like to crawl back in bed and hide under the covers until it’s all over, I know I shouldn’t delay a summons from Darien.

I wash my face and put on enough makeup to hide my flushed skin, but my bloodshot eyes still make it obvious that I’ve been crying and there’s not much I can do about that.

Chin up, spine straight, I echo my mother’s favorite saying under my breath as I sort through my clothes until I find something decent enough for wear in the Alpha’s presence, yet cool enough that I won’t be suffering. Even if it is late September, I can’t deal with long sleeves. I choose a thin blue cotton top that’s just on the edge of casual along with my favorite leather jeans. They’re a bit dressy and I need the confidence boost. I’m sure the whole pack expects me to walk out of my apartment in a tracksuit with ice cream stains and my hair piled up into a messy bun of sadness. Just because that’s the way I’ve looked for the past few days doesn’t mean they need to know it.

I shake out my dark, wavy tresses and slick on a thin layer of gloss before checking my appearance in the mirror and heading out to face the music. There’s no telling what Darien wants to speak with me about. His father was still the acting Alpha when I went away to boarding school, and by the time I came back from college, he was too enmeshed in his duties to pay me a second glance. Even if the pack is lower on omegas than most, I was surprised when he gave his approval for me to be given to Jeremy as his mate. Neither of my parents were from noble lines, and after my mother passed away in my teens, I was practically an orphan. My father certainly doesn’t have the clout to negotiate an auspicious mating and he was as surprised as I was when the elders approached him for his blessing.

I’m sure Darien is regretting his decision now. Like the others, he’ll probably blame me for being so unappealing that Jeremy would run away with some woman from another pack he barely knows. A destined mate bond is so rare that we can’t very well plan our pack structures around it, and those who do succumb are expected to put their personal wishes aside and fulfill the roles chosen for them. Usually an omega who’s lucky enough to be imprinted on can look forward to a life spent as some Alpha’s mistress, while his rightful mate is expected to grin and bear it. I wasn’t even given that chance and now, for all I know, I’m going to be sent to another pack because of Jeremy’s actions.

The guards waiting outside the door that leads into the Alpha’s stately home and work quarters are especially somber today. Maybe it’s just me projecting. I lower my head in submission and they open the doors for me, like silent palace guards.

The hallway of the main house is as grand as I remember it being the last time I was here. My engagement party…

That night is still fresh in