Anna makes her way down the short corridor and on the right the door to her room is open. She walks inside pushing the door closed with her head. She switches back to her human form quickly. She grabs the panties, bra, t-shirt, and jeans she had left on the bed before leaving for her evening run and quickly puts them on. She quickly walks out the door, shutting it behind her. She then walks back down the corridor to the door of the council room. She wasn't sure what this meeting would be about but she had suspicions. She figured they would finally ask her to pick a new Alpha. She thinks for many of them this is a day they have been waiting for since the moment her father died. An opportunity to have whoever they wanted controlling the pack her father had built. If she had any say she would have named herself Alpha but she had seen how her just being the temporary alpha had caused the pack so much turmoil. She didn't want the pack to go through anymore and she'd give up being a leader if it meant saving her fathers pack from destruction. She opens the doors and walks up to the chair her father had sat in when he was the pack leader. The entire year she had refused to sit in his chair, it just didn’t seem right. So instead of sitting down she stood beside it. Keith standing to the left of her. She took a quick once over of the room and then her eyes fell on Wilfred the head elder and director of Alpha King affairs. He looked antsy with a worried look on his face.

“Glad to see you finally made it. Now we can discuss today’s glaring issue.”, one of the elder wolves named Wilfred says, looking at her.

“Continue.”, she says. 

“In two weeks time the Alpha King is hosting The Grand Alpha Celebration. As you well know, being the daughter of the former alpha you are required to attend. Your mother is also required to attend. There the Alpha King will assess all new alphas and determine their capabilities of running a pack.”, Wilfred says in a serious tone.

“Yes I am aware of this, get to the point.”, Anna says, looking at him sternly. Clearly aware of what he is getting at.

His face turns into a frown clearly displeased with her tone, ”Child, my point is you must pick a new Alpha. Now.”

“Keith.”, she says flatly, not breaking eye contact with the elder.

“What?”, Keith says, his eyes shifting over to Anna face full of shock. 

“Keith, I decided that out of everyone I know you are the best fit to pass on my father’s legacy.”

Whispers breakout in the council room and she can tell that many of the council members had ideas of their own. Clearly opposed to her choice. She wouldn't stand for it. As the commotion grows louder she feels frustration and annoyance grow in her.

She slams her hands hard and aggressively on the table in front of her, shocking everyone in the room and the whispers die to a silence. “Look who follows my father as his successor is my choice. If I could, I would choose myself. But as I am a member of the female sex I cannot run a pack. So I choose Keith, he is capable, skilled, and strategic. He is essentially my brother. He has defended this pack countless times next to my father. He has sat in on every meeting this year. So he's the only reasonable choice. He has shown everyone that he is a capable leader, but also a follower. Being a good follower is important because The Alpha King isn't someone you want to cross.”

Keith looks at Anna visibly shocked at her choice of words and the angry outburst. Sure he’d been at her side this whole time. He just never expected her to choose him. Choose anyone really. 

“Keith will be an excellent leader. However Keith is this what you want?”, Wilfred says as he shifts his gaze to Keith.

Keith stands stiff next to Anna, face still full of shock. "If that's what you want Anna. Are you sure you want me to be Alpha.", he says, unsure of the situation. 

"Yes, of everyone I know you're the only reasonable choice. Like I said I can't be the Alpha but you can so don't feel bad about it.", Anna says as she reassures Keith about her choice.

"Ok, I'll do it but if you change your mind about being alpha let me know I can always step down if it means you becoming alpha.", Keith says.

"That will never happen. You know that.", Anna says frustration building in her voice.

Keith stays silent. Anna turns back to the group and examines their expressions; many are full of frustration mixed with anger. She could feel the resentment of her and her choice radiating off of them. 

"Remember Keith doesn't officially take over until after the Grand Alpha Celebration. You can go to him to help prepare him for being alpha or any small matters. However I am still the temporary alpha. And as such that means you still have to consult with me.", Anna says sternly to the group of wolves in front of her.

“Understood, now that we have selected the new alpha, let's discuss more about the Grand Alpha Celebration.”, Wilfred says as he sits down.

"What date do we need to arrive?", Anna asks as she begins fiddling with her hands.

“The Alpha King wants you at his estate on the 26th you'll be spending two days there whilst they set up the gala hall. The event will take place on 28th of December.”

"That's less than a week away, how come no one bothered to inform me sooner.", Anna says, her voice raising an octave and laced with annoyance. 

"We as a group felt it was better to wait to inform you about it.", Wilfred says.

"That wasn't a wise choice. Think about this, if I hadn't known who to choose to be alpha I'd have less than a week to figure it out.", Anna says anger bubbling up inside her. 

"As we are the council we as a group could have determined a suitable candidate.", another council member interjects. He's a younger member however even so he's been with the council for over seven years. And as such he should understand the implications of what he just proposed. 

"In what world do you even think that's a smart and reasonable thing to consider. As you are aware the only way council members are able to choose alpha candidates is if there are no children of the former alpha. And as I am the daughter of the former alpha it is my rightful decision to choose the next alpha. For someone who's family has been members of this pack for generations you should be aware of the customs we follow.", Anna says in retort to his comment. 

"I am aware of this but-", the council member says annoyance growing in his tone. 

"Then you would be wise to follow them and not try to undermine my leadership. If I didn’t know any better I’d says you’re trying to commit treason. But you wouldn’t do that, would you?”, Anna says in a condemning tone, cutting him off mid sentence. 

The council member stays silent, struck with a sense of fear and slumps low into his chair. Wilfred gives him a stern narrowed look and emits a low growl clearly displeased with him speaking out of turn. 

“Please excuse him. He clearly needs a lesson on what is acceptable in these meetings.”, Wilfred says courteously.

“No need to excuse him. I don’t think he plans on doing it again.”, Anna says, turning her attention back to Wilfred. 

“Ok. Anyway, let's continue the discussion of the Grand Alpha Celebration.”, Wilfred says as he grabs a notepad and flips through it.

“So other than the date could you inform me of any other important information.”

“I spoke to the event coordinator the other day and he informed me that each pack this year will go in colors that represent the area they are from. Meaning the color you, your mother, and Keith will be wearing is a forest green. He didn’t inform me of any theme however.”

“Call him and ask him. I would hate to arrive unprepared. That would look very bad.”

“Will do.”, Wilfred says as he grabs a pen from the center of the table and writes something down on his notepad.

“Thank you, Wilfred. You can debrief Keith what his duties will be as Alpha. Inform me of anything the event coordinator says when you call him. I’ll be going now.”, Anna says and Wilfred nods his head turning his attention towards Kieth. 

As Anna turns to walk out Keith runs to her lightly grabbing her arm. He looks at her desperately. 

“Anna, I don't know how to be an alpha. I don’t know if I can do this. Why now? Why me?”, he whispers to her frantically. Clearly trying to hide his uncertainty from the rest of the occupants in the room. 

“Keith listen carefully, I chose you because you are the only one who can do this. My brother was supposed to be Alpha but he died so if you can’t do this for me. Do this for him. Realize that you are strong, smart, and perfectly capable of being an Alpha.”, Anna whispers as she places a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. 

“Anna, out of everyone in this pack the only one who should be alpha is you. You deserve this, look at everything you have done for this pack this past year. I can’t take this from you.”

“Keith, it never belonged to me. This pack has barely held together under my control. Not because I’m incompetent but because I am what I am. I cannot be alpha, I will not watch this pack fall apart more than it already has over a selfish reason like being alpha. You will be the alpha end of discussion.”, Anna whispers back with a bite of authority in her voice at the last statement.

Keith stands stiffly, a look of remorse crossing his face as she exits the room leaving him with the council members. 

She walks out into the corridor and sees a blue toned  light emanating from her mother’s office. The elders hadn't said anything about her mother moving out of it. Most likely because there isn’t a new Luna for the pack yet. Anna walks over to the open door and peeks into the office. Her mother is diligently typing away on her computer. The bright light from the computer illuminates her face. From that angle Anna can see a bit of her brother in her mother's appearance. Soft sharp features, dark brown hair cut short just above her shoulders. The curls in her mother's hair definitely reminded Anna of her brother. She always had a cup of coffee sitting on a coaster next to her. It was the only thing that would keep her going when she had to reach a deadline. Her mother rubs the bridge of her nose with a sigh escaping her mouth.

“You look tired. maybe you should go to sleep.”, Anna says, as she steps into her office. She slightly jumps at Anna’s voice looking visibly spooked.

“Jeez, Anna, don't scare me like that. I’m fine. I really need to get this book finished, my editor is going to kill me if I don’t.”, she says to Anna as she grabs the coffee cup that sat on a coaster next to her laptop. She begins to raise it before she makes a confused look as a frustrated huff leaves her lips. She then sets the coffee cup back down and looks up at Anna. 

“A night to sleep will not hurt you and I’m sure your editor would understand if you explain it to them.”, Anna explains in an attempt to convince her mother to call it a night for the sake of her health. 

“My deadline is in two days Anna. I don’t have time to rest. Can you get me another cup of coffee please?”, her mother asks as she lifts her cup up towards Anna. Anna scowls at her mother but her mother turns ignoring her going back to frantically typing on her computer.

“Mom, please. I know that this is important but your health is much more important. So, no I will not get you another cup of coffee. You need to sleep.”, Anna says sternly, placing the cup back down on the desk just a bit too aggressively.

“Fine, you win.”, she says, closing her laptop and standing up. “How did the meeting with the council go today?”

“Ugh, please don't ask. I told them about my choice for the next alpha and the entire room erupted. It's as if I said an outsider were to be alpha, not Keith. I handled it though. Also was informed about the Grand Alpha Celebration, a bit upset they didn't let me know sooner. They didn’t give us much time to prepare.”

“After your father they’ve all been gunning for that position. It wouldn't have mattered who you chose; they would still have opposed the idea. I honestly am not that surprised you chose Keith, he’s practically your brother. Not to mention he has been glued to you since you took over, basically acting as a second beta without the title. As for the Grand Alpha Celebration, give the council members a break; they are just doing their job.”

“I know it wouldn’t have mattered, just wish they wouldn’t have made it so obvious. When I announced that Keith would be alpha he looked absolutely mortified. I know taking on that title may come across as daunting but Keith is a natural leader. I wouldn’t have chosen him if he didn’t already prove he was capable.”

“I don’t blame him. The majority of the council members want someone they chose as alpha so I understand why. But he’ll make them see that he’s worthy even if it means putting one or two of them in their place.”

“I’ve never known Keith to be one who uses violence to get a point across.”

"He may not be like that now but being alpha changes a person. He'll have to learn how to stand his ground and sometimes it'll be necessary for him to use force.", her mother explains and Anna begins nodding her head in understanding. 

Anna has lived her whole life aggressively defending herself but when she had to run the pack her defensive behavior grew tenfold. She lacked trust in anyone and she always felt as if someone was constantly watching her next step. Waiting for her to stumble so they could take advantage of it. As a consequence she viewed many of the members of her pack as enemies and constantly had a defensive barrier up. 

"Anyway I know it’s just eight in the evening. Which is early for you but you should go relax and get some sleep. If I come down here later tonight and see you in that office I'll drag your ass back to bed and lock away your laptop.", Anna says a light laugh filling her voice. 

"I won't. Boy, sometimes I wonder who the real parent is.", her mother responds with a laugh. 

"Obviously you are but sometimes you just need someone to tell you when you need to take a break."

"Thanks, sweetheart. I don't know what I'd do without you here.", her mother says as they continue down the corridor. Her mother opens a door leading into her room and Anna says goodnight giving her mother a light hug. 

She then continues down the hallway towards her room observing the wooden log walls and multiple pictures that hung on the wall. They were all pictures of the pack from way back to when it was founded until now. And as the pictures got bigger so did the amount of people in them. The pack was the largest it had ever been before the death of Anna's father and as such was the largest picture that hung on the wall. Next to it hung the current picture of the pack. Dwindled down to nearly a hundred members from the one nearly three hundred. It looked so tiny in comparison to the pack her father had left behind and it irked Anna to see it so small. Sighing, she turned and walked away, the state of the pack weighing heavy on her mind.