LOVING THE ENEMY ALPHA

The shrill sound of her alarm clock cut through Aria's dreams at exactly 7 AM. She groaned and rolled over in her king-size bed, her hand blindly searching for the annoying little device. Instead of finding the snooze button, she knocked the clock straight to the floor.

The alarm kept on ringing.

"Shut up," Aria growled, her voice thick with sleep. She rolled over again and grabbed the fallen clock, jabbing at buttons until the noise finally stopped. But her victory was short-lived. The thing started beeping again.

"That's it!" Aria sat up and hurled the alarm clock across her room. It hit the wall with a satisfying crash and went silent.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!"

Aria spun around to see her best friend Lexi bouncing through the door, somehow managing to dodge the flying alarm clock pieces. Lexi Chen was the Beta's daughter and had been Aria's closest friend since they were five years old.

"Lexi, what are you doing here so early?" Aria rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up properly.

"It's your eighteenth birthday!" Lexi practically vibrated with excitement. She was holding a small wrapped box in her hands. "I couldn't wait any longer to give you this!"

Unlike Aria, Lexi hadn't followed the path to become the future Beta. Her older brother Ryan was two years older and had been training for that position since he was sixteen.

Ryan had found his mate on his eighteenth birthday six months ago, and now he was ready to take on the challenges of being Beta to the Silver Crest pack alongside Aria.

Lexi jumped onto Aria's bed, making the mattress bounce. "Open it now, Aria! Open it right now! I almost gave it to you yesterday, but I forced myself to wait!"

Aria wiped the sleep from her eyes and tried to focus on her friend's eager face. "Lexi, slow down. Let me wake up first."

"No time for that!" Lexi shoved the gift toward her. "Today is the day you turn eighteen!"

Suddenly, the importance of the day hit Aria like a lightning bolt. She sat up straighter, her tiredness disappearing. "Wow. I nearly forgot about that. I guess it is my birthday today, damn."

"Finally!" Lexi laughed as Aria jumped to her feet on the bed.

Both girls started bouncing on the mattress like they were ten years old again. "It's my birthday! It's my birthday!" Aria chanted, her serious Alpha-in-training persona completely forgotten.

Everyone who knew Aria understood that she was serious ninety-nine per cent of the time. She had to be.

The weight of leadership, the constant training, the endless lessons in pack politics; it all required her to be mature beyond her years. But birthdays were different. They brought out the carefree, silly side that she rarely let anyone see.

After a few minutes of bouncing, both girls collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily and giggling.

"Okay, okay," Aria said, picking up Lexi's gift. "Let me see what you got me."

The box was wrapped in silver paper with an emerald green bow - the colours of the Silver Crest pack.

Aria tore open the wrapping paper without any attempt to save it. Lexi was the best gift-giver in the world, and Aria couldn't wait to see what she'd come up with this year.

Inside the box, nestled in soft tissue paper, was the most beautiful necklace Aria had ever seen. It was an emerald green stone pendant on a delicate gold chain.

"Lexi," Aria whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "This is gorgeous."

"Do you really like it?" Lexi asked, though Aria's expression had already given her the answer.

"I love it!" Aria threw her arms around her best friend as she laughed. "Go on and put it on me, I know you want to."

Lexi carefully fastened the necklace around Aria's neck. Aria walked to her full-length mirror to see how it looked. The pendant rested perfectly just below her collarbone, catching the morning light and making her eyes shine even brighter.

"I'm never taking this off," Aria declared, admiring her reflection. "It's perfect, Lexi. Thank you so much."

"Well, maybe take it off before you shift into your wolf," Lexi laughed. "Kestra might not appreciate jewellery."

"Good point," Aria agreed, though she was still staring at the necklace in the mirror.

Lexi had turned eighteen a month ago, but she still hadn't found her mate. In the werewolf world, even a month could feel like forever when you were waiting for the Moon Goddess to reveal your destined partner.

She tried to stay positive about it, but Aria could see the disappointment in her friend's eyes sometimes.

"You know," Lexi said, sitting on the edge of Aria's bed, "I have a good feeling about tonight. Your party is going to be amazing."

Aria's parents had invited teenagers from all the local packs within their alliance network. It wasn't just about celebrating Aria's birthday, although that was important too.

These gatherings gave young wolves the chance to meet and possibly find their mates. Everyone hoped that several matches would be made during the evening.

"I hope so," Aria said, touching the pendant at her throat. "I want tonight to go great for every wolf attending, not just me."

"It will be," Lexi said confidently. "Your parents invited over a hundred people. With numbers like that, somebody's bound to find their mate."

Aria nodded, but her stomach was doing little flips. Turning eighteen was huge for any werewolf, but being the Alpha's daughter made everything more complicated.

She knew she would find her mate eventually; the Moon Goddess blessed every wolf with a destined partner. But when she did find him, he would have to be ready to help her lead the Silver Crest pack.

"What if my mate doesn't want to be with a future Alpha?" Aria asked quietly.

Lexi stood up and put her hands on Aria's shoulders. "Then he's an idiot who doesn't deserve you. The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes, Aria. Whoever she's chosen for you will be perfect."

Aria smiled at her friend's confidence. "You're right. I'm just nervous, I guess."

"That's normal," Lexi said. "I was terrified on my eighteenth birthday. But nervous or not, tonight is going to be incredible."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. "Come in," Aria called.

Alpha Damon and Luna Celeste entered together, both beaming with pride and joy. Celeste had tears in her eyes as she looked at her daughter.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," Celeste said, her voice thick with emotion. "I can't believe my baby is eighteen today."

"Thanks, Mom," Aria said, hugging both her parents.

"You look beautiful," Damon said gruffly, eyeing the new necklace with suspicion. "What is that you're wearing?"

"Lexi gave it to me," Aria said, touching the pendant again.

"Well, Lexi has excellent taste," Celeste said, wiping at her eyes. "Now, we should start getting ready. The party begins in a few hours, and there's still so much to do."

As her parents left to continue the party preparations, Aria looked at herself in the mirror one more time.

The girl looking back at her was eighteen years old today. Tonight, she might find her mate, and soon, she would officially become the Alpha of the Silver Crest pack.

Everything was about to change.