The Heart of the Texan Alpha: His Human Mate

By Solange Daye

What is happening to me?' I groan in my mind. 'I shouldn't care so much about this human.'
'You care for her because she belongs to you,' my wolf replies.
'She is a human,' I remind him. 'She is stumbling over her words like an idiot. Nope. Absolutely not. I will not take this human as my mate. She is not worthy to be a Luna,'
'You are stubborn to change. Just like the rest of your pack,' my wolf replies.
'I am not like them,' I growl at my wolf.
'Then prove it,' my wolf demands.
***
Accused of human abuse, Luke is banished and disgraced, he is forced to prove himself to his father before he can return to the pack. Taking a job on a local farm, Luke is mortified to find out that his mate is a human. Luke tries to stay away from Kat because he knows that he will never claim her as his Luna. But the more time he spends with Kat, the stronger the bond between them becomes. Can he put aside his feelings for humans and claim his mate? Or will he let her go?

• Language: English
• Publisher: supernovel
• Release date: Feb 4, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1 Moving

KAT

Dad, I am home, I yell as I open the front door to our small apartment in upstate New York.

My voice doesn't echo like it used to in the old house. We used to live in a huge house, but with all of Mom's medical debt and it just being Dad and I, we decided to downgrade. I am sure Dad thinks I miss our grand house and all the crap that was in it, but I don't. The two-bedroom apartment is cozy. Plus, I can see the Adirondack Mountain Range from our back windows. Nothing says home to me like the mountains. I never want to leave this place.

When I don't hear a response from Dad, I make my way down the short hallway into the kitchen. My father isn't there or in his office. That's when I see it. A yellow sticky note on the counter.

Went to the hospital. Be back before dinner. Love, Dad.

I let out a sigh. Of course, he isn't here. Why would he be? He is rarely home, always at work or at the hospital with Mom.

Setting the mail down on the counter beside the sticky note, I begin digging through the fridge. I guess I will be making dinner once again. I pull out some chicken and set to work on making dinner.

Alexa. Play songs I like, I call out to our Alexa, and music starts to blare through the speakers in the apartment. I am dancing around the kitchen while I mix the batter for the chicken in a bowl. I spin around too quickly and almost fall.

I am out of practice, I laugh to no one.

I set the bowl down and a thick letter on the counter catches my attention.

Wiping my hands free from the batter, I pull the letter out of the stack with shaky hands. My hands freeze when I see that it is a letter from Juilliard. My breath gets caught in my throat, and I have to sit down to steady myself.

I had applied so long ago that I automatically assumed that I hadn't gotten in. But the thick envelope in my hands is telling me that I was wrong. Why would they send so much information for a rejection letter?

I carefully rip the back of the envelope open and pull out the letter. I turn it over in my hands before I unfold it to read its contents.

Dear Katerine Tower, It is with great pleasure that we would like to extend to your acceptance to Juilliard School of Dance…

I don't bother to read the rest of the letter. The first sentence is all I need to squeal as loudly as I can. I clutch the letter to my chest and jump up and down. I have worked so hard to get to this point. I have given up weekends, school events, football games, parties, everything. I have never worked so hard for anything in my whole life.

The familiar sound of the door creaking open causes me to run into the hallway. I still have the letter clutched to my chest. But my face falls as soon as I see my father's face.

Hey, Kit Kat, Dad says in a tired voice. I have some news.

Me too, I practically scream. You go first.

Your mom, he pauses.

My face falls. Is she okay? I ask as I run for my jacket. I can be ready to go now.

Settle down, Dad says with a heavy chuckle. She is the same as the last you saw her.

I set my jacket back on its hook. Then what is wrong?

Your mother got accepted into a special program in Texas. They have a new experimental drug which they believe may help to shrink the tumor in her brain. Dad makes his way into the kitchen and sits down at our little table.

That's great! I exclaim. Why don't you look more excited?

Dad presses his fingers to his temples as his head hurts. It isn't that easy Kit Kat. She has to be in Texas for the experimental drugs.

What does that mean for us? I ask quietly.

I will be moving to Texas to be near your mother while she goes through treatment, and since you haven't made a college decision, I thought you would come along, he says carefully.

Where will we live? I ask.

I have purchased an old farmhouse and a bit of land, Dad says with a smile.

For as long as I can remember, Mom has begged Dad to move to the country and live on a farm. She grew up on one as a child and had so many fond memories that she wanted to recreate that childhood for my sister and me. Dad never said no, but whenever Mom would bring it up, he would say not right now.

That was always his answer until now. My older sister left for college, and my mother was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

Refusing to give up, Mom exposed herself to every treatment she could over the past two years, and the tumor only continued to grow. But now it sounds like with this new treatment there might be a chance.

So now Dad has relocated his job and bought a farm. I know it is because he wants Mom to be happy once she is well, but I know that it is so he can fulfill her one dream. Likely, she will never leave the hospital to see the farm he purchased, but I guess it is the thought that matters.

Okay, I say, still clutching the letter in my hands. For how long?

Until the end, Dad says sadly.

By the end… you mean… I gulp.

Dad shakes his head up and down. Not wanting to answer my unspoken question. Tears burn in my eyes for the loss of my mother and now the loss of my dream. I turn my back on Dad and ball the acceptance letter in my hands.

When are we leaving? I ask, not turning around.

Chapter 2 Banished

LUKE

I sit outside of the courtroom in silence. My knees shake with anticipation, and the shackles that connect my wrists to my ankles jingle loudly in the silent hallway. There are two guards on either side of me in case I decide to run.

I couldn't run if I wanted to. I am bound with silver, like a common criminal, to keep my wolf at bay. I try to keep my hands still because the silver burns against my skin. With each small movement, I hiss at the pain the shackles are inflicting on me.

People file into the courtroom one by one. It would appear that almost the whole pack has shown up for my trial. As the people file into the room, many of them look in my direction with looks of disgust on their faces.

My father's Beta's son, Jeff, stops just in front of me. He looks at the guards on either side of me and approaches me slowly. The guards shift uneasily as Jeff bends down to talk to me.

We are cool, right? Jeff asks.

I don't have to ask what he is talking about. I already know. He wants to know if I am going to rat him out to the elder council or if I am going to keep my mouth shut.

I have already told you that we are, I growl in his direction.

Jeff lets out a sigh of relief, turns without another word, and heads into the courtroom. There is a bounce in his step, and I want nothing more than to drag his ass to the ground. He is the reason I am in this situation.

The courtroom doors swing open and my father gestures for me to come inside. I get to my feet and walk with my head held high to the front of the room. The pack elders are sitting at a long table in front of me, and my father takes his place at the center of the table.

We are gathered here today in order to decide the fate of our future Alpha, my father says with sadness in his voice. He is being charged with abuse of a human.

I stand with my head held down in shame. I can barely look into my father's eyes as he reads what I have been accused of. None of it is true.

Of course, I have grown to hate humans as much as the next person in my pack, but I would never do the things that I have been accused of. Only a sick person would do the things those things to that human girl. I know who the culprits are, but like a good friend, I keep my mouth shut and take the brunt of the punishment.

Is there anything you would like to say for yourself? My father glares down at me.

I roll my shoulders back and hold my head up high. I didn't do what you are accusing me of.

Then would you like to name those who participated in the abuse of that poor girl? My father's eyes are begging me to tell the truth.

I will not, I say as I continue to stare into my father's eyes.

His face falls with disappointment. I am not turning out to be the son he thought I would be.

As the future Alpha of the River Run Pack, you are expected to treat all creatures with the same amount of respect. And, yes, that includes humans. In the past, we tried to keep our bloodlines pure. That is no longer the case. Humans and werewolves are learning to live amongst one another in harmony all over the country. Our pack's views of humans are archaic, and they need to change. My father's Alpha Aura washes over the crowd, daring anyone to speak against him.

I can hear a wave of murmurs washing over the crowd. Some agree with my father, and others do not.

The elders sitting on either side of my father seem to be conflicted. Many of them believe that humans and werewolves should remain separate. But I have to admit my father might be right. We have lost many pack members over the years because they found their mates among the humans. They feared how their mates would be treated within our pack and left for more progressive ones.

The elders whisper to one another, and my father stands stoically, waiting for a decision to be made. Our head elder, Elder Wilder, stands up and clears his throat awkwardly.

We are unable to come to a decision, Elder Wilder says. We will leave his punishment up to Alpha Gunner.

My father's face is grim. I knew he didn't want to be the one who gave me my punishment, but now he has no choice.

A new human family is moving into the old farmhouse at the edge of our territory. They reached out to me looking for someone who could help establish their farm and do the hard labor. Lucifer, you will be banished from the River Run Pack and be their farm hand until you can learn to respect the human race. My father's tone is serious as he lays out my punishment.

You can't be serious, I exclaim. You expect me to be nothing more than a low-level Omega?

I think this is just the punishment that you need, my father growls. There is nothing wrong with a bit of hard work.

I am an Alpha, I shout, trying to throw my aura over him. I will be treated as such.

My father chuckles at my show of power and throws his Aura over me. I fight against the need to bare my neck to him in submission. Sweat begins to bead on my brow the longer I fight against his command. Finally, I can fight no longer, and I twist my head to the side, baring my neck to him.

You will do as I command, my father continues to hold his Aura over me.

I grit my teeth together. Yes, Alpha, I respond.

Chapter 3 The Farmhouse

KAT

I stare out of the window, watching the landscape change before my eyes. My father and I are moving from the beautiful mountains of New York to what can only be described as the barren wasteland that is Texas. I haven't seen a mountain, hill, or mound of dirt in over a thousand miles. There is nothing but sky as far as the eye can see. It is overwhelming how vast the sky is here in Texas.

My father has been humming along with every song on the radio, whether he knows it or not, for the past week, and it is beginning to drive me insane.

Oop, my father says before cutting the wheel and causing the tires to screech. I almost missed the turn. We are here.

My eyes dart out the windshield as we drive down a long dirt road. Dust kicks up under the tires and creates a haze around the car that makes it difficult to see. Dad finally puts the car in park, and I am practically humming with excitement.

I hop out of the car, and I take in the expansive landscape that surrounds me. A run-down farmhouse sits in the middle of a massive yard. A porch wraps around the bottom level of the house and the white paint is peeling off of the siding. The tin roof is rusted and in desperate need of repair. I wrinkle my nose, wondering what the inside of the house must look like if the outside looks this bad.

To the left of the house, a large red barn sits by itself in the distance and looks to be in better shape than the farmhouse. It is surrounded by rows and rows of fencing. Black and white cattle are grazing in a nearby pasture, and a beautiful black horse is among them. The barn doors are opened wide, and I can see someone inside shoveling hay into troughs.

Dad walks up beside me and bumps me with his hip. What do you think?

Mom would have loved this place, I say sadly.

Your mom WILL love this place, his voice is angry as he accentuates the 'will,' and he stomps off, leaving me standing in the front yard.

Sighing as I open the back of my father's SUV, I pull out several boxes and begin to carry them inside the house.

Kicking the front door open with my foot, I yell out to my dad. Which room is mine?

The master is downstairs, he yells from the kitchen. You have your pick of rooms upstairs.

The wooden stairs creek under my weight with each step that I take, and I worry about them breaking. Dropping the boxes at the top of the stairs, I open the doors one at a time. Each room is basically the same. Wood flooring, outdated wallpaper, and one window. Everything is covered in dust and grime, and the floors groan under my steps.

Trailing my fingertips along the wall, I open the door at the end of the hallway and instantly know that it is my room. Light floods the room through glass doors that lead out to a balcony above the porch on the side of the house. The wooden floors are the same, but the walls are a simple gray color with white trim around the windows and doors. Two doors sit on opposite sides of the room. One door leads to a huge walk-in closet, and the other to a small bathroom with a clawfoot

Reviews for The Heart of the Texan Alpha

[c25jk8j74q · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful book. But there is not an ending. It is missing half the book.