Page 2 of Assisting the Alpha
I wrinkle my nose at Lola’s snooty tone. Why Nyoka married her, I’ll never know. She’s the coven lawyer and crazy smart, but she’s the meanest person I’ve ever met.
The meeting starts wrapping up, someone summarising the actions they’ve agreed to take on the murder investigation before papers shuffle and chairs scrape. I carefully withdraw my magic, making sure whoever cast the ward will never know it was tampered with.
The door opens and people stride out, some greeting me, others sending me tight smiles. I’m not taking it personally; the task force have a lot on their plate.
Lola comes out and sneers when she sees me. “He’s busy, Ayo. Whatever you need, forget it.”
She’s wearing a tight pencil skirt and killer heels just like always, and her sleek black hair is pulled back in a fierce bun. I’ve never seen her anything less than completely put together, despite us living in the same house. Although, when the house is the size of this place and we live in separate wings, I guess it’s not really that odd.
I straighten my spine and look up at her. “That’s up to my cousin, not you.”
Nyoka is talking to Will as he comes out of the room and spots me. He glances at Lola before giving me a tight smile. “It’s fine, Lola. Come on, Ayo. We can talk in my office.”
I resist giving Lola a smug grin of victory. Just.
Nyoka is my only remaining family, and while most of the time he’s too busy being coven leader for that to matter, occasionally family duty wins out. Thankfully, this is one of those times.
My pleasure at winning fades as we reach his office. It’s the one part of the manor that’s a struggle for me to be in. It’s not Nyoka’s fault it reminds me of Mum, though. It’s always been the coven leader’s office and always will be.
It would be easier if he’d bothered to redecorate a bit, though. The same tapestries depicting heroic stories from our family history hang on the walls, faded with age, and the same solid oak furniture is spread about the room, worn down from repeated use over the centuries.
I close the door behind me as Nyoka takes off his favourite black and green velvet robe and drapes it carefully over the back of the chair behind the desk. He’s possibly the only person I don’t feel short next to, and although a lot of our features are similar, from our wide noses and full lips to our chocolate brown eyes, his hair is liberally sprinkled with grey.
As Nyoka loosens his tie and undoes his top button, I can still see the place at the base of one of the desk legs where I carved my name when I was five.
I remember trying to hide it from Mum, not realising I was making it more obvious. As soon as she realised what I’d done, she laughed and kissed me on the forehead. She said now I’d be close to her when she was working, even when I was at school.
I look away and take a couple of deep breaths to steady myself. Wherever I look in this room are reminders of her, so I try to focus on the things my cousin has added: The piles of books littering the floor that should really be back in the extensive manor library. The huge bunch of keys he drops into the top left hand desk drawer with a clatter. The pristine computer and keyboard because my cousin loves all technology.The various rings and pendants in the cabinet on one side of the room, because his affinity is metal so he’s always swapping out his jewellery for different purposes.
Nyoka makes himself comfortable behind his desk and gestures to one of the tan leather guest chairs. “Take a seat. Now, what can I do for you? Wait.” He holds up a finger, rummaging through one of the lower drawers. “Before we get started. Lola put it in here somewhere… Ah, here it is.”
I take the envelope he hands me, perching gingerly on the chair he indicated. Sometimes my dad would sit and read me stories in this chair when Mum was working late and I wanted her to be there for my bedtime story. Other times we were in the library, just me and my dad.
I shake off the memories and hand Nyoka the folder I’m carrying. Whatever is in the envelope, I won’t be derailed by it, or by where I am.
“I’ve been an admin for almost five years,” I begin.
Nyoka’s lips quirk up. “I’m aware.”
Seeing as how my cousin is the one who set me up with the apprenticeship when I turned sixteen, one that turned into a full-time position two years later, he would be.
“With turning twenty-one soon, it’s time I did more with my magic to serve the coven.”
It’s beyond time, honestly. See, there are three levels of magic-user. Witch—the most common and with the least amount of power; mage, which Nyoka and most of the task force are; then sorcerer at the top of the power tree.
Which is me. I’m the only sorcerer in the whole of Birchester, so it seems a waste for me to be doing admin work when I could do so much more to help everyone.
Nyoka’s eyebrows rise. “Are you after my job, Ayo?”
My eyes widen and my heart starts racing. “Oh my goddess, no. Why would you think that?”
“The strongest leads. It’s been our tradition for centuries.”
That is true. It’s the first time in the history of our coven that a sorcerer hasn’t been in charge. But do I want to be coven leader at the age of twenty? Hell no. I’m still getting to grips with the full potential of my magic. I’d hate to risk the safety of my coven due to being too young and inexperienced.
“There’s obviously more to leading a coven than being powerful. Maybe when you’re ready to retire I can take over for you, but right now? Come on, can you honestly see me running our entire coven?”
Nyoka snorts, perhaps agreeing with me a little too easily for my pride. Gah, I didn’t realise he’s been worried I might want to steal his job.
