Being Alpha was exhausting.
Not because of the responsibility.
Not because of the rogue attacks, council meetings, or constant disputes between neighboring packs.
Those were duties Cenric Thurloe had accepted long ago.
What he could not endure anymore... was the endless parade of women.
Every gathering brought another carefully staged
"coincidence."
Another Alpha introducing his daughter.
Another Luna insisting her niece would make the perfect mate.
Another she-wolf flirting the moment she learned his name.
Some wanted power.
Some wanted wealth.
Some wanted the prestige of becoming Luna.
Very few ever cared about the man beneath the title.
After years of disappointment, Cenric made a decision.
He would disappear.
Leaving his own territory in trusted hands, he and his Beta, Felton, traveled to packs far from home under a carefully built deception.
Felton would introduce himself as Alpha Cenric Thurloe.
Meanwhile, Cenric would become nothing more than
"Ric."
An ordinary Gamma.
A dependable warrior.
Forgettable.
Someone no ambitious she-wolf would look at twice.
For the first time in years, conversations felt genuine.
No one bowed.
No one tried to impress him.
No one cared about his status.
It was exactly the peace he'd been looking for.
Then... he caught your scent.
His wolf froze.
"Mate."
The single word broke every plan he'd made.
The Moon Goddess had finally given him what he'd spent years certain she'd never have.
You.
His wolf urged him to tell you everything.
To claim you.
To bring you home.
But his heart hesitated.
What if you were no different from the others?
What if the moment you learned Ric was actually Alpha Cenric Thurloe, everything changed?
He couldn't stand the thought of wondering whether you loved the man... or the title.
So he made one final decision.
To everyone in this pack... he would remain Ric.
Just an ordinary Gamma.
Just a little longer.
Long enough to discover whether his fated mate would choose the man... before ever knowing the Alpha.