Alpha Principal Read online

  Table of Contents

  End of Book 6– Please Read This

  Get Your FREE Preston Walker Book

  Important information…

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Acknowledgments

  Alpha Principal

  Alpha Principal

  Wishing On Love: Book 6

  Preston Walker

  Contents

  Get Your FREE Preston Walker Book

  Important information…

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  End of Book 6– Please Read This

  Acknowledgments

  Alpha Principal

  Get Your FREE Preston Walker Book

  Get your free prequel to the Wishing On Love Series sent straight to your email inbox. Just click here.

  Important information…

  This book, “Alpha Principal” is the Sixth book in the Wishing On Love Series. However, this book and every other book in the series can be read as a stand-alone. Thus, it is not required to read the first book to understand the second (as so on). Each book can be read by itself.

  1

  Nathanial Pepper waited in his office for his next appointment of the day, which would be an interview with a prospective member of the next year’s school faculty. The past school year had only just ended, summer was still getting into swing, but it was never too early to start getting these things figured out.

  This would be his fourth appointment of the day, but that wasn’t unusual. For a school principal, four appointments before lunch was smooth sailing. During the school year, most of these appointments were requested by concerned parents who really just wanted to know that he was listening to them. He was more than happy to do that, to keep an eye on their particular suggestion. It was one of the easiest parts of his job, one which he enjoyed.

  Then, there would be similar meetings with teachers, and then he might find himself receiving a call from the superintendent or doing rounds through the building to see how everything was getting along. There was never really a down moment, and even when he left periods of free time in his schedule, he always found something to do instead.

  The summer was different.

  Though members of the school faculty and board technically worked year-round, the first half of the summer could be rather lax as everyone let time get away from them. Then, as school neared again, Nathan would find himself swamped by teachers, parents, his superiors, and a number of others. Everyone would be frantic, and he would have to move to their pace to ensure that everything was ready. After all, what kind of principal would he be if the first day of school came around and someone didn’t have their lesson plans completed? Such things tended to change and adapt throughout the year, but you at least needed a starting point.

  Having been a teacher himself, Nathan understood much of what drove his colleagues. He saw all the flaws, the places that needed work or extra effort, and he had worked towards this position with the goal in mind to fix all that needed fixing.

  It was a work in progress. Eventually, someone else would come along with new ideas to replace his, taking over when the time came.

  But that wouldn’t happen, not for a long time. He wasn’t here today to make executive decisions about his own future. The school was what was important. The school was all that mattered.

  And the school, Churchland Elementary in Portsmouth, Virginia, was in desperate need of a new PE teacher. Physical Education was an important part of a child’s school day. Nathan was a firm believer in exercise as a cure to many problems. He thought there should be more of it, a class in the morning to get everyone going, and a class after lunch to get waning energy pumped up.

  Really, to him, it wasn’t so much about the physical status of the kids. Someone would always be too thin, too weak, too heavy. That was just life. PE was more about forming bonds and developing skills.

  And you needed a good teacher for it, someone who was in shape themselves, who knew what they were doing, and could treat minor injuries as necessary. Someone special who the kids trusted, who the girls could confide in and who the boys would listen to, and vice versa.

  The PE instructor here at Churchland also needed a moderate amount of skill in various sports, from baseball to soccer. A few of the other teachers had experience and could help out as necessary, but they needed someone to guide them. Teaching in the gym or outside was just different enough from doing it in a classroom that it was a separate experience.

  That was why he was waiting for his top pick to come walking up to knock on his door. Elaine, the head school secretary, was in the main office working on various projects and tasks. She was invaluable to him and underappreciated, in his opinion. Without her, he’d never get anything done.

  His appointment was in two minutes. He would give the prospective hire five minutes after that, and then for every consecutive minute he would start adding marks against the man. These marks were nothing more than his own personal reference system. He understood that not everyone was punctual, not everyone had to be as strict with their time as he was, but that was information he needed to know for the future.

  The man who would hopefully appear promptly was named Simon Diamond. Mr. Diamond was the top pick mostly due to his experience with high school sports. However, that was also potentially two drawbacks in one. Hires with more experience were less adaptable to change and could cause problems that shouldn’t have needed to be fixed in the first place.

  High school was a big, competitive world compared to elementary school. Nathan in no way wanted to hire a man who was going to force the kids to go beyond their limits and potentially injure themselves, as so many members of high school sports had in the past. This was a time to discover limits and preferences. The hard work could come later, when the kids were more ready for it.

  While he waited, Nathan glanced over his interview notes one final time. Just as he was about to flip the page, there was a knock on his office door.

  “Yes?” Nathan called out.

  A smooth, purring voice answered. “Principal Pepper, it’s Simon Diamond. I’m here for my interview.”

  “Come in,” Nathan said. “It’s unlocked.”

  The door opened and Nathan was given his first look of the man he was about to have a very detailed, very one-sided conversation with.

  Simon sported an even, luxurious tan that was difficult to obtain in a normal city atmosphere, suggesting that he spent a lot of time outside. This was encouraging, as was the fact that he had broad shoulders and a lean, muscular body. His shirt had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, displaying soft, brown skin stretched taut over a network of veins and tendons. A wicked scar slashed between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, trailing off like a lightning bolt to the inner curve of his wrist.

  His hair was wild and dark, as if he had a tendency to shove his hands through it. In contrast with the dark strands hanging across them, Simon’s eyes wer
e brilliant green.

  Nathan was impressed so far, but he was also surprised because Simon wasn’t entirely human.

  Nathan had no way of predicting this, which was understandable. You couldn’t include the fact that you were a vampire on your application, right next to your qualifications.

  Or, in this case, the fact that you were a wolf.

  Nathan was a wolf shifter himself, capable of accessing his alpha counterpart at any given moment. Judging from his scent, Simon was an omega.

  Nathan made an effort not to probe too deeply into the other wolf’s scent. He would be able to tell all sorts of things about Simon if he tried, including what he had for breakfast and potentially even the last time he had sex. True wolves wouldn’t mind such openness, but not all shifters felt the same way. It was difficult to balance the two halves when they clashed in such a way sometimes.

  Simon stepped forward and closed the office door behind him. Then, he turned around and held his scarred hand over the top of the desk for a shake. “I’m sorry for being late,” he said. “There was a bit of traffic on my way here.”

  “You were right on time.” Nathan gripped Simon’s hand and was rewarded with a strong grasp in return. He was a little surprised that this man was an omega. Most male omega wolves, though uncommon, tended to share the same sort of characteristics. They were slender, gently muscular or not physically adept at all.

  But Simon looked more like a beta wolf, not as large or powerful as an alpha but with attributes from the best of both worlds. Definitely an omega, though. It was in his mannerisms, in the gentleness of his eyes, the way he spoke. A wolf could never escape what he was meant to be.

  “I don’t think you’re on time unless you’re early. That’s my policy.”

  Nathan smiled a little. That was a point in Simon’s favor, as far as he was concerned. “Yours and mine. Please, take a seat. We can get started.”

  Why haven’t you commented on the fact that we’re both wolves? Interesting.

  Simon pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the desk and sat down gracefully. He folded his hands together neatly on top of the desk.

  Letting him stew for a moment, Nathan shuffled his papers around. He kept most of his attention on Simon, waiting to see what he would do when left to his own devices in an unfamiliar setting. That could really say a lot about a person, and he had eliminated a few teachers in the past based on it. Quiet was an important thing, an important time. The desire to constantly break it wasn’t great, especially when you might have students studying or taking tests who needed all the concentration they could get.

  Simon appeared to handle silence well, not even seeming to notice that he was being observed because he was too busy taking a look around himself.

  The office itself was nothing special. Nathan wasn’t a very inspired decorator. His walls were covered in the stereotypical motivational posters, cluttered alongside framed degrees, awards, various certificates, and photographs of various staff members from the past.

  His desk was covered in similar photographs, including those of each graduating 6th grade class since he took position as principal.

  Other than that, there wasn’t much to see. He had shelves full of books, most he had bought himself, though a few were leftover textbooks from his college days. He referred to them constantly for advice, and the pages of each were highlighted, notated, dog-eared, and worn. He had filing cabinets, which were a necessity for anyone who had to keep records of any kind. On top of one of these filing cabinets was a potted plant Elaine kept alive for him, mostly because he could hardly remember to water it himself.

  “All right,” Nathan said, interrupting the silence. He had his papers in the right order now, though they had already been that way. He had just shuffled them and then shuffled them back.

  Simon looked back at him and nodded briskly. “I’m eager to get started.”

  They got the formalities out of the way, such as the various degrees and accomplishments Simon had to his name. These were already confirmed for Nathan through the letters of recommendation that Simon had included with his application, but he needed to make sure the story stayed the same all the way throughout.

  They moved on to the standard questions that were part of nearly every interview in existence. Everyone, from politicians to the grocery stockers at Walmart, had faced these questions before. They always followed the same format: “What would you do if such-and-such happened?” or “How would you react in this particular situation?”

  The standard format could be adapted for any and every situation. In this case, these questions mostly had to do with the kids acting out, getting hurt, or saying something that needed to be brought to a parent’s attention.

  Simon handled the questions well, responding easily and in a pleasing way. There were always more than a few right answers, but it was really the procedure of things that mattered, and how to decide what was most important and needed to be done first. The omega wolf had no doubt gone through this same process multiple times before.

  Once the usual business was out of the way, Nathan moved on to the stuff he was really interested in. “You used to coach at the Churchland High School, one of our sister schools. What has inspired you to pursue a position in the lower grades? If you don’t mind me pointing it out, the pay grade is also lower.”

  It was blunt, but these were blunt matters.

  Simon nodded as Nathan spoke, acknowledging each point as it came. “CHS is a fine place and I’m honored to have worked there for the past five years, but it was time for a change of pace. Recent changes to the curriculum and budget made me feel as if it was best for me to make room for someone newer.” Nathan made a note on the paper, a point to discuss when the other man had finished speaking. “When I saw that the elementary school had an opening, I was glad. Churchland is a wonderful school system.”

  “I see. Well, loyalty to the system is always a plus when a career is being considered.” Though overzealous loyalty could cause major problems in the future. “However, I’d like to bring attention to something you just said. It was recent changes that made you seek a new position. Weren’t you going to be able to adapt to them? We pride ourselves here on our ability to face any challenge that comes our way.”

  There were dozens of small occurrences throughout the day where things didn’t go the way they were planned. It was very, very important to be able to challenge these and then get everyone back on track.

  Simon didn’t seem fazed at all at having been basically accused of being unadaptable. Nathan regarded this with interest, sitting up a little straighter in his chair. He hadn’t ever known an omega wolf like this before, so casual and yet professional, and very collected and calm. This was an omega who was confident in his standing in life, who didn’t let it define him.

  It was intriguing. Exciting.

  Something stirred around deep inside Nathan, though he ignored it with ease.

  “Of course, I could have adapted. There have always been changes each school year, big and small. And I have no problem purchasing supplies out of pocket, if need be.”

  “Then why leave?”

  “Call it a whim,” Simon said. “But not nearly so spontaneous. I thought over my decision very carefully before finalizing anything. It seemed like a good time for a change of venue, a chance to pursue different interests. I’ve always wanted to work with younger kids.”

  “Why is that?” Nathan prompted.

  Simon gazed at him with those green eyes, like twin emeralds. “High school students have their own charm, and they can be very talented. But by that time, they are already honing their potential. I would like to help children discover themselves. I believe it is very important to their development, and I would love to take part in that.”

  Not only was it a very astute observation, it neatly meshed with Nathan’s personal beliefs. He made a note in Simon’s favor. Really, Simon was making it hard to find anything wrong about him. He was professional a
nd thoughtful, and handsome, to boot.

  What more could a principal ask of a teacher?

  I could think of a few things, but they would all be very unprofessional.

  The stirrings inside him were warm and increasingly hard to ignore. Nathan was no stranger to sex and he attempted to have a personal relationship with the former music teacher before they both discovered they were incompatible.

  That music teacher, Derrick Keene, was now living a happy life with his fiancé and their daughter. Derrick had moved on to teaching private lessons to adults at the beginner level of their musical pursuits, and he routinely provided musical accompaniment to various plays and performances.

  Nathan was glad that everything had worked out for Derrick. They weren’t meant to be together and were able to part on good terms.

  But thinking of Derrick made him remember how the two of them had attempted to have sex in this very room.

  “Principal Pepper?” It was Simon’s turn to prompt him now. “You spaced out for a minute there.”

  Nathan quickly pulled himself together and flashed Simon a grin. “Just gathering my thoughts. I admire your initiative and your desire to pursue new paths in life. Very inspiring.”

  “I’m only doing my best,” Simon replied. “And that’s all I’ll ever ask of the kids, too. The best is all anyone can ask.”

  “Very true.” Nathan set down the papers he’d been holding and tucked the pen behind his ear. He had more questions but he no longer considered them necessary. He still had a few other teachers to interview for this same position—and there would be more who applied as the summer went on—but he didn’t think he would be hiring any of them, though he would certainly give them their fair chance. No decision could be made yet, not even if he was pretty sure of what it would be.