When Ember reached the canteen after changing into a comfortable white t-shirt and jeans, the few betas and omegas in the kitchen had already begun the preparations.
"Need a hand, Martha?"
The middle-aged shifter stopped kneading the dough and turned to Ember with a smile.
"We have enough people in the kitchen but we do lack some supplies," Martha answered as she pulled out a paper from her apron pocket and handed it to Ember.
When Ember opened up the paper she could see various grocery items written meticulously in detail about the requested brand and quantity along with a second option for each item in case the brand mentioned was out of stock.
She would have praised the female wolf had the list not been so long that it reached the floor.
Sigh... Feeding an entire pack isn't an easy job.
Normally, everybody cooked their food in their home. But it's a special occasion this week, as in, its celebration for her upcoming engagement at the end of the week.
Ember took the list and headed back home. She found her idiot twin brothers in their room jumping around while smashing the joystick.
"Hey, you missed it! You were supposed to shoot him down!"
"If you hadn't gotten in my way I would have shot him down! Do you want me to shoot you down instead?!"
Ember calmly pulled the plug of the TV blackening the screen, halting the video game progress of the brothers.
Two almost identical faces with the same blue eyes as her turned towards her.
"Ember!" Elliot moaned while Emmanuel grunted, "Not fair!"
"Enough fun time boys! I've got work for you!"
"Aww..." Elliot's entire countenance drooped as he gave a longing look towards the TV before heading towards Ember.
The Eldest triplet Emmanuel just sighed and grabbed the list Ember dangled before him.
"You can play as much as you want when you come back."
That perked the two up and they ran out immediately. "Alright!"
Ember chuckled at the two. She would have gone herself if the list hadn't been that long. She still has to oversee the other preparations.
Personally, Ember would like to have a simple ceremony but it cannot be helped since she's the first daughter and the acting luna.
Somehow her heart just was not in it. She has a nagging feeling at the back of her head telling her, this was not right.
Ember slowly traced the light blue waterdrop on the back of her head as she climbed down the stairs. When she reached the living room she saw not one but two wolves before the fireplace, cuddling together. The larger light grey wolf lifted its head from the neck of the smaller wolf and glanced at her.
"Hey, dad, done with the hunt?"
'Ember.' The larger wolf nodded at her before climbing off the bed.
'We need to talk'
Ember felt a little anxious but she still followed him to his study.
By the time she reached the door to the study, Ember's father had already shifted into a human and had changed into casual clothes.
Ember looked at the dark brown-haired man who did not look older than twenty-five when he is forty-nine years old in reality.
Only her, Elliot, Liam and the two youngest have silver hair, probably genes inherited from her mother instead of the calm but solemn man in front of her. But the blue eyes that she and all her siblings share is probably inherited from him. None of the siblings completely resemble him in regards to features, Ember guessed that it's probably because of the genetics from her mother.
A wolf shifter or any other shifter does not age like humans, their ageing is slower by two to three times when compared. They are strong, agile, have higher senses and are more perceptive than humans and true wolves or other animals.
Also if a shifter finds their true mate, and the mate is of a kind with a lower lifespan, their mate undergoes a transformation that increases their lifespan and strength equal to that of their partner.
Speaking of which, her mother's life span indeed increased and she grew larger compared to the normal Arctic wolves but she shifted into a human only once due to the mate bond.
Ember noticed that her hair and half her features resembled her mother when she shifted to human form.
Although she stopped shifting to a human afterwards as she felt it was not needed and it was hard to get used to walking on two legs. Ember knew that she still does every night. She gave a wry look towards her old man as she remembered the sounds from their 'nightly activities.'
Ember wished her hearing would not be more pronounced than her siblings with more than half-wolf blood. It's all the water drop's fault.
Ember's father raised an eyebrow at the look he received from his daughter but took on his casual attitude. He knew that he'd regret asking her thoughts, so he let it be.
"How is the progress with the preparation?"
"Jason has done with the stage just as I instructed him, it's the decorations that are left. Carl has almost done finishing the outfits, but the details will take two more days. Martha will finish preparing today's feast in an hour."
Ember dutifully reported all the details including the preparation for today's feast and her supposed meeting with Andrew. Her father calmly listened to her until she was done.
"You don't seem quite enthusiastic about the union" he commented.
Ember sighed.
She walked towards the window behind the study table and glanced out at the falling snow and the scenery. Few pups were running around playing and having snowball fights.
"I don't know dad, something just doesn't feel right..."
Alpha Grey was quiet for a while. "I thought you liked Andrew."
Ember watched one of the pups fall while running and he ended up getting smashed on the chest by a snowball.
"Well... he's my childhood friend and we've known each other since we were young. But most of all his abilities and wit is one of the best among our pack members, so he was the ideal choice."
"But... something just doesn't feel right. It's like my instincts are rebelling."
The snowflakes fell like white flower petals, adding another layer of white on the ground.
Alpha Grey stood up from the chair and walked towards the window. As he stood next to Ember while looking out at the lively pack he protected and guarded, his eyes softened but it was hard to guess his thoughts.
"Before I met your mother, I was engaged to another wolf."
"I know, Aunt Joy had escaped from big trouble. Only mother can deal with you." Ember chucked.
"True that." Alpha Grey had a slight smile on his face. "She was the best thing that happened to me."
Ember looked at the fondness in her father's eyes as he talked about her mother. She could not understand the feeling as she had never been in love. But it must be a wonderful thing if it could make her father show such an expression.
"When I was engaged to Joy, I had a nagging feeling at the back of my head. Telling me it was not right. And two days later, I met your mother."
Ember did not turn to look at her father. She did not seem the least bit surprised.
"Seems you knew." Her father smiled and ruffled her hair.
Ember chuckled.
She turned away from the window and glanced at the painting of purple blooming Myrtles next to the door.
"I've made my choice father. Although I do not know the future. I will stick to my choice."
Her lips curved up in a smile as she turned to look at her father. "Nothing is important to me than my family. Not even my mate."
Alpha Grey let out a sigh. "If you changed your mind. Let me know."
"You cannot break the rules for me dad" Ember shook her head. "Especially you."
"In case your mate is a true wolf he could be accepted in the pack" Alpha Grey raised his eyebrows.
Ember chuckled."Mom is a rare case dad. She was originally more intelligent and capable than common wolves, she was made for you but a true wolf-mate is seen only once in a few centuries."
"You cannot expect the same miracle twice. Besides..."
Alpha Grey looked at his daughter who became thoughtful.
"I have a feeling that he might be a shifter as well."