With my son safely tucked into bed and surrounded by people I trust to protect him.
I raised the tiny shot glass in my hand and joined in on the simple toast presented by my new brother in law. ' To new family and friends' He murmured. Then all at once we licked the salt from the side of our hands,downed the shot of tequila and sucked on lime slices. Laughing at the expressions everyone made from the burn of the tequila and the tart sourness of the lime.
As the teasing and chatter continued around the table. I took a moment to reflect on the events of the day and what brought me to trust everyone in this room to protect one of the most important people in my life.
It all started when I left home this morning with a copy of ( In The Know/ aka a local news rag) in my hand that featured Chloe and Skyler's engagement as front page news.
I was determined to come up here to Alaska and get my boy. Even if I had to beat Skyler's ass to do it. It's not that I thought it would be easy to take down Skyler. I knew better than that, he's probably just as strong as I am. The only advantage I would have is my Alpha aura and I'm not really certain if it would even affect him.
Skyler's' always been a big strong motherfucker, tall and fit with muscles hard as steel. And now he's probably a lot stronger since he's had his Beta ceremony. Which came with the support and strength of the largest Pack in North America.
But my concern for Xavier's safety had overshadowed my rationale thinking. My only objective was to keep Xavier out of the hands of another Alpha that wasn't directly related to him.
All the way here Alpha Lucius and my dad's words kept echoing in my head. Both of them have made it crystal clear that I shouldn't trust anyone when it comes to Xavier, especially another Alpha.
Alpha Lucius even shared his own family's horrific story to get his point across. About how jealousy and fear of magic caused his ,great,great, great grandfather's death. Apparently the poor soul was found in the woods decapited because it was rumored that he was able to shift into a true Lycan form. The suspects of course was a bunch of local Alpha's who had expressed their fear over the power and magical abilities of a true Lycan.
It's not a myth that every werewolf came into existence, not from a Lycan, but because of Lycan's. Lycan's were men of Royalty or with Noble back grounds who were blessed by the moon goddess . They walked upright in their wolf form and had magical abilities.
They could speak into the minds,and command packs of wild wolves. Wild wolves eagerly done their bidding and because of the Lycan's intelligence and superior strength they were the first Alpha's.
Alpha's that possessed magical powers who granted wild wolves the ability to shapeshift into a men ,creating the first werewolves in existence.The strongest wolves became their Beta's and took command of the packs when the Noble man would return to his human life.
The most cunning became his Gamma's the rest were workers and warriors that were at his beck and call anytime he needed them.
All Alpha werewolves are actually blood descendants of Lycan's that had mated with the strongest and most beautiful magically created female werewolves. Hence our superior strength,and intelligence even among our own kind.
Our Alpha aura is also something that came from our Lycan ancestors. Which can very a great deal in strength. With the purest Alpha bloodlines having the strongest aura. They're also the closest to a true Lycan among all werewolves. Here in North America only two of the current leading Alphas possess such a bloodline, Lucius Hunt and Zack Randolph.
I know all of this because every young Alpha studies and trains his whole life in peroration to lead his pack. And the family bloodline of every pack is part of the bullshit you need to know before you can become Alpha of your own pack.
So knowing this also makes me suspect that it wasn't just a rumor that this great, great, great grandfather of Alpha Lucius could actually shift into a true Lycan. After all, every Alpha still has some lingering traits from our Lycan ancestors.
Things that even the nosey fucks at the council don't even ask us about. They just refer to them as ' your own Alpha abilities.'
However when I asked if the rumor was true Alpha Lucius just smiled and said ' I never disclose family secrets to anyone.' Reminding me that Xavier's bloodline should be kept secret. Simply because of the fear and jealousy of the unknown that can brew in the hearts and mind's of others.
So with this in mind I raced here to take my son back with me to Washington and to the safety of his home. Praying that Chloe hadn't already disclosed the fact that he was the next Alpha of the Ten Oaks Pack. In my haste to get here I totally forgot that Andie was Zack's mate. Even though I was right here, front and center to watch that historic event unfold, right before my very own eyes.
Even after I was reminded of the fact that Andie is Zack's Luna, I still wasn't totally comfortable with leaving Xavier here. It's not because I thought Zack would harm Xavier. I had gotten past that after our talk in his office. But I really didn't know how Skyler's family would react towards Xavier and the fact that he is an illegitimate child.
Something almost unheard of in the older generation of werewolves. And to make things worse, as far as anyone knows, Xavier is the first and only illegitimate Alpha cub.
So I wanted to get to know these people on a personal leave to find out what they were all about. Because there was no way in hell I was going to leave my son here if all these old people were going to treat him like the bastard at the family reunion.
I also needed to scrutinize their words and actions with my own lingering trait left to me by my Lycan ancestor Prince Cailean Ross. Which is an ability to detect if someone is being deceitful in anyway. But after my conversation with both Zack and Skyler's family I was truly impressed by their open and honest attitude.
Alpha Riker is truly a stand up guy openly offering his wisdom with no favoritism towards his own son or the new Beta of his pack. He answered all our questions open and honestly.
Then there's Zack's little spunky grandmother who is a real hoot and Mrs Blair's sincere joy over both her children finding their mate was both overwhelming and a relief.
Let's face it, I don't believe there's actually another mother out there, werewolf or human. That would be happy to have her barely legal teenage daughter married to a twenty eight year old man. And let's not forget the twenty eight year old man in question is actually the father of her new daughter in law's child. So yes, Mrs. Blair is a true gem,a loving mother that just wants her children to be happy.
Beta Thomas and I had the man to man talk where he laid down the law like a good father should. ' Take care of my daughter and treat her well.' He said in a stern voice. Then offered me a firm handshake and told me that he and Blair would watch over Xavier when Skyler and Chloe were busy. Which I think is just about as good as it gets from any man. When you're going to take his little girl home with you the next day.
Oh yeah, I can't forget about my new brother in law who seems to think it's hilarious that I'm taking my teenage mate and my son to the children's museum on Saturday. He even suggested that Addie should put her hair up in pigtails and wear a catholic school girl uniform. Yeah, he's just hilarious. Not.
But thankfully Zack didn't join in on that little joke partly because his mate is a teenager herself. And partly because he was too busy suggesting that I take Addie to the mall for some new body wash. So that she doesn't smell like moldy leaves. That's right, both of them think they're just fucking funny as hell.
Which I didn't mind, their teasing isn't mean or intended to harm. It's all in good fun. It's not like I didn't throw a few jabs there way also.
Now that the day has come to an end and I set here among my new family and friends with another drink in my hand. As I listen to all the good natured teasing and chatter around me, I realize it's really been a very good day.