The Mating Rules

Isaac’s POV

It was three hours before I finally convinced Caden to leave me and go back to his family. As he eagerly sprinted up the steps of the pack house, two at a time, I followed slowly behind him, heading toward my office to get some of the paperwork done that has been piling up over the last few weeks.

Walking into the small room on the third floor that also houses the beta suite and the Gamma suite, not that the Gamma suite has the Gamma living in it as Hadley lives on the Alpha floor with Caden and Leeway. Caden’s sister moved in there when she met her own mate, she said it with all the kids that those three keep popping out, it was easier for her to leave the Alpha floor completely to Caden.

Entering the small room that was strictly my own, I circled the old pine desk and took a seat in my chair, grabbing the top file from my overflowing pile that sits in the tray I’ve lovingly labelled ‘Sh*t I need to get around to.’

I flip open the front cover and start to read the report on our latest acquisition, a large derelict hotel in the city. The owner allowed it to fall into disrepair after he became ill and when he passed, having no wife or children, his wealth was split between his surviving sisters who it turned out hated each other.

Neither woman was interested in taking on the hotel, or the complete renovation that it would require, but they also didn’t want the other to have it. A lengthy legal battle ensued between them about who would take ownership, both refusing to sell their half to the other or sell as joint owners and split the profit.

The building sat empty for the four years it took for the siblings to finally agree on what to do with it and by that time, it had become nothing more than a place for vandals to graffiti, and drug deals to take place.

When he saw the advert for its auction, Caden had gone to walk around the outside before it was to go under the hammer and saw something in the monstrosity that no one else seemed to be able to envision.

The Alpha won the place for a steal as nobody else bothered to bid and we were suddenly the proud owners of a complete death trap of a hotel.

Months of legal work was needed to get the permits we required to start work, followed by the employment of security to stop anyone breaking in to cause more damage. Our crew have already stripped the insides back to the bare bones and we are about to start the rebuild.

And now I’m holding in my hand is the latest problem to hit my desk with Caden’s pet project. This time it’s the fact that the building’s electrics are no longer up to code. New legislation brought in last year means the whole damn building needs rewiring which was not going to be cheap.

Dragging a hand through my hair, I reach for the phone on my desk to call our contractor with the latest problem to be flagged up so he can get our electrical guys on site to sort it out.

A knock echoes from my door and I glance up just as it opens to reveal my dad who smiles down at me.

‘Dad’ I greet him, placing the paperwork down on the desk and leaning back in my seat as he steps into the room, closing the door behind him. Taking a seat across from me, he settles himself comfortably as I wait for him to speak. One thing to know about the former Beta is that he never speaks rashly, he always measures his words before he opens his mouth.

‘Another full moon’ he finally comments, pressing the tips of his fingers together as his elbows rest on the arms of his chair.

I nod silently, continuing to wait patiently for the man across from me to continue.

My father sighs deeply, meeting my gaze, ‘your mother is concerned’ he mutters gruffly and I wince instinctively. If dad is saying our mum is concerned, that means she’s reached her limit and he’s been sent to sort out whatever it is that’s upsetting her. Today, the reason for her ire is me it seems and I’m about to hear something I don’t want too.

‘Oh’ I reply instead, keeping my voice casual, ‘what’s concerning her? Are you sure it’s not just pack life and she maybe needs a break? You and her haven’t been away for ages, maye you should take her on a weekend somewhere?’

My dad smiles up at me, that same one he used to give me when I was a small pup and I was trying to divert him from a punishment after I broke something playing football in the house.

‘No, I don’t think a holiday is going to solve this one son’ he replies evenly, ‘I’ve spent quite a while trying to keep her calm, but the day has come and here I am.’

I nod in understanding, if my dad tries to keep her calm then he isn’t any more enamoured with the conversation we are about to have as I will be. I also understand that he’s reached the point where his own concerns have put him on his Mate’s side of this argument.

‘What is it’ I grumble shortly, deciding to just get the whole thing over with.

My father huffs out a breath, preparing himself, ‘your mother thinks’ he starts, ‘and I agree’ he adds, backing his mate up which makes a smile twitch my lips even if my heart aches for the fact I don’t have my person to have that bond with. The unwavering solidarity that comes from the Mate bond, where you are a united front in every situation.

‘Spit it out dad’ I growl softly instead.

‘We think it might be time for you to find a chosen mate’ my father rushes out quickly.

Indigo immediately rips a growl out of me, his hackles rising as he starts to pace my mind.

My father holds up a hand to placate me, ‘I know that Indigo is not going to be happy with the suggestion’ he sighs, ‘but there is no getting around it son, you are about to turn thirty five, you need your Beta female.’

I wrangle Indigo back under control as he tries to push forward and my father must feel the shift as he talks directly to my wolf, calming him.

‘Son’ he says quietly, ‘we know what we are suggesting, but you are both getting older and the pack needs a Beta to take over from you. JJ’s children are all Alpha born, even the girls are being raised as Alpha’s, none of them have presented with a Beta b***d line. With Skarla’s genes, I don’t think any of her children are destined to be second in command, it’s down to you.’

I cross my arms angrily, ‘firstly’ I snap, ‘thirty five is not that old in wolf years, we live for like three hundred years! I’m still young enough to create an heir. Secondly, you still have Bailee, Philip and Lauren to produce a Beta blooded pup.’

My dad shakes his head, ‘Bailee isn’t even part of our pack son, her sons will be in line to take over from their dad when he retires. Philip has yet to find his mate either and Lauren won’t be of age for a few years yet. What if something happens to you? We will be left without a Beta wolf to help and protect our Alpha.’

‘Philip could take over from me, not that I intend to die at any point soon’ I add with a scoff.

Again, the man across from me shakes his head, ‘Philip might be Beta born son, but he is not bonded to Caden like you are. You are his choice, the two of you are connected in a way a replacement will never be.’

‘Even if I had a mate, produced a kid, that wouldn’t solve any problem if I died’ I add, looking for another reason that I don’t need a chosen mate.

My father sighs, rubbing a hand down his face as he leans back in his chair, ‘you know I would step up if that was the case son’ he grumbles. ‘I would do the job until your child was old enough to take the position.’

‘So why do I need this back up plan then?’ I snap back defensively, ‘if you would just take over anyway there is no issue.’

‘Isaac’ my father growls back, and I see a flicker of his wolf behind his eyes, even though I am now the reigning Beta, his wolf still expects the respect demanded of the position he once held. ‘I am old, I don’t want to be Beta again, I did my time, gave everything for my pack for many years. I want to garden with my mate, take her on trips, sit on our porch as the sun goes down and drink a cold beer. I WILL take the position if I have too because I love my pack and would never allow it to suffer if I could stop it, but I don’t want too. I did my job, I did it to the best of my abilities including making sure that there was another to take my place once the next Alpha was sworn in. I trained you from a pup to sit in this office, I didn’t do that with Bailee, Philip or Lauren, only you and JJ. The heir and the spare if you want to put it crassly’ he adds with a sad smile.

‘But your sister is no longer eligible for the position, she is the Luna, that was the Goddess’ path for her, yours is the path of the pack Beta, an integral part of the pack. The Luna is the glue, but the Beta is the cog that keeps a pack working.’

I swallow thickly, feeling that tinge of shame that I used to get as a pup when I knew I had really disappointed my father somehow. He rarely brought that feeling out in me so when he did, I knew how much I was f*cking up.’

I let out a small breath, ‘I’ll think about it’ I mumble reluctantly before straightening up and holding my father’s gaze, ‘that is not a yes though’ I add accusingly.

My dad grins as he holds his hands up placatingly, ‘that’s all we are asking you for son, just for you to think of all the options that are available to you.’

He pushes back his chair, climbing to his feet before hesitating, his hand pressing against the wooden top of my desk. ‘We don’t want to see you alone son’ he says quietly, ‘we want you to be happy. You are our son and it’s been hard for us to watch the light leave you a little more each time the full moon comes until you now almost fear them. Your mother and I, we believe in soul mates, the bond, finding your one gifted other, but we are also realists. Not everyone gets a happy ending with the Goddess’ gift, some have to follow the ideals of your hot headed sister and find a connection the human way.’

Knocking his knuckles against the wood, he nods curtly to me before sweeping from my office, leaving me with a lot more on my mind than how to deal with a money pit of a building with faulty wires.