The Runt's Human Mate

Chapter 5: Nate POV

Chapter 5: Nate POV

Deep down I knew my mate was right. I couldn't keep my pups innocent forever. It was just hard seeing them grow up and find their mates. Lina already found her mate and he marked her. I know he did. Little s**t. They think I don't know but I know everything going on with my pups. Daniel has been sneaking off to meet other Alphas hoping he will find his mate in another pack. So far no luck.

I knew I needed to be fair and not have double standards but I just needed more time. If they grew up too fast I felt left behind. I'd always been sentimental about my family and it only became more so over the years. We don't talk about it much but after Willa had a miscarriage ten years ago we learned we could not get pregnant again. That was hard. We wanted more pups but at the same time it also allowed us to focus more on the four we had.

"Dad, you wanna go for a run?" I turned away from my thoughts and found myself face to face with my eldest daughter, Liza. She looked more like me than Willa. She was my best buddy, my training partner. I nodded, "Sure, Pumpkin." We went outside to the cleared path. We both had our favorite tree to change behind and phased before meeting on the dirt road. "You ready, Pup?" I mind-linked. She laughed, "Ready when you are, old man!" I snapped my jaws at her playfully. "Who you calling old? I'm not even 45!" She ran ahead of me. "Keep up, OLD MAN," she linked, jokingly. I ran after her and passed her like it was nothing. I was still fit and able to keep up with the best of the best.

After our run we went back to the pack house and ate lunch. "We may have a problem, Alpha." It was Lily's guard, Paul, mindlinking me. "What? Is my daughter hurt?" Anything related to Lily made me anxious. She was our miracle child. We were lucky she survived.  "Alpha Nate, there is a human male holding Lily's hand. You said to report anything outside the ordinary. I would say this is unusual for her. I've never seen her touch anyone who isn't immediate family." I felt a low growl vibrate through my body. Who did this guy think he is to touch my daughter without first properly and formally introducing himself to me? Liza approached and asked what upset me. "Don't do anything unless he harms her. Just observe for now and report to me directly tonight," I linked back to him. "Yes, Sir," Paul said respectfully and closed our link.

I sighed, "Liza, Darling, you haven't secretly found a mate yet right?" She shook her head. "I thought I felt something the other day at the gym but my wolf must be confused." I stared back, confusion overtaking me. "What do you mean?" She shrugged, "There were only girls in the gym when my wolf said my mate was nearby. I've never been interested in a boy but I still assume my mate is male right?" She said it so casually. I chuckled, "Honey, your mate be can anything or anyone. Whatever happens know I will support you." She gave me a funny look, shrugged again, and said, "Whatever. I'm not interested in a mate yet anyway." I sighed in relief. At least one of my pups wasn't trying to grow up too fast.

That evening Paul reported to my office. "The human whom Lily calls Alec Matthews held her hand and kissed her forehead. There was no kissing of the lips that I observed and she was not alone for even a moment. I even guarded the bathroom to make sure he didn't get any ideas of following her inside. Otherwise he was glued to her like a magnet," he said, speaking in a direct and professional tone. I however was a mess. I ran my hand through my curly hair and sighed. "That will be all, Paul," I said, dismissing him from our brief meeting.

How did this happen? One second my Lily, my baby flower, is completely focused on school and now she has a boy hanging around her? Alpha Willard and his little crush I tolerated. I knew he was too scared to act on his feelings. I'd noticed it years ago. He was my son's friend and the oldest child of a friend and fellow Alpha. I knew Willard. I trusted him. Why couldn't she be mated to him?!

"Father, we need to talk!" I looked up and watched as Daniel stormed into my office. "What's wrong, Son?" He put his hands on my desk. "Lily was telling me about her day and a boy, a topic we can get to later, but while she was talking I started hearing a girl's voice in my head. It really freaked me out! It wasn't like one of our pack members linking me. It was like when my wolf talks to me. It was freaky." I felt my whole body stiffen. This was the moment Willa and I had been waiting for for nineteen years. Rosie was surfacing which meant something was happening that she thought required the bonded twin. "Son, we need to talk about your sister." He looked at me stubbornly, "Can't we discuss Lily after we talk about me? I think I'm going insane, Dad!" I shook my head, "Not Lily...Rosie..." The name sparked a sad far off look in Daniel's green eyes. He knew about Rosie, his twin. She was no secret in this family, this pack. Everyone knew about the child we lost before the triplets were born. No one knew about the bonded twins but we didn't feel the need to explain something so complicated to others. "What about Rosie?" He asked, his voice strained. I sighed and pulled out two beers from my mini-fridge. "Sit, Son, I have a story to tell you."