Alpha Rising

Chapter Thirty

Nikolai’s P.O.V.

It was no surprise that my Vira was still asleep as Mother and I returned from a morning outing. When I rose earlier, her mother had wanted to wake her, but I could count on one hand the number of pleasant outcomes that might come from waking up a formerly intoxicated she-wolf the day after her birthday. I had insisted that she get some rest, and had left some drinks and headache medicine on the bedside table. At least she seemed happy with the surprise that I’d managed to help plan for her.

Not to be left out completely, though, I did have to help tend to my Mother as she was being lifted out of the black SUV we came back in. I strode quickly to her side as her aide was gently setting her back into the wheelchair and gave the young man a nod of appreciation. Goddess, what was his name again… I would have to ask Mother later. 

“Nikki, my boy,” she said, reaching up for my hand. “Try not to look so tense.” 

“Tense?” I asked, letting a smile slip onto my lips despite my tired worry. I picked up my mother’s hand and gently kissed her knuckles with respect. “Mother, my mate is hung-over, my Beta is out of commission with paternity leave, and my Gamma is back in the pack house trying to make sure Brianna doesn’t cause any more trouble.” I paused, my smile drifting into a smirk. “Of course I’ll be tense.”

The sweet laughter that rolled out of her brought me back to a simpler time, and soon I was laughing right along with her. “You are too much like your father,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “In more ways than one.”

The compliment was appreciated but still stung with a bittersweet pinch. I knew she meant well, of course. I looked to her aide and motioned him away with a wave of my hand. “Go,” I said. “Enjoy yourself this evening. Consider yourself relieved of duty for the duration of the party.”

The young wolf’s eyes lit up and he gave the pair of us a quick and respectful bow before bouncing off towards a group of other Star Garnet pack members that had made the journey with us. “That was kind of you, Nikki,” Mother said with a hum.

I simply shrugged and made to stand behind her, pushing the wheelchair up the short ramp that Alpha Zachary had put in for our arrival. “I see no need to not give a young pup the night off,” I said. 

Mother hummed again in approval, knitting her hands together in her lap as we moved up into the Black Opal guest house so graciously offered to my packmates. It was a smaller house settled further back off the main plot of the house, but still close enough for me to feel comfortable leaving my Mother there while I slept in the main house with Vira. 

“You’re young too,” she said clearly. My jaw clenched at the reminder. Traditionally I shouldn’t have been an Alpha for another two years. I should have still been in training under my father. “Nikolai?” Mother asked. I’d lost track of my own thoughts so much that we’d stopped right in the entryway. 

With a shake of my head, I pushed on. “Sorry, Mother,” I whispered. “You’re right, but-”

“But you have a responsibility,” she said in unison with me. I suppose I did say that often, didn’t I? When we came to a stop in the main sitting room with the small handful of Omegas buzzing around getting her things set up, she looked up at me with a worry in her eyes that I hadn’t seen since- well. 

“Mom?” I asked, hoping that she would be able to sense my own hesitation. I was only twenty-three, and I’d been having to act like a damned fully realized Alpha for the past few years. We both bore the scars of that deep betrayal and pain, her moreso. She wasn’t whole anymore. 

But she stayed strong and she simply shook her head and let her frail shoulders slump. “Don’t let yourself break like he did,” Mother finally said. “Don’t let your past push Alvira away.”

The words hit me like a truck, and I realized all too well that she was right. I’d been being distant and demanding all in the same breath. I forced her to come clean about what her parents had told her, but I wasn’t letting her anywhere near what happened to my father. That needed to change. 

Our bond was strong, but it was superficial. We were bonded by fate, by the Goddess herself. And I was being an absolute ass to my most precious gift. I swallowed the lump in my throat that threatened to keep me from breathing ever again. Mother looked like she was about to say something else, but before she could we were unfortunately interrupted by ALpha Zachary.

“Nikolai,” he said, his stern gaze flailing on me with a cold and fierce thrill to it. No titles? I looked down to Mother, and she gave us both a nod, spoke a soft greeting to the Alpha, and wheeled herself back towards her bedroom. The older wolf raised his eyebrow at me and cleared his throat. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything important,” he said. 

“No, no,” I reassured him, rolling up the sleeves of my button-up to loosen the strain on my wrists. “Mother had to go into the town to pick out gifts for Alvira and Alban. We only just got back.”

He grumbled, seeming to accept that. “About Vira,” he started. My stomach dropped. Had something happened? Zachary held up a hand as though he could sense what my mind went to. “I need to know how much she’s told you.”

Zachary and I sat down together after a long moment of silence, and his large frame made the chair at the small dining table creak. Both of my hands were resting on the table, but my leg was moving at light speed. He cleared his throat and leaned forward, worry lines creasing his face. “I have a meeting with the Elders set for this afternoon,” he continued cautiously, always watching my face for the slightest twitch of emotion. 

“About?” I questioned. It had to be what she told me about her birth status. The look that this man gave me was deadpan, practically ordering me to cut the crap. I heaved out a heavy sigh and ran one of my hands back through my hair. “Right, okay.” My foot kept tapping away beneath me as I spoke. “Do any of them know yet?”

The older wolf simply shook his head. His large hands folded together on the table and he lowered his gaze in what looked like shame. “Elder Yancy was in attendance last night.”

My mind started racing. Elder Yancy was one of the strictest of the Elders. There were rumors of how far he would go to keep with tradition, and my heart started to pound even faster. “For the announcement of us as pairs, he-”

Zachary nodded grimly. “My Father is not pleased that his grandson, Alban, has taken a male mate.”

“I beg your pardon,” I stammered as politely as I could. “Did you say your-”

“Yes.” Zachary looked back up at me, the pain of decades hanging in his bright and wisened stare. “Elder Yancy is the former Alpha of Black Opal, and he is my Father.” He drew in a deep breath and shook his head, likely wrestling with much internally. 

I knew the gravity of the sentiment that this man, my future Father-in-law, was sharing with me. “Zachary,” I said slowly, reaching out towards him. I could see his hands shaking, and though his head bowed low, I could hear the faint struggle of a choked back sob. “Zachary, what is he asking you to do?”

“I can’t lose him,” he muttered under his breath. “I used to be able to go to your father with this,” the Alpha sat back in his chair, running a large hand over his trimmed beard and trying to hide his bloodshot eyes. “Nikolai, I need to know what Vira told you about…”

“Lose?” I was confused, but the mood was too pressing to note that for now. “Zachary, you’re not making sense.” Seeing such a normally composed man almost crumble at the vague hint of a threat to his children had me choking up. Was this how my father was? I swallowed hard again, imagining him there as Zachary was now. Wrought with guilt and with worry over his pack and his family. I tossed a glance over my shoulder to ensure we were alone still. And when I saw no one, I spoke. “I know when she was born.” It was vague, but the meaning was clear. 

Zachary’s eyes locked on mine and I knew there was some relief there. He was trying to warn me, I realized. He was going to talk to the Elders about naming Vira as his heir. 

“What…” I started to ask, afraid of the answer. “What did they want you to do to Alban?”

He took in a deep breath and brought both hands back down on the table. A few deep breaths, and he was talking a little easier now. “They wanted him banished.”

I nearly saw red at that. He was my mate’s twin, and therefore just as much a piece of my life as she was. And I wasn’t about to let a damned thing happen to him. “We’ll fix this,” I said, cold and determined as I stood from the table. “I’m going to go wake Vira. And once she’s decent, the six of us should talk about this.”

“Seven,” came the small but powerful voice of my mother as she wheeled herself back down the hall towards us. She rolled right up to Zachary and put her hand on his. “You and your wife were there for me when Andrei passed. I owe it to you to return that favor.”

I would have stayed to watch the moment of sweet sentiment, but I had no time. I had to get to Vira and make sure that she wasn’t blindsided by this.