Does Father Know Best?

         Helena Harris was doing what she did every time to make sure her pack had what they needed. Whether it was a cup of tea for old Mrs. Danielson, mediation for the Grimes brothers, or help with meal prep for young Angel Horton, who’d just given birth to a pup.

         Nathan Graden, the pack’s Beta, found her hanging laundry close to the pack house. His grey hair tussled with the wind, resisting the eventual truth that he was losing it. Something odd in a wolf shifter at any age and something he was sensitive about.

         He came to a stop before her petite form. Helena looked up at him tiredly. She wore her chestnut hair up in a messy bun at the base of her neck.

         “Hi, Nathan. What do you need?” She sighed and reminded herself this was her father’s most trusted and loyal friend on the earth. As the Alpha of the Black Dane Pack. Helena’s father, Vincent Harris, controlled it for over forty years. Even after her mother passed two years prior, he stood strong against anyone who came looking to take over his pack. Helena took up the reins as his Luna now.

         “Have you seen your father today?” He inquired guardedly. She could tell that he didn’t approve of something just by the tone in his voice. Was he going to berate her like a child again for not seeing her father often enough?

         “No, he was resting, and before that, Dr. Jacobs was in there seeing him. Is everything alright?” Helena immediately felt her earlier concern multiply at how Nathan reacted to this news. Her father took ill several nights ago after dinner and hadn’t left his bed since. This wasn’t unusual for him lately, but she knew he wouldn’t want her to change her pattern for fear his weakness might get out to a rival, and an attack on the pack ensue. Helena’s life and freedom hung in the balance. Kidnapping and murder were just a few potential outcomes.

         “Then come with me. He’s asking for you now.” Nathan’s voice sounded grave, and he almost choked up on his words. This wasn’t the man she knew, and Helena went on alert immediately.

         “He’s calling for me. Alright. Jillian, can you finish up here for me? When I’m done with my father, I’ll meet you in the kitchen to start dinner.”

         “Give my best to the Alpha. I’m sure I can finish this. You go on.” Helena’s equally tiny friend waved her off before adjusting her blonde ponytail.

         “Will do.” Helena waved Nathan onward to lead the way. Once she was sure they were out of earshot. “What’s going on? Is everything okay with my father? What did Dr. Jacobs have to say?”

         “It’s not my place to say. I’m sure your father will inform you when he feels it’s appropriate.” Nathan always got tight lipped if he had bad news, he knew would be unfavourably received. If he didn’t have to deliver it, then he wouldn’t need to deal with anyone upset with him.

         Worry bubbled up inside Helena and her pace quickened toward the back door of the packhouse. She needed to know that Nathan was exaggerating the situation with her father.

         It didn’t take her long to climb the back stairs to her father’s apartments on the second floor. She barely knocked, and she had the door half open when her father’s voice instructed her to enter. He didn’t sound like himself at all. His voice betrayed his weakened state. The once vibrantly alive man lay in a darkened room. The sunlight leaked around the edges of the heavy curtains. A peculiar smell lingered in the air that Helena couldn’t place. It appeared to cling to the very air itself. It was sweet, bordering on sickly, and not at all pleasant to smell.

          “Vincent, Alpha, I brought Helena here as you instructed.” Nathan made a beeline for her father’s bedside. He leaned over and announced this to her father as if he expected a reward for doing some great job of fulfilling the instructions.

         “Thank you, Nathan. Helena, come here. Sit. I must tell you of my plans.” This surprised Helena as much as Nathan. Normally, she would find herself one of the last to know his plans. For her job was to look after the day-to-day needs of the pack, not what he looked after. He would handle everything political or outside of the pack, whether with the humans or other packs.

         “Of course, father.” She sat on the edge of the bed once Nathan moved to the foot of the bed to allow her space to sit. Helena watcher her father in curiously. “What must you tell me that couldn’t wait until you’re better?”

         “Several things, but we will start with that. I will not get better. Dr. Jacobs has informed me that whatever this is, medicine won’t cure it. I have days to live.” Vincent took a steadying breath, his strength not even enough for long speeches. “I have named my possible successor… I have summoned two… the St. James brothers… They’ll need to prove to me which is better… and that… that one will be your mate with… you will continue to be the Luna of this pack… and produce the next Alpha…”

         Helena couldn’t believe what she’d heard her father say. This differed completely from his previous words. He’s always told her she could wait for her mate to appear. Now he drops these bombshells on her? He’s dying, and she’s mating whoever can best jump through some imaginary hoop to satisfy his whims.

         “Father, that’s insane. I can’t just mate with whoever suits your whim. It doesn’t work that way. What happens if my mate comes along after that? It could become ruinous for everyone with the fighting and death. I can’t mate with just anyone.”

         “Our bloodline founded this pack over two hundred years ago. I will not see this pack lost because it’s not protected by a strong enough leader. You will continue the Alpha line where I no longer can. You will sacrifice for the pack. Is this understood?” Vincent found a burst of strength to push just enough of his Alpha strength into his words to impress upon his daughter that he wouldn’t allow any argument about this matter.

         “Yes, Father.” It hurt Helena to see him in this state. His eyes grew weaker with each day. Vincent’s skin lost its colour over time. She didn’t have the heart to tell him no when he’s was in this state.

         “Be prepared. They will be here soon. Nathan will show them to me. You will prepare dinner for them and rooms. Understood?” Her father settled back in his bed and continued to tell her what he expected.

         Hospitality was a right to any visiting wolf shifter. Once accepted onto the pack’s lands. They would receive shelter and a meal for the night, at the very least.

         “I can’t believe you didn’t talk to me first. Father, this affects me and my future. What if I meet my mate?” Helena found her objections interrupted by the front doorbell peeling through the enormous building.

         “Both are good men. You’ll see. You will just have to sacrifice your wants for the pack’s needs. Now go, that’s probably them. Nathan, afford them respect and bring them to me.”

         “Yes, Alpha.” Nathan left the room without glancing at Helena. His back was rigid and his head held a little too high. Helena suspected this wasn’t what Nathan expected, and it didn’t sit well with him.

         “Be careful. Nathan will not tell you. But I did this because I am aware of the lurking unrest within other packs. Those seeking power will come to take my seat. Failing that, they will come after you. The twins will look after both the pack and you. Nathan is too old to do that and too stubborn to admit it. Now go, greet your future mate and his brother.”

         “Yes, Father.” Perhaps the twins would be more reasonable? No, she would have to leave. There was no way she’d mate with someone who wasn’t her fated mate.

         Nathan opened the door and greeted the twins. When Helena got to the top of the front door, her flight stopped. There before her were the twins. Almost identical in every way, and still inseparable. Both were perfection in form and hardened now as warriors. Tall, both had shades of dark-haired, and broad shouldered. They wore uniforms as if they’d come straight from the field of battle.

         Helena hadn’t seen them in years, and it showed. She stopped at the first stair and grabbed the banister with both hands, fearing she’d gracelessly fall down the stairs because of the shock of seeing both, together, back here, fully grown. That’s a lot of man on any woman’s libido. She barely avoided fanning her face as two pairs of eyes zeroed in on her. Then their scent wafted up to her on the breeze coming from the open front doors. A scent that did things to her scenes no woman dared voice. It wasn’t an ordinary reaction to a scent. This was the reaction of one first meeting their mate. But which one was her mate?

         “Welcome home, Chris, Brian.” Her smile faltered as she self-consciously blushed under their intense gaze. The two men smiled a slow, sexy smile in unison. From those looks, she knew she was in trouble with both of them, and they wouldn’t be reasonable.