The Alpha's Brother

Chapter 7 - Lena

After watching my sister stride away in fury I knew it was unlikely we would be seeing her anytime soon today. She needed time to process what had just happened. This was just how Cora dealt with things. And, as my parents had stormed into our family home with such anger I had known my sister's reaction had infuriated them. I did not know what to say to them to help. It was unsurprising Cora had reacted the way she had. She was a little independent shall we say, but even so, I think her response to the news that had been presented to us had taken even our parents by surprise. But, at least she had waited until we were away from the senior members of pack...

The tension within the home was already palpable, and I knew being around either one of my parents was not going to be pleasant until they had an opportunity to calm down. So, I decided to make my way toward the stairs to give my parents that space they needed. It was only as I did that I heard my father pause his steps. “I do not expect you to let me down Lena. This may not be what we want nor what we expected, but this has been asked of us by the pack…” His voice faltered, causing me to look up at him. His usually calm features were marred with a frown. Confusion even... I think I would go as far to say he was struggling with the whole situation.

“Do you not agree with it Dad?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. I knew I was pushing my luck in asking, but curiosity got the better of me. Cora and I were his children, he should make the final decision about our future. Though, in truth, I believed that was wrong too because both my sister and I were now adults and I believed that meant we should make those choices for ourselves now. But, due to pack tradition, and being of a higher ranking family, my father still had much influence over our life.

I watched my father react to my question. He avoided my gaze, but his jaw tightened at my words. Was he angry or simply uncomfortable I had been bold enough to question him? That was hard to say. He swallowed heavily before choosing to answer. “What we think. is that we do what is best for the pack, Lena. You know that. Pack first. And right now our pack needs you. Needs this arrnagement.” His voice was almost robotic as he spoke telling me there was some doubt there.

Ultimately I doubted his opinion on the matter would have been taken into consideration, he would have had little choice. His father was the former Beta. There were no other she-wolves of rank within our pack and if they were wanting to make some form of agreement with this other pack then obviously pressure would have been put upon my parents to allow us to be offered as potential brides. As sick as that idea made me feel. A position of rank comes with commitments. Ties to pack that nobody else would understand, and only now were my sister and I being witness to that...

Regardless of my opinion of how my father felt, I nodded in agreement. I was not about to stand and bring him into a conflict about it. My sister had already done that and that in itself had caused enough tension for my parents, I did not wish to make things worse. I knew I should speak out more for myself, but having seen the dramas and arguments my sister caused, I did not like to cause additional stress for my parents. They had a lot going on as it was. My Dad had plenty of responsibilities with the pack business for which he worked for. And of course as brother of the Beta he was often roped into doing additional things around pack.

“If you hear from your sister please try to help her see this is the right thing to do, please, Lena.” Mum said with a heavy sigh. “We have agreed to this for the sake of the pack. And offering two of you increases the chances of a marriage arrangement being put into place.”

I felt my insides churn at her words. Offering two of us... she made it sound like we were pieces of meat. I hated this whole concept. But instead of saying anything I began making my way up the stairs to my bedroom, giving my Mum a nod to acknowledge her words as I did. But my mind was spinning with the possibilities. They hoped to have the two of us to offer to these men, but what would happen if Cora did not wish to go through with the arrangement? Would the entire arrangement fall through? Or would the entire responsibility of gaining a deal depend upon me?

My stomach churned further at the idea. Did I want that responsibility? I was not so sure that I did. My pack seniors may never forgive me if things fell through... but there was no way of knowing what it was these men wanted. I was sure I had heard of them. Our packs were considered neighbouring, being within the same district, and in being so we all attended regular inter-pack events, such as balls or sports events. The more I thought of it, the more I was certain I had seen them both, the upcoming Alpha and his brother of the pack they spoke of... Silver Shadows Pack, I believed. Hunter and Ezra...

In fact, from what I recalled, I was certain this upcoming Alpha was well known across the region. A ladies man... or did I have the wrong man? Because if he was a ladies man, why would he need an arranged marriage? Surely I had to have the wrong man? For the things I had heard about him were not the greatest... My wolf, Ash whimpered. I don’t think she liked the idea of us being married off. Least of all to a man that liked to make his way around any available she-wolves for a hobby...

Despite fated mates being a rarity now, a wolf’s instinct was to hold off for her fated mate. I knew it was unlikely there was a fated mate out there for me, but at the same time, I had hoped to be able to go out and meet myself a man. Fall in love. And choose to settle down with him. A sweet, kind and loving man. That is what I had hoped for. Not a man that had been around the block a few hundred times... maybe this was nothing more than a naive young girl's dreams from reading too many romance novels? But what I wanted was irrelevant, because, instead it appeared a future was being chosen for me.

‘Say no.’ Ash urged. But I knew that no matter what my wolf may urge I could not go against the request of the elders of my pack. Our pack was big on tradition. Respect. I could not go against all of that. I had to respect the decision made by my family too. This choice had been made with the pack in mind.

I sat myself down upon my bed, that heaviness still within my gut. A sense of the unknown lingering within my mind. Despite the tears prickling at the back of my eyes I knew I had to try to be positive, didn’t I? I mean it could be a good thing for me, right? Waiting to fall in love was like waiting for a train, you simply had no guarantee when that may come, and then two could come at once… or none at all. I could be stuck here within my pack, living the same life. The same routine. This arrangement offered me a change. A fresh start. Excitement. As Cora always says, there is nothing wrong with a little excitement, right?

Besides, there was always the possibility that the Alpha and his brother may decide that I was not suitable after all…