Pops seemed confused, too. "What is it, Remington?"
Okay, this was really weird. Did Dad know some secret thing that Pops and I didn't?
"It's fine. Go on, Zak," Dad said, trying to turn his amused smirk into a smile. But it was too late. I already felt awkward but now it was a thousand times worse.
"Can you just say it?" I said, my wolf's growl creeping into my voice.
Dad raised a brow at me. He was a wolf shifter, too, and had no problem meeting me growl-for-growl. But right now he still seemed patient and amused, not annoyed.
"I think youralpha-father can handle this one," Dad said, rising from the bed.
Why was he stressing that word? What did he mean?
Pops blinked. "I can?"
Snorting, Dad went over to Pops and whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened. "Oh.Ohhh.Gotcha."
"What?" I snapped, thoroughly frustrated now.
Dad didn't answer. He ruffled my hair, messing it all up, then left the room. I huffed and reached up to fix it. Both my parents had black hair, but I somehow inherited this awesome natural silver streak that I liked to keep long compared to the rest of my hair. I painstakingly returned it to its natural coolness.
When it was me and Pops alone, he cleared his throat. "So, uh. This problem of yours. Is it anything Len covered in sex-ed class?"
My jaw dropped. Holy crap, I was so stupid. How could I have forgotten all those drudging classes? For some reason, it didn't even cross my mind when it was happening to me and didn't just exist as some abstract concept in the void. But of course it wasthat.
The dreaded k-word.
But to hear those words from my father was mortifying. I slapped my hands over my ears, no longer interested in having this conversation. "Oh, gods, I can't do this."
"Hey, it's no big deal, Zak!" Pops said encouragingly. "It happens to everyone. Er, well, not everyone, I guess. But to alphas, certainly. Especially wolf shifters. It's nothing to be embarrassed--"
"Wait," I blurted out, cutting him off. "Did you say it only happens to alphas?"
"That's right."
My eyes widened. "Does that mean...?"
"Oh." Pops laughed. "I guess so! You're an alpha, my man, just like me. That's awesome."
I grinned ear-to-ear. I was stupidly excited and relieved. This was everything I'd ever wanted. Pops was the coolest person I knew--an alpha shark shifter, you literally can't get cooler than that--and now I could be just like him, too, except I was a wolf and not a shark.
But I wasn't any old boring wolf. I had epic powers, thanks to Granddad.
The future suddenly looked a million times brighter.
Dad reappeared and leaned in the doorway. There was a knowing grin on his face. "Did you two figure everything out?"
"Yeah," I said, feeling a bit embarrassed about my behavior earlier. "I'm an alpha!"
Dad nodded, like he knew the whole time. "I heard. Congrats!"
Pops got up, crossed the room in a few long strides, and took Dad in his arms, squeezing him. "C'mon, Remmy, where's your enthusiasm? It's not every day our son finds out he's an alpha!"
Dad wheezed, batting Pops away affectionately. "Nero, you're squeezing the life out of me here."
"Sorry." Pops loosened up. "I'm just excited. I didn't get to find out I was an alpha the old-fashioned way like Zak did, remember?"
"Of course I remember. I was there."
