He nodded to my plate.
“You should eat,” he said.
“Darren, what’s your fault?” I asked pointedly.
“No one thought I’d be a beta. Sure, our line isn’t only alphas, but it’s been strong for generations. I threw everything off. It didn’t just mean that Cole became next in succession. It meant that there was no one after her. I don’t have siblings or cousins. It’s Mum then Cole; that’s it. It makes the Pack unstable, open for coups from within or outside. A strong succession line is necessary for any Pack, especially so for a Pack as powerful as us,” he explained while cutting up his pancakes.
“Cole’s being married off to the heir of Pack Derecho to make alpha children?” I asked.
“Kind of, yeah. It’s more than that. Andrew isn’t the direct heir; his brother is. Cole with another alpha will likely have alpha children. Mum wants her to have three kids—at least two—just to be sure. Pack Derecho is a strong Pack; theyprovide private military and technology services. Coupled with Sandstorm Credit House, it’s a powerful union.
“Having familial bonds between our Packs isn’t new, I think, like my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather or something was originally Pack Derecho and married into Sandstorm. It’s been a while, long enough that there isn’t a solid connection between our Packs anymore,” he explained. “Eat, please,” he said, pointing to my plate and taking a wolfish bite from a rasher of bacon. “It’s important to eat after the full moon.”
I cut into my pancakes and began eating. I hadn’t known how hungry I was until I tasted the sweetness.
I hummed in appreciation.
“Thanks,” I said.
“I find that food can make everything better. I gained twenty pounds within a month after my first shift.” He laughed.
“I’m sorry. Alpha superiority is bullshit,” I told him bravely.
He smiled conspiratorially.
“Don’t let Mum or Cole hear you saying that.” He laughed. “But between us, I totally agree. So what? They have huge wolf forms. Big deal. It’s not the Middle Ages anymore,” he said.
I smiled in agreement.
“So, Cole is being forced to marry him?” I asked.
“It’s not like she doesn’t have a choice. But it’s what’s best for the Pack. She has a duty to carry on the line of succession and to foster ties between packs. Cole’s always taken her responsibility to Sandstorm seriously,” he told me.
“She left her previous fiancée for him?” I asked, remembering our conversation from the full moon party.
He nodded while chewing.
“Hannah was cool. She and Cole were solid. Had been going strong for five years, and they had just gotten engaged. Hannah was so excited—looking at venues, planning seatingarrangements, the whole thing. Then I happened…” he trailed off.
“You can’t blame yourself,” I told him and reached out to squeeze his hand.
“I know, but I mean, it is my fault whether I had any control over it or not.” He shrugged sadly. “Anyway, two women can’t procreate, and Hannah wasn’t an heir to a powerful Pack or any pack; she was human.
“Cole tried to make it work. She was talking about having IVF with a donor and stuff, but it wasn’t that easy. You can’t just inject random DNA into a line like ours. The Pack Council wouldn’t agree either.
“Cole with a human was one thing when Cole was the spare sibling and I was meant to inherit the role of Alpha of Sandstorm and have kids myself to continue the succession. But when I failed to meet expectations, Cole had to step up.
“Hannah didn’t even know what was happening behind the scenes. Humans don’t understand that type of thing. Cole protected her from it, too, keeping it all from her, thinking she could solve the problem. She couldn’t. It was a messy breakup. Cole didn’t have time to grieve or anything before proposals started coming in.”
I was silent, processing what Darren had revealed.
He quietly continued eating, just letting me think.
“That’s… sad, depressing—”
“It’s fucking heartbreaking,” Darren supplied.
“Yeah, heartbreaking,” I agreed.
