Kaden POV
There is a knock at my office door, but I choose to ignore it. I have to pick a Beta. Kai refuses to help me with the process because, technically, he has not been named Alpha beside me. I think it is his silent way of holding a grudge, but the pack elders do not believe he is ready. Things are in such upheaval that I do not think now is the time to defy them and name him Alpha as well.
The names of applicants seem endless, and I have to be careful about my choice. It would be problematic if I chose someone close to my mother or the recusants. Leo and Oliver seem to believe that the resistance against Raven is finally squashed, but I am not so sure.
The knocking on my door doesn't cease, and I crumple the paper that I am holding in my hands. "What?" I snarl.
Kai peeks his head in the door. His eyes are laced with mischief, and I wonder what he has been up to. "Hey, Alpha," he says sarcastically. "There is another Alpha here to see you."
A small amount of panic rises in my chest. Dad is gone, and Kai won't help me. I don't know what to do, but Kai doesn't give me much time to figure it out before he opens the door and lets the man inside. He is not someone I recognize. I am assuming he is from the West Pack or the East.
He storms into my office with purpose. His eyes glance over my father's possessions, and he lets out a huff of frustration. "Where is Fred?"
I instantly do not like his informal tone, and my hackles are raised.
"I regret to inform you that my father has not been located since the raid on my pack several months ago," I say, getting to my feet. "I am Alpha Kaden, and this is my brother Kai. How can I help you?"
"I know who you are," he replies. "I am here for my son."
"I am afraid I do not know who you are or who your son is?" I respond.
He throws his hands up in the air and looks even more irritated than before, which I did not think was possible. He is pacing the floor of my office, and Kai tries to slip out the door.
'Don't you fucking move,' I hiss at him through the mind link.
Kai hides his amusement behind his hand and flops down onto the couch at the back of my office. I gesture for the Alpha to sit down, and he reluctantly accepts.
"I think we have gotten off on the wrong foot," I try to smooth things over. "I can assure you that if we knew we had the son of an Alpha in our Pack I would have reached out to you."
"I am Alpha Hudson," he tells me.
I glance in Kai's direction. 'East Pack,' he fills me in.
"My son, Jason, left a year ago. He was chasing Fernando's daughter, claiming she was his mate," Alpha Hudson continues. "When I forbade him to be with her because of her affiliation with the recusants, he left. I have it on good authority that he is in your dungeons. I would like to take him home. I can assure you he will be given the proper punishment."
"I have spoken with your son briefly," I respond honestly. "But he did not tell me he was a future Alpha."
"He is not," Alpha Hudson growls. "He is our second born son."
"That is a bummer," Kai sighs.
"Kai," I groan. "Please go get the Alpha's son."
"Whatever you say, Alpha," Kai salutes me as he walks out.
Alpha Hudson and I sit in silence for what seems like an eternity. "I am sorry about your father," he finally breaks the silence. "He was a good man. A little odd, but good."
"Thank you," I respond respectfully.
"What about your mother?" He asks.
"She is dead," I say flatly.
"I am sorry to hear that," he responds, but I can tell he doesn't actually mean it.
"Don't be," I say through gritted teeth.
"She was a bitch," he blurts out.
When I don't respond to his insult of my mother, we sit in another prolonged silence. Finally, Kai bursts into my office with Jason and Tish by his side. I cock my head to the side as I look at Tish. I have no clue why she is here, and she doesn't seem to have a clue either.
She is huffing and puffing as she rubs her growing belly. She rips her arm away from Kai and ungracefully falls onto the couch. Alpha Hudson looks at her with great interest.
"She is a human," he finally says.
"She is," Kai says as he beams down at Tish.
"Caring a werewolf pup," Alpha Hudson mutters.
"Why am I here?" Tish whines. "It is my nap time."
"Jason wouldn't speak to his father without you," Kai shrugs as he shoves Jason into my office.
"I am not coming back," he glares at his father.
"That is not up to you," Alpha Hudson strikes back. "No other pack will have you, and my son will not be a rogue."
"He can stay here," Tish says from the couch.
Kai and I both look at her like she has three heads. "Tish, Baby," Kai whispers. "Can I talk to you outside?"
"Nope," she says, popping the p. "Jason once freed me from Phoebe, knowing that it would cause backlash for him. I owe him."
"While I appreciate what you are trying to do," Jason says. "You don't have to do that."
"Of course I do," she replies. "Now, since that is settled, can I go take my nap?"
"Wait," I call after her. "Are you sure he can be trusted?"
"He is going to run the bar," she says with certainty. "I will keep an eye on him."
She waddles out of the door, and Kai wolf whistles as she walks by. She bats her eyelashes at him, and he rushes out of the door after her. I groan, knowing that I will have a hard-on for the rest of the day while I feel her arousal through the bond.
Alpha Hudson is still waiting for my response, but instead, I turn to Jason. "How old are you?"
"I have my wolf. If that what you are asking?" He grumbles.
I cannot make him return to his father. He is of age, and my Luna has officially released him from the dungeons without knowing what she was doing.
"You know the laws," I tell Alpha Hudson. "I cannot make him return, and he is no longer a prisoner here."
"Fine," Alpha Hudson grunts. "One less problem."
He looks his son up and down with disgust and stomps out of my office. I look at Jason, who is staring at the ground.
"I feel like that could have been a phone call," I try to crack a joke.
Jason doesn't even smirk.
"Are you going to be a problem?" I ask him.
"No," he sighs. "I have learned my lesson."
"You will be closely monitored," I warn him. "Just because Tish trusts you doesn't mean Kai and I do. Understood?"
Jason finally looks up from the ground. "Understood."
"Welcome to the South Pack."