Thea was the first to turn away from the fiasco in the foyer. The Beta was shaking in a rage he deserved to feel, reminding her of why she never allowed her father to talk her into choosing the fool for a mate. Not like the Alpha visitor was any better a choice—not without some research, something she would have done beforehand if she had not been...busy.

         "Walk with me." The Gamma rarely spoke commands out loud to his child, but she knew better than to balk him, even though she wanted peace and not a lesson in calculation. But she knew her father too well to do more than nod, and follow him as he walked out the front door to the pack house.
 
         They remained in silence until they hit the main trail to the border path through the woods. Centuries of this route left the ground smooth. During the wet season, they'd pound gravel into the low spots of the path, to keep it from becoming a mire. This made the walk mostly quiet, except for when she walked along the stones, then the clicking of her low-heels would ricochet through the underbrush. It warned away other shifters, which was necessary at the moment, or she would have taken them off, as going barefoot would have left her more at peace. Heels didn't belong in the woods.

        "I noticed he chose to insult you, my dear..."

         "Yes, papa." There was no point in denying something so blatant, but Thea had no intention of being the one to confess. Let her father name what the fool was.

         "I assume that Alpha Jaekel is a potential mate, yes?"

         Thea nodded. No words were needed. "Papa, why are you speaking aloud?"

         "We have found out that a few of the Omegas have learned the ability to listen in on private mindlinks, so this is a precaution. What do you intend to do?"

         "Well, I'd like to reject him. He's emotionally unstable and petty, clearly trying to offend me from the start. What do you know of him?"

         "His lineage goes back at least 20generations of Alphas to the same pack. Young breeders, prolific at first. Past 3 generations, no so much, as he's an only child. It is suspected that it was due to the chosen mates being inferior bearers, and that the sire's bloodlines ring true. He is rumored to be holding back from mating because he doesn't want a weak Luna. If he had done his research before he walked through the door, I doubt he would have been near as rude."
Thea winced at what could only be the start of the damned fool's infidelity, which caught her father's attention. "You alright?"

         "As well as can be expected, given he's balls deep in my maid," she ground out, trying to not crack her teeth. "I'm not so sure I could endure this for years on end. Not even for a bloodline we both desire, Father."

         "Although three generations removed, he does have some distant kin—cousins—and the pack is homogenous..."

         "So, there's a chance I could have more than one choice of a mate within his borders. He may not choose to bring me, Father."

          "If he didn't want you, at all, he would have rejected you on sight, my dear. He's doing this to control you." The Gamma's moue aged him, subtly, showing the 40years of life between them. "Not that he's not rutting for pleasure, but this is more like dogs humping for dominance."

         "I need some sort of protection if I go..." this was as far as Thea could push her father, not something she could demand outright, but they both knew that what he chose next would set the course on how much leverage she would hold over the fool.

         "I have never intended to send you with a potential mate without threat of retribution, Thea." The smirk on the Gamma's face was cruel. "You will go in with a contract for Luna, and a year to obtain it. It will come with a threat of a duel from me, and if I can convince the Alpha, it will come with a whole pack war. You may be female but you are my successor, and that counts for a great deal of nobles oblige."

         Thea nodded at that. So, if this Alpha chose to potentially accept the bond, then she would have to pack.

         "Do you plan on bringing your Omega with you?" Her father's abrupt change of subject was startling, given he never talked about the girl, at all.

         "After he bedded her, is it wise?" She glanced up at her father, catching him raising his brow at the question.

        His glance towards her was uncannily knowing, only further cemented by his comment. "After you bedded her—repeatedly, I might add—is she more of a threat to him or you?"

         Thea laughed at that—another twisted chuckle, with little mirth. "Can laying with a woman truly leave the bruises of penetration, as he is doing to me right now?"

         That caused the Gamma to wince. "I never wanted this path for you. I just wanted to regain what was rightfully ours."

         "And we will, even if I have to bear this fool equally as dense sons." She couldn't help gritting that out as it was clear that her mate was reaching his climax, soon. "But he will not father my children if I cannot work out a way to geld him, at this rate. Besides, Pandora is James' mate."
The Gamma's grin was almost feral. "Poor girl. He's been whoring around since he turned of age."
"She's a week older than him. He's refusing to let her go, has ordered her to stay away from all males."

         "5 years." Her father ground his response out, anger breaking through his usual calm for once. "5 fucking years."

        That shocked Thea, as her father didn't use severe vulgarity. He found it coarse and common. "If it's not awkward, father, I suggest you offer to take her once I leave. At least as a Personal Omega—and more, if you can bear to take my leftovers."

         The Gamma squinted, his appearance demonstrating he was further confusing the proposition with his own self-counsel. "While there would be things to address if I did such a thing, a chosen mate is a great risk for our bloodline, when it comes to childbirth."

         "That would be her and your risk to take." Thea couldn't give any more than a tight-lipped smile. "Besides, I suspect that merely offering to take her in front of the Alpha and Beta will finally force James into making a decision. She didn't endure these past 5 years to let her fail to finagle him into submission. Any additional stress will put him under pressure."

         The calm he showed belied the trace anger from only moments before, almost causing his daughter to doubt what she witnessed. But then, his next question betrayed why. "You know I've been waiting to take that arrogant prick down a peg since you were little?"

         "No, I had no idea." But she should have known. Thea knew her father hated being anything but the Alpha he was born to be, having had to settle for Gamma, given the punishment of the Alpha's council. It was neither her father's punishment, nor hers, but they bore under it as best they could. A Beta's mate would be enticing—as it had been for her. Thea wouldn't deny that she took on her friend's needs as a massive middle finger to the very system that stole her birthright. That was always a risk in the love lives of Alpha bloodlines. The drive to compete and win anything and everyone as territory was a core instinct to werewolf leadership.

         "Why do you think I didn't much push you towards him?" The shift in the Gamma's eye color to his wolf's much darker shade indicated that it wasn't just the man or the potential Alpha in him, but even his wolf detested James, more than Thea could muster against the sodding fool. The wolf side wasn't petty, generally speaking. "Men who play such games with their women tend to reek of inferiority. His insecurities lead him to play stronger than he is quite often, pissing me off."

       "That makes sense," Thea sighed, knowing she'd have to finish this conversation soon. She didn't get many chances to speak to Railer, the wolf being quite quiet in comparison to the Gamma's natural dominance. "I need to get back to my room. If he was violent, I may need to tend to my Omega."

         That brought the moue back to her father's face. "If he has, or ever does such a thing to you, I'd suggest ending his life—preferably after you conceive. I would even leave my place, here, to back you on that, if needed."

        Thea shook her head. "I'll know more about what is needed after I speak to Pandora."