Viola

~~~~~~

"Auntie Vi?"

I snap out of my thoughts to see Ace and Leo standing beside me, both of the boys looking up at me curiously...which is not unusual. Those two are always curious about something, it's what typically gets them in a little trouble.

"What do you need little ones?" I reply, crouching down to their height, and I catch Leo giving Ace a nervous look as he plays with his fingers. These two little boys may be identical twins, but they both definitely have different personalities. While Ace is more extroverted and energetic, Leo is quiet and bashful...content with letting his brother do most of the talking out of the two of them.

"We want to know, what's a mate?" Ace asks, and my eyes widen in surprise.

"Where did you hear that sweetheart?" I ask, considering they're a little young, they probably overheard a conversation between two older wolves.

"Big sister Avery, she was talking to Mama about mates...what are they?" He continues, Leo quietly listening in as he stands beside his brother. I sigh, knowing that they aren't going to let it go.

"Well, mates are special people that the Goddess chooses for you to spend the rest of your life with." I explain.

"Special? Like Mama and Daddy?" He asks, and I smile.

"Yeah, your mom and dad are mates, they're each other's special person. You and Leo will find yours once you're older."

"Really?!" Ace exclaims with excitement, a sparkle in his eyes. "Do you think they'll be like mama?"

I can't help but chuckle at his excitement.

"They just might be, why?"

"Because mama is strong, and brave! Oh, and really cool!" Ace exclaims, and I can almost imagine the pride on Luna Katrina's face if she had heard that.

"As long as they're nice, I don't mind..." Leo whispers quietly, a soft blush on his cheeks. He's too adorable, whoever is destined for these two as mates are going to be very lucky.

"Well, I'm sure the Goddess has got the perfect mate for you out there." I chuckle, and they both look up at me in wonder, their purple eyes almost glowing with excitement.

"I can't wait! I wonder what they'll look like?" Ace says, bouncing on his toes as he turns to Leo, who's pulling the hood of his shirt over his short black hair.

"I just hope they like us..." He murmurs, and Ace looks at him with disbelief.

"Of course they'll like us Leo! We're awesome! Why wouldn't they?"

"What if..what is they're scared of us? Of werewolves?"

"Then we'll just have to show them that they don't have to be scared of us, because we're nice werewolves!"

I shake my head with a laugh as they run back to the living room, both speculating over who their mate will be.

Yep, their mates are going be very lucky. Very lucky indeed.

Katrina

"Mom?"

I turn to see my oldest boys standing in the doorway to the office I share with Seth, both looking very serious for once, which concerns me.

"Alright, what did you do?" I reply, chuckling at their surprised faces.

"Nothing, we swear!" They both exclaim at once, Ace more sheepish than Leo.

"You sure?"

They both nod, and I almost laugh. Their synchronized reactions are always funny, it makes me wonder just how much of the twin theory is true.

"Alright, if you say so. What did you need then kiddos?"

"We wanted to talk to you and Dad about something." Ace replies, and I raise an eyebrow.

"What in particular?"

"Um, about the Alpha succession." Leo says quietly.

"Okay, well, your Dad will be back from patrol in a few minutes. We can talk in here if you like?" I reply, genuinely surprised. It hasn't been long since we've discussed the succession, particularly which of them would be the new Alpha.

The title is traditionally passed to the eldest biological child of the current Alpha pair, mostly since the powers of an Alpha are genetically passed to their children, which is why not all wolves can become Alpha's, it has to be in the bloodline. At least for normal succession.

If it wasn't for that, Avery would have already been named Alpha Female of Red Fang. But, she didn't have any alpha blood in her biological family tree, so it falls to our boys first

Problem is, only one of them can be named Alpha, they can't share the title. And it's been difficult to find a way to choose which of them takes over since both would equally make great Alphas.

How do you choose one without hurting the other?

"That's fine." Ace nods, and they both sit in the two chairs in front of the desk.

"So, what brought this all up? You two are fifteen, it's gonna be almost three years before you're eligible." I state, linking Seth about this as I sit in the large chair on the other side of the desk, and they share a brief glance.

"Well, we overheard you and Dad talking about it one night, so we got to talking about it ourselves." Leo answers, Ace nodding in agreement.

"I see. What about it in particular did you want to discuss?"

"Well-" Ace starts, only to stop at Seth opening the door, the boys automatically looking at him in surprise.

"Hey, there are my boys!" He exclaims, ruffling their hair at the same time. He quickly makes his way to me, leaning down to give me a short kiss. "And my beautiful Luna."

"How was patrol?" I ask, sighing in resignation as he proceeds to maneuver us so he's in the chair and I'm on his lap. Some things never change I suppose. I glance over to see the twins fixing their hair, both long used to their dad being a bit extra.

"Good. It was nice to stretch my legs after being cooped up inside for the past few days." He sighs, and his attention then turns to the Twins.

"So, your Mom said that you guys wanted to talk about the Alpha succession?"

They both nod, and he grins.

"Lay it on us then. We're both curious about what you've come up with."

They stay quiet for a moment, and I can almost see the silent conversation they're having as they look at each other. They've always had this ability to read and respond to each other, them shifting and gaining access to the pack mind link a few months ago has only made it stronger.

"Well," Ace starts, both turning to look at us, "we overheard you guys talking about it a week ago, more specifically, how to decide on one without hurting the other. We didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you were talking out loud, and we were passing by-"

"It's alright, we wanted to talk to you about this anyway. We both came to the conclusion that it would be best left as your decision, since it is your life." I interject, not wanting them to stress unnecessarily. "You two are both reasonable, and respectful of each other's feelings. We knew we wouldn't have to worry about you two fighting over the position."

"Thank you, we're happy you think that way." Leo responds, Ace grinning.

"Of course, if we were concerned about you two fighting over it, we wouldn't have considered you two for the title. Alphas may need to fight sometimes, but hurting their own family for the sake of power is not a good trait." Seth states, leaning back a little in the chair as they nod in agreement. "Besides, there was also the possibility you two wouldn't want the position at all, and we didn't want to force it on you. You two being first in line to become Alpha doesn't mean your obligated, it's your choice."

"We appreciate it Dad, really, because I think we figured out a way to decide fairly." Ace answers, putting a hand on Leo's shoulder.

"Well?" I question after a moment of silence, and Ace nudges Leo.

"Go on man, it was your idea."

Leo clears his throat, nodding.

"Well, we decided that we would wait until after we found our mates, and let that be the deciding factor."

Me and Seth are quiet for a minute, glancing at each other in silent confusion before I speak up.

"In what way? Like who finds their mate first?"

"No, no! Not like that! I meant-what I was trying to say-!" Leo sputters, and Ace squeezes his shoulder.

"Relax Leo, I got you." He turns to us. "What he meant was our mate's circumstances. We talked about it, and realized that there was a good chance one of us could have a mate that couldn't leave their home to come live with us. Like, what if they're a shifter that already holds rank? Or something like that?"

~They're so mature for fifteen, I didn't even think about that when I was their age.~ Seth expresses via our link, and I sigh.

~We've raised them well. It's definitely a good idea.~

"So, in case one of you has a mate that can't be here, the other becomes Alpha. I see." Seth answers out loud, and they both nod.

"So, what happens if both of you can bring your mates here to live together?" I question, curious about how much they have discussed this. Leo clears his throat again.

"Ultimately, I think Ace should get the title. He's more suited for it."

I start to interject, but Ace beats me to it.

"Come on dude, we talked about this, you'd make a great Alpha! You gotta have more confidence in yourself!"

"I know, it's just, you're much better at being assertive and communicating with others." He mumbles back, and Ace shakes his head.

"Maybe, but you are such a good strategist, and have such awesome ideas! All you need is some practice with taking charge and you'll be perfect!"

"If you say so."

I smile, enjoying the sight of them supporting each other, and from the look on Seth's face he's enjoying it too.

"I assume you two have a plan in case neither of your mates can live with the pack?" He questions, and they both turn back to us.

"Well, the logical choice is to let it fall to Raven or Austin, since they're next in line." Ace replies, and we both chuckle.

"Of course. I have to say boys that we are both impressed with how much thought you put into this." I state, smiling at them. So young, and yet they already got their priorities in the right place.

"She's right, I'm proud of you both. I just want to make sure you understand it may take some time before you find your mates, I didn't meet your mom until we were both in our twenties. Not to mention there's a chance that one of you will find your mate much sooner than the other."

"Yeah, we know...that isn't a problem is it?" Leo murmurs, and we shake our heads.

"Of course not. If that's how you want to do it, then we'll keep running the pack until everything is settled." I answer, Seth nodding in agreement.

"Thank you." They both reply, once more in unison.

"Of course. Now, don't you two have homework to do?" Seth adds, and they both nod, standing up to leave.

"Yeah, unfortunately..." Ace grumbles half heartedly, Leo chuckling.

"I'll help you, I know math isn't your strong suit."

They both leave, caught up in their own discussion.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour boys!" I call out.

"Okay Mom!"

As soon as the door shuts, Seth buries his face in my shoulder.

"Well, I can say I wasn't expecting that, but I'm glad it happened." He sighs, and I copy the action.

"Me too. I'm glad we don't have worry about choosing between them."

"We've got good kids Angel."

"Yeah, we do." I smile, an idea forming. "Wanna make a bet on who becomes Alpha?"

"You're on!"