“See you in a few weeks, Dad and Miracle,” Whisper said, waving.
Mack said goodbye to his kids and pressed the button to end the call. He leaned back against the couch, and she turned and snuggled against his side. “Your kids are sweet.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I told you they’d love you.”
“I think they’re just happy we’re staying in Beyton.”
He hummed and looked at the clock on the wall. “Want to go to the beach?”
“Definitely.”
After changing into a blue-and-black striped bikini, Miracle slipped a gauzy blue cover-up on and tied her hair into a low ponytail. Mack was waiting for her in the living room, wearing black trunks and holding two of the resort’s red-and-blue beach towels. He kissed her with a growl that was so low and soft, she felt it more than heard it. “Lovely,” he murmured.
“A girl could get used to so many compliments.”
“You should,” he said, giving her ponytail a gentle tug.
They left the room and took the elevator to the ground floor. The beach wasn’t crowded, because the unmated resort attendees were out doing a poker-run boat race. According to the director, two other couples had mated. It seemed like the resort was good luck for matings this year.
She stretched out her beach towel next to Mack’s and put her flip-flops on the sand. Then she rolled to her side and rested her head on her propped-up hand. “Did you always want to be alpha?”
He mimicked her pose as he faced her, but he rested his free hand on the dip of her waist. “The alpha position in my pack is hereditary, so it never occurred to me to do anything else. My wolf was born to be alpha. As I got older, I didn’t rail against it, I embraced it.”
“Are there alphas who don’t want to be alpha?”
“Of course. If an alpha has more than one son, the eldest is supposed to lead when the time comes. Sometimes the eldest doesn’t want to lead, and a younger sibling will step in. It’s rare, but it happens. And on the flip side, sometimes a younger sibling will feel they are the better choice. That leads to fighting, and sometimes death. I heard about an alpha in North Dakota who had twin sons. The oldest was only older by a minute, but it was an important minute because it meant he was to be the leader. The brother didn’t want to be beta; he wanted to fight to prove he was better. But the alpha didn’t want his sons to fight, so he banished the younger twin. The night of the first full moon after the eldest twin took over, his brother showed up with some other disgruntled wolves and attacked, killing him.”
“Holy crap! I can’t imagine killing a sibling over being alpha.”
“Because you’re a dragon. From what you’ve told me of your clan’s hierarchy, it’s not remotely like the pack. For us, the alpha is the be-all and end-all. For you, the king is the law but the elders are there to keep things in line, too.”
“What happened to that pack?”
“The father imprisoned his son to await a pack trial, and the son killed himself. The pack disintegrated, most of the members joining other packs, except for the alpha, who went into seclusion.”
“It’s hard to be alpha?”
“Anything that’s worth doing usually is.”
“Do you think Kross and Kayne can split the alpha duties? It wouldn’t be better for one of them to be the second-in-command?”
“I considered it, but they both have alpha traits. Either one of them would be a fine alpha on his own, but together they’ll be a great one. I think it would be more difficult for them if they were split into different ranks, because of Heaven. They’re attempting to share her equally, and I think they should apply that to other aspects of their lives as well.”
“I didn’t know that there were shifter groups who shared a mate.” She was curious about the ménage relationship, but she had no interest in having another male besides Mack.
“Hyenas always have a clan of three males to one female. Kross and Kayne have embraced sharing Heaven, and I’ve heard that there are some groups out there – mountain lions, for example – where males form a mating group with a brother or close family member and share a female.”
“But not wolves?”
“My kids are the first I’m aware of.”
She wiggled her brows. “One wolf is plenty for me.”
“Good, because that’s all you’re getting.”
“You’re all I need, I promise.”
*