Nathan


    "It would be whatever I say it is, Miriam. That shouldn''t bother you."


    "And if I refuse?" she stared at me defiantly.


    "Maybe I might pardon you and let you go if you take back what you said the other day. You might not be sent back to the dungeon."


    She paused, smirking as though she recalled something deliciously wicked.


    "Oh, you mean when I said you''re nothing but a power-hungry mongrel who''d sell his own mother for a taste of power? That being an Alpha heir wasn''t enough for your greedy soul, so you had to manipte and scheme your way to the top by killing the father of my child, deserting my daughter on the wedding altar and trying to y god?"


    She paused, taking in a deep breath. "Is it this one?"


    "And oh... don''t pretend like you didn''t know that would happen. You''ve always known everything about Nathan, you knew something like that would eventually happen. L will know eventually."


    I stared at her for a few minutes and shook my head, straightening. I would get rid of Miriam but not now. I still needed her. She was vital for my coronation since L wasn''t here.


    "Enjoy your meal. Get cleaned up and rest. We''ll talk moreter," I said as I was turning away.


    As soon as I reached my office, I was greeted by an explosion of colour and sound. The room was filled with decorations. Streamers hung from the ceiling and a massive banner across the wall read:


    "Happy Birthday Alpha Nathan!"


    My staff stood in the centre, smiling from ear to ear while my father stood beside them, holding arge cake with glowing candles.


    I froze.


    For a split second, my heart melted and I wished L was here. She never forgot my birthdays. While I had been away from the pack, she never did and was always the first person to wish me a happy birthday.


    I had forgotten today was my birthday and that my father – of all people – had remembered. Every year, he always forgot. Most times, he would think it''s a day before or a day after or won''t remember at all.


    For a moment, nostalgia hit me but I shook my head, smiling at them.


    "Blow the candles, Alpha!" someone cheered.


    I exhaled slowly, then stepped forward. I stared at the mes for a brief moment before blowing them out in one breath. The room erupted into apuse and cheers. My father pped me on my shoulder.


    "Happy birthday, son."


    I nodded, offering an almost reluctant smile. I epted the gifts from the staff before going into my office. I had barely put the gifts away when my father followed me inside, closing the door behind him.


    "Thank you," he said.


    I frowned, looking up. "For what?"


    "For releasing Mirima."


    I scoffed, turning my chair away. "Don''t think too much of it. I just need her for something."


    He chuckled. "Even so, I appreciate it. I''ll try to talk to her."


    "Yeah!" I nodded absentmindedly. "She needs to learn how to be civil to me."


    We remained like that before I broke the silence. "So you threw me the surprise party to thank me for releasing your lover?"


    "Miriam is not my lover, Nathan. I never had an affair with her and I didn''t throw you the surprise party for that. It''s because I remembered. This year, I wasn''t halfway around the world or working on some project that made me forget totally. You''re my son, Nathan. I know I cannot bring back all the years…"


    "When are you leaving for Shadow Moon Pack…" I interrupted him. I didn''t want to listen to excuses.


    He sighed but replied. "Now. I have to finalize the negotiations with the Elders. Most of the members of Shadow Moon are resisting joining Blue Ridge. Some are pushing to be dissolved into the packs around theirs."


    I frowned. "I don''t want that."


    My father nodded. "I figured as much. We''ll try to find amon ground, don''t worry. I''llmunicate everything with you."


    As I drummed my fingers against the desk, an idea suddenly struck me.


    "What if instead of bringing them all the way here, we let them stay and call it an extension of Blue Ridge."


    My father raised a brow, intrigued. "An extension?"


    I nodded. "Let them keep theirnd. Their autonomy. But under my direct rule. That way, they won''t feel like they''re been taken over. It''s a merger, not a conquest."


    My father smiled nodding in approval. "That… might actually work. It would certainly make the transition easier for them." He studied my face carefully. "You''ve thought this through?"


    "Every angle," I assured him, refusing to tell him the idea had juste to me a while ago. "It''s better to have them willingly aligned with us than forced into submission. We need – I need that pack. They have all the resources I want. This way, they keep their territory, and their dignity and we gain their loyalty."


    The future was taking shape – a unified werewolf nation, with Blue Ridge at its heart and me at its helm. It wasn''t exactly what I had hoped for because I was aiming for the White Moon Throne but this would do.


    As my father left, I stood at my window, watching the activity of the warriors training in the courtyard below. Somewhere, down there, Miriam was probably still seething, plotting ways to undermine the ceremony. But I had ns of my own and her cooperation, willing or not, was just one more piece falling into ce.


    I touched the window ss, it was cool against my fingertips. Two days until the ceremony. Two days until everything changed. The birthday decorations behind me seemed to mock the gravity of the moment – a reminder of the boy I had been, set against the leader I was bing.


    I smiled.


    Let Miriam think me a power-hungry Beta. Am I really that?


    I''ve worked so damn hard all these years to let anyone undermine the extent of my knowledge. I may not be able to manifest it, but I knew all the buttons to press. Once I am able to get L back to Blue Ridge, then I wouldn''t need to bother about anything else.


    Soon enough, she and everyone else would understand exactly why I had been chosen to lead them all.


    Soon!


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