Chapter 2: Succession

Ten years later...

Ian raised his arms to stretch and looked at the time on the alarm clock. It was ten o'clock in the morning.

He got up and went into the shower. That day was very special. Not just special. It was also a milestone in his life. Not just because he would graduate from law school, but also because he would be able to leave and get on with the life he had chosen for himself. His mother and father Maxwell demanded that he have a degree, so he chose law, believing that knowing criminal law better would make it easier to do business in the life that awaited him.

Ian knew that his entire family and all the packs would be there that day and he took a deep breath. They discovered, when he turned eighteen, that he was also Alpha, like his father. It was a phenomenon, because never before in history had an Alpha been born while another Alpha was still reigning. But he didn't care about this dilemma that frightened all werewolves. He was looking forward to seeing his father Adam. Even Tayme, his sister, who hated meeting her family, said she wouldn't miss his graduation.

Next year, it would be the triplets' turn to graduate. But the whole family's perspective was on him. They thought Ian was brilliant, and he thought Tayme was the genius of the family. On that day, he already knew that his grandfather would hand over all his possessions before he had any more children with Jenna, which was already a lot. And that was only fair, since the money he would hand over to his grandson was the result of his maternal grandmother's inheritance. He never looked at Jenna's children as if they were his uncles. They weren't werewolves, and Ian considered them irrelevant.

What interested Ian was not just the administration of the estate, but the leadership of the human mafia, which faithfully followed his grandfather. During those years, he learned everything from his grandfather, Henry. He knew every step he had to take. And what pleased Ian most was knowing that he could run the entire mafia empire that he would inherit, from whichever country in the world he chose to live in.

Ian was Adam's heir. The reigning Alpha and that was an inheritance he was not keen to receive. He still didn't understand how his father could renounce his position as Alpha before he died, but he didn't want to think about it yet. He didn't long to find out, because as well as fearing the answer, he feared the responsibility of leading not just werewolves, but mafia werewolves, fierce and cruel and unaccustomed to peace.

He only planned to make surprise visits to the directorate of each country under his command, to see how things were going at close quarters. That was what excited him. He would go to the United States, and his father would retire from his leadership in the mafia, leaving him with only the leadership of Alpha until his son was ready to wear his crown. So, yes, he was very excited.

He got out of the shower, and changed for breakfast. If he were his sister, Tayme, at that hour, there would already be a lot of people in his room. One doing her make-up, another painting her nails, another styling her hair, another putting together the dress she was going to wear. Women were so complicated. He himself would only need half an hour, saying a lot, to get ready... Of course, he knew that his mother would make him go to the barber to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. Ever since his beard started to grow, at first he wanted to shave it off, because he thought it would make him look more like his father Adam, but as time went by, he realized that it attracted more attention from women when it was as close-cropped as his father Maxwell's was.

He went downstairs, smelling the scent of the disinfectant that had been used in that house for as long as he could remember. That perfume would be the trigger for his nostalgia when he was no longer there. Ever since he was sixteen, he had been begging his parents to let him live on his own, or at least on the university campus, like every other student attending university. But they wouldn't allow it, claiming that when he graduated and had a profession, he would already go out and conquer the world, lead the werewolves, and they wanted him around until the last moment. When he turned eighteen, he knew he no longer had to obey his parents, but every werewolf tradition said otherwise, and he let himself stay, so as not to disappoint either the werewolves or his parents.

His suitcases were already packed. Not that he was going to take much, because in the United States, he had clothes more suited to the climate, but because he had memories that were precious to him, and he couldn't leave them behind. They were photos of his family from when they were children. Tayme didn't appear much in them, but he had some photos with her, at her father Adam's house.

He smiled when he remembered the day Anna and Maxwell told his siblings that Adam was actually Ian's dad, but the dimwits didn't quite understand, and they all started calling Adam Dad Adam. Ian remembered how much this annoyed him. Having two dads was his privilege alone, but over time, the jealousy stopped, and on a few occasions, Donald and David also went on vacation in the United States with Adam. Even Anna and Maxwell traveled there and sometimes stayed at Adam's house. However, Adam didn't stay at home much when his brother and sister-in-law stayed at his house. Adam's mothers visited him more often than he would have liked, but he put up with it for the sake of his only son.

Tayme always called Ian before going to her uncle's house. She was the only one who didn't call him Dad. She always wanted to know if there was anyone else in the family there before she went. She loved them, but didn't want to have contact with any of them. She learned about the trip her mother had made with her grandfather to Avallon, in search of her origins, and pretended to be happy to learn that she had been welcomed by her brother Byorn, her cousin and his wife, Genevieve, and that her grandfather had finally been able to visit his late wife's grave and say goodbye. Inside, she secretly hated them for not trying to visit her. But she never said anything, not even to Ian. He wouldn't understand.

The dining room table was empty. Ian sat down and waited for someone to come and serve him. It was obvious that they had already eaten breakfast. He had let himself sleep in late, because he thought that in the city where he would be living, he wouldn't be able to have that privilege any more. He couldn't remember his father Adam ever waking up late.

One of the housekeepers walked past with a broom and a bucket towards the foyer and saw him sitting there, waiting for someone to remember him and bring him his coffee. She turned red and, leaving the bucket and broom, ran out.