"Hot Damn!" Cries out my father as he shuffles slowly through the woods with his cane back towards our cabin where I'm sat with Alice on my lap on the outside decking.

My dad has a stopwatch around his neck which he's waving around animatedly with an excited gleam in his eye. His hair may now be white in colour and he may find it harder to walks these days, but this old wolf refuses to slow things down.

"You're supposed to be resting that hip!" Scolds Alice to my dad as he comes closer, but my dad just rolls his eyes.

"I'll rest it when I'm dead!" He grumbles back as he finally reaches the bottom step of the decking with a huge smile spread across his face.

"I tell ya, they're gonna be faster than you Alice in no time. Wait till ya get a load of these times!" My dad yells out with excitement.

"We're fucked aren't we. How we supposed to catch um if they out speed you." I sigh before nuzzling my nose into Alices neck making her giggle.

Right at that moment, two whirlwinds at lightning speed zig zag through the woods, kicking up masses of autumn leaves in their wake before coming to an abrupt stop either side of my father.

"Boys, why are you soaking wet?" Alice groans as she sits up straighter in my lap looking annoyed.

"Pops made us try to run over the river to see if we can make it across." Laughs Dax.

"We sank!" Chips in Cass as they both burst out laughing.

My twin boys Cassian and Dax are already taller than my dad and they've only just turned fourteen. They're Identical in practically every way from their silverly blue wolf coats to their dark hair and brown eyes when they're in human form, they well truly take after their mother. The only way to tell them apart at this point is their personalities and scents. Although they're both jokers, Cass tends to be the more studious and hardworking, his scent is of Eucalyptus leaves and limes. Whereas Dax is full on mayhem but has a heart of gold, his scent is of Sandalwood and pomegranates.

As silvers, they'll naturally always be both slender in build to help with their fast sprints however their gaining decent muscle tone from their training. They'll never be like Hudson who's literally a carbon copy of me and a lot larger. Hudson might not have inherited the silver gene, but he's already on the road to becoming an extremely powerful Gamma.

"The river! Really?" Alice growls at my dad with exasperation, who now looks a little sheepish.

"Ahh ya little shits, you said you'd not tell." Grumbles my dad who tries to swat the twins on the back of their heads with a short tap, but they dart away quickly making him miss and I can't help but burst out laughing.

My laughter however abruptly stops once Alice throws me a look to kill over her shoulder before crossing her arms looking pissed at my dad.

"Ahh stop stressing. It was across the shallows. I'd not put my grandpups in any danger especially not on your birthday." My dad grumbles back as Alice narrows her eyes at him and purses her lips. "Fine, fine. No more river run training. Got it." My dad sighs making Alice smirk then relaxes back into my arms.

"Boys help ya old Pops back up the stairs will ya." My dad barks at the twins.

Within a heartbeat they've looped an arm each around my dad, pulled him off his feet, dashed him up the stairs to the decking before gently lowering him down onto a nearby chair as he barks out laughing. I can't help but grin. My dad loves these boys. When he's not off training Hudson with one-to-one tuitions he'll be out in the woods with these two usually being more mischievous than them.

"Boys go get changed. We've guests arriving soon for your mum's birthday lunch and you're not going to sit there dripping wet." I turn to say to them. "... but just..."

I'm cut off as they dart full speed into our home and instantly I hear crashes and bangs from within the cabin as they knock anything over that's in their pathway.

"...don't run." I mutter as I rest my head in my hands sighing.

As I said, I'm fucked. As much as I love them, their like mini tornados and often leave a path of destruction wherever they go.

I feel a soft hand run down my face than through my hair which makes me look up at the most beautiful woman in the world smiling down at me. Even after all these years, Alice is simply breath-taking. Not caring that my dad is sat right next to us I wrap my hand behind her neck and pull her down for a long slow kiss ignoring my dad's grumbles from close by.

"How about we ditch this lunch party and I take you upstairs for your birthday treat." I murmur against Alices lips making her smile even more.

"For the love of god." My dad moans nearby as we turn to see him rolling his eyes at us and go to take a large sip of wine from a glass off the table.

Alice instantly pulls away when she spots what's in his hand. Springing off my lap she grabs the glass as he glares at her. "No booze old wolf. We're watching your cholesterol. Remember what the healers said?" Alice scolds him before she flashes me a smile and heads into the cabin to empty the drink down the sink.

"Buzz kill." My dad grumbles making me laugh. If I'd of taken that glass off him, he'd over whacked me around the head with cane.

My ears suddenly pick up the sound of an engine as a large truck starts to head down the winding driveway to our family cabins. During the week myself, Alice and the boys live up closer to the packhouse and training complex, but every weekend without fail we come to stay at our North Valley Woods cabin to spend time with my dad and get some quality family time in. The northern territory is especially beautiful right now as the leaves have turned to red, yellow, and gold making the woods glow with a kaleidoscope of colours. We don't get a lot of visitors this way, which suits us, but these guests have been invited.

As the truck comes into view, I shout out over my shoulder to let Alice and the boys know our guests have arrived. Within seconds Cass and Dax bluster out the door like a hurricane and start play fighting on the grass in front of the decking making their fresh clothes on all muddy within seconds. I don't even have the energy to tell them off, instead I pour myself a large glass of red wine accepting there's fuck all I can do about it and relax back into my chair. Todays is Alices birthday, and I want zero drama.

"Hey, are you gonna pour us some drinks too or what, Gamma?" Oliver's playful voice echoes across the woods as he comes to stand next to Alpha Lucas who's also just got out of the truck before they start to walking over.

My eyes then fall onto my eldest son who jumps out of the large truck from the open back trunk where he's hitched a ride back from the training centre with a large bow slung over his shoulder and a bag of arrows swinging in a bag in his other hand. Hudson throws me a lopsided grin as I give him a short wave welcoming him home.

There's nothing I'd not do for this kid. At sixteen he's got his shit together so much more than I ever did at his age. He's the kind of kid that would make any parent proud to call son due to his hardworking attitude and honest nature. He's the best of both Alice and I put together, yet I'm tougher on him then his younger brothers due to the rank he's due to step into. My hopes are for him to become Gamma the same year his best friend Kai takes over as Alpha when they both turn eighteen. It's a little young, Drake and I didn't take our ranks till we were nineteen but we're both confident that if the boys keep training as hard as they have been, they'll be ready.

My eyes then fix upon the dark headed wolf with intense hazel eyes that now springs effortlessly from the trucks trunk to stand next to Hudson before I see him slightly sigh then follow my kid up the path towards our home.

Finn.

At seventeen he is slightly older than both Kai and Hudson. He's never been much of a talker and rarely smiles that much, plus I know for a fact he finds social situations like this hard to deal with. Hence the sigh before he came over here. I don't take it to heart. Finn's not an easy kid to be around at times, often a hot head and gets into fights but I've a lot of time for him. His wolf is an angsty one just like mine was, so I often take him out deep into the woods just me, him and Hudson and run our wolves out together which seems to calm him down somewhat. This kid, however, is seriously gifted not to mention extremely intelligent, quick to learn and fiercely loyal to those few he deems worthy of his time and trust.

Finn was adopted by Lucas and Oliver when he seven years old from the Orphanage here at Grey Crescent pack. No one knows much about his family or where he came from accept that he was found at our borders when he was six next to his dead mother who was covered in silver torture burns. Finn himself has a huge scar across his back from what looks like a silver tipped whip, but he's never spoken to anyone about it or opened up about what happened to his mother or his life before he joined Grey Crescent. Not even to his two dads.

Oliver and Lucas put his memory loss down to him being too young to remember, but I'm not convinced. I know what it's like to go through childhood trauma. Sometimes you shut down and close off some shit just so you can deal with it. When he's ready, Finn will open up.

"How he did you get on?" I quiz Oliver as he starts to climb the steps to the decking.

"Hudson got some good hits on target, but he still bows like his dad I'm afraid." Oliver grins making me shake my head and Hudson laugh out loud.

Oliver is a far more advanced archer than I could ever be. I've literally mastered every fucking weapon in that training centre. But a bow and arrow is just not my thing. Oliver however is like fucking Robin Hood so I've been getting him to try teach my kid some archer skills... but it appears the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I'm guessing Hudson won't be a star archer either. Not that it matters.

"How about you bud? You get many on target." I say turning to Finn who's a little stood back from the group and was watching my twins dart around playing tag at their top speeds before he flicks his eyes onto me

"Some." Finn says quietly as he shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly making Oliver scoff.

"Some! Try every single arrow dad. Finn was insane today!" Hudson beams proudly making Finn look at his feet, obviously hating being the centre of attention.

"You were awesome." Lucas says as he gives Finn's shoulder a little squeeze, before climbing the stairs and taking a seat next to me just Alice comes out of the cabin bringing more bottles of wine out onto the table.

"Hey Birthday girl!" Oliver yells as he grabs her around the waist and spins her around just as she sets the bottles of wine down.

As soon as her feet touch the ground, I loop an arm possessively around Alices waist and scoop her back onto my lap making Alice yelp with surprise before the people around us start to chuckle.

"Seriously Cole, I'm gay and mated. I'm pretty sure Alice was safe." Laughs Oliver and Lucas.

"Don't give a shit, the only hands I ever want to see on my mate are my own." I grumble, earning me a bemused look from Alice.

"Even after all these years?" She smiles.

"Especially after all these years." I growl back before I pull her tightly into my chest and pepper her all over with kisses making her giggle.

"Christ, knock it off you two. You're gonna put me off this meal." Moans my dad making Hudson laugh as he comes to sit next to his pop's.

"What about you Hudson? Are you sweet on a girl these days?" Oliver says mischievously as he wiggles his eyebrows.

I'm confident his answer will be no, as he tells me everything. Or so I thought until a huge red blush hits Hudson across his face, and he looks to the floor. "No, there's no one." He mumbles.

"Sure, there is! Hudson's in love! Hudson's in LOVE!" Dax yells out from the grass where he'd stopped playing to make fun of his older brother.

Alice and I exchange shocked looks, fuck has he got a girlfriend that he's not told us about?

"Shut it Dax." Growls Hudson jumping to his feet.

"It's true! We saw them...kissing!" Belly laughs Cass, at this point Hudson jumps the decking fence without taking the steps, landing right in front of his twin brothers.

"I said shut up!" Hudson snarls.

Alice gets to her feet and if ready to use her quick speed to break the boys up, but I'm stuck to my chair, floored by the news that my kid is already dating.

"Who're you seeing kid?" I choke out.

"It's nothing, no one. She's not important." Hudson says looking even more flustered.

"Don't let Beta Colton hear you say that about his daughter." Dax mocks.

My jaw drops, as Alices eyes grows wide.

"Beth's your...girlfriend?" Alice says biting her lip, but she can't stop a huge smile pulling at her lips.

"The Beta's daughter? That redheaded firecracker?" My dad chips in, equally as intrigued by this revelation.

"No! Fuck. Can we just stop talking about this already?" Hudson pleads as he runs a hand over his face.

"To be fair bro, Beth is a hottie." Cass taunts some more as Dax nods his head in agreement.

"Enough." Growls Finn, making all of us look at him with surprise. He won't often get involved like this, so when he speaks, people tend to listen...

...apart from Dax.

"Sure, Beth's hot. But no one comes close to Lady Isla. Now she's smoking hot! Plus, whoever bags her gets a whole pack! She's literally perfect mate material!" Dax jokes, but no one laughs.

This isn't a topic any of us take likely. Although Dax is just a kid, I'm desperate for him to shut the fuck up before he says anything further. As Alpha Drake's second born child, Isla will become the Luna to the Red River Pack when she turns eighteen in three years times as per the agreed arrangement Lucas and Drake shook on when Lucas was handed Red River.

Since Isla turned fifteen, Drake has been taking her around allied packs to introduce her to any potential suitors that could become her mate. Drake has made it clear that only males from an Alpha bloodline will be accepted to compete for her hand when she comes of age. At that point, Lucas, Oliver and Finn will have to step down as the Alpha family and let Lady Isla and her new mate take over at Red River. Something Finn has made very clear he's doesn't think should happen.

"That little princess should work harder on her combat skills rather than her flirting skills." Mutters Finn making Lucas growl.

"Finn. Enough." Lucas says in a warning tone.

Next to me Oliver shifts uneasily in his chair as Alices looks at me nervously. I'm debating whether I should go down there and break this up before it escalates... but Dax's big mouth beats me to it.

"Oh, come on Finn, you'd be blind not to think she's a ten and then some. You're not telling me that all those summers she spent at River Red with you, you've never once thought she was hot!" Laughs Dax.

Jesus kid, read the room.

"Watch your mouth." Growls Finn as he paces forward to where the twins and Hudson are now stood.

"I bet he does. I bet deep down, Finn has it bad for Lady Isla." Jokes Dax to Cass.

"Not that it matters, isn't she off seeing Alpha Romans son this week. He looks to be her favourite." Cass jokes back at Dax and I see something in Finn snap.

Finn's wolf eyes blaze bronze as he stalks forward looking pissed. However, Cass and Dax just start laughing harder before they start to whiz at high speed in a circle around Finn, oblivious to how annoyed he's getting.

"Finn." Yells Lucas, who gets up on his feet. "There just kids, let it go."

"Cass. Dax. Enough!" I growl at them.

But as quick as lightning, Finn lunges forward and grabs Dax and Cassian by their throats, catching them even at there high speed and throws them hard onto their asses into the mud as he growls loudly.

"I said watch your mouths." Finn roars at the top of his lungs.

I jump to my feet, wide eyed as Cass and Dax rub at their sore necks, looking shell shocked. Not even I can catch these two like this when they're going that fast. I stride down the stairs with Lucas just behind me, but before I can get to the boys, Hudson has Finn up by the collar snarling in his face.

"What the fuck man, they're my kid brothers." Hudson seethes before Finn pushes him back and it's mine and Lucas's cue to separate our sons.

I firmly press onto Hudson's shoulders until he takes a few steps back, giving him a nod that I'll handle this before signalling him to go sit with my dad. Alice races down to check on the twins, pulling them up onto their feet and examining over their bruised necks. Tears stream down her beautiful face which makes my wolf snarl in my head, demanding for me to charge now our mates distraught... now I'm pissed.

"I'll not have my mate upset like this, especially on her birthday." I growl loudly to my twins and then to Finn.

"Sorry mum." Cass and Dax say in unison quietly.

Finn's eyes fix mine, swirling like a storm, before they flick onto Alice's tear-stained face, and I see him physically gulp before they turn back to their normal dark hazel hue.

"Apologises Gamma Alice." Finn says quietly but respectfully, before he shrugs his father hand off his shoulder that was restraining him and turns to race off into the forest.

"Fuck." Mutters Lucas as he watches his son storm away.

"Well. Go after him. He only listens to you Luke." Oliver huffs with his hands on his hips with a hint of bitterness to his tone.

Sighing Lucas gives me an apologetic nod before setting off in the same direction to try and calm down his adoptive son.

"You two, upstairs now and go get changed again out of these muddy clothes and this time walk." Alice growls at Cass and Dax and for once they do as they told with their heads hung low.

As much as I hate seeing my boys being injured in any way, they need to learn that they can't keep just running their mouths off, especially around an unpredictable wolf like Finn.

As Alice goes to walk past me, I grab her hand and pull her close. "I'm sorry, this wasn't the relaxed family Birthday party I'd planned." I say to her honestly.

"It's fine." Alice smiles sadly. "Boys will be boys I guess." She sighs.

"Come on Alice, let's go finish getting food ready." Oliver beckons before I see him throw the rest of his glass of wine down his throat before picking up the bottle and waggling his eyebrows at her making Alice chuckle.

"I'm guessing that's code for you two are off to drink wine and gossip in the kitchen, especially as I've already cooked." I grin at Alice.

Alice smiles back mischievously before giving me a quick peck on the lips then running off into the cabin with Oliver to go get drunk. Fuck it, as long as she's happy. I'm just glad to see her smile again after that shit show. I know Oliver will be upset as well with how Finn acted. After showering that kid with nothing but love and affection since the day they brought him home, it's always Lucas that Finn will listen to in the end which has always struck a nerve with Oliver.

As I get to the top step of the decking, my dad puts his cane out blocking me walking any further and I dart my eyes to his with confusion. Hudson is sat next to him; his usual carefree smile is replaced with one on concern.