Time jump:

Bobby stood on the side, as Emilian and Eddie exchanged numbers and spoke for a bit more. Once Eddie left, he made his way over to the younger wolf. In the spur of the moment and due to his overdrive of emotions, he grabbed Emilian from the front of his shirt and slammed him against the side of his truck. "What do you want with Eddie?"

"What?" Emilian flinched at the look in Bobby's eyes. The man probably wasn't aware of his eye shifting. "You need to calm down Nash." The animal inside him whimpered as he shrunk back from the anger radiating off his alpha. It was an overwhelming feeling. Almost as if someone was grabbing the back of his neck and forcing him down. "Your eyes are shifting."

"Why the interest?" Bobby demanded with a low growl. "Whatever is happening is between us. Do not bring my family into this."

Emilian raised his hand, a small whimper slipping out at the growl Bobby gave. "Bobby relax. I have no intentions of hurting you or anyone close to you. I honestly liked Eddie. It's been a while since I have been able to talk to someone so easily, without having to look over my shoulder. I am not here to harm anyone, just help you."

"I won't risk them." Bobby snarled. "I can't let that happen again. I won't."

"You still don't understand, your family has become a part of the pack. We protect ours, never harm them." Emilian placed a hand on his shoulder. "Bobby what you were given is a gift. You are seeing it as a curse or a mistake. If you embrace what you have become, you will see just how wonderful it can be."

"What's so great about turning into an animal." He growled. "What will my wife and kids say the day they find out?! I still haven't convinced myself this isn't some cruel joke. What makes you think I can be a leader to a pack of wolves?!"

"We have seen you lead your team." Emilian chuckled.

"It's not the same." Bobby sighed. "They don't turn into four-legged beasts."

"Listen to me, please. If you don't embrace this, you will be killed." Emilian knew beating around the bushes would get them nowhere. "Meet me in the woods tonight. Same place we met. If you don't show up, I will leave this alone. You won't hear or see any of us again. If you do show, I will teach you everything you need to know. Including how to keep your family safe." Patting him on the shoulder, he took off.

Bobby stood cemented in the spot for what felt like hours. He wasn't sure what to do. In a way, he wanted to know what his future held. How would this affect him, besides the whole turning? Was he prone to lose control? Could he be a potential threat to Athena and the kids? To his team? He needed answers and Emilian was the only one that had them. Grabbing his phone, he sent a quick text to Athena and jumped into his truck. He stopped along the way at least five times. Overthinking if he should do this. He could learn to control it himself. He's been doing alright on his own if you don't count the sleep shifting.

"You going to sit in there all night?"

Bobby had been so in his thoughts, that he hadn't realized he had arrived. Shutting the engine off, he jumped out. "What now?"

"A history lesson." Emilian took them deeper into the woods. "Come." They walked in silence for a good three miles before reaching a cliff. The moon was directly above them, illuminating the houses below. "This is where Erick would spend most of his time. Watching over the pack. It's also where he trained me."

"Trained?"

"We aren't born learning how to control ourselves." He replied. "We go through phases. Our parents and elders help along the way. Your situation is different than us, you were bitten. It's been years since that has happened and due to the circumstances in which it happened, it caught us a bit unprepared."

"I would like to know why it happened in the first place?"

Emilian exhaled deeply, taking a seat on the trunk of a fallen tree and motioning Bobby to do the same. "Our pack has been standing for as long as I could remember. My great-great-grandparents were born into this pack. The alpha's bloodline has always remained unchanged. Which meant that when our alpha would step down, his heir would take over." He leaned forward picking up a fallen leaf. "Erick was never able to produce any. Come to find out his little swimmers weren't swimming. It's been heard of, but we never actually seen it happen."

"What's that got to do with me?"

"I am getting to that. Stop interrupting." He huffed. "Erick was pressured by his father to either produce an heir or find one. With him being so close to his retirement age, he went in search of one. Usually, in cases like this, the alpha would look within his pack. Someone that knows the needs and cares for their pack mates. I have never seen an old wolf move so quickly out of pure joy." Emilian chuckled as his mind thought back to that night. "He had been gone for hours and I was starting to worry..."

Flashback: Months earlier

"Where the hell is he?" Emilian paced on the top of the stairs leading to the main house. "He's been gone too long."

"Emilian relax." A young brown wolf laid on a few feet away from him. His paws hung over the edge of the step. "I seriously doubt anything can happen to that man. You worry too much."

"It's my job to worry about him." Emilian growled. "Why the hell did you leave him alone anyway?!"

Rolling his yellow eyes Jason fell to his side with a loud huff. "He ordered us to come back without him."

"And you listened to him?"

"He ordered us." Jason added a growl to his strained words. "You know better than I that we can't disobey a direct order."

"Don't give me that bullshit. You cou-"

"Alpha!" Mathew flew past the arguing wolfs.

Erick slowed his pace to a near prance. "Emilian you waiting for me again?"

"You left without any betas." Emilian sighed. "Hunters could have been in the area."

"I've lived this long, if they finally catch me then it will be welcomed." Erick chuckled at the look of grim his lead beta showed. "Relax, I don't have any intentions of letting that happen. Especially not when I have finally my successor." Trotting past the shocked wolves, he entered his home.

"You what?" Emilian yelped after his alpha. "Who is he? What pack does he belong to? Do we know?"

Walking into his room he quickly shifted back. "His name is Bobby Nash. No pack and no, you don't know him." Searching his dresser for a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, he turned around to find his three betas in his doorway. "Yes?"

"That's it?" Jason raised a brow.

Putting his shirt on, he shrugged. "What else do you want to know? You have his name."

"Why him?" Mathew asked.

Erick took a seat on the edge of his bed. "He has everything I was looking for. I will be keeping an eye on him from now on. When the time is right, we will make our next move."

"Why not just talk to him now?" Emilian was confused. "Why keep him in the dark?"

"Because I want to be sure I have made the right choice." Approaching his betas, he placed a hand on Emilian's shoulder. "Trust me. I am picking the best to ensure your safety and survival. Nash will be the one to take my place."

Emilian leaned forward taking a few sniffs. "Why do you smell of gun powder?"

End flashback:

"Why me out of who knows how many?"

"He never told us what it was that he truly saw in you."

"That night of the attack, was that you?" Bobby asked.

Running a hand through his hair, he let out a soft exhale. "We were very careful in keeping your existence hidden. Yet, somehow Ace's pack found out about you. The night of the attack was a plan to assassinate you. The man you were supposedly there to save was a trap set up by Ace and his pack. The plan was to ambush you and your team. Erick got wind of it and had to improvise."

"By biting me?" Bobby snapped.

"You were going to be killed. Ace would have stopped at nothing to prevent, Erick from turning you and killing us." Emilian growled. "He did it as a last resort, in both saving you and the pack. It was supposed to be a quick grab and snatch plan, but you began struggling and bashing a rock to his head. And then there was your wife coming in firing bullets."

"He had me by the arm." Bobby argued. "Forgive me for not laying still."

Emilian rolled his eyes. "Anyways, thanks to the bite and change many of the wolves backed off."

"I wasn't even aware Werewolves existed. To me, they were just movies and stories." Bobby muttered out loud. "Why come after me in the first place? I was never a threat to any of them."

Emilian was close his eyes in annoyance. He had to remind himself this was his alpha, and slapping him was out of the question. "I am aware you don't wish to hear this, but the moment Erick bit you, you became his heir.

Killing you will destroy this pack. It will allow another alpha to take control of us and our lands. Many of us will die in an effort to stop them. Those that survive will be forced to accept Ace. Which will lead to many more losing their lives."

"What do you mean?"

"When a wolf is born, they are either born an alpha or a beta." Emilian explained. "That's who you are, one can't raise from beta to alpha. You can't fight an alpha for his position unless it's another alpha looking to take what's yours. Betas are born with knowledge and loyalty to their alpha. But we also have the right to pick the alpha. When forced to do so, the beta will most likely perish. Either by the hands of hunters or their own."

"So, the beta is loyal to only one." Bobby muttered. "What makes you so sure they will follow me?"

"When a beta is born inside a pack, they are instantly scent marked by the alpha. This is more of a safety precaution for the pup. When the pup is old enough to choose, they are given the option to stay or leave. If they stay, they are then marked creating a link with the alpha and pack. The bond is like a lifeline between the two. If should it ever be broken it will be painful for the beta." Emilian tilted his head to the side. "Think of it like being shot over and over again, not stopping until you are either dead or find a new lifeline."

"What about the one on the other end of that bond?"

"For an alpha, it's a bit different." Emilian began. "I don't have a firsthand experience with that, I am just a beta. I asked Erick once and he explained it as someone having their hand in your chest, squeezing your heart."

Bobby grimaced at the image appearing in his head. "Not something I would like to experience. Already been shot once, not looking to top that."

Emilian chuckled. "No worries on that end. You get shot now and you'll be healed in hours."

"How does one become an alpha?" Bobby hated to admit it, but he was finding this all fascinating. "You said earlier that one can't take the title of alpha. How am I one if I wasn't born one or a wolf?"

"I will get to your situation next." Emilian replied. "Only an alpha male can produce an heir. I mean we can have as many children as we want, but the firstborn from the alpha couple will always be an alpha. From there on the pair will only be having betas."

"So, in all their life they can only produce one alpha?" Bobby asked. "And it's always a male?"

Emilian nodded. "Yes. It prevents any siblings from fighting over the heir. Don't ask how it works, I don't know. It's just an evolution in our genes I suppose."

Bobby frowned. "What if the firstborn is a female?"

Emilian shook his head. "Alphas can't have females."

"At all?"

"Yes. The moment the mutation entered your body, it killed off all your little female swimmers. You can't produce females." Emilian grinned. "You weren't hoping for a girl, were you?"

Bobby tossed him a glare. "But there are females?"

"Every other wolf can have both males and females. The males are born betas." Emilian stated. "The females on the other hand are born with no status but treated as a beta. They are what we call omegas. They earn their rank once they have found a partner. It's not uncommon for an alpha to pick a female from the pack." He quickly retracted his words. "Not that you... I mean you're married." Suddenly he paused. "I don't think we have ever had a human lead the pack. But then again, we have never had a bitten alpha either."

"I am not your alpha." Bobby grumbled. "But you still haven't explained how I am what you say I am?"

"For a bitten wolf to even have the remote chance of becoming one, they have to be one already." Seeing the look of confusion on Bobby, he elaborated. "You carry the gene, Bobby. It's what makes you such a good leader. Someone that cares for those under him and is not afraid to put their lives before their own. It was one of the many things Erick was looking for. Had to ensure the heir wouldn't turn into a beta. But regardless of you being our alpha, we still need to train you."

Bobby shook his head trying to catch all his words. "One, I am not your alpha. Two what exactly do I need to be trained in?"

Emilian decided to overlook Bobby's denial and focus on the more urgent matters. "A bitten wolf has less control than that of a born one. We are taught from the moment we are born. With you it's different." He held his hand out, allowing his claws to grow. "I can control every aspect I need of my wolf. You can't. So that's where we need to start."

"Is that the reason why I change during my sleep?"

Emilian nodded. "When you're awake, you are in control of the wolf. You don't see it as a part of you yet, and it knows it. Which is why at your weakest point he takes charge."

"But why go out looking for bloodshed?" Bobby asked.

"Simply put, you're an alpha, Bobby. The wolf is only doing what an alpha does." Emilian glanced at his watch. Sending a quick message to Aaron, he relaxed against the tree trunk. This was going to take a while. "Think of the pack as a chain and padlock. The betas are the chain, linked to one another. The alpha is the lock tying them all together. Break the lock and you break the link. An alpha is everything a pack needs wrapped in one. He's a father, brother, friend, protector, and teacher. A pack will not and can not survive without one. Right now our pack is barely hanging on. They are putting their faith in you, in hopes that Erick didn't make the wrong choice."

Bobby glanced down at his boots. The ground was a mixture of leaves, twigs, mud, and dirt. A smell of wet dirt claimed his senses, courtesy of the previous rains. He noticed a group of ants crawling over a small twig, together they carried a large leaf back to their nest. Looked over at his hand clenching and unclenching a few times. With little to no effort, he made his claws appear. As much as he hated to admit to this, he was not the same anymore. In lame words, he was a monster. But that didn't mean he had to embrace it. "Their hopes are placed in the wrong man." Bobby muttered. "I am not your alpha. I am not the man Erick had hoped. I can not do what you ask of me."

Emilian sighed. "You leave and you will never hear from us again Bobby."

Bobby laughed humorlessly. "I didn't want to, to begin with. I didn't want any of this."

"Our pack will fall without you!"

"That is not my fault!" Bobby snarled. "I wasn't the one that asked for this! I was happy with the way things were. Now, now I have an animal living inside me thanks to your asshole of a leader!"

Emilian growled loudly. "Erick may not be here anymore, but he is still to be respected."

"Respected?!" Bobby laughed. "The man-made the worse mistake in his life!"

"The only one making a mistake here is you, Bobby."

"Well, if that's the case then I'm sorry." Bobby stood up running a hand through his hair.

"Bobby please, you need to hear me out." Emilian was seriously beginning to hate himself with all the begging he was doing. "They will not only come for you but everyone close to you. You need our help."

"Stay the hell away from my family and team." Grabbing the younger man by the front of his shirt, he snarled. "I see any one of you come near either of them, I will not hesitate to kill you." Turning away, he jogged back to his car. Reaching the truck, he fell against the door. The animal inside him clawed at his chest, its howls echoed in his mind. It wanted to go back. 'No!' It stopped, small whimpers before it went all quiet. "So, I can control it." Bobby exhaled softly, climbing into the truck. "I got this."

A large gray wolf stood over a cliff, watching the truck drive off. Tossing his head back, it released a loud sorrow howl. Many others joined in.

The song of a dying pack played throughout the night.

Pulling into the driveway, Bobby winced at seeing Athena standing outside. She was wearing her robe and arms crossed. The look on her face was a clear sign of displeasure. "Oh boy." Shutting the engine off, he jumped out of the truck and gave her a grin. "Hey, beautiful."

"Uh-uh. Don't 'hey beautiful' me." Athena held her hand out, stopping him from approaching. "Where have you been? It's past midnight."

Bobby glanced at his watch. "I hadn't realized how late it got. I dropped Emilian back at his place. He lives near the woods."

Athena sighed. "You could have called Bobby. I thought something had happened to you."

Walking over to her, he pulled her into his arms. "You're right, I should have called." Pulling back, he raised his hand towards her jawline. "Tell you what, why don't you head inside. I will grab the wine that was left and meet you in the bedroom."

Athena raised a brow. "Oh?"

"We still have some business to complete." Bobby leaned forward, nibbling at her neck.

Giving him a quick kiss, she ran back into the house. Bobby glanced towards the side of the house, having heard a twig snap. A low growl erupted from the base of his throat. Taking a whiff of the air around him, he growled at catching an unknown scent. It was the same as the grocery store.

"Coming here was a big mistake." Bobby snarled.

The man broke through the bushes. He was tall with bright green eyes. "So you're the new alpha." He grinned. "I'm disappointed, I was expecting you to be taller."

Bobby gave a warning growl. "Unless you want broken knee caps, I suggest you turn back around."

The man chuckled. "Well, you certainly have the attitude of an alpha?"

"Who are you?"

"Times have changed." The man chuckled. "I have been trying for years to take that pack. And suddenly a human is in control."

Bobby scoffed. "I am not in charge of anything. You want the pack take them."

"You see that isn't how it works. The only way to take over is getting rid of the current alpha." He growled loudly, taking a few steps forward.

Bobby glanced towards the house. A cold shiver ran through his body. He couldn't risk Athena and the kids from seeing or hearing them. But the thought of them getting hurt was causing his blood to boil. "You have five seconds to leave before I tear your throat out."

The man grinned. "Don't make threats you can't keep."

Bobby jumped back at the sudden change. In front of him stood a tall and lanky black wolf. He tried not to laugh, but a small chuckle escaped. "You look like a coyote." The wolf growled making his way towards Bobby, only to stop at the porch light turning on.

"Bobby?" Athena called.

"Yeah?"

Athena sighed. "And here I thought you were going for the wine."

Bobby raised her hand to prevent her from walking out. "Coyote."

"What?"

"There is a coyote right here." He refused to take his eyes off the animal. "Get your gun." Mentioning the weapon seemed to do the trick for now. With a loud howl, he took off. "We need to set up some traps."

Athena leaned against the door frame, giving him a tired look. "I'm going to bed."

Bobby growled lowly at the lingering scent. The anger in him rose to a whole new level. Because of the selfish act of another man, his family was now in danger. Turning back towards the house, he wondered if they would go as far, as to attack Athena and the kids. They seemed to be after him only. He may be way over his head, but he was stubborn enough to not call Emilian. It was their fault he was in this situation the first time. Walking into the bedroom, he sighed at finding Athena asleep. He was going to have to make up for this.