Astronomical (girlxgirl)

Chapter Six

Chapter Six (Rose's POV)

As a child Father had taken me to other packs and shown me the different styles of leadership used by other Alphas. There I had met Aiden, the Alpha of the pack closest to ours, who had epitomised the traits I had come to associate with an Alpha. He was very tall, strong and intimidating - I could feel a hero-worship scenario developing.

During the mock training, no-one in Aiden's pack had been able to beat him until my Father stepped in.

I do love my Father, and always will - but I often secretly wondered as a child why he had been elected as Alpha. Yes, he was tall, but he was not the strongest in the pack - that title had belonged to my Mum in her role as head warrior. It was only when she mated with Father and became Luna that she stepped down and allowed Benedict to take over the training role.

Father was not the scariest either, but that day he had beaten Aiden even though Aiden had twice his muscle mass.

At the end of the day, as we settled into the guest quarters, my little mind was still mulling over the fight.

"Father? How did you beat Alpha Aiden?" I asked, not wanting to admit to my lack of understanding, but curiosity won out over my pride.

"As wolves, it is often the fastest and strongest that wins a fight. But, when we are in our human form, the ability to strategise, make the most of your strengths and exploit your enemy's weaknesses is equally useful. It also helps that opponents often underestimate me because I do not have the traditional characteristics of an Alpha". He voice, as always, was measured and quiet.

I stayed up thinking about his words that night, tossing and turning in the unfamiliar bed without the scents of packmates to comfort me. Father didn't rush into the fight and attack first - he used Alpha Aiden's lack of stamina against him and kept on the defensive. He knew he was not as strong or as big, so Father used his speed and dexterity to hit all of Aiden's weak points until he had tired him...

As we got ready in the morning to have breakfast with Aiden and then move on the next pack - I had made up my mind.

"Father? I love training with Mum because she is the best fighter, but I think sometimes I want to train with you and learn to be the smartest fighter". I announced with the naive confidence of a ten-year-old.

All I had gotten in return was a tiny smile of approval.

Back in the present, I stepped forward cautiously to meet Father.

Before I could open my mouth, Alpha Bradley had swept me into a careful three-second-hug before releasing me. "Congratulations, Rose-Marie; I am thrilled you have found your other half".

I stood with my mouth still gaping open - wow, so suave, dumbass - and for the second time today, I was speechless.

I cleared my throat, an unfamiliar and annoying blush on my cheeks, "Thank you, Father. But things are a little complicated with Skye..." I hesitated before continuing, wanting to speak with my parents alone.

As ever, Father was the first to catch on and glanced at Natalie, "If you wouldn't mind going and telling David the good news, Natalie."

Nat smiled and stood, coming forward to hug me and peck my cheek quickly - and left with a "Congrats, Rose".

I knew privacy was an illusion in a house full of werewolves with acute hearing, so as I settled onto the lounge across from Mum and Father, I steadied my breath and focused on opening the mind link.

Mum and Father's mental 'threads' were the most familiar to me because I used them so often and had been doing so my whole life. It was always so strange to connect to a mated couple's minds - in the case of my parents, their minds were so in sync with each other that it was sometimes hard to tell whether the thoughts were Mum's or Father's.