Chapter 22

Chapter 22
"How are things going for you both?" Jackson asked his sons when they entered the room and closed the door behind Lincoln.

"They're good. We're all happy with the mate bond. Why are you asking that again, as if you'd get a different answer." Toby asked his father, raising an eyebrow.

"Because we've been mated long enough to know that there are certain things you don't say in front of your mate. For example, if you're struggling with any aspect of the bond." Lincoln said as non-confrontational as he could. He didn't want the two men that had sparked his daughter's mate bond to be having any issues with her or their bond, but he couldn't help his sons-in-law without knowing what was going on.

"We were telling you the truth the first time. We came to an agreement on the first day to do everything we can to accept the bond and grow it. It was really the only option that was left available to any of us since our Alpha ordered us to not reject the bond." Jarold said with an eyeroll and meaningful glance to his brother.

"Regardless, it looks like it's too far gone to reject at this point anyway. I'm happy that you both have found happiness with your mate." Jackson said slapping each of them on their shoulders in the confusing and old as time gesture of masculine affection.

"At this point, even an Alpha's command couldn't compel us to reject the mate bond. It would force all three of us to leave the pack." Toby said.

The look they shared had said 'he's contemplating commanding us to reject her' and immediately knew that there was danger in the room and blessed their mate's foresight to have them bring a witness with them. They knew, after that comment, that had they been in the room alone, he'd have tried to force them to reject their mate bond with her to weaken them. It also told them that their time to challenge him for Alpha was coming sooner, rather than later. If he was threatened enough by them developing a strong bond to seriously contemplate damaging their souls it was time to look into what he had been up to that he'd been keeping from them.

"Well, go ahead and try on your suits. Your mother will be rabid if it gets to the ceremony and everything doesn't flow smoothly." Jackson said gesturing to the bed where Jackson had laid out the two hanging bags that held their suits.

While they tried on the suits, Lincoln kept watching Jackson with a sense of foreboding. He knew he was up to something, though he couldn't prove it. There was entirely too much talk about rejecting a mate bond just days ahead of the ceremony for his liking. Any talk of rejecting the mate bond at any point was too much for his liking. Not because it was his daughter, though that did have some part of it. But because it was one of the most coveted bonds to have in their entire species. That kind of bond only happened in the instance that they were to be crucial to their pack or species at some point in the future. The Goddess had strange ways of looking out for each of her children. Sometimes that guidance came in the guise of a uniquely mated group of young wolves. As far back as their history reported, these wolves came into power quickly after being mated and guided the packs into a much more safe, peaceful time. The last triple mates had kept the packs from going extinct by getting the Alphas of the packs to step down and the triple mated wolves ruled over all packs for a time.

Eventually the packs were living in peace and knew prosperity unlike they'd ever known before. The triple mated wolves gradually allowed each pack to vote Alphas to guide them and stepped back to only ruling over their original pack. They've stayed so far under the radar of the other packs no one even knows who they are or if they still rule over their pack. It wasn't uncommon for wolves to rule the pack for a few decades and pass the torch so to speak on to their heirs. The practice kept the pack fresh as well as kept any pack from turning into a tyranny. Occasionally, a brutal internal battle broke out because the Alpha fell in love with being in power and started leading selfishly and wouldn't voluntarily step down. Sometimes, it was because the Alpha was complacent and didn't want to do what was necessary to move the pack in a better direction. Rarely, as Lincoln feared the case was in their pack, a wolf challenged a good Alpha to rule selfishly and lead their pack down a bloody path that would put many wolves in danger. The rare mate bond coming on the heels of Jackson's challenge certainly didn't do much to alleviate his nervousness about Jackson's intentions with the pack.

"You both look very respectable in those suits." Lincoln complemented his sons-in-law. He couldn't lie, he didn't know a whole lot about them individually. But he trusted the Goddess and knew that if they were mated to his daughter, that she was in the very best of hands.

"Thank you." They said in unison which made everyone laugh at the same time. "We're getting out of the monkey suits. Too formal for our tastes. Before you start your spiel dad, we know."

"I bet almost anything they shift in them to destroy them at the end of the ceremony." Jackson said in resignation as he kept a careful eye on his sons changing out of the suits for their ceremony.

"Oh! That's a great idea!" Toby said enthusiastically.

"We hadn't thought about that. We might have to pencil that in right after the first dance." Jarold said dryly.

"There won't be any 'first dance' business." Jackson glared between his two sons. "You're going to formally accept your bond, make your vow, then we're going to have a party to celebrate how proud we are to have such a rare mating in our pack."

"Yeah, yeah." Toby said resignedly to his father as he pulled his t-shirt back over his head. "Sounds a lot like a human wedding reception."

"Maybe if there was going to be cake. There will not be." Jackson said with a laugh then headed toward the door.

By the time the four men made it back down the stairs, the women were already in the kitchen making breakfast. It clearly had taken almost no time for her to try her dress on and move on to something higher on her priority list: breakfast.

"Everything fit?" Letha asked when they came into view.

"Like a glove, honey." Jackson assured her with a smile.

Kathrine looked up to catch Toby's eyes and wordlessly checked on him, then Jarold. Not so much a communication through their bond as her searching for emotion in their eyes. They allowed her to see nothing but reassurance for the time being.