158, The interrogation comes later

158, The interrogation comes later
Nash

For the second day in a row, I made my way towards the front door where I was to meet Tite’s father. Tite had offered to walk me, but I had told her I was a grown ass man and I didn’t need to be walked to the front door like a toddler. She had rolled her eyes, kissed me and said to mindlink her if I needed her. I got to my destination without any incidents this time and I relaxed a little as I saw the former Alpha waiting for me. 

“Wolf, you made it,” he said and reached his hand out. I shook it.

“No issues this time,” I confirmed. We walked outside, and I let Jacob choose what way we walked. 

“Thank you for taking time to talk to me. Do you know what I want to talk to you about?” he asked me as we took a patch leading into the desert. 

“I have a couple of guesses,” I said. He chuckled and glanced at me. 

“Good. You have a brain that you use. You will need it as you are mated to Tite. Her mom was the same. She could wake up with a new idea and you either got onboard or you spent the following days trying to understand what was happening,” he told me and chuckled. 

“She rarely talks about her mom,” I told him. He sighed. 

“That might be because of me. When we lost Cassie, I didn’t know how to handle it. My solution was to mate Mara and pretend Cassie had never been a part of our lives. It was the worst possible way to deal with it. Ulf did his best to talk to Tite about their mom, but he was just in the middle of college applications and learning how to be an Alpha,” he told me. I hummed. I understood what had happened and why, but I didn’t find it in me to truly forgive him for how he had treated his daughter. “But that is not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about you,” he then said. I had expected this. The two of us hadn’t spoken on our own and he was Tite’s father. 

“Where do you want to start?” I asked.

“Have you decided what name to use when you are Alpha?” he asked. That question took me by surprise. He noticed and chuckled. “I’m not going to start interrogating you. I'll save that for later,” he said. We both laughed. 

“You are asking if I want to continue using my road name?” I asked to be sure. He nodded. 

“Although I like Wolf and the comical effect it has,” he said, and I sighed internally. “I don’t know if Alpha Wolf has the right ring to it,” he said. 

“Fuck, it does sound terrible,” I admitted. Tite’s father smiled. 

“You do as you feel is best, but give it a ponder. Fuck, I’m starting to sound like Hilda,” he said with a sigh. I smiled. 

“I will think about it. It’s only Tite that calls me Nash, I haven’t used my name in years. If you had asked me six months ago, I would have said I would never use it again,” I told him. 

“Being mated changes things,” he said. It sounded almost as he was talking to himself. “Is there a reason why you prefer your road name?” 

“My childhood wasn’t fantastic, it was barely decent. When I left home and left my family behind me, the name didn’t seem important. Then when I found the Howlers, or rather when Bones found me, and they gave me my road name, it did feel important,” I said. He nodded. 

“I haven’t heard Tite talk about your family,” he said. We were heading into interrogation territory. 

“I haven’t spoken with my family for over ten years,” I told him honestly. There was no use in trying to hide my messed up background. “The club has been my family for the last six years.” Jacob nodded.

“That is what a pack is. A bigger pack may not have the same closeness as a smaller one, like your club, but in the end, they are a family. When I failed as a father, my pack made sure to take care of Tite. She was raised by them more than by me. As an Alpha, that is what you want to foster in the pack. The feeling of being a family, that everyone is welcome, that everyone is important.” 

“That seems like a huge task. How do you do it?” I asked him. 

“It is. That is why the people you chose as your closest ranking members are so important. The first thing you need to learn is that no one can do it alone, not even the Alpha. An Alpha needs to be strong in the eyes of the pack, that is why we have our Luna. We need to have a place where we can be less strong. Tite will be that place as you will be hers. Don’t be afraid to delegate to your leadership team. When you have pups, start them out early on small tasks. They like feeling useful and it teaches them responsibility. You will make mistakes, just make sure you don’t make them on the big things. They will sort themselves out,” Jacob told me. I nodded as he spoke and tried to take the advice to heart. 

“Thank you. I will try to remember it,” I said. 

“Don’t worry too much. I’m planning on being around. Don’t be afraid to ask me things, I want to see you succeed with your pack. It will be nice to be able to brag that both my pups run a pack.” He sounded happy at the thought. We had ended up in the oasis created by the spring, and Jacob walked over to a bench and sat down. I joined him. He talked to me about being an Alpha, the good parts, the bad ones and the everyday things. I was humbled by how open he was and how easily he shared things with me. 

“I hope I haven’t scared you off the Alpha position,” he said when we were rounding up. I laughed. 

“It takes more than a couple of stacks of paperwork to scare me away,” I said. 

“Yeah, you’re an Alpha. It will come naturally to you, and you have Tite,” he reminded me. 

“Yeah. There isn’t much that woman isn’t capable of handling,” I agreed. 

“And you will have us as well. Tite may be severing her ties with this pack to form yours, but she is still my daughter and Ulf’s sister. Family ties run deep. And you are part of that as well. I don’t know what happened with your family, and I don’t need to know. I have seen how you treat my daughter, how you interact with the pack and how willing you are to learn about our ways. That makes you family. Know that you can always turn to us,” he told me. It moved me, and I felt accepted in a way I had only experienced with the Howlers before. 

“Thank you, it means a lot to me,” I told him. He nodded and we walked back towards the pack house. We stayed away from the heavier subjects and talked about what kind of bike I was planning on getting to replace my ruined one. Tite stood waiting for us just outside the pack house. 

“Hi, is the meeting with your aunt done?” I asked, as I bent down and gave her a kiss. 

“Hi, it is. I saw you were heading back, so I thought I would come and meet you. Have you had a nice walk?” she wanted to know. Looking at both me and Jacob. 

“We have. I like your mate. He makes a good addition to the family. We lucked out both with him and Amber,” he said. Tite beamed a smile at us.