ISABEL

“Dylan… Honey, wake up.” Jane Dwight, Dylan’s mom said in a gentle voice as she tries to wake her son up. After several failed attempts, she stood up from his bed where she was previously sitting and walked towards the window.

“You know… I sometimes wonder where you got this attitude.” Mrs Dwight drew back the curtains to let sunlight into the bedroom.

Dylan groaned in annoyance, burying himself deeper under the covers.

“I’m a morning person and so is your dad. So tell me, where in the world did you get this laziness from?” She continued, throwing back the covers to reveal a grumpy looking Dylan.

“Good morning to you sleepyhead.” She greeted with a smile of triumph when she received the usual morning grumble from her annoyed second son.

“Morning mom” Dylan groggily and grudgingly replied after sitting up properly on his bed.

“Daniel is waiting for you in the living room, so you two can go for your usual morning run.” His mom informed him, placing a kiss on his forehead before leaving the room. That was his cue to go freshen up.

Although he doesn’t show it, Dylan really appreciates it when his mom comes to his bedroom to wake him up. It gives him some sort of strength, to know that someone still cares and believes in him, because he lost hope in himself a long time ago.

He rubbed his face with both of his hands, to remove the sleep from his eyes and dragged his feet towards the direction of his bathroom. He shouldn’t keep Daniel waiting. If his elder brother wants to go for a morning run, that means he has something on his mind.

“Finally!” Daniel sighed as soon as he spotted his younger brother jogging down the stairs.

“Good morning. Sorry to keep you waiting.” Dylan wasted no second to apologize while they exchanged a bro hug.

“It’s nothing, kiddo.” Daniel replied.

“You might wanna stop calling me that.”

“What? You’re scared of getting into trouble with David?” Daniel teased.

“Exactly… Let’s get out of here before he wakes up.”

Dylan was already heading towards the door as he said those words.

Daniel and Dylan jogged for over an hour until they decided to take a breather.

“C’mon, spit it out.” Dylan encouraged his big brother with a gentle nudge when they were catching their breaths.

Daniel took a deep breath and stared at his younger brother for a split second. He was internally grateful to have someone who understood him so well.

“Dad came over to my place last night.” He eventually said in reply.

“And?...”

“He plans to hand over the pack to me pretty soon.” Daniel explained, sounding not so excited about the news.

“Well, that’s great news. Congratulations bro.”

Dylan was super excited for his elder brother who was finally going to become the alpha of their pack. It was high time their dad handed over the responsibility of running the pack to his 25 years old brother, who was long overdue to be the alpha.

“Why do I feel like I’m the only one excited about this?” Dylan couldn’t help but ask when he noticed the blank expression on his brother’s face.

“I don’t think I wanna be an alpha anymore.”

“What?!” Dylan exclaimed in surprise. He couldn’t believe what he just heard.

Over the years, his elder brother has eagerly anticipated the day he would become the Alpha of Greenwood pack, so why is he having a change of mind at the very last minute?

“Daniel, I don’t get you at all.. you’ve always wanted this. I mean.. your position as our alpha is long overdue, so where is all this coming from?” He asked in confusion, hoping Daniel would make him understand.

“I know I’ve always wanted this, but that was in the past. Right now I don’t think I’m ready for such a huge responsibility.” Daniel confessed, settling himself on the grass.

“Things are a lot different now than they were in the past… I have a mate and a son whom I enjoy taking care of. Besides, it’s not like dad is too old to continue running the pack.”

“Oh.. I get it. You’re having a cold feet.” Dylan copied his brother’s action by joining him on the grass.

“It’s not just that. I enjoy the quiet life. Becoming an alpha means a lot of things will have to change.” His elder brother continued, finally expressing his real fears.

Never in Dylan’s lifetime did he imagine his brother having a weak side. Daniel was his role model because he has the strength of both their dad and mom, who used to be a warrior making him the strongest and the second largest werewolf after their dad.

“You’re going to be a great alpha, and Mason is gonna be super proud of his dad.”

Daniel smiled at Dylan’s compliment. He desperately needed those words from his confidant.

“Now, that’s the smile I’ve been waiting for all morning.” Dylan teased as he tried to ruffle his brother’s hair. Before his hand could even reach for Daniel’s hair, he was stopped midway by Daniel’s strong hand.

“Not fair! I never get to ruffle your hair.” He muttered while smoothening his own hair Daniel had succeeded in ruffling.

“Little brothers don’t get to ruffle their big brothers hair.” Daniel replied with a proud smirk.

“I’m glad you trust me with your issues.” Dylan said with a sincere smile.

“Besides Paige, you’re the only person I can open up to. That’s why I want you to be my beta.”