Avenging The Triplet Alphas
Chapter 26

Xander's POV

My eyebrows quirked as a smile made its way to my lips. I couldn't help but wonder what my sons were up to, it seemed like they were up to a plan to get me to reverse my verdict. Attempting to bring Arielle back was something they knew I wouldn't approve of. They had me in a chokehold and I was rather impressed with their plan, I could see all shades of myself in each of them. "Arielle?" I began, sitting upright as I held their unwavering gazes.

"Yes, Father." My eldest son, Loki began, clearing his throat as he stepped forward. "She's the one we decided on, I understand we have some ugly past with her but we're betting on our chances of getting her back." "There are a lot of other women, you could've picked any of them. Why did you return to Arielle?" I pressed on, eager to get under their skin.

"Our heart chose her father and she's the one who we want," Loki replied he was certain of getting his father to reject the idea.

His father had an unreadable expression on his face but Loki knew he was close to getting his plan done. There were a lot of things that could go wrong if he accepted and Loki was highly confident of his father choosing the prestige and honor of their pack over his obsession with them having a mate as soon as possible.

The best thing he could do now was stoke the fire and wait for everything to unravel. Thoughts of everything going up in flames flashed through his mind but he quickly discarded the notion immediately. He couldn't think negatively right now, everything was on the line and he had to see it through by any means possible.

I stroked my beard as I watched on, deciding on how best to approach the proposal tabled before me. If I didn't know any better, my sons were trying to push me to my limit and he would admit that his back was against the wall already.

I was in between the deep blue sea and a rock. Whatever decision I made right now would have repercussions in the future, there was no doubt that. My best plan was to mitigate the impact of the least damaging choice and stick by it. "Where has she been for the past year? I need an update on everything you know concerning her."

Before I made a choice, I had to assess my options. I had a lot to lose if things went south.

"Father, I don't see how any of that is-" Loki began, wary of his father's sudden interest. "Jonathan," I began, cutting my first son short..

"Yes, Father," Jonathan replied, squaring his shoulders.

"Step forward. You heard me, I need an update on everything you know concerning Arielle and where she has been this past year."

I said this time, my tone was harsher than I intended it to be but I didn't mind.

If my sons had conspired to play a fast one on me, they had to face the consequences.

"Over the past two months, we've been able to gather intel about her whereabouts after it was decided between us that she would be the solution to this crisis facing our pack." Jonathan began.

"We employed the services of an independent investigator and he scoured the country searching for her. A few weeks back, he handed us a report consisting of every major event or milest one that had occurred in her life. It took us a while to come to terms with everything before we decided to come to you, seeking your blessings."

"You could've come to me a lot sooner," I replied, stroking my beard. "Why didn't you, Elijah?" He turned his attention toward his youngest son.

"We had to come to terms with our decision first, it was paramount that we had a rock-solid plan before proposing any action to you."

I nodded.

They had thought about this properly, there was no quake or tremor in their voices. Their responses were detailed and without any loopholes.

I had to make a decision and I had to make it fast.

"It would be all over the news if Arielle returned her after we sent her packing on your mating ceremony day. It would raise a lot of eyebrows and the media would have a field day raising different agendas to smear our family's name."

"We understand, Father." Loki's voice came through, he sounded confident. He reminded me of my younger self. "That was why we came to you before making any major decisions that would hurt our family."

"If you cared so much about our family's honor, you wouldn't have brought up her name. Ever. She's consigned to the past but you've chosen to exhume her memories to justify your inability to fulfill one simple task, all three of you."

"The heart wants what the heart wants. I'm sure you must have gotten wind of our promiscuity but none of those women could spark the fire within any of us. We wanted to pick the best of the bunch and present her to you but we know you as a man of tradition, we don't want to taint our legacy by birthing an unworthy heir."

"Your actions have put me in a tight spot and I'm not pleased with any of these," I replied grimly.

Loki resisted the urge to smirk, he was halfway into convincing his father to overturn his threat and decision of making Beta his heir. He just had to push him a little bit further and let him take the bait. "Nevertheless, we have to put our family first. We would understand if you reject the idea of Arielle returning to take her former place next to us."

"What happens after this?" I inquired, narrowing my eyes at him. I hated making conclusions while I was uncertain but I could tell where this was headed, it could only end one way.

"You rescind your threat of naming your Beta as your heir and you reinstate us back to our rightful place as heir to the Van Tyson throne."

"Over the past two months, we've been able to gather intel about her whereabouts after it was decided between us that she would be the solution to this crisis facing our pack." Jonathan began. There, he said it. I leaned back into my chair and smiled. I tipped my hat off to them, they had done their homework and they came prepared but they were in for a surprise.

"You don't have a mate to carry our family's legacy and I will not leave anything to chance."

Loki nodded. "I understand your fears, Father. But we have that covered already."

I heard Jonathan growl lightly piquing my interest. This was a new curve that I hadn't been expecting. Elijah was staring at him wide-eyed as well.

Loki was about to make a move outside of their Well rehearsed plan.

"What do you mean?" I managed to sound as uninterested as possible.

"We have a son, an heir to take over when we're all gone."

Loki stated and my mouth hung in shock for a few seconds before I snapped it shut, jolting myself back to reality.

"What did you say?"

"Loki," Jonathan began, looking furious. "This wasn't what we discussed."

Loki ignored him while he continued to hold my gaze.

"What Jonathan left out while he explained the findings concerning Arielle was that she was pregnant before she left here and she has given birth to our son. He's a few months old and healthy as well." "How do you know he's yours?" I challenged his verdict. "She could've gotten herself knocked up by the first willing wolf immediately she left."

"Reports had it that she was pregnant before she was taken in by the Alpha and his pack."

"So, what's your plan?" I addressed them all, eager to put an end to this charade.

Learning that I had a grandson was the highlight of the night but it didn't change much. Tradition was tradition and it wouldn't be altered for anyone's sake, not even his.

"We plan to get married as soon as possible but before that, we plan to take our son back from Arielle as soon as he comes of age. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved."

"You feel rather confident about this grand scheme of yours." I began, "Tell me, how do you plan on taking your son away from Arielle without facing backlash?"

"She's engaged to the Alpha of her new pack. She's young and fertile enough to birth more children after our son. We can't leave him be, a Van Tyson always goes back for one of its own. These are our words, you taught us that." He was right.

I did teach them those words as my father did to me, but what I failed to also teach them was the intricate details of our way of life and how strictly we abided by the laws set in stone from the beginning of time. "While I am pleased to learn that I have a grandson to continue our family's legacy like I've always wanted, I'm afraid that I have some bad news for you."