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FINLEY POV

Dad's sick.

The biggest strongest wolf I know is sick. He is never sick. He is like a mountain. He is always standing tall. Nothing shakes Dad. He is my hero. He has always been the male we can count on for everything. Every problem we have ever had has been solved by Dad. How can he be sick? 

Lewis whines from beside me as he senses my mood, but I keep my muzzle pointed straight. Getting to the Northern pack will take us all night and I don't have the energy or patience to address anyone. 

I just want to run. I can't take anymore. I feel as if my body is constantly anxious. It has been one blow after another... Adam killing his mother and abducting Samantha and Angelica, Lauren betraying us and killing David, Mariah losing her son, Grace and Andrew dying, Stanley coming back from death, and Darcy showing up married. Now Dad is sick, and I am losing my composure. 

I have tried to remain positive. I have been the one to offer support to the others. I have tried to keep my emotional cracks hidden, but I can feel those cracks widening. I am at my breaking point. The humor I once saw in the small things has vanished. I used to take it easy because I was the baby of the Gray family. I didn't have to worry about being Alpha. My dad has two older sons for that spot. Now he only has Daniel as a shifter and Stan is human. Emma is talking about not mating so... I could end up being the Alpha of the Northern Gray pack. 

My pace slows for a second as that possible future smacks me in the face. I don't want to be Alpha. I have never wanted that responsibility. Helping the Alpha and calming the emotions of others, sure. But being the Alpha... 

"No Fin. Snap out of it. Dad will be fine," I yell inside my head to shut the thoughts up. 

I pick up my pace and the rich soil crumbles as my claws dig into it. With each stride, I spray the ground behind me with overturned earth. All while the little evil voice inside of my head keeps saying, "If it doesn't happen now, it will soon."

*****

  "Finally. I can not wait to charge my phone," Killian grumbles as we pull our clothes from our packs.  

Lewis tenses expecting me to react, but I don't. My mind is too jumbled. I don't care how whiny or disrespectful Killian is. I need to go check on my mom and speak with my dad. 

"Lewis, take Killian to the guest house we normally use, then meet me at the main house," I mumble as my fingers slip my pants' button through its hole. 

I forgo putting on a shirt or grabbing anything else out of my pack. That can wait. 

"Got it," Lewis replies as he looks over my expression with concern in his eyes. 

  Killian looks over at me too, but I ignore him. I give Lewis a nod to reassure him I am okay and sling my pack back on my back before walking off. I take the quickest route to my parent's main house and walk right in. The sad atmosphere instantly hits me, and I close the door softly before looking around. 

No one is sitting on the couches and the normally busy room is silent. I take a deep breath and call out with my most cheerful "Finley" voice. 

"This isn't the welcome I was expecting," I say trying to coax my mother out of wherever she is. 

Within seconds, my beautiful mother comes hurrying into the room, looking exhausted but happy to see me.  

  "Oh, Fin. My baby. You are here. I am sorry I was making breakfast in the kitchen," she says as she comes toward me with her arms wide, and I force an easygoing smile onto my face. 

Her arms wrap around me, and as I bend to accommodate her shorter frame, I detect a slight tremble in her embrace. I quickly realize she is putting on an act just like I am. My strong mother is just as broken as I am. 

Forest Gray might be my father, but he is her mate. She is taking this harder than any of us. 

"Where is the troublemaker," I ask after I give her a quick squeeze and she steps back. 

  She glances at the hallway leading to their bedroom and tears fill her gentle brown eyes. 

"He is lying down. He got up for about an hour, but he said his head hurt again... He is exhausted, Fin. It's as if he aged thirty years," Mom whispers while keeping her gaze on the hallway leading to her bedroom. 

I swallow down the sick feeling and keep my distress off my face. I came to help not act like a frightened child. My mother needs someone to help her with the pack so she can look after her mate. She doesn't need to worry about me. All my bullshit about Darcy and not wanting to be an Alpha needs to stay hidden away. 

"You go finish the grub. I will go talk with him. Then I will get in the office and answer all the calls he is probably missing," I say, sounding more confident than I feel, and Mom gives me a megawatt smile. 

She pats my arm and disappears in the direction she came looking ten years younger. It's as if I lifted a boulder from her shoulders. When I am sure she can't hear me I let out a long exhale. 

.I don't know why I am scared, but I am. I keep picturing him sickly and strange, but I know that is impossible. I just saw him not that long ago. He was doing good. He was the same tall and strong man that I remember from my childhood. 

I walk down the hallway and push open my parent's door. The bright room and familiar furniture instantly make my fear disappear. Unlike the Layne house, my parent's home is bright and painted in light colors. There isn't an area that light doesn't reach. It's always so refreshing to be in their space. Mom even left the window open so Dad could rest in the fresh air. 

I walk across the room slowly and quietly wondering how to go about waking him. But just as I stretch my hand out toward his shoulder his nose twitches. His restful face shifts to one of confusion and I know he smells me. I drop my hand and wait. 

"Hey old man," I say cheerfully as his eyelids lift and his blue eyes drill into me. 

He smirks as his vision clears and his mind confirms it is me. 

"Hey, Fin. Get here okay," Dad asks as he moves to position himself in an upright position. 

I nod to answer him and try to keep my face as neutral as possible.  

He looks the same as I remember, but there is definitely something off. His normal aura is somehow less than it normally is. 

"Sorry to have to call you up, but your mom needs help. She has been beside herself with worry and unable to handle everything," Dad says and I nod again before grabbing the reading chair mom keeps next to the window. 

I sit it next to their bed and sit down in it before looked directly at him. 

"What's wrong, Dad? I can't recall you ever taking a sick day before," I ask smoothly trying to sound as if I'm not worried. 

He chuckles a little and shrugs. 

"Beats me. I was fine a week ago and then exhaustion just hit me. Every day, I wake up ready to go, then after breakfast, I get a headache and need to lie down. I can't seem to concentrate without my head pounding. The doctor can't explain it. I know he is worried I have some kind of cancer, but I just feel like there is something we are missing," Dad says and my eyebrows draw together. 

"Who makes your food," I ask and Dad looks at me as if I have three heads. 

"Your mother. Just like always," he answers and I nod while feeling silly. 

Mom always cooks for us. She likes to do it. She uses it as her thinking time. 

"Right. I was just thinking maybe someone was slipping you something," I say and he nods. 

"I know... I have tried to piece together what's going on too. I have just decided I am sick," Dad says and I look at his tired face. 

  I am hearing what he is saying, but my mind just won't accept it. Something else has to be happening. Forest Gray can't be sick. He just can't. 

"I will figure it out. In the mean time you need to rest and I need to caught up on your duties," I say and he smirks again. 

  I look away from his mocking face to hide my smile. I know how odd it looks. I know my personality doesn't match the job I have to do here. But that doesn't change the fact I need to do it. I also need to learn it for when he isn't around to do it anymore. Stan can't... When he passes it will be up to me. 

My smile falters and the queasy feeling in my gut returns. 

"My carefree, easy-peasy, go-with-the-flow child is going to handle paperwork and annoying phone calls... I am either dreaming, or you all really believe I am dying," Dad says, and my eyes snap to his.  

His facial features appear light and airy, but there is a spark deep in his eyes that holds that serious tone that made me listen as a kid. 

"Being an Alpha is never something you wanted, Finley. I know that. I wouldn't put that on you. Don't worry. This won't be your fate," Dad says comforting me from his bed. 

Emotions choke me and my throat becomes scratchy. I want to tell him he is wrong. I want to say I can take care of his pack if he leaves this world. I want to tell him he can depend on me.

"Mom needs me... I," I say before he places his big warm hand on my shoulder. 

"This is temporary. I will get over this, Fin. I am still in good shape for my age despite this illness. Emma will find her mate and she will accept her destiny here long before I go to my grave. You are meant for other things. You are Dan and Stan's heart. They need you there. They always have. I will get better, and then you can return to them," Dad says, and I am unable to look away from his determined gaze. 

This is why he is my hero. Mom and I are best friends. We are two sides of the same coin, but Dad. He reads me. He sees the inner workings of my mind without trying. He knows me. 

"I'm counting on you... Oh, and I can't promise your office will be organized when you get back to it," I mumble to add humor to the tense moment, and he pats my shoulder before laughing. 

"Good. Now go get your mother out of that kitchen. She is going to cook up every scrap of food in there," he says before allowing his eyes to close and I stand up.