You look just like your father: David Shaw
"You look just like Gabe did, back in the day."
David had already sold off his old home, had already moved in with Asher while he scrambled to get himself together. He was Alpha now, and he couldn't afford to grieve. Not outwardly, not in any way that showed any weakness.
Even now, as they were sitting at the kitchen table together, he couldn't just think of Asher's dad as "Uncle Frank" anymore, as much as he wanted to. He was the pack's former beta, and he was here to talk business.
"You've got some leeway, considering the circumstances. It's kind of you to let me stay in my retirement." He smiles at David, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "But the sooner you make your choice, the sooner the pack can start getting back on track."
"I know." David forces himself to make eye contact. "How did dad make that decision?"
"It was different back then," Frank says sadly. "He was just getting the pack going, and it was just us and our wives at the time. You, you're spoiled for choice, so it'll be both easier and harder. Can I give you some advice?"
"Please." If David's voice wavers, Frank is polite enough to not notice.
"Pick someone that balances you. You've grown up with most of them, so use all that information to make your choice. Look at your own strengths and weaknesses with a clear head and think about who in the pack you can trust to be what you aren't. "
"Yeah... that's what dad used to say. That an alpha and a beta should be equal opposites, that my beta should be everything I'm not."
"He was right on the money. Good, you're already farther ahead than I thought." Then Frank tilts his head, a strange expression on his face.
"What?"
"No, it's just...You look just like Gabe did, back in the day."
David looks down at that. He'd been hearing that ever since the funeral. Nearly everyone in the pack's first generation had told him he was the spitting image of his father. He wished he could believe it, but every time he looked in the mirror, all he saw was someone already failing to live up to his father's legacy.
"Him and me would be sitting at his kitchen table, going over business. Whenever he was talking about who he wanted to add to the pack, going over the pros and cons, he'd make that exact same expression."
Something about that twists in David's gut. He's still looking down, hoping his vision clears. Distantly, he feels Uncle Frank's hand on his shoulder.
"You two were different in a lot of ways, David. But for things like this, things you both care about, you're just like him."
For the first time since the funeral, David appreciates the comparison. If his dad's beta thought he could do more than just look like his father, if Frank saw any part of who Gabe was within David, then maybe there was a chance for him after all.
