POV: Callum Brennan
Location: Brennan Townhouse, Kensington
Time: New Year's Eve
I watch my brother work the room like he was born to it. Seven minutes older, and Cormac's never let anyone forget it.
The Brennan townhouse looks Georgian from the street. Pale stone, black railings, the kind of old money elegance that makes humans assume we're bankers or barristers. Inside, it smells like pack. Fur and dominance and belonging. The New Year's Eve party is in full swing. Born wolves in designer suits, turned wolves serving drinks, Omega servants keeping to the walls where they belong.
Tonight's the night. Father's officially naming Cormac as heir. Everyone knows it already, but pack tradition demands the ceremony. I'm fine with it. Cormac will be Alpha, I'll be his Beta, and we'll lead together the way Father and Uncle Declan did. The way twins are supposed to.
"Callum." My father's voice cuts through the noise. Alpha Ronan Brennan commands attention without trying. Sixty years old, built like he could still tear through challengers half his age. Silver threading through his dark hair, the same shade Cormac and I inherited. "Come here, son."
I navigate through the crowd. Born wolves nod respectfully. They like me well enough. I'm the good twin, the one who doesn't need to prove anything because I'm not inheriting. Turned wolves keep their eyes down when I pass. Pack hierarchy flows through every interaction like current through water.
Father stands near the fireplace with Beta Declan. My uncle's broader than Father, scarred from decades of enforcing pack law. He grins when he sees me.
"There's the smart one," Declan says. He's been calling me that since we were kids. Cormac's the heir, I'm the smart one. It's his way of saying we both matter.
"Where's your brother?" Father asks.
I glance across the room. Cormac's holding court near the bar, telling some story that has three young wolves laughing. He catches my eye and winks. Same face looking back at me. Same dark hair, same build, same amber eyes that mark us as born wolves. People say they can't tell us apart unless we're standing together. Cormac carries himself differently. Confident. Like he knows everyone's watching him.
"Being charming," I say.
Father snorts. "He's good at that." There's pride in his voice. Cormac will make a good Alpha. Strong enough to hold territory, smart enough to navigate pack politics, charming enough that wolves will follow him willingly. Father trained him for this his entire life.
"Eleven thirty," Declan says, checking his watch. "You making the announcement at midnight?"
"Traditional." Father's already moving toward the center of the room. Conversations quiet as pack members notice. The Brennan Alpha doesn't demand attention. He just gets it.
I find my spot near the wall. Not too close to the center, not hidden. The comfortable middle ground I've occupied my whole life. Cormac joins Father, and yeah, there's the difference between us. Cormac belongs in the spotlight. I'm better in the shadows.
Someone hands me champagne. Sarah, my girlfriend. She's human, marked during a supernatural incident three years ago. She can see through the Veil now, knows what I am, chose to stay anyway. Her hand finds mine.
"Nervous?" she whispers.
"Why would I be nervous?"
"Your life's about to change. Cormac becomes heir, you become Beta in training. It's official tonight."
I squeeze her hand. "It's been official since we were born. This is just ceremony."
Father's speaking now. Talking about legacy, about the pack's strength, about the future. Cormac stands beside him looking every inch the Alpha in waiting. Born for this. I genuinely mean that. My brother will be great at this.
I catch Cormac's eye across the room. He smiles. The real smile, not the public one. The smile that reminds me we used to build blanket forts in this house, used to gang up on Uncle Declan during training, used to be best friends before pack politics started mattering.
Father's voice rises. "As Alpha of the Brennan pack, it is my honor and duty to name my successor. My firstborn son—"
He stops.
His hand goes to his chest. Not dramatic. Just a brief clutch, like he's steadying himself. But I see it. Declan sees it. Cormac sees it.
"Father?" Cormac's already moving.
Alpha Ronan Brennan's face goes gray. The champagne glass falls from his hand, shatters on the hardwood floor. He's stumbling, Declan catching him, easing him down. Cormac's on his knees beside them.
I'm frozen. Everyone's frozen. This isn't how tonight was supposed to go.
"Call an ambulance!" someone shouts.
"Call St. Mary's, tell them supernatural emergency." That's Declan, already pulling out his phone, already trying to coordinate.
I'm beside my father now, kneeling in champagne and broken glass. His eyes find mine. He tries to speak, lips moving, but nothing comes out. His hand reaches for me. I take it. His grip is weak.
"Hold on," I'm saying. "Hold on, Father, help is coming."
But I can smell it. Death. The scent every wolf knows instinctively. It's on him already.
Cormac's doing CPR. Pack members are clearing space, someone's shouting medical instructions from a phone. Sarah's beside me, gripping my shoulder. The Veil's holding. Human neighbors won't notice anything wrong. They never do.
Three minutes later, my father dies on the floor of the house where he was born, surrounded by his pack, with his sons holding his hands.
The clock strikes midnight somewhere in the chaos. Happy New Year.
I don't remember the next hour clearly. Paramedics arriving, going through the motions, confirming what we already knew. Heart attack. Massive, sudden, unsurvivable. Fifty-eight years old. Healthy yesterday. Dead today.
The pack's in shock. Wolves standing in clusters, whispering. No one knows what to do. We don't have protocols for this. Alphas die in challenges or from old age or from silver poisoning. They don't just drop dead at heir announcement ceremonies.
Cormac disappears into Father's study. Declan's dealing with officials, with paperwork, with the practicalities of death. I'm in the hall with Sarah, my back against the wall, trying to process.
"I'm so sorry," she's saying.
I can't respond. My father was alive five minutes ago. Now he's not. The world's still spinning, but it shouldn't be. Everything should stop.
Voices from the drawing room. Declan and three of the pack elders. I can hear them through the door.
"We need to discuss succession." That's Marcus, the oldest wolf in the pack. Born wolf, traditional, survived three Alpha transitions.
"There's nothing to discuss." Declan sounds tired. "Cormac's firstborn. Pack law's clear."
"Pack law says the strongest leads." That's a different voice. Elena, maybe. "Birth order's tradition, not requirement."
"Don't start this. Not tonight. Ronan just died."
"Which is exactly why we need clarity. The pack needs leadership. We need to know who's Alpha."
Sarah's hand tightens on my arm. I'm barely breathing. They're talking about Cormac's succession. They're questioning it. The thing that was certain two hours ago suddenly isn't.
"Cormac's the heir." Declan again. "Ronan named him."
"He was in the process of naming him when he died. The ceremony wasn't completed."
"Don't do this on technicalities. Cormac's seven minutes older—"
"And Callum's equally qualified. Some would say more stable. Less... ambitious."
I should walk away. I shouldn't be hearing this. But I can't move.
"We could vote," someone suggests. "Let the pack decide."
"That's not how we do things," Declan says, and his voice has an edge now. "That's not how we've ever done things. You want to turn this into democracy? You want every succession to be a popularity contest?"
Silence. Then Marcus: "All I'm saying is we should consider the proper process. Birth order is tradition. But strength, temperament, capability matter too. The pack deserves the best Alpha, not just the eldest."
"Cormac is the best Alpha."
"Maybe. Maybe not. I'm just saying Callum should be considered."
The conversation continues, but I'm not listening anymore. I'm walking away, Sarah following, finding an empty room, closing the door.
"They were talking about you," she says quietly.
"They were talking about pack politics."
"They think you could be Alpha instead of Cormac."
"I don't want to be Alpha." The words come out harder than I meant. "Cormac's the heir. That's how this works. Father wanted Cormac to lead."
"But if the pack wants—"
"The pack doesn't get to want. This isn't a vote. Cormac's firstborn. End of discussion."
She's quiet. I'm pacing now, restless, the wolf in me wanting to run, to hunt, to do anything but stand in this house where my father just died.
A knock. The door opens. Cormac.
He looks worse than I've ever seen him. Eyes red, hair disheveled, still wearing the suit he was going to become heir in. He sees Sarah, and something crosses his face. Not hostility. Just a flicker of wanting privacy.
"Could you..." I start.
"I'll go check on your uncle," Sarah says. She squeezes my hand once and leaves.
Cormac closes the door. We stand there, twins looking at each other, both of us lost.
"He's really gone," Cormac says.
"Yeah."
"I thought I had years. Decades. I thought he'd be here to help me transition."
"He trained you your whole life. You're ready."
Cormac laughs. It's bitter. "I'm twenty-five. I'm not ready."
"None of us are ready for our parents to die."
He moves to the window, looking out at Kensington at night. Human London, oblivious to everything that just happened. The Veil keeps them safe from our world. Sometimes I envy them that.
"Did you hear them?" Cormac asks. "The elders."
My stomach drops. "Some of it."
"They're questioning whether I should be Alpha." He's not looking at me. "They think maybe you should have a chance."
"That's not going to happen."
"Why not?" Now he turns. "You're as strong as me. Smarter, probably. People like you more."
"Cormac—"
"I'm serious. Maybe they're right. Maybe we should figure out who's actually better suited before the pack splinters over this."
"You're firstborn. Father wanted you to lead. That's the end of it."
"Father's dead!" The words echo in the empty room. Cormac's breathing hard. "Father's dead, and the pack's already circling, and I can't—" He cuts himself off. Runs his hands through his hair. "Sorry. I'm sorry."
I cross the room, put my hand on his shoulder. "You're grieving. We both are. Don't make any decisions tonight."
"The pack needs decisions tonight. They need an Alpha."
"Then be Alpha. You've been training for this since you could walk. You know what to do."
He looks at me. Really looks at me. Searching for something. "You'd really step aside? Even if the pack wanted you?"
"The pack doesn't want me. A few elders are speculating because Father didn't finish the ceremony. Once you're officially named, this goes away."
"And if it doesn't?"
"Then I'll be your Beta, and we'll lead together. Like we always planned."
Something in his expression shifts. Relief, maybe. Or something else. He pulls me into a hug. Sudden, fierce. We're not usually this demonstrative, but nothing about tonight is usual.
"Thank you," he says into my shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do if you challenged me for this."
"I'd never challenge you. You're my brother."
He steps back, nods, wipes at his eyes. "I should go talk to Declan. Start figuring out funeral arrangements, official succession, all the practical things that need handling."
"You want help?"
"No. I need to do this. I need to show the pack I can handle it."
He leaves. I'm alone in the room, which still smells like Father's cigars. My hands are shaking. Adrenaline finally wearing off. I sink into Father's chair and let myself feel it.
My father's dead. My brother's about to become Alpha under questionable circumstances. Pack elders are whispering about succession disputes. Everything that was certain this morning is chaos now.
I close my eyes and remember Father this afternoon. Healthy, strong, joking about how nervous Cormac was about the ceremony. Alive.
Gone. Just like that. Heart attack at fifty-eight.
I don't cry. Wolves don't cry easily. But the grief sits in my chest like silver, burning slow and constant.
Outside, I hear voices. The pack's not leaving. They're staying, clustering, waiting for direction. Waiting for an Alpha.
Cormac better be ready. Because ready or not, this is happening.