|Natalie|

In the days to follow I returned home with my family to begin the grieving period for my uncle, the council and Maxwell followed a day behind since they needed to prepare and make their packs aware of the matter.

It has been awhile since I was home, I missed it. It is common for the family of the Alpha to study abroad and in my case the beta's daughter, who is now the Alpha. We do this since it can help form or strengthen existing alliances. I personally enjoyed studying aboard since I learned about their culture and traditions and meeting new people. I loved the entire experience, but after today everything has changed for me. I am the daughter of an Alpha and the future Queen it was a lot to process and quite hard in the state of mind I was in.

I couldn't imagine what my Dad was going through. He just lost his brother and now has to take on his positions not only as Alpha but an Alpha of the Royal Council. I questioned if he even was in the right state of mind to do so and hand it off to one of my brothers. Noah obviously isn't qualified if you ask me, no I am just joking. Yes he is annoying and irritating, but out of my two other brother's he has shown the most interest in a leadership role. He has accompanied my uncle during outings and took him under his wing, showed him all the ins and outs of being the best Alpha possible. Noah has taken a great interest in the pack and its policies. Which shocks me considering his personality. He probably would've named Noah his successor if he didn't pass away as soon as he did.

I am kind of glad he didn't since I'd have to deal with seeing that idiot everyday. I love him, but Goddess I would need a break from him.

"Natalie," mom speaks softly as she enters my very teen bedroom.

"Yes, mom," I ask.

"Are you happy?"

I tilt my head confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Swiping the bottom of her dress under her, she takes a seat next to me on my bed. "Well, I remembered how happy you were with Desmond. I guess I am just concerned about you and this relationship. I don't want you to end up hurt again."

Smiling, I hug my mom. "I promise you, mom. He won't hurt me like Desmond did, besides he is my true mate, he wouldn't treat me like Desmond did. I can assure you that."

She nods happily. "Okay, I trust your judgment here, but your father and I will be watching him and if he hurts you, your father will be having a word or two with him."

"How is father?"

"I wish I could say good, but he hasn't left his office all day. He is drowning in work and on top of that he is planning a funeral."

I sigh. An Alpha funeral is never easy to plan. It is a lot of planning, guests, and on top of all that is the protocol and there is even stricter guidelines since he was on the Royal Council.

"Does he need help?"

"I think Noah and Maxwell volunteered to help."

That is good, since Max knows what to do and plan it correctly. He basically has the perfect blueprint stored in his brain. Hopefully this takes some stress off my father and lightens the load of work he has sitting before him.

Not only does he have to plan this funeral he has to plan the Alpha ceremony where he is welcomed as the new Alpha of the pack. He has a lot before him and I do not know how to help or even plan any of these events. They didn't teach us this in school as they did not think any of us would be experiencing this. Sure, they taught us how to plan a mating and marking ceremony, but not the Alpha ceremony. Also, Dad has no guidance in that is it is usually an Alpha helping his son in the process. I am sure Dad doesn't remember every little detail his brother put into his Alpha ceremony.

I leave my bedroom and find Maxwell and Dad in the dining room with laptops, books, and other necessities before them.

"Natalie," dad says cheerfully. "Join us, you are to be Queen. Maybe you can help us out a little?"

I nod and take a seat at the table, my eyes scanning the various items before me.

"So, the next step with your brother is to return his body to the earth. The earth, she has given us so much so it is only natural for our bodies to return and become one with her," Max tells.

"So how do we do that? Bury him with no casket," dad asks.

Max shakes his head. "No, he must be cremated and his ashes will be spread throughout the pack and some near the palace as he was one of my council members."

"As for the left overs?"

"Will be kept by you."

Dad nods.

"After this the pack will go into a two week mourning period. Once that ends your Alpha ceremony will follow that weekend. As it symbolizes a fresh start, like a fresh start to the week. My pack and other council member's packs will too go into a mourning period but only for one week."

"What about us," I ask. "Will we go into a two mourning period as well, since he was my uncle?"

Max sits a thinks. "You know, this is actually the first time a Queen had a family member on the royal council, so I am going to say yes, but i'll have to ask my father just to make sure that is correct."

"Now for the lunch in, it is suggested you only invite those closet to yourself and the deceased family member."

"Why," Dad asks.

"There may be a power struggle since your brother held quite a powerful position. Someone may challenge you, so by have an intimate lunch in with those closet and those you trust this lessens the chance of this possible outcome. It is seen as disgraceful to challenge the next of kin to a challenge at a lunch in, but it has been done before. It is no shocker that young male think they are strong enough to be an Alpha and want that power for themselves. They see it as potential opportunity."

For the next several hours Max and Dad went over dos and don'ts for this type of situation as there is a lot of guidelines and protocols to follow. Some more important than others.