I walk away with a smile on my face now that I know I've fixed things with my mate. Tomorrow is our big day and I don't want anything to make it less enjoyable.

I regret ever knowing Joyce and also getting involved with her. She is trouble and I don't know until when she will keep on trying to destroy things between me and Kacy. I guess ​I have to live with an open eye on her since she can be unpredictable.

"Hey man," Kyle greets me when I arrive at the clearing where we will spend the night.

"With that smile, I guess all is well now."

"Yes it is. He even kissed me." I inform him with the smile still on my face. Kyle is my best friend and Beta of our pack, has been since 3 years ago when his father retired.

"Good for you then, I'm glad you are not upset anymore since it could have ruined the night." He pats me on the back and together we walk to the fire were everyone is sitting around.

I really look forward to the ceremony due tomorrow. It's about time I take charge. Ever since I was young, I looked forward to become an alpha like my dad. I was the same when I learned about mates and I asked time to time about my mate. I was told to wait and waiting I did until I smelled that wonderful scent and made it my mission to find where it came from. I had three things I needed most; my mate, being Alpha and a child. I have my mate and will be Alpha tomorrow, about a child, I guess ​I should lock that idea away for now.

We guys, Kyle, Xander, Kelvin, Layton, Joe and Nathan, plans to spend the night here drinking and talking. I sit next to Kelvin, my brother in law. He doesn't talk much or at least I haven't seen him talk much. He is always silent, observing things around him.

"Hey," I greet him after sometime just sitting here.

"Walk with me." He states, standing up and walking away from the group. I stand and follow him after telling Kyle we are going for a walk. We walk in silence, still no word from him. He suddenly stops and faces me with no emotion on his face. I can't tell whether this is a friendly talk or not.

I'm about to ask what's up but suddenly I'm on the ground with a throbbing jaw. He just punched me!

"What the hell?" I growl at him and he has the guts to smirk.

"I heard you had issues with my brother." He says casually.

"Yes, but we solved that already. We are good."

"I'm glad to hear that." He offers me a hand to help me up and I reluctantly accept the offer. "I can't say I know you because I clearly don't know you but what I know is that having a mate is a special gift to any werewolf. You treat your mate nicely, keep them happy all times and protect them with your life." He glares at me after offering his hand and helped me stand next to him.

"Whatever reason you had for making my brother cry when he first came here, I don't give a sh*t about it. What I care about is my brother's well-being. Him being sad and crying should never happen again. If it happens again, Alpha of Alphas or not, I will break your face a bit more since killing you is out of option. Do you understand me Elijah?"

"Yes I understand, Kelvin. It won't happen again." I reply looking him in the eyes so that he should see I told him the truth. I will never hurt my mate again.

"Good." He smiles at me and pats me on the back. "Now, how about we get back there, have a drink and know each other a bit. We are family after all." He turns back to the guys and I just stand there watching him leave.

Family.

He called me family. I swear this night keeps on getting better. I begin to smile but then wince when my jaw throbs, reminding me of earlier. I follow him back silently, ready to end the night and look forward for tomorrow.

***

The night with the guys was spent well and I really enjoyed my time with them. I take back what I said about Kelvin not talking much because he is a wonderful guy to be with and talk a lot.

I ended up sleeping most of the day and woke up to Kyle pushing me off the bed. He is no fun waking people up and I've lost count to how long I've been thrown out of bed. Turns out it was my father's order to wake me up and get ready for the ceremony.

I walk with Kyle to my father's office after a shower and then dress traditionally. I find him laughing with my cousin, Alpha Michael White.

"Good morning, dad."

"Good evening, son. It turns out you missed the morning."

"Well, I had a long night." I sit down and completely ignore Michael.

"No greetings to me I see. What did I do now?" Michael asks me.

"Someone didn't come to welcome my mate to our pack. He had the gut to send me his Beta and not himself." I point out.

"I'm sorry I didn't come but I had valid reasons for doing so. You know I can't do that intentionally. And you should actually thank the goddess that I was absent because I'd have beaten you to a pulp after the stunt I heard you pulled that night." He glares at me and I just shake my head, not wanting to comment on that.

I don't ask much about his reason for being absent, knowing it has something to do with . I guess​ me and my cousin here messed up. Only I have my mate and he doesn't, plus being cursed on top of that. I hope one day he finds his mate, my cousin needs some love in his life. He is older than me at 34 years old and has a 16 years old son.

"It's time, son." My dad informs me.

With a sigh, I get up and give Michael a side hug, my way of telling him I'm always here for him. We both exit the office and head for the hall where everyone is at. My mate will come in at some point but not this time.

Once we are inside and standing in front of the pack, everyone becomes quiet. There are a lot of people here, with every division Alpha and their people but not all pack members, just few.

"We are gathered here, to witness the handing over of the Alpha of Alphas title." Father announce to the pack.

"My son, the rightful heir to the title, Elijah Cephas, will be receiving the title and lead the pack from now until his son takes over from him. Is there anyone here, who wants to challenge Elijah for the Alpha title?" I look around, trying to see if there will be anyone challenging me tonight. Luckily there is no one. It's not that I'm afraid but rather I'm not up to killing anyone today because it could have been a fight to death.

"I'm glad to know we all accept Elijah to be Alpha." He continues after seeing no one coming up against me. He turns to me and holds out his hand for me to take.

"I, Alpha of Alphas, Darius Cephas, hand over the title of Alpha to you, Elijah Cephas, my first born son." He pauses looking at me with a serious face. "Do you accept the title given to you, Elijah Cephas?"

"I, Elijah Cephas, son of Darius Cephas, accept the title of Alpha of Alphas, given to me by my father, the retiring alpha and witnessed by the pack." I answer strongly and now I could feel the energy and power that is being passed to me.

"I give you your new Alpha of Alphas, Elijah Cephas, who from now on will lead the pack through peace and war, happiness and sorrow. Who will never abandon his duty to the pack." Father announce to the people making them all shout and whistle in happiness. He raises his hand to quiet them down.

The door to the opposite side that we came through, opens revealing my beautiful mate dressed just like me, traditionally. He walks down the hall to the front with his head held up, eyes locked on me. He comes to stand before me and I held my hand to him which he takes.

"I, Elijah Cephas, accept you, Kacper Magnolia, as my true mate, to love, hold and protect with my life." I say proudly while looking him in the eyes.

"I, Kacper Magnolia, accept you, Elijah Cephas, as my true mate, to love, hold and protect with my life." A tear slowly escapes my mates eye and I lean down and kiss it away. He gives me a smile appreciating the gesture.

My mother appears beside me, to hand over the title of Luna of Lunas to my mate. I watch happily as my mate accepts the title, bringing the ceremony to an end. We hold hands and then my mate addresses the crowd, telling them about the meal prepared and where we will all eat. The crowd cheers and slowly people start to leave the hall heading to dinner.

We stand there greeting people who stop by for greetings. I search around for Michael, wanting to introduce my mate to him.

"Looking for me perhaps?" I turn to the voice, finding my cousin there with a big smile on his face.

"Maybe, maybe not." I joke with him and then we both laugh. "Babe, this is Alpha Michael White, my cousin and one of the division Alphas."

"It's nice to meet you, Alpha White."

"Don't bother with that Alpha title, family calls me Michael. I'm glad I've finally meet you, Kacper." He says while still smiling, ignoring the outstretched hand by Kacper and pulls him in a hug. Well, he's one of those few people whom I can tolerate hugging my mate. I don't like others touching him more than a handshake.

"Don't forget me, man, your best friend." Kyle joins us, with his mate by his side.

"If you didn't leave two months ago, you could have already met him." I tell him.

"Whatever," he waves me off and turn to my mate. "My name is Kyle Jenkins, the Beta and best friend of this jerk here. I was away and failed to meet you last month when you got here. This is my mate, Mariana."

........................................