"So," he started. "You went through a civil war?"

"Not one for our pack," his father said. They were in one of the many offices in the pack house. It was one that he was fond of. He had studied for school and done his homework in this one. It was peaceful and very little people came to bug him when he was in it.

"It still involved you, considering just how many threats to your life you had!" He told his father. He couldn't believe this. "All of this goes on, and you don't even think about calling me?"

"You've been busy with your studies," those blue eyes avoided him, shuffling paperwork and organizing as he always did.

"My studies were purely for the intention of gaining knowledge whilst looking for my mate," he argued. "And my knowledge could have at least helped if you had at least called me!"

"Oh please, Alamir," his father shook his head. Even when they argued like this, he always stayed calm. "How could it have helped? All we had were a bunch of evidence that led nowhere."

"The test results that you finally showed me," he explained. "It's exactly what the results would be to a Doppelganger's Brew."

"A what?" his father furrowed his eyebrows. Alamir couldn't help but smirk at that. It wasn't often that he surprised the old man.

"It's a witch potion," he continued. "With the blood and a second source of DNA of the person in question, it can make anything seem like that person, minus their appearance."

It was something that he had learned when he was studying witches and all of the dangers that surrounded them. BlackCreek had a history with dealing with all sorts of supernatural beings. He thought that it would be best to learn as much as he could for when he finally gained his title.

"Where did you learn that?"

"England," he said. He was still upset that he missed so much during his travels. No one even thought to call him when his father almost died from hunters. He would have flown back in an instant just to tear them apart.

"Fascinating," the man nodded. "Alright, I agree with you on that. I should have asked for your opinion on the results. But that doesn't mean that you should have come home before finding your mate."

"It's been six years since I've been home," he told him. "And eight years since I've been able to look for my mate."

At that point he had just about given up on finding his mate. He was twenty-six and after spending all of his young adult life away from home on some silly pretense of finding the one to complete him, he was done. He had chased love to the moon and back, trying to find a Luna for his pack to be proud of. The only thing he could ever seem to do was learn about the rest of the world while his heart longed for home.

"Alamir," his father met his eyes finally. He looked serious and solemn. It was a gaze that he had been all too fond of. "I know it's been hard, but that's what your adventure was supposed to be about. The fact that Luke called you and told you all that had happened was not a reason for you to abandon your mission."

"Your health is important," he told his father. "You almost died because of hunters, and you couldn't tell me?" It hurt to think about all of this. He had missed so much. "What would have happened if you died?! The whole pack would have been leaderless until I could fly in!"

He had been like this ever since Alamir's mom passed away. That was the same year both of his sisters left to be with the Moon Goddess as well. It was the worst year of his life. After that, it was just him and his father. He didn't even want to go on a mission to find his mate. He was afraid that something would happen. Something like what Luke had called him to tell him about. But his father insisted that he go and look for his mate. He wished to retire only when Alamir brought home the packs new Luna. Then they would all rejoice and relax.

He tried. He worked hard to meet as many people as he could to increase his chances of finding his mate. He wanted to make his father proud. But it seemed that the more he looked, the less likely his chances became. Which only frustrated him more.

"I'm not going to die anytime soon, Alamir," he put a hand on his arm. "You shouldn't worry so much for me."

"You really should retire," he held onto the hand that was on his arm. "I know you want to wait until I find my mate, but I don't think it's wise to wait any longer."

"The Noble Pack needs a Luna," those blue eyes looked deeply into his. "Just like you need a mate."

"Then I can find mine through my leadership," he told him. "And I can take care of both duties until then."

"You aren't going to be able to find your mate here," he shook his head. "And I'm not going to allow you to take on both roles. That's enough work to do alone."

"If you can do it for as long as you have, then so can I," Alamir said. "If you keep working like this, then it's not going to be some good-for-nothing hunters that'll kill you."

"You need to find a mate," he said again. "It's important."

"It's impossible!" he told him. He was never going to find his mate. He had traveled all around the world looking through packs, covens, cities, and forests. He had even searched the icy tundras and the horrible packs there. There was no one out there for him. All he was, was the extra piece to a puzzle that had already been solved.

"Nothing's impossible."

"It's impossible to bring someone from the dead," he said. His father was too hopeful when it came to this. He really just wished he would rest.

"That's incomparable to finding a mate," his father continued to debate. Alamir sighed. He hadn't wanted to tell him so soon to his arrival. But he guessed that he had no choice.

"If you will not give me my title until I find a mate," he started. "Then I have no choice but to arrange one."

And arranged mate wasn't as bad as people thought. If someone was mateless due to a rejection, for instance, it would allow them someone to grow old with and love. It was never the same as the mate bond that the Moon Goddess made, but he knew of a woman who would make a great Luna. She had been rejected by an alpha and traveled to a different pack because of it. He knew that she would be happy there with him at least. Neither of them would ever feel the excitement of an authentic bond, nor the true euphoria with it, but they could still be happy.

"Alamir," his father seemed shocked that he would speak of such a thing. The packs around here hadn't done something like that in generations, and it was usually for a selfish reason, in which one didn't wish to have the other.

"I won't have to steal anyone from their mate," he assured his father. "I just can't stand being away from here, from you, any longer. I can't do this anymore." He paused to calm the damn of emotions that threatened to come out. He didn't want to miss anymore time with his father. They already got the rest of their family taken from them at an early age. He still had nightmares of the one call he feared getting. The one that informed him that he was the last person that could lead the Noble Pack.

The room they were in fell under heavy silence with his words. He knew his father missed him as well. He was so happy when they talked about science and the like. That was both of their favorite topics. Alamir knew that it would be difficult to accept this idea of his, but it was what he wanted. He would rather give up his chances of true love to be able to spend time with his father again.

"I will not agree to an arranged mating," his father finally spoke.

"But-!"

"Let me finish, Alamir," he put his hand up to silence him. "Every werewolf born in BlackCreek are under the curse of this town. It may not cause pain to the ones who have marked each other, or the ones that have yet to find their mates, but it's still there. That is how I know that your mate, especially, is out there."

"I've been searching for six years, Dad!" he slammed his hands down on the desk. "I'm not going to spend the rest of my life traveling around the world on a pointless mission while you rot away and risk your life as the Alpha!"

"You must finish your mission, Alamir!" he hollered. He rarely yelled, especially at him. He looked to find that those blue eyes held a fire in them. "A forced mating could only mean pain for you if the Moon Goddess does not wish it!"

"Then I will have a surrogate," he said. He had thought this through well, waiting for the right moment to speak to his father about this topic. "If this curse affects me so much, then I will find my mate no matter if I travel." At least with a surrogate, he could keep the Alpha line going. "I just don't want to leave you here again."

A knock on the door interrupted their debate.

"Alpha Nir?" an assistant slowly opened the door. When she was allowed in, she was shocked to see Alamir there. "Sorry to interrupt, Alpha."

"It's alright," his father assured her, ushering her inside. "What is it you wanted to say?"

"The guests are here," she said. Alamir had been gone so long that he couldn't remember everyone's names anymore. It saddened him to think that. It made him wonder if they had forgotten him as well. He had changed a lot since he was last home.

"Tell them we'll be down to greet them in a minute," his father told her. She seemed to get the hint quickly, and left the room, shutting the door behind her tightly.

There was another bout of silence between them in which his father just stared at him again. It looked as if he was trying to decipher him. He didn't need to. Even after so many years, Alamir hadn't changed too much for his father to not understand him. They still had talked on the phone every now and then to catch each other up. Alamir allowed himself to be an open book for his father. Everything he said was truthful. Every idea he gave was well thought out and could be put into motion within a day's time. He had spent many private hours thinking about all of these things.

After a second or two, he saw those shoulders sink back down as the man sighed. He gave him a tired look, one that he was used to seeing. He had looked that way ever since the Luna had passed. Neither of them were the same after that. But they always had each other, and Alamir wanted to keep it that way.

"I'll think about it," he finally gave in. "Let's go meet our guests, Alamir. I'll give you an answer by the end of the day."

He nodded and followed his father out the door and through the halls of his childhood home. He sent out a silent prayer that his father would finally say yes. While traveling had taught him a lot, the most important lesson that he could take from it was just how important home was.

And how much he desperately wished to stay there.

******************************************************************

"This is going to be so much fun," Alex laughed. "These warriors aren't going to see this coming from a mile away."

"They should," Teddy told him. "I'm pretty sure that I've fought with some of them at least."

It was a bright and sunny day for Fall. Usually, the chill would have crept into all the houses and brought a shiver to all the children trying to sleep past their alarm clocks, but this time wasn't the case. Teddy enjoyed it because there wasn't any humidity. It seemed as if the sky was smiling at them.

Of course, it always seemed that way since Shiro finally got into power. He was so happy that all the hiding was over. He had to explain so much to so many people, but after all that was over everything was happy. Everyone enjoyed their new lives as they met new people and finally started to get out of their shells. And there were so many people who had found their mates that year alone that it was crazy. He wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a baby boom that was soon to happen.

Everyone was finding their mates except for him, of course. Teddy mentally sighed at the thought. One would think that if they all had this curse inflicted on them, that it would be easy to find their mates. It was for most, actually, except for him. Maybe he was just like Alex and Jett, though. He was just a year younger than them, but they were his age when they finally found their mates. He wasn't sure how he was going to feel about a younger mate, though. His preference was always older guys.

But, hey, he wasn't going to get picky when it came to a mate.

Right now, he was enjoying all the happiness around him. Geo was absolutely adorable when he was happy, and he loved seeing Alex tease him. It was nice to finally see him enjoying life rather than struggling to keep the small ounce of sanity like when he was younger. If it weren't for Shiro, Teddy worried that Geo would have wound up just like his father.

That was a scary thought.

"They aren't going to think that a small teddy bear like you could flip them," Alex said. It was the two of them this time going on this adventure. Geo would have come, but he was busy with his business. Luke was supposed to pop up sometime soon, though, which was going to be great.

"Good," Teddy laughed. "I like surprising people."

"Hey guys!" Luke put his arms around the two of them. "I have a surprise for you!"

Luke was great to talk to. Alex loved to tease him about a bunch of stuff, but Teddy enjoyed making him blush. He never told anyone too much about their relationship in high school. He knew that Alex thought that they did all kinds of crazy things. Teddy thought it was too funny to tell him the truth. The truth was that Luke was absolutely adorable in high school. He didn't want to take advantage of him, and hadn't wanted to do anything other than kiss and explore a bit. Teddy knew just how much he had fallen for him when they were together. He overheard Luke tell one of his friends that he thought that Teddy was his mate, but wanted to wait to find out when they were both eighteen.

Absolutely, and completely sappy. He felt so lucky back then to have someone like him. But he also knew that it wouldn't have been a good thing to find out whether he was mated to him or not back then. Sure, he would have been brought to the Noble Pack, and, therefore, saved from the consequences that the Reverence Pack used to have. But he wouldn't have been able to help the ones who needed it. So, he broke Luke's poor heart and disappeared from the public eye. He was glad that when they saw each other again, he was mated to someone else.

"What's up?" Alex asked. "Is there another one of your exes here that you're trying to avoid?"

"Oh, jeez," Teddy shook his head. "We could start a club with how many hearts Lu got ahold of before his mate."

"No, you couldn't have," Luke rolled his eyes. "That's more like all the people that Alex went out with. He broke just about every guy in towns heart."

"I'm sure they're all so sad that I found my mate, too," Alex laughed. "I didn't break anyone's heart, Luke. That was more your specialty because you always tried to be as serious as possible about your relationships. I at least made it known what I wanted."

"Like that makes it any better," Luke argued. "I'm sure Geo would absolutely love to hear about all the things you did with all the people you went out with."

"Luke," Alex gave him a warning look. "I swear, if you say anything to him, I will have your ass in a jar and bury it somewhere that not even your mate could find."

"Oh, will both of you shut up," Teddy shook his head. "You both act so serious about all of this stuff."

"Don't you think he should know, Teddy?" Luke asked.

"If he wants to," Teddy said. "Geo's more the type that puts the past in the past. He's not going to get mad at Alex for things he did when they weren't together. Although he doesn't like you all that much."

"Wait," Luke stopped him. "Why doesn't he like me?!"

"Oh, I don't want to think about this," Alex shook his head.

"Because you and Alex have the most history out of any of Alex's exes," Teddy said. "You two forget that I'm his go to person that he goes to for relationship advice."

"What did he say about me?" Luke asked. He looked so hurt that Geo would be mad at him. Teddy couldn't help but chuckle. Lu was absolutely adorable when he made all of those faces.

"Don't worry about it," Teddy patted his arm. "Just don't go and bring up Alex's exes. If you do, he might hate you more."

"But why does he hate me?!"

"What are you so excited to show us, Lu?" Teddy changed the subject. This would just go around in circles if they kept on talking about it. He wasn't going to tell them what Geo had talked to him about. That was private stuff.

"I'm curious about that, too, actually," Alex said. "I haven't seen you look that excited in a long time. What's going on?"

"Oh!" Luke easily got swayed into the other topic. It seemed like he was too excited today. Teddy couldn't help but enjoy it. "Alpha Alamir finally came back home!"

"Alpha Alamir?" Teddy asked.

"Holy shit!" Alex looked shocked. "I haven't seen Alamir since Jett and I got into our roles! How is he?"

"Who is he?" Teddy asked. It seemed like he was a little left out when it came to this subject. He was desperately trying to get back in the loop with their conversation.

"Alpha Nir's son," Alex explained. "He's the only child after some incident with Nir's wife and two daughters. He never really explained what happened there."

"No one really likes talking about it," Luke said, shuddering at an old memory. "Alamir's been on a mission to find his mate for six years. He just flew back in today!"

"Six years?!" Teddy looked shocked this time. He couldn't imagine being away from home for that long. He would have missed so much! "It took him six years to find his mate?"

"Technically, eight," Alex said. "He went on the journey when he was twenty, after spending two years searching locally."

"Well, who is she?" Teddy smiled. He was glad that Nir would finally be retiring. The man was looking older by the second. And a few conversations with some of the pack members could tell you that they were worried about their alpha's health.

"Well," Luke put his hand on the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "That's the thing. He kinda didn't find one yet."

"Wait," Alex's eyes grew wide. "You mean he came back from a mate mission empty handed?!"

That wasn't supposed to happen unless they were needed to lead the pack. Mate missions require the werewolf to travel all around the world looking for their mate. They aren't allowed to come back home until they found them.

"Yeah," Luke looked a bit guilty when he said that. "It might have been my fault."

"What did you do?" Teddy raised an eyebrow at him.

"Nothing really," he shrugged. "I just thought that he was already told about what had happened with all of us last year. Then he demanded that I tell him everything and as soon as I told him that Kenji had been trying to kill him, he got on the next flight here and yeah."

"No one told him that his father almost died?" Alex asked. When Luke shook his head, he took a tense breath through his teeth. "Ouch. That would have pissed me off enough to fly home too. Nir's the only family he has left."

"And that was last year," Teddy was in disbelief of that. "I can't believe that no one told him. It would have been helpful to have him come down to give the pack extra leadership when all of that was going on."