Kenzie Hope
"Good evening," His voice boomed through the room. His voice carried through to everyone's ears and he didn't even use a microphone. Everyone went silent. "I am joyous to tell you all that both Beta Morgan and I have found our mates. As you know, Gamma Harrison has already found his mate. This means that the leadership positions will be changing soon. I would ask that you all treat your soon to be Luna and Beta Female with the same respect and loyalty that you show the current powers and continue to show the Gamma Female these things." He paused.
"Without further udo, I would like to welcome your current Gamma, Mason Harrison, and Gamma Female, Mona Harrison ." Kaden took a step back and shook Gamma Harrison's hand. Gamma Harrison stood where Kaden had just stood and began talking.
"I have been the Gamma for the Winters Pack for nearly twenty-five years and it has been a real honor. Now it's time to give my title to my dear son, Evan Harrison. He is a good man and I hope you will love him as much as I do." The Gamma smiled at his son as he walked onto the stage.
Gamma Female Harrison took a knife from behind her back and held it out to her husband with tears in her eyes, but you could see the evident excitement in them. Gamma Mason Harrison grabbed the knife and lightly slit his hand. Once he finished, soon to be Gamma Evan Harrison repeated the action and they boys shook hands, transferring the Gamma blood from father to son.
The wolves howled in pride as they accepted Gamma Evan Harrison as their new Gamma. The excitement in the room shot through the roof. The new Gamma stood up straighter as he began to gain even more power, his wolf growing stronger. It really was a sight to see.
The two Gammas stepped to the side to allow the Gamma Females to do the same action. If Faye wanted to become Gamma Female, she would first have to pledge her allegiance to her mate, then take the power from the current Gamma Female.
The new Gamma cut his hand and gave the knife to his mate. He visibly cringed as she did so, the mate bond wanting to stop any pain, no matter how insignificant. They reached out and shook hand and they both involuntarily shivered from the mate bond. The Gamma Female and Faye then repeated the action.
Then, the soon to be Beta, Beta couple and Lily repeated the process. The crowd grew increasingly more excited as time went on. The feeling in the air was nothing but hope and joy. At that, I felt myself smile involuntarily.
The crowd suddenly went silent, not even a rustle of clothing could be heard. Lily gasped beside me. I looked toward the direction she was gazing at. There was a frail old man. He was leaning on a woman, who I assumed was he mate, for balance. He was bent over in pain, probably from walking. He wore a suit, but it was too large for his starved body. He had an aura of power that surrounded him, despite looking so weak.
Kaden took a step towards the man and took him from the woman. She mouthed a 'thank you' and gratefully handed her mate off. The two men wobbled to the center of the stage. Kaden could have carried the man with ease, but the man, I think, had too much pride for that.
When the little man spoke, it was quite, but not timid. You could tell he was comfortable in front of the crowd, but his weak state stopped him from being all that he could be. The pack listened intently to his every word, soaking every single detail in. They didn't even blink, afraid he would crumble away.
"My pack," He started, but then stopped due to a coughing fit. Kaden patted him on the back, hoping to cure his ails. It was a while before he could start talking again.
"My pack," He started again, "My lovely pack. You have been so good to me, so good. You have stood by my side in the beginning, when I was foolish and weak. You stood by my side when I was strong and arrogant. You still stand by my side, in the end, while I am weak. This is the end. Twenty five years I have led this pack to the best of my abilities. Sometimes I have been more foolish than wise and it has not turned in our favor, for that I apologize. I thank you for you never-ending support, even through our weakest of times. Now that I am in my last days, I would like to tell you that this pack is more than me- I didn't use to think that," He paused again to cough.
I looked toward the crowd. All of their eyes were wide. I could tell by the looks on their face they were both scared and happy. They were terrified of out current Alpha dying in front of us, but they were ecstatic of the crowning of the new Alpha. They were still so silent, even the children.
"I use to think that I was the pack, but I am not. This pack is larger than me, larger than my son, the Beta, and the Gamma combined. This pack is all of you and all of you to come. It is about the alliances that have been made and the sanctity of this land. It is the reassurance that there will be a tomorrow, and a happy tomorrow at that. I will not be here for much longer- and for a while I didn't think I would even make in to this day- but the idea of the pack will still be. It will still be a sanctuary and a place where people can go. I hope that my legacy can live on through you, through my son."
The Alpha shaky hand took the knife out of his mate's hand. His cut a jagged line, which probably hurt more than it needed to, and handed Kaden the blade. Kaden cut his hand with ease then passed the knife back to his mom. The two men shook hands and the older of the two blinked back tears, while Kaden's aura grew stronger. They took a step back away from the crowd, the late Alpha leaning onto his son.
I didn't realize what was happening until I felt the Luna's cold hand on my arm, kindly pushing me forward. She was an older woman, but didn't look nearly as old as her husband. Her medium length white hair was curled and had diamonds laced through it. She had a crown, identical to mine, placed on her head and it twinkled in the chandelier's light. She used the knife to slit her hand and then handed it to me. I did the same back.
Once we shook hands, I felt power surge through me, my blood boiled in joy and my wolf grew stronger in my mind. I felt my body get taller and my confidence shoot through the roof. It felt like it should have been uncomfortable, I've always read books that said changes of power were uncomfortable. Although, this was not at all. It was like coming home and cuddling in a warm blanket. The power surrounded me in warmth, coating my very soul.
I opened my eyes and saw the joy in the eyes of the pack members. I couldn't see anyone I recognized because they were all omegas, who were not allowed to come. Although, I could see my brother in the very front row. His mouth was twitched up into a smile and his eyes twinkled in delight. He mouthed a 'I love you' and I did so back.
Sparks flooded my lower back as Kaden put his hand there. He pulled me closer to him as he took center stage. He took the blade from my hand and smoothly cut the palm of his hand. My wolf whimper at the sight of our mate bleeding, but I ignored her. Taking the knife back from Kaden, I cut myself again.
Sparks shot up my arm and Kaden took my hand. I looked at his eyes, which were, at the time, a dark green color. His eyes told me he could feel the sparks too and that made my wolf howl in joy.
"Winters pack," Kaden began to speak, "I am so grateful to be accepted as your Alpha. It has been my joy to grow up with you all and take the title. I hope for my cycle to be just as prosperous as my father's. I promise to do all that I can to aid you and do what's best for the pack."
With that, the crowd erupted in cheers. They whistled and cried for their Alpha, knowing that he would do them well. Kaden stood there, in all his Alpha glory for a moment. This was a day he had probably been waiting his whole life for. He had probably trained every day of his childhood for the next section of his life.
Everything started to die down after a few minutes and Kaden guided me to the bar. We sat down on the stools and Kaden ordered us both something to drink, but I couldn't hear what over the loud chatter of the pack. A few older couples came up to congratulate us. When they did, Kaden would nod his head, smile, and say thank you. He was almost like an automated machine.
We didn't talk the entirety of the time, which surrounded us in awkward silence. He looked strained as he sat on the stool, like he wanted anything but to be there. The bartender handed our drinks to us and smiled kindly with his congratulations.
Kaden, with both drinks in one of his hands, lead me to our table in the corner of the room with his free hand. We got there, surprisingly without spilling the light red liquid. He pulled out my chair for me after he sat the drinks on the white table cloths.
I grabbed the drink and took a sip. It was sweet and tasted like wild cherry. I could tell it wasn't alcoholic, but it tasted a lot like an alcoholic beverage that I couldn't remember the name of. Kaden watched everyone, but never showed any facial emotion.
We sat there like that for what felt like hours, but was only actually a little over an hour, before Lily and Faye came to get me. Wobbled over, obviously a little tipsy, with their worried mates behind them.
"Mah-Kun-nah," Lily said my name funny like in a deep voice. I giggled at her attempt to sound like a gangster as she draped herself over the chair next to me.
"Listen, honey," Faye began as she giggled, "It's time for the girlies to dance." The two girls cheered as their mates chuckled at their foolishness. Faye pulled Lily up off the chair and Lily, after getting up, went to do the same to me. As soon as her hand touched my arm, Kaden growled lowly, making Lily let go of me like I burned her. All five of us turned to Kaden, who looked back at his drink, unfazed by his actions.
I stood up on my own and followed the girls as they moved to the center of the ball room. It was slightly crowded, but people made way for us. The five of us began to dance, but it only took a moment before Kaden was behind me. He pulled me to his chest, making me unable to continue dancing.
"Stop," He harshly whispered so that only we could here. I turned so that we were face to face, disappointment etched into my features.
"Why?" I asked like a kicked puppy.
"Because I said so," He told me as if that solved all of our issues, "We're going home. Tell your friends and brother goodbye." Kaden let go of me and took a step back in order for me to say goodbye.
"I have to go, girls," I told them, they pouted in response, but they didn't put up too much of a fuss. They did, although, make me promise to have lunch with them tomorrow.
I made my way through the crowd, trying to find my brother. Kaden hovered behind me the whole time. I would think that it was sweet that he was concerned if it didn't feel suffocating. Kaden is my mate, so naturally his presence calms my wolf, but my human side felt suffocated by all this intensity.
After a few minutes, I found my brother talking to some boys, who I recognized as his school friends. I told him that we had to go and he protested slightly. He was really enjoying no longer being treated like an omega. Nevertheless, he followed me and I followed Kaden out of the ballroom.
We were led through the dark night that slapped my face as soon as we opened the door. Goosebumps lined my skin before Lexus decided to warm us up. Brady reached for my hand and held onto it tightly as we approached the Alpha manor.
Kaden didn't give us any time to admire the building and I made a mental note to explore it with Brady tomorrow so that we didn't get lost. Brady was the best at getting lost and I worried that he would easily find himself that way.
Kaden stopped on the second floor of the house and made a left. On both sides of the hallway were uniform looking closed doors. He led us all the way down the hall and then made another left. At the end of that hallway, we made a right. Finally, in the middle on the third hallway he stopped, making me bump into him.
"This will be your room," Kaden said curtly. I smiled at him and began to open the door. Kaden quickly stopped me and pulled me into his chest. "Not yours," He told me. I wiggled out of Kaden's hold and hugged my brother, despite a growl in protest from Kaden.
"Good night, Little Brother," I mumbled, "Sleep tight. Mind link me if you get lost, okay."
"I'm not a baby any more, Kenz," He answered, but hugged be back anyway. He went into his room and smiled back at me before shutting the door.
Kaden didn't waste any time. We made our way up the stairs to the fifth floor. At the top of the stairs was a large door with the word 'Alpha' written in gold cursive. Het took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the huge door. It creaked open and Kaden lead me down a dark hallway.
This hallway was much, larger than the other one, I could probably lay down with my feet on one end, reach with my hands and still not touch the other end. It was dark and if I were merely a human, I probably would not have been able to see.
Kaden, again, did not waste any time. He went to the end of the hallway and pushed open a door. I quickly walked in behind him and he shut the door. It was a large room, probably the size of my apartment. The walls had a darker gray color and on a single side had a dark green color. The entire room smelled like lavender, which I think is the smell that the Scentsy by the bed produced.
I didn't get time to admire the room, before Kaden started stripping out of his suit. My wolf urged me to watch, but the logical side of me did not.
"Woah, woah, woah," I cried, covering my eyes. I continued to hear the rustling of clothes before Kaden mumbled a 'what'.
"You're naked!"
"And?"
"Well-I-Uh," I said flabbergasted. I could hear Kaden move towards me, then I felt his chest touch me. I enjoyed the sparks that danced on my skin, intoxicating me.
"What's wrong, love?" He asked with sincerity in his voice. I melted at the sound of his honey voice. I spoke gibberish again and he chuckled in response.
"That can't be comfortable, love. Let me help." He began to zip down the zipper of my dress. He wasn't doing it to be sexual or demanding, just to help me. It was an honest action, but it had me aroused and that terrified me.
"Uh bathroom," I squeaked before running to another door in the room. To my luck, it ended up being the closet. I walked out of the room and into the door next to it, which was luckily the bathroom. While I did, I caught a look at Kaden, who had a look of confusion and a pinch of hurt.
I slid down on the bathroom floor, not worried about getting my dress dirty, everything here was always so clean. I rouge tear slid down my face as I thought to myself:
What the fuck have we gotten ourselves into, Lex.