The Childless Alpha

Preparations

The next two weeks passed by in a blur. I wasn't born when my father had his Alpha ceremony, and I've not been to a neighbouring pack to witness theirs. So, it was safe to say that I was not sure what to expect when it came for my ceremony. Dad had his ceremony when he was just nineteen years old, and only because his father died in battle.

Dad doesn't talk much about it, and neither did my grandmother when she was alive. Losing her mate was hard, but dad said she did her best to support him in taking over. I wanted to know more, but I could see the sadness in his eyes whenever he spoke of his parents.

"One day," he would tell me, "I'll tell you about my parents, just not today."

I wondered if he would tell us now, since I was now taking over and he was retiring. I pushed the thought aside, not wanting to bother him while he and mum were so busy organising the ceremony. They mentioned that they were inviting the neighbouring packs. I questioned this, seeing as I had never been to one and I couldn't recall if my parents had gone to any. My parents told me that it was common for only the Alpha and Luna of neighbouring packs to attend the Alpha Ceremony. I suppose that it made sense, however they told me that they were planning to invite many of the pack members.

I decided to ask my parents about this when I met them for breakfast. They were already seated, dad with his coffee and paper, mum with her empty mug.

"Mum, why are you extending the invite to members of their pack?" I quizzed, taking my seat at the table with them, "I think it's nice, however I just want to understand why."

"Well, honey, we're hoping you'll find your mate at your ceremony," Mum admitted, sheepish.

I could hear Storm snickering in my mind.

"Mother," my eyes widened in shock and embarrassment, "I will be fine. I can run the pack alone. If I find my mate, so be it, but let's not make this the focus of the ceremony."

"I know, I know," I watched as mum looked at her toast, rather than meeting my eyes, "I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy, mum," I reassured her, "I've got two wonderful, loving parents, who think I'm more than capable of running their pack."

"Your pack," dad interjected, looking up from the paper he was reading.

"My pack," I corrected, "I am happy, and I love you guys."

"We love you too honey," mum replied, "but finding your mate, it's like finding your missing piece."

Dad looked up from his paper, and gazed lovingly into his mates eyes. I watched them both transform from the strong Alpha and Luna of the White Moonstone Pack to two gooey-eyed mates in love.

"Get a room!" I grumbled playfully, "If you need me, I'll be in my room."

I left the two lovebirds and took some toast up to my room. I needed to start moving some things into dad's office, in preparation of me taking over. I sat on the recliner in the corner of my room and began surveying my room. I had posters from movies and shows I enjoyed, my university textbooks, photographs with family and friends. My favourite photograph with my friends was one taken just after we completed our first year together. We all gathered in front of the campus water fountain. It was a simple photo, but it was a dear moment to us all. We decided to recreate the photo for our graduation, and I had the photo printed ready to place in a frame.

I began writing a list of items I would need to purchase for my new office, starting with a photo frame. Mum had a variety of beautiful prints adorning the walls of her office, giving it a "homely" feel. I decided that prints would be the perfect addition to my office, and added it to my list.

By my window sat empty pot plants, vacant for many years now as I found it difficult to keep plants alive with the constant back and forth of university. Sure, I could have asked anyone in the pack to look after the plants while I was away, but that felt like an abuse of my position. However, since being Alpha, I would be spending more time with the pack, I could try to grow some plants again. I added plants to my list, endless possibilities stretched before me of all the plants I could have in my office. I suppose becoming Alpha did have its perks.

I spent most of the morning organising the items I wanted moved to the Alpha's office. Dad had already begun to clear out his personal items in preparation for my items to be moved in. After I was satisfied that I had everything ready for my new office, I asked Storm if she would like to go for a run along the boarder.

'I thought you'd never ask,' Storm was excited. We'd only been back two days, but I could tell she couldn't wait to go for a run.

I left my room and made my way to the forest. I couldn't wait to feel the grass under Storm's paws.

'Ready?' I asked Storm.

'Ready,' She replied as we began to shift.

I relinquished control and let Storm take over. She ran the length of the pack boundary, passing by our pack mates who were on parole. They didn't stop Storm, rather they let her pass by without hassle. Storm was the only pure white wolf in the pack. I thought it was strange, and whenever I questioned her she would wink and claim it's because she is special. I left it at that - for a wolf who shared a body and mind with me, she sure liked to tantalize me over information that she had and I did not.

Night fell before Storm decided she had enough and decided we should head back for dinner. My stomach rumbled, we didn't have lunch. Storm shifted and I was once again walking on two legs opposed to four. I made my way back to the pack house for dinner with my parents.

Dinner with my parents was uneventful, except for when they told me that we were hosting the neighbouring Alpha's for dinner the day before the ceremony. They explained that they would be in attendance the day before, stay the night with us, and other members of their packs would join us the day of the ceremony. I felt as though my head was started to spin, so I excused myself from dinner and took myself to bed.

I had a few busy days ahead of me, and I needed to be at my best. As soon as I crawled into bed, I fell into a dreamless sleep.