The situation was successfully contained within the gated community and dealt with in under seventy two hours. Brady and his Betas under his father's order had delegated duties to everyone including me without explanation. A few days later, Brady and his goons left for college. A year later Dani and I did the same. Her to pursue music on a professional scale whilst I chose the pre-med route.

I got off the plane and from behind the thick dark shade of my aviators I scoped the area for a set of familiar faces. I looked around until finally, I saw her; Malia wearing a leather harness over a mid thigh ripped t-shirt. She was standing by the door beside her fiancé'. The newly engaged couple were in the same pair of his and hers brown boots. They too were scanning the crowd and when she finally saw me, my twin's eyes lit with unabashed glee. Her red painted lips caught a smirk, that my own lips found contagious. In a second we were crossing over to each other for hugs and screams. "I missed you, fool!" She screamed into my ear and punched my left shoulder.

I held on to her tighter and reminded. "You were with me yesterday, drama queen."

They shared a look but she grinned wider, "Yea so! and I'm glad I got here earlier because I got tea on why the grey and wrinkled squad summoned everyone for tomorrow."

"Spill the tea, son."

"Obviously, but not here let's trot to my car quickly."

"So?" aligning myself to sleep in the dog section of her car, I asked. "We are away from homo sapiens now. Spill."

Malia tapped her oval shaped nails on the steering wheel and replied "The Alpha's son is dying."

"He's the only male blue blood left," Brian her fiancé clarified "According to the original law, our pack is doomed, we'll have to be sectioned off and merged with other packs if he dies."

"When he dies" Malia corrected taking a fast turn. "Unfortunately but its true, his mate obviously doesn't want him and our enemies are counting on that. We have so many foes, and they're all waiting for our downfall."

Brian turned to me, "Do you know how many enemies we have?" Just as many as they are countries waiting for America to fall." Brian shrugged an answer when I didn't.

"Now imagine the all powerful USA first disintegrating itself and pitifully into other countries." Malia made a scoffing noise.

"I see China demanding first pick." Brian's head was now buried in a Ben Shapiro book. "I can already see the topic headings in history classes. 'The scramble for America.'"

Malia laughed even though there was nothing funny about this. "Yea, I heard ma and dad discussing last night. Apparently, the Volchtok pack submitted an appeal to headquarters for us. They want forty-eight percent of our pack and funds in exchange for a third of their core's power."

"How do they know?"

"Everybody knows! Brady got made five years ago and there hasn't been anything from his mate, not even once, not even a letter or a rumor. They say he's been getting so sick they were forced to go pack by pack in search of his mate. Whoever she is, she's clearly in ours since we're the only ones not yet vetted by Siers. Bruh that shit's embarrassing, no-one has ever been rejected and especially a blue blooded Alpha. The Volchtok pack has been after us for decades and now that there's opportunity. They're taking full advantage of this situation and I can't believe I'm saying this, but what they're offering us is good."

Malia agreed, "Oh gods, I agree too, I can't believe packs will be shopping for us and the Volchtok pack has the best offer so far. How hard we have fallen from grace."

"If they win us would that be so bad?" I asked. "I mean it's only good economics for them to offer and us to accept."

Silence.

I fished about, "Right?"

"I don't know man, I've only heard unflattering things about that pack." she started to whisper conspiratorially. "Do you know their inner council sacrifices their first bloods to witches, for wealth and health?"

I rolled my eyes and feigned a shudder "Ooh I'm so scared. Pshh. Please spare me Malia I'm not sixteen anymore your tales are full of myths, tell her Brian. You make us worry, you are proof to tell a lie long enough you'll start to believe it."

"You exist, don't you? A slave to the moon yet you think children of the moon aren't real." She turned from her driver's seat to face me. "You'll take back your worries someday."

Brian and I screamed at the same time. "Eyes on the road! Eyes on the road! Eyes on the road!"

"OK!OK! I know what I'm doing. Gee."

"Park the car babe, we need to switch up. I know about driving and you know about witches." Brian observed and acted.

Finally switched Brian sighed heavily getting us back on the road he encouraged. "Tell me more, what else did you hear?"

And the whole way home that was all they could talk about. Sharing unproved conspiracies even after we got home and our parents joined to spill a little on speculations rounding up the local grapevine about our Alpha.

Our Alpha.

Head downcast my eyes rolled. Apparently, everyone including the adults was considering him that. Despite the glaring fact that he hadn't been coronated yet and according to our science wasn't agile to rule without a mate. Well as far as they knew.

"We had another doctor last week and he told us the same. Even in places far off as Zimbabwe they believe this girl. Has either horrid physical features, an ugly personality, gross etiquette manners or all the above. Otherwise, why would she hide from him? Right, Malik."

I answered how I always did, "One hundred percent agree."

I found it funny and rather presumptuous how everyone thought his mate was female. This is why I got blindsided by mom's comment when she remarked. "But has anyone ever considered that his mate could be male and possibly ill from internalized homophobia?"

Dad adoringly brushed a hair from her face. "Darling, if that's the case then that's worse. It makes him an embarrassment to even the gods themselves. It makes him a selfish coward, a reptile of the highest slimy degree. For leaving his mate to die; a faint but painful death and depriving a large pack of wolves of their democratically approved and god ordained blueblood." he swept his gaze at all around us with a frown then tried to finish. "...and all for what? Well, if that's the case then I'm not judging but you all know what I say about diseases of the menta..."

"Careful dad you're gonna start another war with your words," Malia warned with a cup of beer tipped to her lips.

Dad huffed practically adding a full bottle of hot sauce to the meat grilling.

Malia laughed as mom passed dad a beer bottle.

"I still have my money on the mate being female and sore to look at. In which case she is not a coward but merely considerate right?" Malia's fiancé spoke possibly for the first time since we had gotten into my parents' company.

"How is that considerate exactly?" My Dad asked.

"Can you imagine the amount of pressure every Luna has to face, regarding the health and beauty of the blueblood offspring. And that is even if they are fertile, so I plead mercy, werewolves are people too with the same need as humans to cut and sew their imperfections."

"One way or the other. This mate will be caught," Dad started, "and when we catch her, she will have to submit to her obligation and in addition will have to surrender to punishment. But if I'm understanding you correctly, then you are saying you want her pardoned. Is that correct son?" he asked, eyes solid, dark and inquisitive on Brian.

He shivered and nodded yes.

Dad shook his head and pointed a beer bottle at him. "And this is your mate Malia? Tell me, something boy. Are you saying that you think it's excusable to place vanity over duty?" dad said placing the beer bottle back in my mother's hands. To understand the depth of this, you had to know my father to know this simple question wouldn't end well for his daughter's fiancé. A middle school teacher who just like me had an aversion to activities men like my father enjoyed. A man who knew compromise unlike a man like my father whose largest compromise in life was having a soft son like me and accepting his daughter's soft mate.

Brian stuttered with no intelligent answer, he looked at Malia but she offered him no charity.

The moment tense and heavy was lent leniency by our family's Nevanji, who lifted meat off the stand by a set of tongs and joked to everyone about his skills. His wife laughed loudest and he took her mouth right there in front of us. Teenaged cousins and those younger protested the public display of affection and took off after serving portions of their own. Then finally, Mateo released his wife's mouth and leapt to me.

I caught on fast and started to run away from him but he was faster, always had been and put me in a headlock. Even against my protests, he kept me there, tickling the back of my neck with copious amounts of brotherly affection. I screamed, no one helped, people, laughed, Mateo sang something about a camera and mom's phone flashed at us, once, twice and more.

"Say cheese." Mateo trolled.

I chanted the slogan for the camera after I tried and failed to win the wrestle.

"Oh, my boys." Mom cooed.

That made him release me and ask, "Where's your mate bud?"

Childishly I opened up the neck of my shirt to look inside. I searched my pockets, took my wallet out and feigned shock even as I knocked on the wallet pressing it up against my ear. "Danielle! Dani baby!" I widened my eyes further and exclaimed "Oh No! I can't find her. Listen Nevanji, the fate of the pack depends on her survival, we need to go on a high quest to save my dear beloved. Say you'll join me."

He slapped me upside down on the back of my head and grinned so big I couldn't help but do it too.

The girls cheered. "Nice one Malik."

Then the day went on sweetly until later when dad asked. "I'm happy to see you son, but where is your mate?" when I didn't answer right away he, he looked down at me and made the whole thing serious. "Hasn't anyone explained to you what's going on? You should have brought her here?"

Now the whole family looked toward me.

"I'm not her keeper everyone." I gave my most plastic laugh.

Dad scrunched his face all serious and shit "Malik. It's your brother's important month, on the third moon he's taking over from me on the council. Not to mention your future Alpha needs everyone here, everyone means everyone. I can't believe you would neglect to think about us your family and your pack, our core is at its weakest not to mention..."

"How does us traveling on different days affect anyone? She still has things to wrap up." I made sure my tone was respectful. " Don't worry, she'll be here tomorrow. Definite."

Dad shook his head. "You and she are mates, that means you're one and when you come in for pack business you come in as such. If it's safety you were concerned about, the least you could've done was come in on different planes but on the same day nonetheless." His tone hardened with fatherly concern. "You defied the command issued by Alpha Victrolli himself and you know it."

I didn't answer, I simply looked at him.

He looked exasperated. "We didn't raise you like this son. Where is this coming from?"