The day finally arrived. The ceremony was today, which had everyone at Black Moon going crazy. There was no time to sit or relax, everyone had a role in preparing for the ceremony.

The members had been up since at dawn, preparing food, the tents, sitting arrangements and all they could think about.

On the other hand, Michelle was asleep on the chair next to her son's bed, who was still unresponsive.

Samuel was panicking the night before, thinking that maybe they should've waiting until their son was awake to do the ceremony.

Somehow, it all felt wrong to Samuel. It all felt wrong that their Alpha was sick, yet they were going to celebrate. Well, not celebrate, but appease. He assured himself that it was all for his son, they were going to apologise for their wrongdoings, and ask Her to bestow her blessings to this Pack and all the mateless wolves in the Pack to find their mates as soon as possible, his son included.

When seven approached, all the tents were erected, five chairs around each table. The theme was gold and grey. The chairs were all draped in a gold cloth, then the tables were covered with grey cloths. There were three huge tents altogether, with ten tables in each. All four neighbouring Packs sent back their reservations, and only one distant Pack agreed to come out of ten. So, there were hundred people coming and the rest of the chairs were for the Black Moon.

All the Alphas would sit in one tent with their six warriors each and the remaining space would be taken by the Alpha of the Black Moon, the Beta, Gamma, Delta, Head Warrior and their three strongest warriors.

Some warriors would be positioned in the Pack House, making sure none of the other Packs even stepped a foot inside the Pack House. Some would be stationed in the forest surrounding the land, then some would venture, guarding the Pack. There were about five guards stationed outside the Alpha's door, then six were inside. Five were lined up on each side of the hallway. The security was tight, everyone ensuring the safety and wellbeing of their Alpha.

The day before, Samson held a Pack meeting, telling everyone to not only enjoy themselves tomorrow, but to also be careful and weary of the other Packs. They should socialize, but also be careful.

New Moms and the sick would be having their own celebration in the Pack Hall for their safety. Also pups below the age of five were also not allowed outside for their safety. The ceremony was risky, especially with all the Packs present, especially the Shadow Pack.

There were also warriors at the Pack border, monitoring the place. Some were hidden in the forest outside the Pack land, just for security because it could be possible that some Packs would deceive them and plan an attack. Anything was possible today.

By the time noon rolled by, the place was buzzing with activity.
The children were playing, all clean and happy. The ones who were cooking were finishing up, some already placing plates, glasses and cutlery on the tables. There were also bottles of juice, water and soft drinks on the tables.

Their guests were set to arrive at two. By then, everything would have been ready.

Samson was getting ready, together with his mate. Michelle was all glum, feeling guilty of leaving her son all alone with the warriors. She did trust the warriors, but she thought it would have been better if she was the one in the room with her son.

She had undone her braids and tied her natural afro into a bun, her head embellished in gold jewelery and face glowing as ever. She applied light makeup to accentuate her beauty and to hide the stress lines that she developed a week ago. Her son being in coma took a toll on her. It made her age.

Her red pants hugged her in all the right places, then the white deep v-neck showed her cleavage. She covered herself enough to look presentable, but also because she loved showing off her cleavage. Her mate loved when she did that.

Even though she was old, she did not show. She still looked like she was in her late thirties. She opted to wear her red heels that she felt comfortable wearing. As for Samson, he chose to wear a white tuxedo, with a red shirt underneath and black shoes. That's what Michelle chose for him. He never had a say in his choice of clothing. Her mate once said he had the weirdest taste.

When they were done, they were ready to head outside to welcome their guests.

When the first black SUV arrived, then two more arrived, Samson felt nervous. He hid it well, well, almost too well, but his mate felt his anxiety.

"Don't worry, it will all work out. Plus look around, our Pack is full of our warriors roaming around, keeping an eye on everyone and everything. Don't worry," she assured, rubbing circles on his palm.

All doors opened, the Alpha of the Midnight Pack all clad in his black suit, followed by his warriors who were dressed the same as him. They were all ten in total, making Samson worry. Why would Alpha Christian bring only ten warriors?

Nonetheless, they were one of the friendliest neighboring Packs, so that eased Samson's suspicions.

"Alpha Christian, how lovely to see you," Samson greeted, hugging the other man.

Alpha Christian laughed, his dark skin as flawless as ever. "Where's our lovely Alpha? I noticed that you and your lovely mate are the ones welcoming the guests."

"He's sitting this one out. He doesn't feel like socializing, so he sent me and my mate on his behalf. I hope you don't mind at all," Samson replied, leading them to the tent that they were supposed to be in.

"Not at all. I think your company would be better than the Alpha's. No offense to your son,"

"None taken. I know my boy alright. Let Jamie lead you to your seats," Samson beckoned Jamie over, who bowed to Samson and also acknowledged Alpha Christian. Alpha Christian and his warriors followed after Jamie to their respective seats.

"That went well," Michelle whispered when they headed back to await the other guests.

"Yeah. I didn't think Christian would believe me about Luke. Oh, and there comes other cars."

Ten cars were coming, all black. Michelle held her mate's hand and they braced themselves to welcome all the three Alphas that were coming. Alpha Zelda of the Pinewood Pack, the one distant Pack, was the one to get out of her car, followed by twelve of her warriors. Her head looked like it was hurting by the tight ponytail she did. Her fair skin had started to become red under the glare of the sun. That's what Michelle noticed. She never liked the woman because she was always pining after their son. She didn't have a mate, always hounding Luke to mate since they were both mateless. At least Luke had the decency to deny her advances. But as Michelle could recall, she thinks they did hook up. She's not really sure.

"And I wonder where our dear Alpha is," Alpha Zelda started, coming to kiss both Samson and his mate on the cheek.

"He's sitting this one out. Told us to take over," replied Michelle, rather curtly.

"Okay. Tell him I was present then," she smirked.

Michelle just nodded, Jamie already ready to lead the Alpha to her designated seat.

Alpha Shaw of the Shadow Pack was the next to pull up. His old and incapable self only came with five warriors, making the couple suspicious. There was no way Shaw would come with only five warriors. Samson was pretty sure he left some warriors somewhere.

"I thought your precious Lucas was running the Pack now," he started when he saw Michelle and Samson.

"And I thought you had already given your son his rightful position. But it seems you're still as greedy as ever to refuse your son the Alpha position," Samson retorted, extending his hand out to the other Alpha.

Alpha Shaw's jaw ticked, his wrinkly face giving away the distaste he felt for the Black Moon Pack.

He refused to shake Samson's hand, saying, "I only shake the Alpha's hand, unfortunately for you, your time expired. Where's the Alpha of this Pack?"

"I'm afraid he doesn't want to associate with the likes of you. He's not really ready of dealing with old fossils like you. He's got standards, you know," Samson was really digging himself a grave. Actually, Alpha Shaw made him so angry. Shaw was old as Samson's late father, yet he was still the Alpha. He was not letting go of his position. Samson even sympathized with his son. He was sure that by the time Kevin, Shaw's son, became Alpha, he would not rule for a long time because his son would have to take over. Or maybe Kevin would be just like his father, refusing his son of the Alpha title.

"You have a big mouth, did you know that?" Alpha Shaw snapped, his skin too old for Michelle's liking.

"You're so funny, Alpha Shaw. Jamie, take this old fart to his place. Maybe I should've reserved a seat for you in the toilet, where you belong," Samson said, glaring at the other Alpha.

Jamie gestured for the Alpha and his warriors to follow after him. Alpha Shaw's energy was making people around him squirm in discomfort.

Michelle just sighed at her mate's taunting. He was too childish to be fighting with an old man like Shaw.

The next one to pull up was Alpha Leticia, all her nineteen warriors with her.

She strode with confidence to the pair, her warriors by her side all looking serious as ever.

"Our lovely niece. Glad you could join us, Letty," Michelle hugged the Alpha whose face broke into a happy smile.

"Wow, it's been so long since I've been here. Where's Luke?" she asked after hugging both Michelle and Samson.

"He's not woken up yet. But he'll be fine, don't worry," Michelle replied, happy to see her niece all grown up and leading a very strong Pack. She was her sister's daughter. Blackdeath Pack was her Pack before she got mated to Samson. Macy, Leticia's mother, was next-in-line to the Alpha title because she was the oldest. If she remembered correctly, her family always gave birth to girls, hence a strong line of female Alphas for the last ten generations. Now even if a male child was born, the honor of being Alpha always went to the girl child.

Some were against the idea of females ruling the Pack, especially old male councils, but overtime, acceptance was their peace because female Alphas of Blackdeath always proved that they were better than any male Alphas.

"He'll be fine, he's a strong Alpha and I believe that the Moon Goddess will have mercy on him. How's the search for his mate going anyway?"

"What search?" Samson spoke for the first time since Leticia arrived.

"He told me last month that he's been searching for his mate," she replied, a confused look taking over her face.

At that, Michelle laughed. "He's lying to you. He's been too obsessed with Alpha Rolus to even look for his mate. I don't even know what the deal is between those two."

"Rolus of the Creek Pack?" Leticia asked, still confused. Luke told her that he was searching for his mate. Why would he lie to her face?

"Yes, that one. They are fighting and I'm afraid that it could result in a war. Luke has been provoking him for the last year and the poor Alpha has not even retaliated. We told him to stop, but as you all know, he's too stubborn to quit whatever rivalry they have," Samson told, beckoning Jamie over.

"He'll get tired, don't worry. I'll be sure to check up on him before I leave, if that's alright with you," she told them, following Jamie.

"We'd be happy if you do," Michelle shouted back, letting her disappear with her warriors and Jamie.

"That son of yours," Michelle gritted out.

Samson just laughed, checking his watch. They were supposed to start at two, but now it was past two. Alpha Rolus was late. But everyone knew that he was always fashionably late, even at Annual Pack Meetings.

They gave him thirty more minutes to arrive before they officially started their ceremony.