I look out through the window as we pass many buildings with most of them under the name Cephas. Then we pass through the town and since it is night, many of the stores are closed and only a few are open. Soon we are passing through the forest. This is really one big thick forest. It takes us almost an hour to reach the pack house.

"Wow! That’s one big house." Cad whispers with a whistle. I didn't even know he was awake.

"More like a mansion, Cad." I whisper back to him.

“Yeah.”

"And why are we whispering?"

"I don't know. It just seems nice to do so."

I snort. What's nice about whispering? Leave it to my weird friend to make things weird. As we come up to the pack house, I see two people standing outside. From the power emitting from them, I know it has to be the Alpha and Luna. The car stops not so far from them. As we both come out, the couple nears the car.

"Welcome to the Kahuna pack, your new home. I'm Alpha Darius Cephas and this is my mate, Luna Jemima Cephas." The Alpha greets us and the Luna looks at us with a big smile gracing her face.

"Hello," the Luna speaks up, taking a step closer to us. "It’s nice to finally meet you."

I look at the beautiful creatures before me. Alpha Cephas is very handsome and so is the beauty that defined Luna Jemima. She is a sight to see. Their children might be also good looking just as them, which means my mate is a sight to see. Damn! Speaking of mate, where is mine?

"Hello Alpha and Luna. I'm Kacper and this is my friend, Cadmael. Thank you for welcoming us home and it’s also nice to meet you." I breathe out then me and Cad bows slightly . I don't know why but I am now nervous. What if I don't look good enough for their son? Will they hate me?

"Oh, you two are so cute! Aren't they honey?"

The Luna's voice brings me out of my thoughts and suddenly, I am being embraced by her. She does the same with Cad. We both just stand there not knowing what to do.

"Easy there honey, you will scare the boys with such sudden hugs." The Alpha chuckles.

Releasing us, the Luna turns to her mate. "No I will not. I'm just giving them a proper welcome." Turning back to us, she smiles and I wonder if the smile ever leaves her face. "It’s late and we have prepared some rooms for you two. Follow me."

I move to take a step but something makes me halt and I hesitantly stare at the couple before me. "Can I ask something?"

"You can ask anything, Kacper."

"Thank you, Luna. I wa-"

"No need for the Alpha or Luna title when we are home. You're now family, you can call me Jemima and him, just Darius."

"Okay, Jemima. I was wondering why my mate isn't here. I thought it was proper for him to welcome me here, not that you guys did a bad job on it, I just thought he should have been here with you." My heart painfully constricts as the ache makes an appearance.

They look at each other and seem to be in a conversation, then Jemima look back at me with a different smile. The brightness from before is no longer present in her smile and I slightly feel bad.

"Yes he is supposed to be here but he had a long day at work and thought it best not to wake him up. He really needs the rest."

"Okay, but he knows about me arriving today, right?" I frown.

She looks hesitant for a second but then it’s gone. "Yes, he knows. You will be able to meet him tomorrow at breakfast. Now if that's all, please follow me inside."

With a nod to her, I look back to see the car gone and I think the bags have already been brought inside. Side by side with Cad, we make our way inside. It’s so warm in here and has the home feel to it. I suppose I’m really home now. Alpha Cep- I mean Darius says goodnight to us and leaves going in the opposite direction from us. We follow Jemima up the stairs and come to a hallway.

We come upon a door which she opens and we both go inside.

"This room was prepared for Cadmael. Now we will live you to make yourself at home. Your bags should already be here somewhere. Now follow me Kacper, I will show you to your room for tonight."

"Tonight?" I ask.

"Yes. You will be sharing a room with your mate, Elijah. Tonight since it’s late, we thought it best if you have a different room just for tonight. I hope you don't mind."

"No it’s fine. But can I share a room with Cad tonight? I will sleep better then. That is, if it's okay with you."

"Yes, you can share tonight. Well, then I should get going. I will see you boys tomorrow during breakfast. Have a lovely night."

With that, she leaves us for the night and I turn to Cad who is busy admiring his room.

"Nice room bro." I comment.

"Yes, it’s really nice and so are Jemima and Darius. They are a perfect pair."

"That they are. I'm tired can we sleep now?" A yawn escapes my lips as I make my way to the bed and throw myself on it. I'm too tired to change and just like that I find myself asleep.

***

I wake up to someone shaking me. I try to move away from them but I'm stuck in the covers.

"Get up Kacy; I don't want us to be late." I hear Cad but dismiss his words. I don't want to wake up. I was having the perfect dream about my mate and he just had to disturb me. So I ignore him and try to go back to sleep.

"Kacper, get up now!" He shouts.

Stupid Cad, why can't he leave me alone?

"Kacper, instead of dreaming about your mate, why don't you just go meet him?" He then removes the covers from my body.

"Aargh! What's your problem, Cadmael?"

"Waking you up, that’s one for sure."

"Then leave me. It won't be your problem anymore."

"No I won’t. You must not go back to sleep. Remember we are supposed to meet people during breakfast. We can't be late. So get up and get ready so we can leave already." He demands, ignoring my whining.

Something then registers to my mind.

Mate!

Elijah!

I'm supposed to see him today. I jump up from the bed and run to the bathroom leaving a confused Cad behind. I quickly take a shower and brush my teeth. When I'm done, I go to get dressed and luckily I find an outfit for me already placed on the bed.

When I deem myself presentable, I grab Cad's hand and drag him down with me as I make my way to the dining room. With no directions, I follow the scent of food to make my way there. At last, we stand in front of a door. I take a deep breath trying to calm myself. Behind this door is my mate. For the first time, after some years ago, I finally get to meet him.

"It will be fine Kacy. I'm here with you if you need a hand."

"I know." I assure Cad that I'm fine then I open the door and make my way inside.

There are four people present on the table; Jemima, two girls and a man. I know right away that the man is my mate, Elijah.

"I'm glad you decided to join us boys. We were just starting, please take a sit."

"Thank you, Jemima." We both take a sit, two sits away from the girls and opposite Elijah's side. Jemima is sitting at the head of the table.

"How were your night boys?"

"It was okay." Cad responds.

"Yeah, it was awesome." I add. Looking at Elijah, he isn't looking at me and I wonder if he had even taken a glance my way.

"I'm glad. So this to my right is Keziah, our first born. Next to her is Marah, our last born." Jemima introduces her daughters first.

"Hello."

"Hi."

Keziah greets, followed by her little sister, Marah. I and Cad say our greetings too and I hold my breath as I wait for Jemima to introduce my mate.

"And seated to my left is Elijah," she starts. "Your true ma-"

"Don't finish that!" Elijah barks, cutting his mother off and hitting his fists on the table making it shake. I jump in fright, Elijah’s loud words catching me off-guard. He looks at me and growls menacingly making me whimper and look down at my shaking hands on my lap, afraid of the angry Alpha before me.

Without a word, he stands and leaves the room. I stay frozen in my sit, not knowing what I did to make my mate angry.

"I'm sorry about him Kacper. I don't know what made him act like that." Jemima tries to explain but I barely hear her words.

"Kacper!" Cad shouts and I feel someone shaking me.

I look at Cad who is shaking me and I see the worry in his eyes. I look back down on my lap, twisting my fingers. Was it the way I looked? Maybe I didn't dress well. Does this mean he hates me? Oh god!

"Don't you dare think his behavior was caused by you. You did nothing wrong, Kacy." Cad assures already knowing me well to know I’m blaming myself.

I look around the room seeing the pity and worry in their eyes. I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me. Feeling sick in my stomach, I stand up to leave.

"I'm sorry Jemima. But can I be excused?" I ask. She nods and that's all it takes for me to leave the room. I ran all the way to Cad's room and to the bathroom where I lock myself in. Falling to my knees I empty my stomach’s contents in the toilet. There isn’t much since I had yet to take a bite this morning.

I switch from throwing my guts out to crying while still on the floor. Why did I have to mess up on the first day? I ignore Cad's pleas for me to let him in as he knocks insistently on the door.

After a while, I pick myself up and make my way to the bedroom. I drop on the bed feeling tired and drained, both physical and emotional. I stay like that for some time, the tears still running down my cheeks. Then I fall asleep.

----------------------------------------------------------------