Return of the Bad Boy Alpha

Alpha Ceremony

Magnus

“Are you ready to go?” I ask Naomi. She stands before me, looking absolutely stunning in her shimmery blue dress. Does this woman know what she does to me? Kairos is in my head, panting like a horny dog. I have to push him back into my mind so I can hear myself think.

“I just have to get some things from the vault,” Naomi replies. She lets me clasp her hand, and we walk together down to the vault located in the Archive basement.

The vault holds all of the objects that this pack holds sacred and valuable. It impresses me that my mate is one of the few in the pack with access to the vault. She uses the old key to unlock it, and then I help her open the heavy iron door. I take in the stale, musty air as I look around. I had only seen the inside once when I was very young.

“Still smells the same,” I say as Naomi picks up the chalice and dagger used in the ceremony.

“You have been in here before?” She asks.

I nod. “A long time ago, Pops brought Max and me down here. He wanted to show us,” I look around again and find an ancient book and point to it. “That. Pops said that Great-Grandpa took that from a sorcerer who was threatening the pack.”

Naomi looks at the old book. “Really? That’s kind of cool.”

“Well, I know you like history, so there you go,” I wink at her, and she blushes.

“W-we better get going,” she says softly and brushes past me. I help her close, lock the door, and follow her back up the stairs. I clasp her free hand, and we go outside. Pops’s bright red Mercedes sits out front. I notice Naomi eyeing it. “Can you believe it? Pops, let me drive his Mercedes to pick you up.”

“I like it better than the motorcycle,” She says as I open the passenger door for her.

I hold my heart in mock pain. “Loretta is going to be hurt when I tell her that.”

Naomi laughs, and it’s the softest sound. “Tell Loretta that I am sorry.”

I laugh back as I close the door and run around to the driver’s side. Naomi is looking straight ahead with the sacred objects resting on her lap. I reach over and clasp her soft hand and kiss the top. “Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?”

Her brown eyes sparkle as she looks away from me with a blush. She doesn’t say anything, but I can hear her heart racing. I start up the car, and we head over to the field where the pack holds all its important meetings and ceremonies. We arrive, and I see my parents talking to Elder Mathias. Elder Josef Mathias is like an uncle to my siblings and me. He and my grandfather were close friends, so he has always looked after my family. The elder sees Naomi, and I approaching and smiles brightly.

“Magnus Bowie, as I live and breath,” He holds open his arms for me. “Look at you, boy.”

“Hello, Uncle Joe,” I greet him and hug him.

“I can’t tell you how proud of you I am. Your father has told me everything you have achieved in the King’s Army. You have really turned things around,” Uncle Joe says to me. He glances at Naomi. “Ah, Ms. Monroe, can you place the dagger and chalice on the altar, please.”

Naomi bows to him and starts to walk away, but I clasp her hand. “Magnus-“

“One second, baby,” I say to her.

Uncle Joe lifts an eyebrow. “What’s this? You and Naomi are an item?”

“She is my mate, sir,” I say to him.

“Oh my, good luck to you, Magnus.” He laughs.

“Hey Pops, Mom. I’ll see you two in a bit,” I nod to my parents, and they grin.

Naomi pulls me forward, and we walk to the altar on the stage. The field dips, and the stage is at the bottom. I watch as Naomi carefully and meticulously arranges the objects on the altar. She glances back at me. “Why are you staring at me?”

“Aren’t I allowed to stare at my mate?” I say back to her. She rolls her eyes and looks at the altar. “You do things so meticulously.”

“I like things to be perfect,” She responds.

“Hey, Naomi,” Greyson Jones, the soon-to-be gamma, calls to her.

She turns and smiles. “Hey Grey, don’t you look handsome in your suit,” She walks over and hugs him. I know they are just friends, and Greyson is gay, but Kairos still growls. Naomi narrows her eyes at me. “Grey is my friend.”

“Sorry, Magnus,” Greyson says to me. “How are things between you two?”

Naomi looks at me, and her expression is neutral. “Things are okay, I guess,” She replies. “Where is Fred?”

“He is running late, but he’ll be here for the ceremony.” Greyson looks at me,” Fred is my mate. My male mate. He goes to a human college.”

“I look forward to meeting him,” I respond to Greyson. “Sorry if I growled. My wolf is well, a wolf.”

Greyson laughs. “I get it, man. Anyways I better go get ready.”

Pack members are starting to fill up the field. Naomi and I sit in some of the chairs close to the stage when her parents walk up.

“Naomi,” Her mother, Maureen, squeals. “I knew you would look gorgeous in that gown. Doesn’t she look gorgeous, Magnus?”

“She sure does, Mrs. Monroe,” I reply with a smile.

Naomi looks at me with a slight smile. “Thanks, Mom.”

“So, how are things between you two?” Maureen asks Naomi.

My mate blushes as she looks at her mother. “I-“

“Maureen, don’t push Naomi,” Allen tells his mate.

“Things are going okay,” I say to them.

Elder Mathias walks onto the stage with my parents. Then Beta Franklin and Gamma Kevin follow them. While we wait for the ceremony to start, Naomi leans into me. “Are you cold?” I ask her.

She shrugs. “It’s a little cool,” She says to me.

I take off my jacket and drape it over her bare arms. I lean over and kiss her cheek. “That should help.”

“Thank you.” She says quietly.

We sit quietly as the field fills up. My sister Phoebe eventually shows up and sits by Naomi. “Hey, Mags,” My sister greets me and looks at Naomi. “You look pretty in that dress.”

“Thank you, Phoebe,” Naomi responds. “You look good too.”

“I see you and my brother are getting along,” Phoebe eyes us.

“We get along just fine,” Naomi glances at me. Our knees are touching, and she snuggles into my jacket.

“Good, I won’t have to kick your ass,” Phoebe elbows Naomi.

Naomi’s parents appear with Bryant and his mate. Maureen is holding newborn Arlo. Naomi greets her parents and brother. Allen is stepping down as head delta, but there isn’t a ceremony.

The ceremony starts, and the pack parts as Maximus walks down the aisle with his mate Charlotte on his arm. They are followed by Chance and Naomi’s sister Elena, Greyson, and his mate Frederick. I smile at my brother as he passes by. He looks nervous. ‘You got this, Max.’ I mind link him.

Pops approaches the podium. “Greetings, Ghost River. It has been my greatest pleasure and honor to serve as your Alpha, but tonight my son Maximus Bowie shall become the new Alpha.” The ceremony continues, and I am proud to see my twin become the Alpha of this pack. I should have been up there with him. I feel a little sad, but I am happy where I am. I glance at Naomi, and she is crying a little, and I wipe a tear from her cheek. She leans against me, and I relish the contact.

After my brother becomes Alpha, Elder Mathias does the ceremony to make Charlotte the Luna. Then Chance and Greyson become Beta and Gamma. After everything is done, I watch my brother step to the podium to make his speech. “Good Evening, Ghost River. It is my pleasure to be your new Alpha,” He begins.

Naomi smiles as he reads the speech she helped him so much on. I lean over to her. “You did a good job on the speech,” I whisper.

“Max did most of it. I just revised it.” She whispers back.

Max finishes his speech, and the pack applauds. Then it’s time for the after-party. Later tonight, when the moon is at her fullest, we will run as a pack. “Let’s party and celebrate the new era of Ghost River,” Max announces.

A cheer erupts, and the pack begins to disperse to the party on the other side of the field. I walk up to the stage to hug my brother. “You did a good job, Max,” I say to him.

“The good job will come in the following days when I am at this alone,” Max says nervously.

I hug my parents and then congratulate Chance and Greyson. I look at Naomi, and she is talking to Charlotte and Max. “Hey, beautiful,” I say to her. “Want to go get some food?”

Naomi nods. “Sure.”

I clasp her hand, and we walk together towards the party. Things between us seem to be going well. I know tonight I have to talk to her about coming home with me. I have to leave the day after tomorrow, and I want Naomi with me. I had spoken to King Kerry and explained my situation to him. He told me there is an opening in the Royal Archives, and I hope Naomi is open to taking the job so we can be together.

My sister is already at the party and greets Naomi and me. We wait in line at the buffet to get out food. We then sit at a table and begin to chat. “Max looked so nervous on stage,” Phoebe says.

“Max will be okay, Pheebs,” I say to my sister.

“You did a good job in his speech, Naomi,” Phoebe remarks.

“I didn’t write it. I just helped him. He wrote most of it,” Naomi is far too humble.

After we eat, we all mingle with various pack members. While Naomi talks to Greyson and his mate Frederick, I get us some drinks. I order beer for myself and a rum and Coke for Naomi at the bar. One of my old girlfriends, Ashley, slinks over wearing a tight red dress. “Hey, Magnus,” She purrs and rubs her arm against me. “You look so good tonight,” She slurs.

“Ashley, I thought that was you,” I respond to her. “How are you doing?”

“Better now that you are here,” She purrs.

I laugh. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I am single. You are single. We could get to know each other again,” She leans into me.

Kairos is in my head, growling like a maniac. ‘Hush,’ I yell at him. “I don’t know what you heard, Ashley. But I found my mate.”

Ashley frowns. “What?”

“Yeah, Naomi Monroe.” I smile, and Ashley scowls at me.

“Naomi Monroe? The nerd?” She laughs loudly. “That’s not possible.”

The bartender sets the drinks in front of me, and I hand him a tip. “Yeah, it’s possible and true. So if you’ll excuse me,” I pick up the drink. Ashley leans into me, and I nearly choke on her noxious perfume. I try to move away from her, but she grabs my head and kisses me. I push Ashley away from me. “Do not touch me,” I bark. I walk away from her back to the table and see that Naomi is gone. “Where did Naomi go?”

Phoebe glares at me. “She saw you sucking face with Ashley.”

“s**t!” I set the drinks down. “Did you see which direction she went?” My sister points but is still glaring at me. “It’s not what you think, Pheebs.” I run off in the direction Phoebe pointed and sniffed the air. “Naomi?” I call out. I see Naomi at the edge of the field, sitting on a log. I rush over to her, and she looks at me with tear-filled eyes. “Naomi,” I lean down to touch her.

“Don’t touch me.” She growls. “Just reject me so you can be with Ashley,” she cries.

I sit beside her. “I don’t want Ashley. She kissed me. I want you.” I plead. “I love you, Naomi. You are the only woman I ever want for the rest of my life.”

Naomi looks at me, and I wipe the tears from her eyes. “But I saw-“

“You saw nothing, Naomi. What happened between Ashley and I was a long time ago, when I was a dumb kid. You are my now,” I drape my arm over her shoulder and wipe the tears from her eyes. “Please believe me.”

Naomi sniffles. “Gods, I was actually jealous. Me.”

I laugh. “You are allowed to be jealous. But I am all yours, Ms. Monroe,” I lean in and kiss her salty lips. She crawls onto my lap, and we deepen the kiss. Her arms wrap around my neck. “I love you, Naomi,” I breathe out.

She looks deeply into my eyes for a moment and then keeps kissing me. We make out for several minutes until someone clearing their throat interrupts us.

“Magnus, Naomi,” Her father says nervously. I turn to him. “We are about to do the pack run.”

“We’ll be right there, Dad,” Naomi says to her father. She looks at me and then slides off my lap. “We better get going.” She holds out her hand to me. I gladly clasp it and stand up. The pack is gathering for the run. The women go to one side of the field and the men to the other.

“Kairos can’t wait to meet Ruby finally,” I whisper to her and place a kiss on her soft lips. She smiles as we part ways. I find Pops and Max.

“Where have you been?” Max asks me.

I just smirk. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I would like to know,” Max replies.

“Well, I’m not going to tell you,” I smirk.

“I am your Alpha,” Max growls.

“You aren’t my alpha,” I snark back.

“Yes, I am,” Max argues.

“Boys,” Pops snorts.

“Sorry, Pops,” I laugh.

We undress, and Max shifts into his black wolf. Pops and I follow along with the rest of the pack. Max lets out a dominant howl and begins the run. The women all join us as Max and Charlotte lead the pack. I sniff the air and find my gorgeous reddish-brown mate running among the pack. Kairos nudges his mate, and Ruby yips at him. We run beside each other with the rest of the pack before breaking off. Ruby and Kairos nip and nudge each other. They nuzzle and lick each other happily until they are out of breath. After an hour of play, we rejoin the pack and then go back to where our clothes are. I throw my clothes on and look for Naomi. She is talking to her sister.

“You actually look good tonight,” Elena says to her.

“Thank you, Elena,” Naomi rolls her eyes at her twin. She catches my eye and smiles. “I am ready to go home.”

“I’ll take you home,” I say to her, and she reaches her hand out to me. We say our goodbyes to family and friends. Naomi retrieves the chalice and dagger from the altar, and then we make our way back to the Archive. We go inside. I follow Naomi down to the vault again, and she puts the objects away. We close the vault and head upstairs. “Is this goodnight for me too?” I ask her.

She looks at the floor and shrugs. I run my hand down her cheek, and her blue eyes meet mine. I lean in, and we kiss. It’s soft and sensual at first. I pull back, and then she lunges for me, and the kiss becomes fierce and hungry. Hands begin to roam over each other’s bodies. I press her against a wall, and one hand feels her breasts through her dress. “Take me,” Naomi breathes out.

I pull back from her. “What?” I ask her with a low chuckle.

“I said take me, you idiot.”