Kane was in the front row, next to his brother. Other than the Luna and Violet's parents, they were the only Beta's in the front row. He swivelled in his chair to see behind him. He saw his parents in the row behind. His mother had been looking to the side, but she must have felt eyes on her as her gaze quickly pointed at her son and she sent him a smile. Kane smiled back. Grace, who was sitting next to their mother, noticed him too and sent him a toothy grin. He waved at his sister. The young girl decided that it was funny and laughed back.

"You're going to love what we set up," Heath whispered in his ear.

Kane faced the stage. "I'm sure, the real question is, will Adam and Violet?"

Heath laughed quietly. "Yes, you don't really think that we'd do something bad at their ceremony?"

Kane quirked an eyebrow. He looked over at Peyton, who was at the end of their row. Heath sighed, but there was a smile on his lips.

Kane heard murmurs around him. He turned and saw that Adam was walking down the aisle. Kane didn't miss the fact that all the people he was walking past in the last dozen rows all featured strikingly white hair. He didn't like that omegas were pushed to the back, even on days like this. They were just as much a part of the pack as everyone else. He didn't let his political instincts dwell on his thoughts much longer, and instead turned his eyes to Adam.

His best friend looked to be the happiest he'd ever seen him. Adam couldn't stop smiling as he walked quickly down the aisle, a spring in his step. He used his hand to push his brown hair back up off of his forehead as he reached the front row.

Kane was surprised when Adam stopped in front of him. "It's all been leading to this," Adam said softly.

"It has," Kane replied. Adam was a dreamer, he had been speaking of this day since they were children. "You deserve it."

Kane nodded. Adam motioned for him to stand up and so he did. Adam wrapped Kane in a quick hug before moving onto Heath. Kane sat back down.

"Happy for you, cousin," Heath said.

Adam smiled and nodded. He made his way down the row until he reached his parents. His father led their way up to the stage. Kane sat down and watched as their Alpha, Victor, stood in the centre of the stage, Adam to his side.

Instantly, silence fell over the entire pack. Victor stood tall in front of them. His dark suit was impeccable, the tightness of it revealing the muscular body underneath. Victor gave off a strength and composure that was uniquely and unquestionably Alpha. It was weaved into every word and action. You didn't question Victor, there was no room for doubt. Kane knew that one day, Adam would hold that same demeanour and every person here would hold the same respect for him that they did his father, if they didn't already.

Victor's eyes roamed over the silent crowd for a few minutes, until his gaze became fixed. He was looking along the aisle, and suddenly so was everyone else.

Kane gasped when he saw her. Violet was standing at the back, her hair down in lose curls, the sun causing the blonde to shine from her hair. As she walked, the train of her white dress flowed behind her. It was almost entirely lace than ran in intricate detail from her collarbones, down to the grass beneath her feet. Kane turned his eyes away from Violet, and towards Adam.

He was crying. Tears welled in his big, green eyes as he watched his mate making her way towards him. Kane wondered what Adam was feeling, what it was like to watch the love of your life walk towards you. The thought came into his head unannounced, and it was a strange feeling, to think that. He tried to turn off the voice in his head that told him that he wanted to meet his own mate. He fought it because the future seemed so uncertain for him, too far away and delicate to dream about.

Violet made it to the stage, and soon she was standing in front of Adam. They linked hands.

"We are here today to support my son, Adam Johnson and his mate, Violet Clarke, as they solidify their mate bond," Victor said. He sounded so proud.

The Alpha made his speech about the importance of mates and the love that they share. Kane had heard the speech hundreds of times. His parents had dragged him to enough mating ceremonies for him to know the speech word for word. It wasn't that everyone had to attend every ceremony, but Kane's father was the right-hand man to Victor, who was also his brother-in-law. The Alpha preformed every ceremony, and therefore, Kane's father was at them as well.

Kane turned in his seat for a moment, he sought out his friends. He saw Amelia a few rows down with her parents. She was crying, her fingers wiping away stray tears as her eyes remained focussed on the ceremony. He had to squint to see the rows further down the back. He was thankful for his powerful eyesight, as within a few moments he could see everyone's faces. Wyatt and Tyler were sitting together at the back, with their matching hair and eye colour. Tyler was intently watching the ceremony, but Wyatt was staring out at the distance. Kane wondered if Wyatt was thinking about him. He second guessed himself and considered whether he was thinking of his future mate, the man he would stand on that stage with one day.

Kane looked back at the stage just in time to see the knife being drawn. A small table was brought to the centre of the stage and Victor pulled the knife from his jacket pocket. He asked for Adam's hand. Adam didn't flinch as the knife pulled across his palm, the droplets hitting the bowl below it. Violet winced as the knife punctured her skin, but her eyes was on Adam, wide and happy. Victor pulled the bowl closer to his face and whispered into it. Sacred words, that no one heard until the moment they were mated themselves.

Kane saw it the moment the bond changed. Adam's expression grew serious but his eyes were as bright as Kane had ever seen. Violet gasped, her face turning into a contortion of happiness and realisation. They threw themselves at each other, arms wrapped around each other's bodies and lips pushed together. They were lost in their own little world.

Kane had heard stories of this moment, and had seen it in action more times than he could count. It still enchanted him to see it happen. People explained the mate bond as something intangible that linked two people, as if it was the pathway that connected their souls. During a mating ceremony that bond deepens into your soul, so it's no longer just a connection between the two people, it becomes a part of them. They are no longer wholly individuals, they are one soul.

Kane clapped as everyone around him burst into cheers and whistles. He was sure that Adam and Violet didn't hear a single part of the commotion going on around them. Their minds were in a place where only the other existed. Kane smiled up at them, happiness overcoming him.

It took them a few moments to break from their trance. Adam laughed in happiness as he swept Violet up off of her feet. He kissed her.

Kane felt Heath rustling in his jacket pocket for something. He seemed to have found what he had been searching for as he paused and looked up at the stage. Suddenly, streamers and confetti flew into the sky above Adam and Violet, the colourful paper falling over them. They laughed and the crowd cheered. Then something was catapulted into the sky, and the sky above them burst into light. Kane wondered how his brother had gotten his hands on fireworks. Everyone gasped and cheered.

"I told you that they would like it," Heath muttered.

Kane nudged his brother. "You two did well."

"Do we ever do anything less?"

Kane rolled his eyes. He vividly remembered the time when they had filled his entire bedroom with packing peanuts as a joke.

Later, Kane sat at a large round table. The people around him were all in high spirits, drinking champagne and nibbling on finger food as they exchanged stories about Adam and Violet. Heath and Peyton sat next to him. They were talking quietly about something.

"Planning your next prank?" Kane asked. "Although I don't know if you can call today's gesture a prank."

Peyton looked up at him. "We are planning my next party," she said with a smile.

"Your last one was only last night," Kane reminded her.

"School starts soon, we've got to have our fun before we run out of time," she explained.

"Well, I am not one to stand in the way of that," Kane smirked at them.

Kane heard his mother's voice. He turned around. His mother was standing near a table of food with Tyler, Wyatt and Amelia. Kane jumped from his chair and joined them.

"Oh, there you are, Kane." His mother patted him on the arm.

"Your mother was just telling us about how she met your father at the state ball," Amelia told him.

"Scarlett, why did you two decide to stay in your home pack and not his?" Tyler asked.

Kane's mother smiled over at her husband, Seb, who was on the other side of the tent with Grace. He was speaking with Victor while Grace, the rambunctious five-year-old, was trying to grab as much food off of the table as she could with her one free hand. "He didn't have any family left. They were all killed when he was a boy. Here, I had my sister, Linda, and my parents. We could build a family here," she patted Kane on the arm again, "and we did."

"I wish that I could go to state balls," Tyler muttered.

Kane looked over at his friend. "You're sixteen, you only have to wait a year."

Tyler shrugged.

"I wish you could come too," Amelia said. "We always have so much fun."

"When is the next ball?" Wyatt asked.

Amelia thought for a moment. "Actually it's tomorrow night, I totally forgot."

"You all must go," Kane's mother said. She nudged her son. "You'll go, won't you?"

Kane unconsciously glanced over at Wyatt. He was looking down at the floor. "I don't know about that," he said.

"We will go together!" Amelia said happily.

"That's a marvellous idea, Amelia," Kane's mother said. She glanced over her shoulder and Kane followed her eye line. Peyton and Heath weren't at the table anymore. "I'll leave you kids to it. I better make sure that Heath and Peyton aren't getting into too much mischief."

Amelia stepped forwards as his mother walked away. "I'll pick you two up at seven then?"

Kane shrugged. "We have another eight years of balls to look forward to," he said. "I'm sure it won't matter if we miss one."

Amelia laughed. She didn't understand the seriousness of his words. "Don't be silly, what if your mate is there tomorrow night?"

Kane didn't want to think about that. "Wyatt and I had plans to hang out," he looked pointedly over at him, "didn't we?"

Wyatt shrugged. "I'm sure we can postpone those plans."

Kane felt his eyes widen. "Is that what you want?" he asked. There was a deeper meaning behind the question.

Amelia looked at him with a curious expression. She cut in before Wyatt had a chance to speak. "I'm sure that your plans can wait."

"Yeah," Wyatt muttered.

"Can I talk to you for a second, Wyatt?" he asked.

Wyatt titled his head.

Kane motioned for him to follow his lead. "We will catch up with you two soon," he told Amelia and Tyler as they walked away.

He didn't stop walking until he reached the back room where he and Adam had been in before the ceremony. He practically pushed Wyatt through the door and shut it behind themselves. He glanced around the room before gently pushing Wyatt up against the door. He pressed his lips to his neck and peppered kisses along his jawline.

"Is this about the ball?" Wyatt asked between heavy breaths.

Kane didn't answer him, instead he continued to press kisses higher and higher up until he kissed Wyatt's bottom lip. Wyatt kissed back, moving his hands so that one was on Kane's hip and the other was on his chest. Kane quickly hiked Wyatt's legs up, around his waist, and pressed his back against the door.

Wyatt laughed. "What if someone hears us?" he asked breathlessly between kisses.

Kane pulled back and took a second to memorise Wyatt's face. He didn't want to admit that it was about the ball. He hated the idea of Wyatt finding his mate the next night and never thinking of him again. As he looked into Wyatt's eyes he wondered if he truly did love him. He cared about him, he didn't want him with anyone else, but was that love? That morning, he could have sworn that it was, but after that ceremony today, he was second guessing. He cared about Wyatt, but he didn't love him like Adam loved Violet.

"No one will hear us," Kane whispered into his ear, his lips ticking the skin of Wyatt's ear. "As long as you're quiet."

A knock on the door disrupted the mood. Wyatt jumped down, a scared look on his face.

"What?" Kane called out against the door.

"Open the door." Kane knew the voice belonged to Adam after the first syllable.

"Oh no," Wyatt whispered.

Kane quickly fixed his tie and tucked in his shirt more before opening the door. Adam didn't look happy. "Out," he nodded at Wyatt.

Wyatt sent an embarrassed look towards Kane before leaving with quick steps. Kane waited for Adam to yell at him, but instead he just closed the door and walked over to the chairs. "Sit," he said.

Kane sat down next to Adam. "Why aren't you with your mate?" Kane asked.

Adam shrugged. "Peyton and Heath tried to replace our first dance track with some electronic nonsense as a joke. She's with the DJ trying to fix it."

"Of course, they did," Kane replied. "About what just happened, I didn't mean to-"

Adam put his hand up for Kane to stop. "I don't think that you and Wyatt are a good idea."

Kane took a deep breath. He knew this was coming. "I know."

Adam shook his head. "You don't know, otherwise you wouldn't be with him."

Adam was right. Kane didn't believe that he had been doing anything wrong. "Do you want me to stay away from him?" he asked. If Adam said so, then Kane would do it. It would kill him, but Adam was an alpha and an order from him wouldn't be taken lightly.

Adam shook his head. To Kane, he looked frustrated. "I'm not commanding anything of you. I, as a person, don't think it's a good idea. I'm never going to force you to do something you don't want to do. I'm not that kind of Alpha, don't you know that by now?"

Kane nodded. It was hard sometimes to fight the instincts inside of him that told him to obey Adam. He couldn't imagine what Wyatt would have felt if he had been having this conversation in his place. The pressure to obey would have been much stronger.

Adam pushed his hair back from his forehead. "When you told me that you two were spending time together I didn't think that you would take it this seriously. You two are always together. It wasn't like this with Kai. You two were just having fun, but you and Wyatt are taking it too far."

"It's not a crime to date before meeting your mate," Kane reminded him.

Adam nodded. "You're right, but you don't know how you're going to feel once you meet your real mate. Things will change. You might regret what you have with Wyatt."

Kane didn't know if Adam was right or wrong about regretting the relationship, he only knew that time would tell. Yet, there was one unchangeable in every scenario that presented itself to Kane. He and Wyatt were not mates. Even though it hurt, he was okay with that. He knew that they weren't meant to be. He may have cared about him, he may have lusted after him, but after seeing Adam and Violet's expressions when their bond strengthened, he knew that they would never have anything like that. He understood it, but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt him like a knife in his chest.

He stood from the chair. "I'll break it off with Wyatt."

Adam looked surprised. "You will?"

Kane nodded. He needed to stop preventing the inevitable.

"You don't have to do this because I-"

"I'm doing this of my own free will,' Kane interrupted him.

Adam nodded. "Let's get back to the party. We can talk more about this tomorrow."

Kane led the way back out to the tent. He avoided Wyatt's eyes and made a beeline for Amelia and Tyler. He needed them to take his mind off the conversation he would have to have with Wyatt the next day, a conversation he never wanted to have. 

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