Alpha Mates (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 8.

*****

"What are they wearing?" Ashton asked confused as we watched another group of people in weird colourful robes walk by us.

"Probably costumes." Ben frowned.

I jabbed my elbow hard into his side when we received a glare from one of the older people that were not walking around in robes and was standing closer to the recreation centre's entrance doors. Ben coughed before he shot me a glare.

'Just be quiet before you offend someone.' I linked to him. The robes were confusing, but I was certain they had something to do with the mate ceremony and were most likely not costumes.

"Hey, guys." I looked at Richard as he jogged up to us in a shirt and pair of shorts that were covered in patterns, though these were different from the patterns I had seen on the earlier robes.

"Um... What are you wearing?" Tamia asked politely.

"Oh. This is traditional wear. It shows everyone who's in the ceremony and also points out our ranks. That's why I'm the only person wearing red." He said glancing down at his attire before motioning to other people around us.

"Traditional wear. Oh." Ben nodded. "It looks weird." Another elbow had Ben jumping before he attempted to retaliate but I grabbed his fist, opening it and trying to make it look like we were shaking hands. Richard's just stared at us questioningly.

"Good luck," I said lifting our hands as I did. I let Ben's hand go. 'Just because it's weird doesn't mean you have to say it. We've annoyed everyone enough.' I linked to him before speaking to Richard, "With the mating and everything."

He chuckled. "I know it seems a little weird, but the packs around here actually all do the same. To us, your pack is a little weird." He said.

"Of course, but..." I drifted. Is all of this traditional wear really necessary? Everyone already knew who everyone else was. And earlier I noticed a few of their elders gathering in front of one house for some reason. "I get it." Not really.

"We –"

"Beta! We need you with the elders." Someone called.

"I have to go. If you have any questions, there are some books in the library that explain this. Or you could ask anyone around here."

"Okay." I nodded patting his shoulder before he ran off with the man that had called for him.

'Alpha, do you think we can go sightseeing?' Ashton linked to me.

I looked at my sister to find her looking as confused as I felt. I was hoping she would help me make a choice. Would Karabo mind if we left? I had not seen him since our run that morning. I had had another nightmare so we took a jog and when we returned he disappeared to handle pack work and set-up for the day. He probably would not mind. We did not have anything to do with the ceremony anyway.

"Excuse me, when does the ceremony finish?" I asked a couple of random teenagers I spotted.

They looked surprised before one answered, "Probably at twelve, when the moon's high." She said.

"Thank you." I gave them a smile before looking at my friends questioningly. They nodded knowing what I was asking without me having to speak.

We left Karabo's pack and made our way to the city.

"They're really odd." Ashton said once we were walking down a street in a town crowded with humans.

"They are." Tamia agreed, "Do you think our pack will have to do the ceremony if you mate with Karabo?"

"I don't know, I haven't thought about it."

"What have you thought about?" Ashton asked looking curious. I shrugged. Nothing. All I had thought about was Karabo, not what we were going to do when we mated, what would happen afterwards.