“Are you ready, baby?” she asked.
“As ready as I can be to endure never-ending, mind-numbing pain for days on end.”
My mom’s brown eyes filled with tears. “I’m worried about you.”
“Don’t be. I’ve never heard of an alpha coming out of metamorphosis any worse than when he went in.”
“I don’t care about any of that. I just can’t stand the thought of you going through all that pain. I’m not just a nurse. I’m your mama, and mamas can’t stand to see their babies in pain.”
“I’m not a baby though.”
“You will always be my baby,” she said with a smile. “Always.”
I grinned and hugged her tight. “I’ll be fine. I’m a Wesley, remember? We’re as tough as they come.”
My mother pinched my cheek. “Speaking of, the entire pack is here. Even Granny Marcella and Papa Mike refused to miss it. They and the other elders think this is the last ascension they’ll ever be a witness to.”
“I hope not,” I replied, though I knew it was probably true. My grandparents were already pretty old and shifters weren’t immortal. We aged just like humans. The only difference was we had superhuman abilities and we healed fast. Other than that, we lived and died as humans did.
“Has the king arrived yet?”
“Yes,” Mom replied. “And it’s probably not a good idea to keep him waiting, even if he is your best friend.”
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s never a good idea to piss off a guy you’re forbidden to punch in the face.”
My mother laughed and pushed me out of my room and toward the front door of my cabin. Remy and Darien were outside waiting for me.
“Hey, Ms. Cecelia,” they greeted my mom.
“Hey, boys,” she replied. “Why do ya’ll look so sad? Like Xavier just told me, he’s only been sentenced to metamorphosis, not death.”
“Sorry, Ms. Cecelia,” they said.
“Don’t apologize,” she laughed. “Just smile. Xavier needs all the support he can get today.” She kissed my cheek and then headed toward the main campus where the ceremony would take place.
I looked at my cousins. “Are you two about to cry?”
Remy gave me the finger. “Are you? You look scared as hell, boy.”
“I’m good. Just gotta get ready to take this pain is all.”
“I’m kind of hyped,” Darien said. “Not to see you in pain, but for you to be alpha. You’re the best of us, X. The king made the right decision.”
“Thanks, D,” I said. “Even though you sound soft as shit right now, that means a lot.”
He snorted. “Yeah, you’re welcome, bitch.”
I laughed. “Now I’ve stalled long enough. Let’s go and get this ascension over with, yeah?”
We walked to campus in silence. It was cold out but I didn’t care, even without a shirt on. I hadn’t seen the point in wearing one since I was sure I would just end up ripping it off when the metamorphosis started.
The commons, which had been filled with voices and laughter, became dead silent the second I appeared. Roman stood in the center with the nobles, who all wore long, black leather jackets and leather gloves. Like me, Roman was shirtless, exposing his seventeen tribal tattoos representing all of the wolf packs in his kingdom. This was the largest the lycan kingdom had been in over two hundred years, and that was a good thing for Roman. If he could keep the packs strong and thriving, then he could possibly be named the greatest lycan king ever.
Remy and Darien joined Kane, Eli, Foster, and the other younger members, and I entered the fire circle that Roman and the nobles stood in. I saw my mom with Nathaniel and their two little pups, Asa and Kennedy. My little brother and sister waved enthusiastically at me, and I wanted to wave back but I had to stay focused and keep control of my emotions. I saw my grandparents sitting with the other elders, as well as the rest of my extended family that lived in Mirage. Not everyone in my pack was a Wesley, so there were several other families there as well.
The sun had pretty much set so the fire circle was our main source of light. I walked to the center of the circle and knelt in front of the king while drummers from the king’s court played batá and dundun drums. I’d never attended an ascension ceremony but I’d been schooled on it by my Uncle Bart’s beta, Junior, over the last two weeks since receiving the letter from the king. The most important thing he’d told me to do was front tough and not speak unless the king spoke to me first.
Roman circled me and I kept my eyes facing forward, focused on nothing in particular. “Xavier Wesley,” he said in his booming voice. “You have been called upon to serve this kingdom as one of its treasured leaders and strongest warriors. Many eyes are upon you this day, not only of those who are present, but of those who have come before you.” He lowered his voice. “I know your father would be very proud of you right now.” I nodded because I didn’t want to speak. I was feeling a little emotional and if I cried in front of my pack, then I was going to have to insist that they skipped the metamorphosis and killed me right there.
Roman started chanting in Yoruba while the drums played. I didn’t have a clue what he was saying, but then again, there weren’t many of us who did. Some of the elders spoke a little Yoruba and Igbo, but for the most part we were an English-speaking pack. I couldn’t help but think that maybe it was time to change that.
Stefan handed Roman a wooden dagger because silver was indeed poisonous to us and we avoided all other metal alloys just to be safe. Stretching his arm out over the bowl Marcus held, Roman slit his wrist and continued to chant as blood poured from the gash. When he was satisfied with the amount in the bowl, he licked the wound, instantly sealing it. Jackson held up a glass chalice and Marcus poured a generous amount of Roman’s blood into it. The king accepted the chalice from Jackson and then turned back to face me.
This right here was why dozens of bodyguards flooded the campus every time the king came to visit. He had to be protected at all costs because the blood of a Diallo male was like a rare diamond to wolf shifters. It was laced with pure adrenaline and regenerative properties unlike any other shifter bloodline in history. Drinking it would launch my metamorphosis and change me in ways I could never imagine. I’d seen the results of Uncle Bart’s transformation, but Diallo blood didn’t affect every wolf the same. There was just no way to predict what Roman’s blood was going to do to me.
The king approached and gestured for me to stand. “Are you ready?” he asked. The drums were still playing and he spoke so low, I was sure I was the only one who could hear him.
“Hell no. But I’m your servant, right? This is what you wanted.”
“This is not what I wanted, X. But I needed you to be the alpha. I need someone I can trust.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
His expression became dead serious. “Lycans everywhere,” he whispered, “here and in the Motherland, are in great dang–“
“Sire,” Stefan interrupted. “Please. Another time.”
I couldn’t believe how acute Stefan’s hearing was to be able to hear whispering over the drums, but somehow he had. Roman and I stared at each other for another few seconds before he looked to the ground.
When he looked back up, he smiled as if everything was okay. “When I was only a pup, my father often recited a certain proverb to me. He said, if we stand tall, it is because we stand on the backs of those that came before us.”
“I know that proverb,” I said, having heard Uncle Bart recite it before. “I won’t let our ancestors down, sire.”
The king smiled and offered me the cup. “Drink now, Xavier, so that your life may begin.”