The pastor's head glistened as the sun beat down on it. He took an already sweat saturated handkerchief and wiped his bald head and moustache while he read the final verses of the Psalm.

" The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" He spat across the open grave. "We lay Elijah to rest by saying ashes to ashes.."

"Dust to dust" the crowd responded. Mika bent down next to his father's wheelchair, grabbing a handful of the rich red dirt. He took his hand to place some of the dirt in it but he pulled it away safely tucking it under the other. Mika sighed. The congregation erupted into cheerful choruses, celebrating his brother's life. It seemed like the entire village was there to support the Alpha in his grief. During the service, many came up offering words of encouragement and their service to him. The church had been packed and even more was waiting outside. People he'd never met were bawling as if they'd lost their own loved one.

Mika threw the dirt onto the casket, dirtying the white-flowered wreaths that decorated it. The others who had done the same. His chest tightened for the millionth time today, but no tears came. Through the singing, his father's rumbling wails bore through.

Their aunt, Sylvie knelt down next to him hugging him and rubbing his shoulders. Her broad hat sheltered her from the direct heat. Mika froze at the sight. His father, crying? He'd never seen such a sight in all his twenty-eight years of life. He guessed it took the death of his firstborn to finally show some emotion. Mika's chest felt heavy and his face went hot. It wasn't from the striking heat from the sun. But their father had waited till Elijah was gone to show he cared. If he did even at all.

At the closing, the pastor gave his final words of encouragement then the crowd started to disperse. The village labourers began mixing their batch of concrete to cover the grave. They laid a piece of plyboard over the opening, placed a steel mesh over it and started to pour the mixture on. Sealing in Elijah for good. He wasn't coming back. The realization struck him like a boulder rolling down a hill and he staggered back, losing his footing over a rock.

"Whoa, watch yourself, wouldn't want the Alpha's only remaining heir to hurt himself," Dean caught him by the arm. He was sweating buckets too and seemed to be baking in his all-black tailored suit.

Mika gently pulled his arm away and gave a reluctant thanks to the village's second in command.

Dean looked Mika up and down. "How are you doing son? It can't be easy for you." He said in his rich thick accent. Mika looked down inspecting the red dirt that had covered his white shoes and crept up the hem of his white pants.

"The best I can I guess." Mika somberly responded, suddenly feeling small at the mention of the word "son".

"It has been a while. I haven't seen you since your mother's passing." The mention of his mother razored through the scars on his heart.

"What was it five years ago?" Dean asked. Mika couldn't respond. He only kept his head down with his arms at his side as they walked.

Dean nonchalantly carried on. "She was a lovely woman and an incredible first lady."

"It's too bad that now Elijah is gone too. And the way he went." Dean shook his head. 

Mika hadn't spoken to his brother much over the past three years. They had grown up like two peas in a pod, always causing harmless mischieve around the compound, but when Mika left it had made an irreparable rip in their relationship. Elijah was becoming more like their father daily. Mika couldn't stand it. When he received the invitation to his funeral, Mika nearly collapsed. His only brother was gone, and he didn't know how or why. 

"How did he die?" Mika asked.  Dean's eyes were sorrowful. Teary almost. "My dear boy we have much to talk about but let's save it for after the funeral, at the compound." 

"I won't be coming," 

"Well, I am not so sure about that. We will be seeing more of each other from now on, Mika." He patted him on the back with a jewelled hand before going to talk to his father. Mika furrowed his brows. His intention was to leave immediately after the funeral. He'd come to bury his only brother and return to his home. 

"Take me to the car," His father instructed him with a wave of his hand. Mika hesitated for a moment. Unable to disobey his father, The Alpha, Mika nodded his head. He didn't want to argue on a day like this. He wheeled the chair between the graves all the way up to the church.

~~~~

Against his better judgment, Mika had found himself sitting in his father's limousine. Mika swallowed hard as his father poured him a drink of the strongest bourbon from the limousine bar. He didn't protest but his face was skewed in defiance. He hadn't been much of a drinker and always had to gulp down the bitter liquid whenever he was in his company of father and other nobilities. His father poured a lot more for himself than usual while Mika's glass was halved.

He took a tentative sip, anticipating what his father would say. They'd never been one to have deep conversations. But when the Alpha suggested that he took the limousine with him back to the compound rather than a taxi he came with, it was almost a crime to refuse.

The car started and hummed steadily in the background. They pulled out and then all other vehicles followed.

His father took a long sip before speaking.

" You look well."

Mika almost choked at his words. "Y- yes..." he stuttered. Was he supposed to say thank you?

" It's been three years. Three years since you left the village. And you only return when your brother is dead. Is that what it takes for you to remember your family?"

Mika's face burned. How dare he accuse him of neglecting his family when he's the one who drove him out. The countless arguments were exhausting and the expectations hung over his head like a dark cloud threatening to rain down with thunder and lightning

"Have you nothing to say, boy?!" His father's voice rose. Mika shrunk in his seat.

He had a lot he could tell him. This family was the reason he left. That after his mother died he'd changed into a person he didn't recognize as his father. That he'd suffered more at the hands of his father.

He took a shaky sip before responding to quell his nerves. " I'm sorry Papa." To say anything else was pointless.

"Very well," he responded. His round nose turned up as he gazed out the window. They passed lines of pedestrians leaving the burial ground. They wore their Sunday best. The women wore floral dresses and high heels that rocked unsteadily as walked on the uneven road. The men in their three-piece suits were sweating buckets and wiping their foreheads as they followed the women. The limousine driver blew his horn at a young girl that stumbled in the way of the car. She jumped out of the way. 

"Don't blow them, Jerry, they came to celebrate my son's life." He took another sip of the liquor "Let them walk, you just take your time."

The limousine crawled until they were at the compound. Bound by tall concrete walls painted in a tan shade and large golden gates that looked like they were the way to heaven. For Mika, this was the way to his own personal hell paved with colourful decorative stones.

They drove up to a grandiose brick house at the centre of the compound. It was surrounded by lush green gardens dotted with white and gold painted statues. The driver stopped right at the entrance, got out and opened the door for the Alpha and handed him his cane. It was a solid cherrywood cane with a gold wolf's head at its crest. Mika opened his own door before the driver got around to his side. The guards instinctively opened the doors as his father approached as if it was an automatic reaction. 

His father kept his head straight as he walked past the guards into the grand entry. Mika followed a few feet behind. The wooden musk hit him like a ton of bricks and transported him back to a time he'd spent the last three years trying to forget. The floor creaked slightly under his feet as it always did. The chairs were still covered in that hideous floral print, that matched the similarly atrocious curtains.

His father ambled down to his study, while Mika stayed stuck in the entrance.

"Go wash up, we have a meeting with the Chiefs tonight."

"A meeting?" Mika murmured to no one. What could they want with me? He questioned as he trudged up the stairs, passing pictures of what used to be a happy family. One particular image caught his eye. It had been a while since he'd seen it. It was one of his mother, Catherine, his father, the Alpha and Elijah and him.

They were gathered around his mother at the family dining table. She wore a beautiful blue and white printed traditional dress and matching headdress. She smiled genuinely as they posed for the picture. Mika and Elijah were in similar traditional wear that matched their father's. It was her birthday, some years ago. They'd had a grand celebration, inviting all the village chiefs and families to eat drink and be merry. No one knew it would end up being her last.

Mika sighed. At least they'd looked happy. A lump grew in his throat seeing his brother who looked just like his father, dark-skinned, with a firm brow and rounded nose. Mika on the other hand bore his mother's features, a lighter tone skin, fuller lips and gentler eyes. Her little prince she'd always called him, while Elijah was always the warrior.

~~~~

The sun began to set, casting a golden orange stream of light through his window. His mind turned as he pondered what the meeting could be about. He'd never been invited to any chiefs meeting. The sons were never invited. A lot must have changed in the years he'd been gone; including the room that used to be his. Nothing in the room was as he'd remembered. His father probably had it cleaned out the moment he'd left, but the four walls still felt like a prison.

His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn't eaten. Not that he could stomach anything today. He'd been lying on the bed awaiting the meeting time, in his white funeral suit. He'd hoped that he'd get some answers about his brother's death. Was he murdered? Sick? He'd only heard the murmurs of the village people around. None spoke directly to him and he couldn't clearly make out what they were saying. But he'd hoped he could go home knowing what happened. 

His clothes were still at the hotel he had stayed at upon arriving back in the country. His plan was to get here, go to the funeral and leave tonight but his father insisted on a one-line instruction. He shook his head. All the bravo he had to leave disappeared as soon as he returned. 

There was a knock at the door. Mika got up and opened it to a young man dressed in a tan bush jacket and matching pants.

He bowed slightly, "Sir the Alpha requests your presence in the meeting room."

Mika raised an eyebrow at him. He'd known all the staff here all his life. "Who are you?"

The young man bowed again, "I am Jonah, your servant sir."

"I don't need a servant."

"Sir the Alpha has given me the honour of helping you with whatever you request."

Mika looked at Jonah up and down who plastered a sprightly smile. It must have been hard enough working for the Alpha. Mika decided to make things a little easier.

"Okay." Mika made to leave.

"Sir, are you going like that?" Jonah asked.

"Yes, why?"

"I don't think you have dressed appropriately, sir." Jonah pushed past Mika into the room. He opened a large wardrobe on the far wall, revealing an assortment of custom men's wear. Jonah picked out a gold and white one with a matching kufi cap.

Mika should have known. He took the clothes from Jonah. "Tell the Alpha I'll be there in five minutes."

~~~~

Now adorned in the suit, Mika followed Jonah through the back garden to the meeting room. It stood as a separate building from the main house, to privately host meetings regarding matters of the village. Jonah opened the wooden door for him and Mika stepped inside. The room was larger than he'd imagined and dimly lit with small oil lanterns lining the walls.

Along the sides sat the village chiefs some thirty-odd men dressed in their own traditional wear. At the crest of the room sat the Alpha in a wooden chair covered in gold silk garments. Jonah closed the door behind Mika with a thud and he jumped slightly.

Right next to the Alpha sat Dean. He stood up and greeted "My son, welcome," he said with a broad smile. All the chiefs stood and thunder erupted from the ground as the chiefs stomped their feet. Dean beckoned Mika to come up to the front. His hands began to sweat and his pulse quickened. He took shaky steps and nodded timidly at the chiefs who all had broad smiles on their faces.

Mika climbed the few steps and sunk into a smaller chair to the Alpha's right. His eyes darted around the room as he tried to make sense of what was going on. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead. The Alpha stood with the help of his cane and raised his right palm. The room was silenced in milliseconds.

In a gruff voice, the Alpha declared, "All hail the next Alpha of Mesuka Village!"