Altar of Twilight Oh,I need this

Mason grinned when Al’s name was mentioned. They hadn’t spent much time together recently but he knew the male quite well; he had been with Silvertip for as long as Mason could remember. “Yeah, Al’s cool, he helped teach me how to hunt!”
 
When Floki admitted he had just been made a Beta, Mason blinked and looked more deeply into his face. Surely he was the same age as Mason? Mention of puppies and mates fell by the wayside as Mason thought over what Floki said. He was ‘The Beta Male’. The Beta Male. Like there could only be one.
 
Did that mean maybe Sted and himself had it wrong? Would they have to battle it out?
 
Maybe Floki just meant he was the only one right now. Attempting to still his heart, Mason admitted to Floki something that only a handful knew: “Dad is our Alpha, and he wants me to be Beta…” Mason looked off into the ethereal light dancing on snow. “But he has a mate now and she isn’t a massive fan of mine, so I said I would take time to think…” Mason looked back to Floki to ask: “Have you found it hard?”