Okay so here's the pack set up.
Alpha(capital letter A) - reigning leader of the pack.
First alpha (small letter A) - his son and heir.
Second alpha (small letter A) - his grandson and heir after the son.
Beta - second in command of the pack.
First beta - his son.
Second beta - his grandson.
Gamma - third in command.
First gamma - his son.
Second gamma - his grandson.
Alright so I'm the kind of reader who has no preconception before reading a book and love learning about the world the author has built. that doesn't seem to be the case with most of the readers here, at least those who bother to comment so even though I put the differences of this werewolf world from any other people still don't get it. So here is the breakdown.
They live for a thousand years so they have more than three generations living at the same time so that's why in most cases the grandfather is the Alpha and he has two heirs. Plus I have a manic hate for the teenage Alpha cliche.
The Alpha Queen and King hold the power of all their race and filter it back to their people so rogues would be ridiculous. They would lose their power once they turn against the royals.
Mates are created from a single soul and they recognise each other as such when they meet. There can be no rejection since as long as the other half of your soul exists, you will feel for them. So the royals never grant rejections and come hard against anyone who does reject their mate. The exception is twins (of the same sex) who are each made from a quarter of the same soul and their mates are the other quarters so even though they have one mate each, they can exchange. The trick though is all four have to agree to change mates otherwise the original bonds will hold sway.
As to the actual mating, it takes two weeks and the mating pair is isolated in one of the mating cabins on the pack land. The cabin is kept equipped with everything a couple might need. The mates bite each other and inject a serum that alters them on a genetically level for maximum compatibility and aligns their minds. The second bite at the end of the two weeks seals the mating so before the second bite they are technically not mated since it's the one that also stays as a mark.
I hope that answers most of the questions that have been expressed.