AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Good grief. His competitiveness knew no bounds.
Chapter Twenty-Six
CEDAR: Mating Ceremony. Thursday 5pm. Briar Lake Prep Great Hall. Attendance is mandatory. No reply needed.
IwishIcouldsay that the day of the mating ceremony was bright and clear and full of all the things that inspired hope in the future, but that would be a lie.
It was a very gray day, with low, heavy clouds filling the sky. It wasn’t snowing, but it looked like it might any minute.
Even with all that, my heart was light. Today I would claim my mate. Mytruemate.
Like in the beta rituals for marriage, all omegas were to wear white to the mating ceremony, so Anna helped me choose one from Simone at Modern Modiste. We were all surprised when I stepped out of the dressing room in a slim sheath dress with a low neckline that was covered in white sequins. It said a lot about how much I had changed over the last month that I would wear such an eye-catching dress. But I certainly wanted to catch the eye of my alpha, and I didn’t want there to be any question about whether my neck was collared or not. This dress fit the bill perfectly.
Anna swept my hair up into an elaborate twist to further highlight my neck.
“Your collar is so beautiful. Will you miss wearing it?” she asked, looking at it in the reflection of the mirror.
“Wearing it? No. I don’t love that I can’t take it off even if I wanted to. But I’ll have to keep it. I’ve heard some mates get them framed and hung on a wall. Or turned into another piece of jewelry.” I admired my strings of pearls.
“All those pearls could make a lot of beautiful jewelry…”
“Let’s get it off first. Then I can decide.” I laughed, surprising myself with my lack of nerves. Will would get this collar off today, and then we could decide what to do with it.
Just like it had on the day of the Reveal Ceremony at the beginning of the Season, the Great Hall was decorated beautifully. Hundreds of candles helped illuminate the lofty space and fight against the bitter cold outside the doors.
Anna and I grabbed seats near the front. She scoffed at first, until she realized we were positioned perfectly for people watching. She kept a running commentary going of who was wearing what and who was sitting with whom and when Will would show up.
Tanner slid in next to me, dragging Kara with him. It didn’t occur to me to sit with Will. Should I have? Was that a bad sign? I glanced back at where he was sitting with some of his teammates, and as if he could feel my gaze, he turned and locked eyes with me. I must’ve appeared worried because his face took on a look of concern. I tried to smile, and the one he sent back was so genuine that I instantly relaxed. Everything was fine.
Beta Golding walked out onto the stage to begin the ceremony. Tonight he was in a deep red velvet tuxedo, which paired with his bright white hair made him look distinctly like—
“Here comes Santa Claus. Here comes Santa Claus…” Tanner softly sang, and all of us in earshot burst out laughing. He really looked exactly like a dapper Santa!
Golding shot us a glare, and Tanner held his hands up in apology. Once the room finally went quiet, Beta Golding began.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, Alphas and Omegas. Welcome to this Season’s Mating Ceremony!” He paused for applause, and we didn’t disappoint him.
“Tonight I’ll call our lovely omegas to the stage, where they’ll take a seat,” he gestured to the only item on the stage tonight, a small white chair, “and they’ll invite their chosen alpha to come up and join them. The alpha will use his bark to demand submission from the omega. If the collar unlocks and exposes her neck for a bonding bite, the pair will be mated. However, mating bites willnothappen here. Today is ceremonial only. Again, Alphas, do not bite your omega here today. Understood?” He glanced around the room for confirmation that I wasn’t sure he was going to get.
“In the rare case of a bond rejection, if an omega’s collar doesn’t recognize an alpha’s bark, advisors will be standing by to discuss options. But rest assured that if you participated in the Season correctly, the chances of that are very slim.” He gave the crowd an encouraging smile, but my heart started to race. Nothing about my Season had gonecorrectly. I started to fidget, and in tandem, Anna and Tanner both slid their hands to my knees. I was literally surrounded by those that loved me and supported me today. I reminded myself again: Everything was fine.
“Let’s get started! First up, Omega Kara Byrne!” Kara immediately rose and floated to the stage. Tanner didn’t take his eyes off her for a second. I was so excited for my best friend. I grabbed his hand and squeezed tight.
Kara sat in the white chair, and when Golding prompted her, her voice was loud and clear.
“I request Alpha Tanner Olsen.”
I thought Kara had popped up, but she didn’t have anything on the speed with which Tanner bolted to the stage, ready to claim his mate. He stood behind her, lightly bouncing back and forth on his toes, hands constantly in motion, wanting to touch her but not allowed, an eager grin on his face.
“Tanner, go ahead and bark when you’re ready.”
He couldn’t have taken a breath before his bark rang deep and loud. “OMEGA, SUBMIT!”
I never saw her collar unlock because Tanner’s hands were right there to catch it. He gripped her collar in one hand, gripped her now bare neck with the other hand, and dragged her up to kiss him, lifting the collar in victory.
The pride and deep adoration in his eyes warmed my soul. He had his mate.
Golding basically had to shove them off the stage to keep the ceremony moving, but he was used to it after running these ceremonies for years.
