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I didn’t know what the dress for the ceremony looked like. I told Celeste that I wanted it to be blue to match Cory’s eyes, and I wanted to be able to dance in it. The dress hanging from the closet door was gorgeous, but too formal. It was sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline in a light shimmery midnight blue material. The dress skirt puddled to the floor in a beautiful soft a-line skirt. I wasn’t sure what reaction Celeste saw on my face, but she grinned at me before walking to the dress.
“I know you think it’s not what you want, but hear me out...” She began fiddling with the waist of the dress, and then I grinned back at her when she showed me what she’d done to the dress. “I thought you deserved to have the elegant dress for the ceremony, and the dancing dress you wanted for the dance, so I made sure you didn’t have to compromise.” The long formal ball gown was transformed into a short, light dress when she removed the long a-skirt of the gown. Without it, the dress looked flirty and light, perfect for a summer party in Arizona.
Zi and Mom walked in first, with Meli and Bells behind them, Molly on Bell’s hip while James carried everyone’s clothes. My heart melted when I saw him kiss Molly and then Zi before he left to change. Having been in charge of all the security measures, he’d been busy all day and you could see it reflected in his sweaty button down.
“If someone were to walk in right now, I wonder what they would think,” Mom laughed when we all started stripping to get changed for the ceremony.
“That they’ve died and gone to heaven,” Bells pointed out. I watched Celeste turn around to pick up her dress, and saw the scars over her back. I used to ask Mom why they were there. Celeste was always so graceful and beautiful; the scars seemed like aberrations that didn’t belong. As I grew, I realized that the scars made Celeste more beautiful because they showed her strength and everything that made her the woman she was today, the amazing mother to her kids and everyone else around her—a true luna.
I looked around the room an hour later. Everyone was dressed and ready to go, and I couldn’t help but feel myself the luckiest person in the world to have so many strong women around me to help and support me. Any nerves and fears left me as I looked around at my support system, knowing that no matter what happened, I could meet it head-on because I would never be alone.
“Are you ready, sweetie?” Mom asked me.
“More than ready,” I answered with total confidence.
Everyone made their way to the elevator, but Celeste grabbed my arm, stopping me.
“Valeria, can you wait for us at the bottom? I would like a word with your wonderful daughter.”
“Of course, Luna. I need to find Evergreen. The man is likely huddled in a corner, ready to cry,” Mom chuckled softly before she left.
Celeste moved us over to the couch and motioned for me to sit beside her.
“There’s something Kara needs to explain to you. Something she kept from both of us, the dinkus,” she laughed lowly. She took a deep breath, and I watched Celeste allow Kara to come forward.
“I’m not a dinkus. I’m not allowed to say a lot. Blame it on my sister, not the messenger,” Kara huffed, crossing her arms. Her pouting passed quickly as she looked into my eyes. Her annoyance receded, her face softening. “I have a warning,” she said, making me pale. “No, it’s not so bad. I swear. It’s just... Selene’s a dick. She makes decisions and then tells me about them, and I’m supposed to keep shit to myself, and sometimes things slip out!”
“Is this about the curse you told me a while back?” I asked. I had been trying to get the courage to ask her about it. When Kara nodded, I took a deep breath. “All right, lay it on me.”
Kara’s giggle was a little more high-pitched than Celeste’s, making me smile. “It’s not a death sentence. It’s just that my mate bond with Atlas is deeper than most. I was warned when the connection was made, but I was not told the same connection would continue, and perhaps intensify, with our kids. The mate bond itself is intense enough for any werewolf, and for an alpha and luna, even more so. Evie, your bond with Cory is deeper than Celeste and Markus’. Tozi and Tenoch’s deeper than mine with Atlas. The night of the massacre, you felt pain, your heart squeezed the breath out of your lungs, and you didn’t know what was happening.” I nodded, wondering if my theories since Traci left the pack were right.
“You and Cory were always meant to be together. The bond was made and present from the day you were born and strengthened over time despite your wolves being dormant during your youth. It grew the more you spent time together, which it shouldn’t do until after the bond snapped into place. You two were distant for a while, but it didn’t affect the already intensified strength of the bond. It still drew you to each other, no matter how much you fought it. Re-energizing its need for the other any time you saw each other again. Honestly, I’m surprised you guys could stay apart for as long as you did. You must have felt something all those years away, a deep ache that, no matter what you did, never quite left.” I nodded, remembering the heartache all too well.
“I know Cory was never truly happy while you were away. Celeste and I know our pups. I could see how happy he looked when you came home to visit, even if he stayed back and watched, only for his desperation to find his mate to return tenfold when you left again. Like his soul was telling him to chase after it.” She squeezed my hand when I felt the sting of tears trying to make their way forward.
“When you came back into his life, that bond only continued to bolster, except this time, your wolves were as desperate as your human counterparts. They called out to each other, and their bond strengthened like yours despite being unable to reach out or communicate. They recognized each other, even if they couldn’t define it as a mate bond because it hadn’t snapped into place.” Kara took a deep breath.
“What I’m trying to say, Evie, is that although you didn’t have a mate bond binding you together, and you didn’t have a mate mark, you’ve been his luna from the beginning. What you felt that night was the same pain he felt for every pack member that was killed. You felt the tethers snapping with each death and his pain through the loss of pack members as if it were your own. You felt it as the luna of Crescent Moon and as his mate.”
“Would he have felt when I...” I trailed off with a blush, but needing to know I didn’t cause my mate pain when I was being intimate with another person.
“No, sweetie. He wouldn’t have felt that because the bond hadn’t been recognized yet. It hadn’t manifested itself physically with the sparks, so he wouldn’t have felt you being intimate with a partner. You felt his heartbreak only because it was such an extreme emotion and your bond is so strong.” She gave me a sympathetic look when I slumped back with relief.
“The bond you have with Cory is a blessing because you will know a love so deep and so pure, but it’s also a curse because it’s not only the love you will share, but any pain you feel will be amplified because of that bond. You feel his fears, doubts, and pain at a much deeper level than a normal mated pair as he does yours. Those doubts, fears and pain will bounce back and forth between you two, and you need to be able to wade through it all when things get tough and focus on the love you two have nurtured. Cory feels everything so deeply. Every time a life is lost, he takes it as a personal failure. He will need you to be his grounding force because this isn’t over yet, and the cost of war is always life.” My heart clenched, reacting to the pain she told me my mate was destined to go through.
“You’re going to be an amazing luna all on your own, but you will help Cory become the amazing alpha he has the potential to become. You and Cory need to trust your connection to each other, because that’s the only thing that can help get you through what’s to come. The only way through the darkness threatening our packs is to hold on to the love you feel for one another and see it reflected in the pack.”
Kara’s warning was a lot to take in, and I was concerned about all the hints of darkness coming toward us, but in the end, I realized none of it mattered. As long as I stood at Cory’s side, I would walk through the depths of hell Tezcatlipoca was threatening to unleash on the world, and see him through to the other side. Kara saw something in me as my feelings settled with that one thought and she smiled at me.
“That’s my luna. Let’s go and let the rest of the world recognize who you’ve always been. My pup’s mate and the luna to Crescent Moon.”
Kara smiled as she let Celeste come forward again, and her black eyes turned back to the same shade of blue I see in the man of my dreams. She blinked back tears and engulfed me in a hug that I could only describe as fierce and motherly.
“I’m so mad she never told me any of that!” she chuckled when she pulled back. “I was heartbroken when I thought you weren’t Cory’s mate. You two were the cutest growing up, and this whole time, Kara knew you were.” Her eyes were unfocused for a moment, and she giggled.
“All right, she didn’t know the whole time, but at least long before the rest of us. Now let’s go, before Cory loses his patience and sends the guards to see who’s holding you hostage.”
We met my parents near the doors to the backyard, where the ceremony would take place. Dad’s face practically crumpled into tears when he looked at me, and I watched as he squared his shoulders, blinking them away. It wasn’t traditional for parents to walk their daughters down to their luna ceremony. Still, it was one of my few requests, and Celeste was more than willing to accommodate me. I wanted them to be a part of this ceremony and for all of Crescent Moon to know that my parents loved the pack so much, that they were willing to walk their only daughter down the aisle for them.
