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She didn’t even delay as she looked at me and then at Asher before lifting her hands.
“Realms of Shadows. Galaxies of light. Stars of wonder. Futures so bright. I call upon our Mother Moon, the queen of our peace, the conductor of our lives. I request your presence as two of your children have come to the very root of their essence to seek permission to be united on a grander level than the mate bond you bestowed upon them.”
She looked between us while nodding in approval.
“To be fated for one another is one thing, but to make the decision to present such love to Mother Moon and request her blessings out of respect for her grand decision invites a new door to open that deserves to be acknowledged and praised,” she declared and clapped her hands.
Moving her hands to the sides, two boxes of velvet appeared in the palm of her hands. One was black and one was white. The lids opened up to reveal our engraved bands.
“Our Creator and Mother, I present these two bonded mates who’ve conquered their fears and gathered the confidence to come to their rooted lands to be blessed by you alone. In the midst of this lagoon that you created just for their unity, I ask for you to bless their bands that will always remind them of the challenges and steps they took to be joined in this very moment. Infuse them with magic far grander than what will be bestowed upon them in their woven destines, and grant them a piece of your sacred cloth that will remind the rest of the world that they are surrounded by your everlasting protection!” Nyx declared as she raised the boxes up high.
Black flames ignited and spun around her hands, followed by streams of water that lifted from the surrounding lagoon itself. Gusts of wind picked up and were next to join the spinning vortex continuing to move along Nyx’s arms, and finally, glimmers of light kindled to life and were the first summoned element to embed itself into the rings.
The other elements followed until the two rings shifted from onyx to pure white and the same tiny symbols that had recently shown up along our fingers and hands imprinted along the outer surface of the rings.
When it was complete, she offered us the opposite rings — giving us the chance to retrieve the significant piece of jewelry before we faced one another.
“Asher,” Nyx encouraged.
I looked up at him, his image still pretty visible even with the veil. His emotions were the rawest I’d ever witnessed, and it only reminded me of our very first encounter when he sat upon that throne while I was chained in the depths of the pit.
From my emotionless Alpha to my compassionate, overprotective mate, he’d changed my life for the better and I couldn’t be more grateful to have him enter my life.
He grasped my hand and presented the ring that immediately glowed white. His eyes met mine as he stated his vows.
“I never thought I’d be worthy of love again, to experience what it truly was like to fall for someone without even realizing it, versus a bond being triggered and confirming who Mother Moon had woven into my destiny as my fated mate,” he began. “Little did I know everything was unfolding. That I’d come to fall madly in love with a woman who fought to ensure the world acknowledged her worth. A woman who never follows basic rules and somehow attracts trouble in every corner of her existence.”
“Hey.” I pouted my lips which made him chuckle and smile admiringly back at me.
“I didn’t realize how broken I’d become from my past. How frightened I was of taking steps that could tip the balance of the world. I cowered in the shadows because I feared retribution. Feared being pushed to fight and trigger a shifter war, which was why I was compliant with the rules. It was why I just acted like a puppet and focused on each day without acknowledging that what I was doing was simply preventative care. Avoiding the inevitable. A certain little pup with a big ass personality made me remember how I used to be when I was a child. The ambition I once carried to change the world by shaking it up. If that meant going to war, so be it, for it would invite the change we needed to make things right. To ensure our people were privileged just like any race that fought for their rights and conquered. It took me falling in love with you…and having a few close calls of losing you to realize this.”
He took a breath and let it out slowly.
“I’m tired of being a chicken and running away from what I fear. I’m tired of hiding in the shadows and letting others figure out how this shifter world is supposed to be run. I want to live in a shifter society where I no longer wear a mask to hide my feelings and intentions, and that starts with this marriage in a world that supports our rise, surrounded by those who truly seek our salvation,” he proudly stated and grinned. “Our love will be a display of power. Our commitment will be our strength and foundation. Our bond will ignite change not just in this world, but in the realms of Shifter Syndicate. It will ignite a dynamic shift that no one can stop, and with Mother Moon’s protection, we’ll be victorious with everything we aim to achieve together, as husband and wife.”
He slipped the ring the rest of the way, hitting the base of the engagement ring which triggered a reaction that sent shivers through me while those same symbolic markings surfaced. It spread up to my wrists before beginning to fade, but the power thrumming through my body pulsed with purpose as it was now my turn to do the same to him.
Reaching for his band that began to illuminate with a black glow, I used my other hand to hold on to his as I presented the ring while my eyes locked onto his.
“When I came to Shifter Syndicate unexpectedly, I thought it would be my end. The abrupt pull into a world I hadn’t been prepared for made me work overtime for my survival. After rejection, I didn’t even think love could be possible. That I could meet someone who could grind my gears and yet leave my mind in a state of infatuation. The moment you picked me in the depths of the pit, a second before death, I felt deep down that my life could change for the better, but never did I imagine our connection could lead me down this path. That I’d finally find the home I’d been begging the universe to bring me to. A place of refuge. A haven that allows me to forget how crazy the real world is. To feel like I truly belong and not fear judgment or my inability to blend in the shadows and corners of the world so I won’t be caught or killed. To finally find where I truly belong,” I whispered and looked at his ring. “Falling in love with you felt like I was rejuvenating something I thought had died. Like watching a sprouting plant finally peak out of the soil I thought was lifeless. Being protected by you in various ways, to your unique ways of showing me affection when I least expected it began to make roots in my heart, and before I knew it, I really did love you. Not just you, but every aspect of you as well because it proved to me that I wasn’t some sort of alien who didn’t deserve love. I just hadn’t found the sole person who was made to complement me.”
Beginning to slip the ring onto his fingers, I peered up into his eyes once more.
“Now I finally found him. The man who took my pain and morphed it into pleasure, broke through the walls of sadness and invited gusts of happiness. Having an Alpha to rely on when things went wrong was empowering, but having a lover who leans on made me carry a lot more hope knowing I’d be loved and supported no matter what obstacles came my way,” I confessed. “I’ve never felt so alive and worthy. Never felt so indestructible when things spin out of control. Just knowing I have your support in any scenario I wind up in has empowered me exponentially, to the point that I can only imagine how this union will further empower me. How it’ll empower us into the role models we wish to become.”
Taking a deep breath, I let it out and gave him my best smile as my eyes watered.
“I wanted to marry you here because I wished to portray our true feelings without feeling pressured. For our love to be raw and genuine before the goddess who’s allowed us to have a second chance to find and love one another. To present our affection to this world of shadows so it can take root and encourage trees of affection and streams of life to blossom thanks to our union. Most importantly, I felt like our packs deserved to witness what their sacrifices have kindled. How their loss brought us together and will be the reason why this world will bloom into a world they’ve craved to experience all these years,” I proudly declared as my eyes softened. “The world will have no choice but to witness our love for one another. May this ring be the beginning of our public display of everlasting love, until we’re able to expand our love with the permission and blessings of Mother Moon, as husband and wife.”
The last sentence was what made tears spill down his cheeks while I was already shedding tears. I slid the ring to the base of his finger, watching how those miniature markings spread wildly along his hand to his wrist.
It faded before we lowered our hands and glanced at Nyx, who nodded to each of us before she put her hands together with a single clap sound. The chanting came to a stop, the world silent around us for a minute before shadowed flames burst into existence and proceeded to wrap around the both of us.
We watched in amazement as I felt the heaviness of a coat of fur that now laid upon my shoulders while the wind picked up enough to lift the veil that covered my face to rest behind me. A glance over to Asher revealed the fur coat of white that sat upon his shoulders. Both jackets were the same length and depth, but it was the sense of warmth that triggered our bodies to begin to illuminate with immense magic.
All we could do was watch as those tiny scriptures of markings returned and spread across our hands, arms, and legs, but it didn’t stop there.
It kept going.
