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“Is it really necessary to be separated that long? Why can’t we just watch together?” I whined. I hated being away from Markus for so long. It gave me an upset stomach.
“It’s tradition,” she insisted, and I sighed and nodded. “Once the gamma oath is completed by Councilman Matthias, Maya, you and Danny have seats in the front row. We will call you up, Celeste, and you can take your oath as luna. Shortly after that, we‘ll have a few speeches until it’s time for the moon to peak and follow it with a full moon run. There will be dinner after. I’m so proud of you girls, and Kelly dear, you look amazing,” she gushed, hugging her daughter.
“Thanks, Mom!”Kelly answered brightly and headed out to the seating area.
We followed Mrs. Quinn to the stage area. I could barely see the stage from where I was, but Mrs. Quinn wasn’t budging when I tried to ask her again.
Councilman Matthias stood up and called Maya and Danny up. Maya and Danny performed their oath, and the entire pack cheered. I cheered loudly along with them, trying not to tear up because I knew Kelly would have some choice words if I messed up my makeup before I was on stage.
Finally, Councilman Matthias called me up. I almost stumbled when I went up the steps and saw Markus. He was the most handsome man in the world to me, and he was all mine. He was wearing a black Armani suit, which looked like it was made for him, and thinking about it a bit, realized it probably was. He had a maroon undershirt, handkerchief and tie that matched the color of my dress. Markus looked like a god, and he smiled so widely when he saw me. I was mesmerized by the effect I had on my mate. His eyes turned black before one of them went back to grey. Atlas and Markus, our mates, were both present, so I let Kara push forward with me, meeting our mate in the middle of the platform.
“Hello, mates,” Atlas and Markus purred, noticing Kara’s presence along with mine.
“Hello, mates,” I answered back and closed the distance, pushing up on my toes a little to kiss him.
“Ahem, the kiss comesafterthe oath…” Councilman Matthias said, making the crowd laugh as we broke apart.
Chapter thirty-four
Markus
Ihadseenthedress on the hanger for the last three days. In fact, Kelly brought it in when I was being measured for my suit, wanting to make sure it matched the colors, but I had never expected it to look like that on her body. I was absolutely stupefied, and Atlas was the one making us walk toward our mate.
I could barely speak as I watched her coming up the stairs. All I could do was grin like an idiot. The dress was a halter top with an open slit coming down the middle between her magnificent breasts, all the way down to her navel. There was a wrap coming out from the collar that went around the backless dress in a V-shape. The entire dress fit her like a second skin and was covered in different shades of maroon beading. Starting at the navel, there were curtains of white beading in an upside-down V going all the way down to the end of the dress. Her usual black curls had been straightened down, her hair like a veil around her, ending past her knees. The bold makeup against her olive skin made her look like a seductress. All I wanted to do as Atlas led us to the center of the stage was throw her over my shoulder and take her away from every male’s hungry eyes.
I smiled when I saw that she brought Kara forward with her. I needed to remember to stop being surprised at how strong and deep her connection with Kara was. I stopped before Council Matthias, but Celeste closed the distance and kissed me, making me feel like the luckiest wolf in the world. There was not an ounce of shame on her breathtakingly beautiful face as Councilman Matthias made a joke about the kiss. Celeste only took a step back, grinning up at me.
“Now, let’s begin. A luna ceremony is one of our most sacred traditions. It’s an introduction the alpha makes to his pack to present his mate, but it is also a promise the luna makes to put her pack above everything else. She commits to her pack, its people and its future.” Councilman Matthias continued his long speech, but I tuned him out, watching my mate smile at me like I was the only person around her. Councilman Matthias made another joke as he pushed a silver dagger into my hand and held the pack's chalice toward me. I cut a slit on the palm of my hand and made a fist, allowing the blood to drip down into the cup.
“I, Alpha Markus David Salonen of the Crescent Moon Pack, accept you Celeste as my destined mate and luna. I promise to protect and cherish you as my luna, my mate, my partner. I will share with you my life, my pack, my heart. I vow to protect you with my heart, my claws and my life,” I recited and watched her eyes water.‘Don’t cry. You’ll make Kelly mad,’I mind-linked her while handing her the knife. She let out a wonderful little laugh, then looked me in the eye and took a steadying breath. We rehearsed how she would do this part.
“I, Celeste Aurora Dellarosa, daughter of the late Alpha Cory and Luna Bella Dellarosa of the Sky Moon Pack, accept you, Markus David Salonen, as my destined mate. My alpha.” A few gasps and whispers burst from the crowd at her words, and I could see from the corner of my eyes how Luna Luisa’s eyes went wide and looked around to see if anyone was looking their way. Alpha Geoff looked angry. “I accept my position as your luna, promising to put their well-being first, caring for our pack, from the smallest pup to the oldest wolf. I will share with you my life and my heart. I trust you with both. I take into my heart the pack you’ve chosen to share with me. I promise to love and cherish them as the family they have already become.” She cut a slit in her hand and let the blood drip into the chalice.
Councilman Matthias brought the cup over to me, and I took a sip, then he passed her the cup. The moment she took her sip, I felt her position as luna settled into place. I could hear my people welcome their new luna over the pack link. The pain that accompanied the opening of a mind to the entire pack was absent from her, but I knew she already had that ability. She was accepted as luna of the pack long before tonight.
“I present to you, Luna Celeste Dellarosa of the Crescent Moon Pack!” Councilman Matthias shouted, and as our people howled, a current of wind surrounded us both.
“Mom,” Celeste and Kara’s voices mixed together in an emotional whisper as her hair whipped in the wind around us.
“Nowyou may kiss her, Alpha Markus,” Councilman Matthias said, smiling at us while the guests chuckled. I grinned and brought her to me, wrapping her in my arms and pouring all my love into the kiss. Once we separated, I turned to the crowd. I could see the moon coming out of the clouds about to peak.
“I would like to thank everyone that could make it. We have a little bit of a twist to our celebration. You will see when we get to the dining area many stuffed animals on the tables. Celeste and Maya hold children very dear to their hearts, so we decided to share this night with them. Please hand out toys you see around the tables and decorations to the children when we return from our run. Lunas and alphas, there are more toys in containers at the end of each table; feel free to give them out to the children running about.” I took a deep breath and squeezed my luna‘s hand as her love and happiness flowed down our bond. I would be forever grateful to Gillian for having thought of such an amazing idea.
“While most of the children here are with their families, we also have in attendance the children from our orphanage. They are well taken care of, but there’s no such thing as enough love for those who have lost everyone in their life. I encourage you to get to know them. Now, we have provided some makeshift changing rooms to the side here with tear-away clothes for those of you who do not wish to change in front of others. Once we return, we will have dinner and—”
I was interrupted by several heads sniffing the air and a considerable number of “Mates” growling throughout the crowd.
One growl in particular stood out from the rest. Rhett had run straight to Kelly and roared, “MINE.” I smiled at Celeste, who looked like she wanted to jump for joy to see them mated.
Once the noise settled, I continued, “As I was saying before our blessed Moon Goddess Selene decided to make an entrance a minute early” —I chuckled at my own joke, making everyone else laugh with me— “once we return, we will have dinner and celebrate not just our new luna, but the many pairings that Selene has blessed our packs with. Also, I’d like to be the first to break the news that Alpha Rhett is officially off the market and has been mated with our own temporary beta female and Beta Gillian’s sister, Kelly Quinn,” I finished.
Rhett seemed surprised I would share the attention with him but quickly recovered and howled at the moon with joy.
“Now, let’s get ready for the harvest moon run. Please meet me at the clearing in five minutes,” I announced, and everyone started to move about, removing clothes and putting on the tear-away clothes.
Because we had so many high-ranking members, we decided to provide these tear-away clothes for everyone to avoid any potential problems with territorial wolves. Celeste grabbed my hand and led me off the platform where we had a set of tear-away clothes waiting for us.
We changed out of our clothes and put them in a basket under the platform Mrs. Quinn informed us would be there for our clothes, then we made our way to the clearing we had for the runs. Celeste and I stood at the front, with many alphas, lunas and councilmen at the far left. Gillian, Danny and Maya were to my immediate left, and my father and Marie were to my right.
