Chapter 81

The Pack

Wedding days look different for every couple and every community. Some are lavish, some are low maintenance. Some turn one day into a week of festivities to celebrate the union of two people who deem their love worthy to take up more time and resources.

While the ceremony could be religious and ritualistic, rooted in passion and the magic of two souls becoming one, there was always practical element to any marriage. On paper, in court, or simply within the dynamics of a tribe or larger society, these two people were now bound to one another. ’Til death, or so they say.

For Dominic and Mira, this day would bind to one another, and in term bind them to the Pack. The union of Alpha and Luna required different permutations of ceremonies, even for two individuals who did not enjoy being center of attention as they did.

It was more complicated because Mira was an outsider.

Even though she had been accepted by the Pack by almost unanimous general voting, she would still need to be officially made a member of the Grey Wolves in order to become Luna. It was a formal, archaic tradition, but one that the Elder Council would not overlook. One never knew what might upset the gods and the natural order of things.

A Luna had to be patient. She would be the mother figure of her people.

A Luna had to be wise. She would oversee and advise the inner workings of their society.

A Luna had to be strong. She would have to fight for and defend the wolves in her Pack.

It was up to the council to determine what questions or challenges might be presented, and in turn decide whether she met the criteria or not. Of course, a game is often won by those who make the rules, and corruption is an old sin.

The prospective candidate, Mira, had no idea what to expect.

Mira

I woke up in the chair.

Since I had been there in real life, I immediately knew I was dreaming. I wanted to get out, to wake up, but I knew that struggling against the restraints would do nothing. To escape the nightmare I would have to figure out why I was here in the first place. I waited for him to appear, and there he was.

To the right, just of my range of vision, was the man in the glasses. He was calm, waiting.

Even in my sleeping state I could feel my wolf with me, so I knew he had not taken it again. Was this how he would convince me to work with him?

Another figure, tall and dark, appeared to my left, and I strained against the strap around my forehead.

It was Dominic.

My heart swelled to see him, here to save me and take me out of here. How I ever doubted his loyalty to me, I could not imagine now.

Then he raised one arm, and in his hand was a face mask. His face was like a piece of slate with no expression, his eyes like pitch and focused on his task.

I opened my mouth to scream, but the words were lost as he brought the mask down over my face.

I woke up when I heard screaming. Then I realized the screaming was coming from me.

Dominic was over me, his arms on my shoulders trying to gently shake me out of my nightmare.

His face above me mirrored the vision enough for me to blanch in fear at him before realizing I was safe. He saw my reaction and for a moment looked like he’d been stung by a wasp.

My wits returning, I reached up and took his face in my hands. I pulled his head down so I could bury mine in his neck as his arms wrapped fully around me. I clung to him for a few seconds, pressing my body to his as if I could absorb his heart rate that was so much steadier than mine. In some ways, it felt like I could.

“I have you.”

I squeezed him tighter in response to his comfort and protection.

“I know.”

I lightened my grip around his back, allowing him to pull up and look at me. He stroked my hair, used his thumb to smooth the space between my eyebrows.

“Was it the same as last time?” Dominic asked quietly.

I had told him so much about my dreams and what I’ve learned from them. But I wasn’t sure I could tell him about this one, not in the early hours of our wedding day. I shrugged, to him and to myself, downplaying any significance to be deciphered at a later time.

“Mostly, yes,” I said, my eyes on his chest. My right hand rested on his clavicle, just above his heart. My fingers gently stroked the hair on his chest. “It feels different now that I’ve been back there.”

“Of course,” he said earnestly. He still seemed to feel guilty that I had been taken and not him. The Alpha always wanted to take the bullet for others. “You don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to.”

He drew my hand from my chest up to his lips, gently kissing each finger. His attention and care was intoxicating, and I wondered if he was tasting me for consumption.

“It is kind of a drag to talk about,” I whispered, my voice husky. “And today is not a day for negative thoughts.”

He paused in his activity to look at me and flash a devilish grin that turned me inside out.

“Definitely not,” he said, “we should only think positive thoughts today. And perhaps some other thoughts as well…”

His lips moved to my palm, my wrist, inside my forearm. It tickled and surprised me, then my body reacted in other ways as my desire matched with his. He stretched my arm out to the side, pressing me onto my back. He kissed my shoulder, my collar, my chest.

His lips stayed pressed just above my left breast. I felt my heart press up against my ribs to meet his kiss, and welcome the universe to swallow me whole if it wanted to.

A sound that was somewhere between a frustrated groan and a sigh of ecstasy escaped Dominic’s mouth, and in a flash he had rolled onto his back next to me. He rubbed his hands over his face, waking himself up and erasing whatever things he had been thinking of doing with me in bed.

I couldn’t help but look down at his body to see how he was reacting under the sheets. Immediately bashful, I laughed and flopped onto my belly and nuzzled my head into his shoulder by the pillow. We just lay in that semi-awkward moment, our minds trying to overrule the desire of our bodies for a little bit longer.

“One more day,” he said, looking down at me under heavy eyelids. It was not a question, just a statement of fact.

“And then what?” I asked playfully, daring him.

“And then I will have you.”

My whole body flushed as he entered my mind, and I squirmed slightly beside him. It was his turn to laugh at me, and I was once again so grateful that the universe brought me this man as my Mate. It all seemed too good to be true.

“I should get ready,” I said to him with a playful smack on his arm. He was trying to keep me in bed past what I could handle. “A Luna has to be on time.”

“You will be,” he said, sitting up in bed, watching me. “And you will pass through the trials with ease, Mira. You have already proven yourself the most resilient and daring member of our Pack, of any Pack.”

I was half-listening as I rummaged through drawers.

“And no matter what,” he added with a tone of importance, “you are my Mate. They can never take that away from you.”

I stopped what I was doing and looked backed at him, tilting my head in appreciation.

“Thank you,” I said, “I need a little pep talk.”

“Oh!”

Dominic got out of bed quickly and walked to his dresser, retrieving a small box.

“I have something else for you too.”

Inside was a long thin gold chain with a minimalist pendant in the shape of a flower.

“A stinging nettle?” I asked, stunned at the reference.

“Yes, I hope it looks right,” he said. “I remembered you curing patients with this one, and thought it might remind you of the gifts you have to offer.”

I couldn’t speak, and did my best not to cry as I embraced him and kissed his neck.

He placed the chain over my neck, and it was long enough that I could slip the pendant into my clothing to keep it close to my body. It was perfect, and I felt luckier already.

Soon after I showered and dressed, the knock came on the door.

A guard was there to take me away.