Rite of Submission - Rite 1

61: The Alpha's Mate

                Mostly everyone had cleared out of the stadium, following the parade of the champions into the tent to feast or the fairgrounds too celebrate. I wished that I'd been able to see Nathan's face when he found out that Sophie had won their bet. Better, I wish I could've seen her face when she rubbed it into his.

Instead, Dmitri and I were heading into the flurry of chaos at the center of the field. It was taboo to do a Mating Ceremony on Lupercalia, even though it was considered a celebration of fertility; it was like human's who get married on Valentine's Day. The ceremony was a lot like a wedding, but wolves weren't usually extravagant about it.

It would have been nice to make it a private affair, but he was the Alpha and I was essentially royalty, making it impossible to do a quiet ceremony. There was no way to know how much time we had before word spread, beyond the pack, of my lineage. Fortunately, my celestial ties seemed to be a secret that only I knew the truth about. The faster we solidified my choice to seek membership into a new pack, the better. If we could convince the world that we were also a mated pair, there would be less chance that my uncle could find me and try to drag me back. The crash course in Lycan Law I'd received and the few loopholes we could exploit still made my head hurt if I thought about it too much.

At least Sophie had found her way into the little tent that had been set up for me. I didn't really know any of the women that had been selected to help get me ready. She helped to keep my mind from wondering to all the things that could possibly go wrong. Eventually, I stood alone as the tent cleared out, everyone eager to find a seat to watch from. I'd never felt so nervous before in my life. Closing my eyes with a deep breath, I stepped out into the cool evening air.

Almost immediately, I zeroed in on his face as he stood there beside Sophia on the little wooden platform that had been built, and locked eyes with him. It let me ignore all the other eyes staring down at me as I made my way across the grass, closing the distance between us. There was no music like a wedding would've had, and all the voices around us coalesced into an incoherent murmur. All the voices accept one.

'What are we doing?'

'Surely you know what a binding is, aren't they all done in your honor or whatever?'

Her melodic laughter danced through my mind, 'We cannot be bound.'

I huffed mentally, hoping my smile didn't falter as I continued to move forward, 'Cannot or will not?'

'We are not meant to be loved by just one person.' I felt her take in who I looked at. She laughed again, 'Him? Really? Why would we even want to consider such an upsurd match?'

'Because I love him,' the declaration shocked me just as much as it had her, 'and because even after knowing everything he'd be giving up and could lose, he still chose me.' She fell quiet, but I felt her still lurking as I took my place.

"I know that it's been rather spur-of-the-moment to ask all of you here for this unprecedented addition to today's scheduled festivities," Sophie addressed the packed stands around us; even she looked a little nervous. "Here comes to us, on her 18th birthday, Selene D'Arcadia, one of The Vὅlsung," she had to wait for the crowd to quiet down before continuing. "Do you seek membership into this pack of your own accord and agree to sever all bonds and ties to the pack of your birth?" She smiled warmly at me as she asked.

"I do," I agreed with a nod, "to be with my one true mate." Dmitri stepped closer to me and took my hand in his as we waited for the murmurs to die down again, but only I could hear the musical giggling.