Ember

Chapter 19

As the morning light shone through the curtained window, I felt a change in the air. 

After finding some form of control in my illusions, I felt as though I had become attached to Seraphine, we may have the same soul, but never before had I really felt her. 

It wasn't long before Marcus began to stir, his arms slowly unwound from around my waist, causing me discomfort in their absence. 

I sat up as he did, and watched as he grinned at me, "You know what today is?"

"The luna ceremony." I blushed, somewhat relieved that it was happening.

He smiled and pulled me up by the hand, gesturing for me to go and get ready. 

I did as told, going to the wardrobe to change into a light summer dress, suitable for the warm weather that I could sense in the air. 

When I came out, I found Marcus was dressed smartly but still in light clothes like I was. 

He smiled warmly at me and took my hand in his, leading me out of his room and down to where the ceremony would be held.

Luna ceremonies were like a wedding for alpha mates, most wolves didn't see a need to marry, the mate bond was a strong enough  sign of commitment, some wolves still did it though, often because either one of the mates is possessive, or, like Sam and Dave, they weren't real mates.

The ceremony was quick, it involved the both of us shifting into our wolves and bowing our heads together to form a sort of link between us. 

As a luna, the bond I felt towards my pack had significantly grown, in the back of my mind, at all times I could feel an entire pack of wolves. I would never feel alone again.

I wanted to stay, to bond even more with the pack, but it was customary for alphas to visit nearby packs, to announce themselves, to form ties. 

It was so fast, how pack members had already packed bags for us that we were able to carry on our backs in wolf form. We were quick to shift and allow pack members to help us put them on us.

We never stayed too long at each territory, while it was polite to introduce yourselves, to stay for long could easily be considered spying. 

We left the worst one til last.

The pack that was always left til last because they were considered dangerous, one wrong move and you were done for. 

The dark sky pack. 

We approached cautiously, the pack had been warned of our arrival, Alpha Skylar - the only female alpha - would still be wary of us. 

Upon entering the territory, it was completely silent, not a wolf in sight. 

We shifted back in the bushes before making our way forward. There was a slim pathway into the territory, just big enough to fit two humans, or one wolf. 

It led us straight to the pack house, a large building that looked well-kept, but somehow isolated at the same time. 

When we reached the door, it was open before I could reach up a fist to knock. 

And then I saw her. 

Skylar.

In some ways she was the opposite of what I had expected, I had expected her to look fierce and rugged, someone to be feared, perhaps even ripped. But no, the girl in front of me wasn't much taller than I was, but judging by the immense power I could feel simply by standing next to her, I wasn't surprised how far she had come. Her eyes were an icy blue that seemed to capture my gaze, they stood out against her pale skin, which was complemented by her long, dark brown hair. Honestly, she was gorgeous. There was no question why so many men followed her.