Animals [jikook] 🌙

9 ⋆ Celebration

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Jimin's POV

I stared at myself in the mirror and glanced at the headdress next to me. Jungkook had told me to wear it, but I didn't feel like it. I sighed and ran a hand over my face, my mind racing. I dragged the hand down and stared at my reflection, bags under my eyes. It had been five days now since I had been here and I was starting to get genuinely anxious.

In twenty days I'd be with him. Quickly, I shook my head of the thoughts and stood, the ceremonial white flowing top covering my body. I felt like one of the Salvatore brothers from the 1800s. Thankfully, I could wear my black skinny jeans, but bare feet and flowing white tops seemed strange.

A knock came to the bathroom door making me jump.

"Are you ready yet?" Jungkook's voice asked.

I sighed and nodded to myself. "Yes." I whispered, standing and opening the door.

Jungkook frowned at the sight. "Where's the-"

"I don't want to wear it." I grumbled, pushing past him. Jungkook slowly followed me as I walked outside.

I saw the steady stream of people walking down the gravel path, carrying candles in their hands. Jungkook followed behind me as I walked fast, thanking a young woman who handed me a candle. As we walked down the gravel path, quiet and peaceful, candles flickering, people handed out moon lily crowns, placing them on peoples heads.

Women wore them woven into their hair, men wore the crown, and children wore necklaces of the white flower. I smiled softly and bowed my head, letting a little boy put the crown on my head. I quickly recognized him as Seungjae.

"Hello again." I said gently, leaning down. His mother stood behind him.

"Do you mind if I take him with me? My Alpha appears to want some distance tonight and I find myself alone." I said with a small laugh.

"Of course, Luna."

I held up my hand and shook my head. "Please, call me Jimin." I looked at Seungjae and picked him up, placing him on my hip as I once did, and let him carry my candle.

People watched as I walked by, whispering to their kids to follow behind me. I smiled as children all ran up to me, one girl taking my hand, the others all walking by my side and behind me. I stared straight ahead with a smile, looking at the giant circle clearing where I was first presented to this pack. Now, I was walking with the future of it.

Wooden tables heavily decorated with moon lilies outlined the circle, people sitting down and staring at the giant bonfire in the center of it all. I noticed Jungkook sitting on one of the four branch thrones his father had once sat in, his eyes staring at me. I smiled and looked down, telling the children to go to their families and saying goodbye.

I walked over and sat down next to Jungkook, watching as people continued to filter in through the dark. Everything was lit by torches and lanterns, leaving a beautiful glow in the dark under the moon.

"Quite the entrance." Jungkook muttered to me as I sat next to him. I just smiled and looked around, seeing the last of the pack to filter in.

Drums sounded soon after, four men walking in carrying a bed of branches on their shoulders, Jungkook's father resting peacefully on top, cloaked in white clothes and a white sheet pulled over him. Jungkook's mother trailed behind, crying softly, grasping her heart. Jungkook stood, staring as they walked. The men sat his father down by the edge of the bonfire.

Jungkook walked forward, grabbing everyone's attention. "This was sudden for all of us. We knew he was sick and we knew this time would come, but we weren't aware it would come so quickly. We thought we had a month, at least, but it turned into a matter of days. Let this not be a time of sadness, but rather, a time of joy."

"My father was a great Alpha, and I swear to continue his legacy. He kept us safe, he made us strong, he created a family, and that will never die. After talking to my advisors, we had intended on waiting a month for the mating ceremony as we thought we had longer. That did not happen. In order to continue my father's legacy as soon as possible..." He trailed off.

"We are moving the mating ceremony to be done within fifteen days."

I quickly stood, my heart beating quickly. Fifteen days? We'd have to be mated within fifteen days? I stared at him as he stared back at me, tears filling my eyes. Too soon. Too soon. I quickly sat back down, turning my face away as people stared.

"But that will be another time of celebration. Tonight, let us celebrate my father." People hollered and howled, cheering words of celebration and kindness as the four men walked back over and picked up the bed of branches, moving it into the bonfire. His father went up in flames, the white fabric fluttering into the sky as people toasted to him.

Music started playing, food started to be served, and people started dancing. A few women comforted Jungkook's mother as she stood by the fire and wept.

Jungkook strode over to me, but I had nothing to say. "I wanted to tell you earlier-" He started.

"Shut up." I hissed. He went quiet instantly. I stood and walked over to Jungkook's mom who now stood alone.

I placed a hand around her waist and rested her head on my shoulder, letting her cry. "I pray you never have to feel this pain, Jimin." She whispered. "Losing a mate is the worst feeling in the world. When you bond, you become one, and when you die, it gets ripped away from you. You feel them die as if you're dying."

"The bond snaps, the mind links are severed, the pain remains. I pray you never feel this excruciating pain I feel now. And I pray my son will never have to feel this pain. Rejecting a mate, losing a mate, and shifting are the worst pains, worse than childbirth. I pray you never feel it." She repeated. I just held her as she cried softly.

"Jimin please, may I steal you." Jungkook's voice growled next to me. I left Jungkook's mom and turned to walk with Jungkook into the forest.

"I'm sorry." He said genuinely, the only time emotion actually sounded in his voice. "I am, really. But this pack... because you're the Luna now, you should know."

I turned and faced him. "Know what?" I asked, still cross with him.

"This pack is at war. It will crumble without a steady head. We had to move the ceremony closer so I would be able to assume power faster." I turned my head away from him, biting my lip.

"Okay." I whispered.

"You don't like it." Jungkook pointed out.

I scoffed and stared at him. "No, Jungkook. No, of course I don't fucking like it, but you're my mate, I'm not leaving you, and I want to rule alongside you and protect this pack. And if that means having sex and bonding for life then fuck it." I hissed, quickly turning away and rejoining the pack at the celebration, holding back tears the entire time.

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