Heir To The Iron Crown: Dyrith

33 - þrjátíu og þrír

"Our masters came in pairs.
We thrive in them.
We increase in them.
We survive, in them.
In pairs.

You and I, we form a bond,
Unbreakable.
Without which,
We are more vulnerable
than you could ever imagine.

We live in packs second,
But in pairs first.
We build our pack through pairs, So never underestimate
The one you mark as your own.

It is in our nature,
we think we never could.
Yet, circumstances bring out
The worst in us.
In me.
In you.
In those that stand above us.

Our Alpha, our Luna
They have
the strongest bond of all.
Not only do they provide
for themselves,
But they provide for us all.
Through them,
Through us.

Our survival, lies in loyalty.
To the one we claim our own,
She who bears your children,
He who lifts you in adversity.

And your survival lies in loyalty. To those who claim us
as their own.
Those who claim our pack,
as their own children.

My Alpha.
My Luna.

Your Alpha.
Your Luna.

Your survival,
Lies in loyalty to them.
Your loyalty,
Lies in acceptance of them.

Welcome them, Fathilagt.
Welcome her, Fathilagt.

Your Luna,
Has arrived."

...

I was left in silent tears at the end of the old man's words, so powerful, they seemed to rattle me on the inside.

He had addressed the gathering, and had left everyone in quietness. There was no applause, no cheer. Just those solemn looks, that came from those who had clearly heard his every word.

As soon as he finished, I started to hear a humming in my head again, but this time, it felt like something more.

It got louder, and louder, and I could tell it sounded like a collection of voices. They were saying something, words I couldn't make out.

I watched the old man walk down the steps of the stage, to join the crowd in front of me.

The voices got even louder in my head, my grip on Valente's hand tightening to the point I was afraid I'd break something.

The noise in my head was overwhelming, and I felt like I was about to faint.

Just when my eyes started to close on their own, the humming converged into discernable words, as if two hundred people were saying the same thing, at the same time, and in sync.

It was all these people that were here to witness the ceremony, to see their Luna for the very first time, that had opened their minds to me all at once.

I could finally hear what they said, and it was so simple a thing to say, yet amplified so many times, it had become something powerful to hear.

From a human's perspective, the gathering was so quiet, you could hear it if someone took one step in any direction. Yet in my mind, the reverberation of those words were loud enough to make me fall to my knees.

As the pack members' voices continued to echo in my mind, Valente turned me around to face him completely, and held my face in his hands gently.

He looked at me with an intensity I'd never seen from him before, as he repeated what everyone else was saying in my mind.

"Welcome, Luna Raynhildur."

...

As his lips touched mine, the large magnitude of voices was instantly hushed under a thick mantle of darkness.

I knew they hadn't stopped, yet I couldn't bring myself to focus on anyone else anymore.

Anyone, besides the man who was holding me close, so possessively.

As my tears fell on their own accord, his thumbs caressed them away, not breaking the gentle kiss he maintained.

I felt the voices of everyone around us, slowly reel back into a tiny whisper, as it got easier to keep them out of my head.

As I pulled away from my mate, without letting my gaze wander anywhere other than the charming details of his face, the voices had died down completely, and I knew they had accepted me.

Every single one of them.

I turned to look at the pack members again, turning back to face them while Valente's arm pulled me close to him by the waist.

I saw Sylvia, and I could feel that she had accepted me too. Even though she didn't look me in the eye, I knew she too had said those words, just like everyone else.

As my eyes scanned the crowd, I noticed Renee was waiting to catch my attention. When she did, she nodded encouragingly, almost vigorously, telling me it was time.

I was hoping the Luna address wasn't absolutely necessary, but by the looks of it, there was no escape now.

"You can do this my butterfly," Valente's voice came through my mind.

I smiled at him in response, wondering if my mate and my sister knew how much their encouragement at a time like this actually meant to me.

Valente let go of my waist, kissed my temple lovingly, and took a step back, giving me the entire stage.

I could feel Ima's presence on the tip of my tongue, giving me more confidence to face all of Fathilagt at once.

I took a deep breath, before saying the words I'd always wanted to say to these people, to my pack,
but never before had the chance.