The following morning when Anabelle woke up, she found Kayden was gone. She looked around the room worried. Just as she was about to get up and go search for him, he entered the room with pancakes and juice on a tray. He placed it on the bed in front of her and kissed her. "Good morning kitten".
"Awh Kayden, you didn't have to bring me breakfast in bed", she gushed. "Thank you love". "Yeah, about that, it's not a completely selfless act," he said. Anabelle looked at him confused. "it's a pre apology for what's waiting for you downstairs" he said sheepishly. Anabelle was both curious and nervous. What could make an Alpha this nervous?
They ate breakfast together and chatted and laughed. When the food was gone Anabelle got dressed in a sunflower dress, and white sandals, and tied her hair back. She came out of the walk-in wardrobe and Kayden smiled at her. "My beautiful mate. Okay, best get this over with" he chuckled. They descended the stairs together and Anabelle saw two people standing at the bottom of the stairs. She recognized them from a photo as Kayden's parents. She began to panic, what if they didn't like her.
Anabelle needn't have worried, for the moment she stepped off the last stair, Kayden's mother pulled her into a bear hug and gushed over her beauty, while his father chuckled and gave Kayden a man hug. His mother's name was Valerie, and his father was Dean. "Okay, okay we must go over the color schemes and your dress for the ceremony" Valerie gushed, letting go of Anabelle. "What ceremony" Anabelle asked. Her question was met with chuckles.
"The Luna ceremony of course love" Valerie answered. "It will be held in four days on Saturday night, and you will be welcomed into the pack as the Luna". Anabelle didn't know what to say. Of course, she knew there would be a ceremony, but if she was honest with everything that had happened, she hadn't even thought about it. Having a big ceremony to celebrate her becoming Luna felt weird. None of her family would be there. Kayden was her family now she thought to herself happily.
"Okay, I'll do it. I just have one condition; I want Millie from the orphanage to attend the ceremony" she said. She pulled Kayden aside and told him her idea of adopting Millie. Kayden thought it was a great idea and agreed instantly. "But I want to keep it a surprise and announce it after the ceremony," she said. Kayden smiled down at her, "sounds like a plan kitten".
The next four days passed by in a blue for Anabelle. Valerie was like a tornado, running around the packhouse giving orders left-right, and center. Kayden was handling the business side of things, changing pack titles and deeds into both of their names, and of course, sorting the adoption for Millie. To cover things with the humans he had to obtain a marriage certificate, though there would be no wedding. The Luna ceremony was the pack's version of a wedding.
Anabelle was extremely excited about the ceremony and couldn't wait to adopt baby Millie, but nagging at the back of her mind was the need to figure things out with Evan. She got permission from Kayden to visit Evan in the dungeons with Beta Daniel and two pack warriors. Kayden would have liked to accompany her, but he was swamped with pack business ahead of the ceremony.
The group made their way to the cell Evan was being held in. when Anabelle saw him, she gasped. The gash Kayden had left in his side had not healed due to it being an alpha wound and the silver in his system. She almost felt bad for him, but she remembered everything he had done. He noticed her standing in front of the cell and looked up at her.
"So, I see you've sold yourself for a Luna title then," he said eyeing her mark. "I didn't sell myself for anything, I simply completed the mating ceremony with my fated mate" she replied coldly. "I only came down here to inform you the Luna ceremony will be held tomorrow night, and if you swear loyalty to Alpha Kayden and repent, there is a chance you could attend, and things might be able to return to normal".
Evan snorted in disgust. "Attend a ceremony glorifying a little wench whose sole accomplishment in life is that she f****d an Alpha? Now that you're a Luna, you think you're important. But you'll always be the w***e who killed my mother. I'd rather rot in this cell than attend your pathetic party," he spat with disgust.
Anabelle refused to cry. Instead, she stared at Evan with a cold glare and simply said, "then rot in this cell you shall", and walked away as the cell door clanged shut. If Annabelle had turned around she would have seen the smirk on Evan's face as he whispered under his breath – "we'll see about that won't we."