Klyn told Gwenna and Nadine what Lykaon said and they nodded and hurried me along. They redid my makeup and fixed my hair: half up in a princess ponytail while letting the rest fall down my back and about my shoulders. They made me close my eyes however, to put on the dress. I felt myself step into this gauzy material, hearing it swish against the floor. It was tight around the middle and chest, and I felt thin fabricated sleeves wrap around my arms all the way down to my wrists. My back was exposed all the way down to my waist, though. When I ran my hands down my front I felt beads galore sewn into the fabric that flowed past my feet.
I heard a whistle as Klyn was instructed to turn back around to judge. "Lykaon is going to be awed by you, Opaline."
I blushed. "Can I open now?"
I felt hands smooth my hair and dress, then nothing. Feeling anxious, I shifted from one foot to another getting nervous again. Finally, Nadine whispered, "Go ahead, Luna."
I opened and immediately saw myself in the mirror… The dress was beautiful in its off-white hues. There were pearls and beads everywhere making intricate designs and a long train of extra fabric that was behind me, sweeping against the floor. It took my breath away. I turned a little and saw my back was indeed bare, but the dress in contrast with my hair made me look like the moon in the sky. I couldn't believe how good I looked.
"Ready, Luna Opaline?" Klyn whispered. I nodded dazedly, still speechless from how I looked. He walked over and held his arm out for me to take. I did and he led me to the door. At the threshold, he paused and turned back. "Nadine, Gwenna, follow us. Bertolf, help the woman and her child to a safe place."
With that, he led me down the stairs to the front door. I hesitated. "Klyn, what about shoes?"
He looked down at me with a small smile. "You'll be fine, trust me. Lykaon had made sure the pathway was smoothed out before tonight."
"What if my dress gets dirty?"
"Do you really think he'd let that happen?" I furrowed my brows. He chuckled and opened the door. "You'll see."
I look out to see torches leading away from the house into the darkness. My grip on his arm tightened a little as we stepped onto soft dirt. I dug my toes in for a minute before Klyn started following the path of torches. I realized we were going towards the pack house and found myself even more nervous than before. I wasn't sure I could do this in front of everyone, let alone other alphas.
Klyn stopped and turned towards me, as if sensing my uneasiness. "It'll be alright, Luna. You can do this. Just focus on Lykaon and not the audience. You'll do just fine." I nodded and he embraced me before continuing on again. In my head, I heard, "Keep your chin high and shoulders back. Even though you're not confident, make it look otherwise."
I listened, straightening up right before I noticed we were behind a bunch of people who had been split down the middle to make an aisle. At the other end was a little raised platform where Lykaon stood, waiting for me with his hands in his pockets. Klyn pulled me forward with him, making our way towards my mate. When our eyes met, gray to blue, I could see how they were widened just slightly like he had just noticed me for the first time in his life. I started to blush and look down until Klyn squeezed my arm slightly, reminding me of my posture.
When we finally reached stairs to the platform, Lykaon leaned forward and held out his hand to me. I took it, letting Klyn go and ascended the stairs. My mate didn't take his eyes off me as we walked towards a little podium where a bowl was waiting with a knife. I squeezed Lykaon's hand tightly, afraid of what was to come, but he paused and turned towards me, taking my attention away from the objects. "My Luna and mate…" his voice trailed off.
The audience was silent, holding their breaths and waiting on the edge of their seats for what was to come next.
My mate put a hand to the small of my back and turned towards the people. "Welcome, to this special ceremony, the Alphas and Lunas especially." Some nodded in acknowledgment while others stayed still. "Tonight, you are all going to meet my mate and Luna to my pack, Blue Oasis. My people will drink to make a bond with her while the rest of you are welcome to watch."
I stayed silent, looking over everyone. I could tell who the Alphas were because they held so much power and seemed bigger and stronger than everyone else. I saw Alpha Zy standing near the back with his mate Gwenna. I saw Vuk standing near who could only be Aryn standing in the middle where a few of Lykaon's men were circling precariously. I even saw my parents and Jacques, feeling a little less scared now that I knew my family was here to watch. I saw my pack most of all, the one I'd help Lykaon lead into the future, the one who'd accept me as their own, the one I'll risk my life defending as I have already done so.
My mate looked at me with a small smile. "Please help me in welcoming, Luna Opaline of Blue Oasis!"
Cheers went up from all over and I almost put my hands up to cover my ears. When my mate held up a hand, they fell silent almost immediately.
"She has accepted of being Luna and the responsibilities that come with. She is ready to take on her roll and help me in ways no one else can." I blushed and looked at him. His smiled broadened and he held out his hand again. I took it and he led me to the bowl. Softly, he whispered, "Don't worry, baby. It's only a slash on your palm. It will only sting."
I nod, but felt my panic rising. Lykaon pulled me in front of him, pressing himself to my back and wrapping his arms around me to hold both my hands. I say, "Just blood?"
He kisses my head. "Just blood."
Taking a deep breath, I grab the knife and hand it to him, holding my palm over the bowl and closing my eyes. "Okay."
He took my wrist and pressed the blade to my skin, then in a swift movement, sliced my skin open and I felt a sharp sting. Sucking in a breath, I make a fist to squeeze the appropriate amount of blood. Lykaon set the knife down and someone came up and gave him a bandage, which he wrapped around the wound. I almost laughed, thinking how now both my hands were bandaged.
"Turn and face me, baby." I do so, looking straight into his eyes that swirled with the firelight. Lykaon kneels before me, holding my hands in his and bows his head. "Will you help me, Opaline, cherish and lead this pack, be my mate as well as my Luna, and help us look forward towards the light?"
I swallow the lump forming in my throat. "I will."
He looks up at me, eyes shining and mouth curved up. "Will you be there when your pack needs you most?"
Nodding, I say in a shaky voice, "I will."
Lykaon stands and pushes a stray lock of hair behind my ear. "My parents have already given you their blessing, but if you wish, you can get it personally when they return." I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I nod, unable to say anything. He turns and picks up the bowl, handing it to Klyn. "Now the pack my become one with the Luna as they have become one with me."
There was excited murmuring as the bowl was passed around quickly, heads dipping to drink a drop of my blood. I gasped as the bonds started connecting, feeling so many bonding with me that it took my breath away. I couldn't see straight and held my head feeling slightly dizzy. "Lykaon!" I hissed.
Arms went around me and a chest pressed against my face. "Shh. Block them out, baby. Just block them out."
I shake my head, feeling so much pressure there. "I can't!"
"Deep breaths, Opal. I'll help you when this is all over," he whispered. I clung to him, silently crying into his chest at the headache forming from the many bonds being connected. I heard many voices at once flowing in and out of my head like tornadoes striking and swirling away. It wouldn't stop, just continued to hit me again and again. My grip on him tightened until I heard a soft whooshing sound.
"Lykaon!" Klyn shouted.
Lykaon jerked, and the next thing I know, he's pinned me to the ground, curled around my body like a shield. My back ached but it was nothing to my head. "What the hell is happening!" he growled.
I was aware of feet pounding on the ground around us, shadows blocking out the light of the fires, and orders being shouted by multiple people. As my head began to go from pounding to throbbing, my vision cleared and I realized we were still on the ground with bodies creating a wall around us. "What happened?" I ask Lykaon.
He looks down at me and presses his brow against mine, breathing me in deeply. "We're being attacked."
"By whom?"
"That one who has my parents," his voice cracks at the end and I feel my heart drop.
"We should go…" I trail off as I squirm to get up.
He tightens his arms around me, his eyes darkening. "You aren't going."
"But your parents—"
"I'll figure out a way to help them, but I'm not letting you risk your life when you're so vulnerable."
"But I promised I'd help," I remind him. "You promised you'd let me help you. Besides, I'm Luna now, I'm expected to help my pack."
"Opaline—"
I give him a hard look. "I'm going to help you. We will get your parents back and I will be fine. I just have a headache, but I'm not vulnerable."
We stare at each other for a long moment, neither of us backing down until we hear, "Alpha…I know you're here. I know you have your mate with you…bring her here and I'll let your parents go. The great Alpha Ariston and Luna Lyall will not be harmed if the both of you come forth and face me."
Lykaon sighs and stands up, then helps me. "Stay beside me, okay?" I nod and brush off my dress, even though it still looks perfect. He links our fingers together and takes my hand, pulling me through the wall of people who made up our pack. They parted for us, and I saw a woman with deep brown eyes and short brown hair. She had on tight black clothing and held two hand held guns pointed right at us.
I furrowed my brows at her, wondering who the hell she was. Lykaon tightened his grip on my hand, warning me to stay close. Behind the woman, I saw a dozen or so wolves in a half-circle around her, growling and snarling at us. I roll my eyes and stop beside my mate, locking my gaze with the woman's to see hatred and unadulterated anger. "Follow me alone, and don't try anything or else someone dies."
I look around and see everyone staring at us, including the other Alphas and Lunas. The woman walked into the forest and gestured for us to come, while her wolves took up the rear, careful not to step on my dress. I glance at Lykaon and see he's stiff and deep in thought, his eyes look down to the ground in front of him, almost in a defeated way. How is it that I'm being the strong one when it's supposed to be him?
We stopped at the border where the woman whistled and four wolves came out of the foliage dragging along Alpha Ariston and Luna Lyall. Lykaon's body went rigid. They didn't look beaten or bloodied, just exhausted. When they spotted us, their eyes softened towards their son and widened at me, as if in shock. The four wolves set them down, lying them carefully on the forest floor behind the woman, and Lykaon's parents didn't fight it.
Lykaon's voice was hoarse when he said, "Let them go."
"I will." A pause. "Actually, they're free to leave whenever they wish, seeing as you're here." She snapped her fingers and one wolf started untying my mate's parents. "They did no harm to me, so I did none to them. Frankly, I wasn't wanting to kill them, but threatened you anyways."
Lykaon growled. I squeezed his hand and spoke. "Tell me, who was this mate you claimed I have killed."
Ariston and Lyall stood, walking around and behind us, clutching one another. The woman holstered a gun and glared at me. "He was a red wolf, and had spot of black on tail and paws. Remember him?"
I shake my head, unable to recall such a thing. I haven't killed many wolves, but those I did deserved what they got for doing what they did. "I have no idea wha—"
"Three years ago!" she bellowed. I took a step back, a bit surprised by her outburst. "You left him lying in the dirt to rot! You killed him without a second thought, and as easily as ripping out his throat!"
Now I glare. "He was hurting an innocent woman! Was I not supposed stop him and his little friends?"
"Innocent?" she barked out a laugh. "That little tramp is anything but innocent!" I could feel Lykaon's confusion rise like mine was. "Would you like to know what she did? What she accomplished doing before that fateful day?"
I took another step back and felt a wolf nip at my heel, making me jump forward again. "I don't know what you're talking about. She was under him! Being attacked by him!"
"Because she attacked them!" the woman snarled. "She used them, knowing they all had mates of their own, for her own personal pleasure!" My heart stopped. I couldn't breathe. "That girl is nothing special. That child she was pregnant with? That is my mate's child, thanks to her!"
"Did you see this happen?" Lykaon asked. "Did you see her force your mate into it?"
She looked at him mournfully. "She drugged him and his friends when she did it. Each one with wolfsbane and some hormonal shit so he would feel pleasure as well! He was unable to move, unable to call for help as the wolfsbane left him paralyzed. She left him helpless, defenseless, as she took him. His friends were the same. And you know what happened after that?" She gulped, brushing away tears. "He wouldn't look at me in the eyes, wouldn't touch me, wouldn't even tell me what was wrong for fear of me rejecting him!"
I gasped, horrified and sad for this woman, but also betrayed by someone I thought I was helping. I hid my face in Lykaon's arm, feeling ashamed of my actions. He said, "You're saying, the blonde woman who has a baby in her arms, is the reason for you going after my mate?"
"Your mate defending my mate's assaulter."
"Unknowingly."
"I don't care!" she hissed.
Lykaon held up his hand. "One more question. Why was Beta Vuk there at the scene?"
"Because, we asked him to help. He suspected something was up with this woman and was going to do something about it."
"But is she Aryn's mate?"
I stiffened hearing my mate's question. The woman seemed to think about the question for a long time, then softly she said, "Aryn's mate? The golden Himalayan?" Lykaon nodded. "She's dead."
"But—"
"This person is her sister no one knew about. They're twins."
"So, I'm hiding an evil twin of the precious Maybelle of Vengeful Star Pack?" Lykaon growled. "Since the fuck when? Does Vuk know?"
"Of course! She disappeared when his attention fell onto your mate that day, and he's been looking for her ever since."
"Is that why he's going around killing females?"
"He isn't killing them!" she said desperately. "He doesn't do that! The one's killing them are their own families. He's only slowing their heartrate down to the point it can't be heard, then searching them carefully for the one thing that can identify the criminal."
"What mark is he looking for?"
"A scar." She brought out a piece of paper and walked up, handing it to us. "it's on the back of her neck where a silver knife cut her as a baby to identify between her and Maybelle."
I looked closely at the picture, seeing a white line slashing a feminine neck about two inches long. My stomach churned and I found myself unable to move, staring at the scar in defeat. "What have I done?"