Filed to story: Owned by the Alphas Novel
“Wolves and their ceremonies,” she sighed.
I smiled at that, “They do like to make things rather dramatic, don’t they?” I chuckled, pulling her hair into a braid. I wasn’t as good at them as my mom, but it would do. “Is that what is making you nervous? Being in front of everyone?”
I wondered.
She shrugged, “I don’t like being stared at. Or having everyone stare at me. Especially naked. Vaughn is the only one who has ever seen me like that and I had the naive hope that it would stay that way,” she said wistfully.
I smirked. That I could help with.
“Oh, well I can help. I can put up a screen of magic. Or some cool purple mist that’ll hide your body until you have turned?”
She spun in her chair, facing me, her eyes full of hope, “You can do that?”
I shrugged, “I have three Alphas and Luna status, pretty sure I can get away with anything,” I laughed.
“And you would be right, Beautiful,” Derik smiled, striding into the room, and planting a kiss on my forehead.
I grinned up at him as he looked down at Ryleigh. He had some penstemon flowers in his hand and started putting them in Ryleigh’s braid.
“Pearl is busy with the children but has said these will help. They open you up to deep transformation, building up your courage and keeping it there. She said they will help you persevere through the ceremony,” Derik said, reciting the words like she had told him to say exact things.
She probably had. Ryleigh smiled widely and nodded at him, “Thank you, Alpha Derik,” she said.
He nodded then turned to me, “We are ready for you. Put the cloaks on and meet us downstairs.”
“And you’re sure we really need to have a shifting celebration?” I asked.
He frowned at that, “It’s not a celebration, Beautiful. This ceremony is about much more than that. We shift together, we bleed together, we sacrifice together. It keeps us a pack, a family,” Derik said, his voice strong and alpha-like.
I blew out a breath, that was intense. Brax had not explained it like that.
“Brax said we’ll have a ceremony, shift, run, have a good time. Not a single part of that explanation led me to believe there would be bleeding involved,” I scowled, hands going to my hips.
Derik rolled his eyes, “That’s because I left Brax in charge of explaining something.” Derik looked between me and Ryleigh. He wore a cloak too, a velvet black cloak with a gold trimming at the top. It looked so luxurious and made his eyes look even darker.
Ryleigh held her arms and shivered. I put my hand on her shoulder and narrowed my eyes on Derik, shooting my look to Ryleigh so he could see what I was trying to tell him. That his Beta was freaking out.
Derik knelt down by Ryleigh, his hands on her knees as he looked up at her.
“I don’t want the easy version of this. I want to know what I’m walking into,” she said forcefully.
It reminded me of the way I had conversed with Mom before my ceremony. I had felt better once she had explained things in more detail.
The unknown was terrifying.
“We’re going to go down to the clearing in the forest. It’s the meeting point between all four areas. The Alphas will cut their hands, bleeding on the soil, and then you all will. We’ll say some words and then once the dark of night sets in and the moon is at its peak, we’ll shift. Together.”
Yeah, Brax had given us one hell of a watered-down version.
“And if I don’t want to shift in front of everyone else?” Ryleigh asked, her voice and eyes watery.
Derik gave her a small smile, “It will be more painful to do on your own. Even with just me there. With us there, we will be able to absorb that pain.”
Ryleigh closed her eyes then swallowed and nodded.
“Okay.”
“We will be there with you. Vaughn and your daughter too,” Derik said.
He was letting Mom attend with Vaughn and the babies so they could be a part of it too. Cain would be with them to make sure they didn’t absorb anything. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to shift yet. I knew I should, since I was Luna and part of the pack, but shifting while pregnant didn’t sound fun at all.
The rest of the pack was shifting since it was meant to be mandatory.
“Althea. That’s my daughter’s name.”
“Althea will be there too,” Derik reassured.
I moved into Derik’s side as Ryleigh nodded and turned to us, “Can I have a minute please?”
Derik nodded and led me into the hall outside her room. It was set aside for her and Vaughn whenever they stayed.
She had to be near Derik every few days or the Beta sickness set in. We had learned that over the last two weeks.
Ryleigh had started getting sick, vomiting, tight chest until she was barely breathing. Derik had felt it, almost stopping his breath too.
That concerned me. Greatly.
But Cain assured me that Derik’s survival was not dependent on Ryleigh’s. I might’ve changed my mind on how well I had taken the beta bond if that was the case.
“I am going to use my magic to cover Ryleigh. She’s more modest than the rest of us.”
Derik nodded, “If that makes her more comfortable.”
I grinned and kissed him. He pressed me back into the wall, deepening the kiss.
That was not a good idea when I was already feeling the effects of carrying his child, so potently. I was ready at any and every moment to have him inside me.
I moaned as he lifted me onto his waist, kissing me with soft lips.
“And I thought Derik was the responsible one,” Kai smirked as he came around the corner, Enzi wrapped on his chest.
I smiled over at him and he stole my lips, my body still resting on Derik’s.
“When it comes to Lorelai, I am corruptible it would seem,” Derik smiled then lowered me to the ground.
As much as I wanted to keep going, we had a ceremony to get to.
As if to prove my point, the sun beamed in orange rays through the window at the end of the hall we stood in. It was setting, which meant it was almost time.
“Time for you to get dressed, Little Luna. Need a hand?” Kai smirked.
I laughed. If he came with me, getting dressed would not be on the agenda. I shook my head and turned back to Ryleigh’s door. I knocked.
“Rye? Can I come in?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice breathy. I went in and kept my Alphas out. I looked over Ryleigh who had her silver cloak on.
“You look beautiful,” I smiled.
She ran her fingers over the edges of the cloak, “I wish I felt beautiful. Do I have to be naked under it?” she asked.
“I think so, sorry,” I grimaced then started stripping down until I was naked.
“Yeah, I don’t have that kind of body. Especially after Althea,” she pulled her cloak tighter.
Her body had killer curves and flawless skin. She was beautiful. I wished she felt that way.
I pulled my black cloak on, tying it together at the top then clipping the werewolf territory clasp on. It was a wave over a tree with grass along the bottom inside a circle.
“You have everything you need to be beautiful, Ryleigh, you just have to believe it. We do and so does Vaughn. So believe it yourself, because that’s all that matters,” I smiled.
She nodded, “I’m trying. It’s easier in the human village where everyone has flaws. Here, it seems like every werewolf is gorgeous.”
I tilted her chin to me, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, “And so are you,” I promised.
She looked doubtful but sighed and nodded.
“I suppose it doesn’t matter. I have to do this,” she said.
Well, she wasn’t wrong.
That full moon would wait for no one.
A knock on the door made us turn to the sound.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?