The Luna ceremony took place that night, and not everyone was happy about it, myself least of all. I did take a small relief in the fact that this time my friends didn't turn their backs on me because of this latest elevation, but it did little to relieve the bone-deep dread under my surface calm. Inside, I was roiling.
But I showered with grim determination, ready to show Simon and the rest of his pack that I wasn't going to let this get to me. To this end, once I stepped out of the shower, I put on the most elegant red dress I could find, and when I saw myself in the mirror, I felt my confidence grow.
I added a touch of bold red lipstick to complete the ensemble, but as I was contemplating whether to let my hair flow loose or put it up, there was a knock at my door, and I took a deep breath before opening it. To my dismay, Samuel stood on my threshold, and a leer crossed his face as he eyed me up and down. "Look at you," he said, his eyes glittering as he stepped closer. "You're practically begging for someone to bend you over and fuck you."
I lifted my chin, determined not to let him get to me, though I felt like throwing up at his suggestive words. "Have you come to escort me to the ceremony?"
Samuel chuckled, lust in his eyes as he moved even closer, until there was no space between our bodies. This close, I could feel his erection pressing insistently against me, and I stepped back. "Maybe," he said, smirking at my withdrawal. "Or I might be here to have a little fun with you. What do you say?"
"No thank you," I said coldly. "If you're going to play with fire, you're going to get burned." Of course, I had no idea if Simon would actually claim me (and I hoped he didn't), but I banked on my future position as Luna to try and reign Samuel in. Otherwise, I was sure to find myself in a nasty position. Kira growled in the back of my head, and I admitted to having a low growl start in the back of my throat. If Samuel did want to do the stupid thing and try to take me, he'd be left with broken limbs and unable to ever father a cub.
Samuel chuckled again. "Oh my goodness," he said, reaching out and forcefully taking my face in his hands. "You really have no idea, do you? The Alpha has his mate. He's not going to take another. You're the Luna, but that doesn't mean you can't be used as the village bicycle." His smirk turned truly nasty as he leaned in until his hot breath scalded my face. "I'm going to take the first turn, of course, because, well, I'm the Gamma, and I don't have a mate."
Anger boiled over and I slapped him, sending him staggering. "That's enough," I snapped, trembling. "You will leave me, now. I can make my own way downstairs, thank you."
"You're going to pay for that," Samuel snarled, turning to face me, all false goodwill gone from him in an instant. "Have it your way, but when the ceremony is over, I'm going to fuck you bloody, you stupid little bitch. See if I don't." So saying, he turned on his heel and stalked off, and I took several deep breaths to calm my racing heart, until the trembling subsided. Even so, I knew I was now in greater peril, and as I made my way downstairs, I vowed to give Samuel the fight of his life. There was no way I was letting him have his way with me without paying heavily for the priviledge.
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The ceremony took place in the courtyard to the rear of the house, a place I hadn't yet visited. Overhead, the moon shone full and bright, and under its silver radiance, I made my way down the stairs, feeling very vulnerable and naked as I approached the small group who waited for me. Aoife stood on Simon's right, with Samuel flanking her, and from the disgusting leer on his face, it was clear he'd transferred his deferred lustful intentions towards her. I felt sick inside, wishing myself in her place so she wouldn't have to suffer more humiliation, but when our eyes met, she shook her head. 'Don't,' she said. 'I can handle this. Believe it or not, Simon being my mate is giving me a bit of extra strength, and I can easily run Samuel off if he tries getting even more smarmy with me.'
'As long as you're okay,' I said, and Aoife nodded, sending a wave of reassurance my way. This bolstered my spirits, though they were almost shattered again when I saw the naked pain on Shannon's face. I didn't need to read him to know the agony he was going through; first his sister had been forcefully mated off to a man he despised, and now he had to watch me go through the same thing. I wanted so badly to hold him in my arms and tell him it was all going to be okay, but I knew that was a lie. So all I could do was send all the love I could muster, hoping it would go towards easing his pain. His face relaxed a bit, and he nodded, sending thankfulness back to me.
Ethan, standing on James' other side, nodded as I came to stand before the small group. Recalling our bonding that afternoon, I inclined my head, silently letting him know I was going to be okay - or as okay as it was possible for me to be. Ethan frowned slightly, silently questioning my veracity, and I blushed, before letting him know I was strong enough to adapt. His frown eased and he nodded again. James, of course, gave me his usual disdainful look, and I returned the favour, staring him down until he looked away, growling low in his throat. Kira snickered.
'That's showing him,' she said proudly.
'He's got to learn he won't be able to boss me around any more,' I said.
Simon then spoke, and I turned my attention to him. "Omega," he said. "You are hereby summoned by your Alpha to assume the role of Luna. Once you have ascended, you will be granted all the priviledges and rights thereunto, including the right to command any member of the pack as you see fit, up to and including the Gamma and Beta. You will also be accorded a place of honour at my side when I greet rival packs, and the ability to negotiate with the Lunas of other packs, in order to persuade them to come to our side so we can crush our enemies once and for all, and wipe them off the face of the earth."
I shivered as he continued. "Furthermore, once you have ascended, you have the right to accept or reject the suit of any male, without consequences. This goes all the way up the chain, from omegas to myself." He let his eyes flicker to Samuel as he said this, and the Gamma grimaced. There goes one, I thought, relieved. "Also," Simon added, " I am placing the remaining omegas under your direct command, for you to direct them as you wish."
I winced as I looked anxiously over my shoulder at my friends. All of them looked aghast at the prospect, but to my relief, not one of them protested, instead silently letting me know they were behind me all the way, and I let out a soft sigh as I turned back to face Simon. "I accept the role of Luna," I said, "and I swear to carry out my duty to the fullest of my ability. I will give my all that I may serve this pack faithfully to the end of my days, knowing that if I fail in any way, I will invite swift retribution."
"Then give me your hand," Simon ordered, and I placed my left hand in his. James then handed him a silver knife, and as the moon reached its zenith, Simon turned my hand over and sliced across my palm. Pain blanked everything for a moment, but I quickly recovered and repeated my earlier words, this time as Simon held my bleeding hand under the moonlight. When I'd finished, I felt my words sink into my skin, becoming a part of me, and a tingle went over my body as they melded seamlessly into blood, bone and sinew. From this moment on, I was now magically charged to carry out my oath, and despite my distaste for the situation, I was also overwhelmingly relieved I was now in a much better position to do some damn good for a change.
"You are now Luna Stephanie, of the Whitewater pack," Simon announced. "Carry out your duties well and faithfully, or suffer swift retribution." I nodded, pressing a thumb over the cut on my hand to stop the bleeding, and as I turned to face the rest of the pack, I felt the healing process starting, much to my relief. Of course, this new relief was stifled when the original pack members clapped politely, but at least my friends showed more enthusiasm, breaking protocol by running forward and engulfing me in a group hug that all but drove the air out of me. But I didn't care, and I hugged them back ferociously, glad to be properly reunited with them for the first time in a month.
And as we all stood there, wrapped in each other's arms, I made a silent vow that I would do all I could to protect them. I had the power to do so now, and a small smirk crossed my face as I reflected that soon, Simon was going to regret giving me the equal second-most powerful position in the pack. I had to be careful, of course, but that didn't mean I couldn't be incredibly sneaky about it.
And I was ready to show Simon and the rest of his pack how sneaky I could truly be.
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