Chapter 34: Before the Ceremony
Sydney
It was like déjà vu and an out-of-body experience at the same time. The rushing around me, the poking a prodding, the crying and giggling. It’s just like before but with a different set of nerves tearing through my body. This mass chaos swirled around me, and I couldn’t focus on any of it. It was like I was watching someone else’s life. I just needed to get my mind right.
I just finished my first heat, which started at the worst time possible. I’ve kept myself away from everyone for fear of accidentally hurting a pack member. Being forced to spend all that time with Silas wasn’t as bad as I thought. Especially the moments we got to be in the bond space together. I’ve never experienced anything as claiming and peacefully before. Now it’s back to reality. I am more nervous about the Lumiere ceremony than I was my own.
This ceremony was significant to our pack’s recovery. It
Chapter 35: The Lumiere Ceremony Silas I can’t seem to move my feet for a moment. My eyes are fixed on the back door; beyond that point is everyone waiting for me. I take a deep breath and gather myself. My hand is shaking as I grab the handle. My head is a mess; my stomach is in knots. I know I can’t run away. I turn the knob and step outside. “Announcing the male of the hour Silas Youngblood-Eld.” Ambrose bellowed. I nod and make my way down the central aisle to the raised stage. Everyone stood and bowed their heads out of respect. Every step closer, my heart pounded louder and harder in my chest. My eyes are fixed on the stage. My palms are sweating; what if I don’t get my Lumiere mark at the end of the ceremony? “This is our destiny, our goddess-given duty.” Bram’s commanding voice echoed in my head. “You’re right. It just still doesn’t seem real sometimes.” I straightened myself to my full
Chapter 36: Brothers Sydney “What?” Silas keeps trying to look at his own back. “Goddess, help me. I think his ceremony fired his damn brain.” I raise my head to plead with Selene herself. Watching him, I let out a sigh. “You look ridiculous. Stop it.” “Well, you said I had a star. I want to see it. Take a picture with your phone.” He spins around, and I swear Bram’s tail is out wagging. “Yeah, this damn dress has a place for pockets. I’ll do it later, but we seriously need to figure this out.” I pinch his arm to bring him out of his happy daze. “Ouch!” Silas rubs his arm. “What the hell.” “Silas! Focus!” My temper is starting to show. “OK. I’m sure it’s just part of the connecting pattern, and it doesn’t mean anything.” Silas waves me off. “I don’t think it’s part of the connecting pattern. I don’t know what it means if it means anything.” I sigh and turn him around to take a good look at his mark. It is pretty
Chapter 37: A Family Matter Silas “Put a shirt on already. I’m sick of looking at that creepy mate mark.” Cody scoffed. "Shut up, Cody." I snarled. His attitude toward Sydney and I is really getting under my skin. "What are you, the little bitch's, bitch now?" Cody continued to mock and down his drink and slammed the glass on the table. I jump to my feet. "Cody, if you forgot, I outrank you now, so I mean it when I say shut the fuck up." I feel Bram pushing forward and my Lumiere Aura pushing out. "Uhhh... You!" Cody slumps down in his chair, trying to fight the pull. "Cody, bro, seriously knock it off. You are not just Silas' brother but the Gamma of our pack. So as your Beta, I'm telling you to stop now." Davy steps between us. Him being the oldest always trying to keep the peace. My blood is boiling. I’m doing everything I can to hold Bram back, but a big part of me wants to let him loose. "Grrrrrr..." Cody’s eyes fl
Chapter 38: Finding the definition Sydney “Alpha, aren’t you going to join your mate and his father at the training grounds?” Kyler looked up from his laptop. I sink back into my chair and let out a sigh. “No, I need to get caught up on pack business.” I’m behind on pack work because of my heat and the Lumiere ceremony. Now that the other Alphas have left, I can focus on cleaning this up again. Why did Silas’ parents decide to stay an extra few days? I always feel like I’m walking on eggshells around them now. “What was all that noise about at the after-party, Alpha?” Ambrose cranes his neck backward over the sofa to look at me. A sucker stick poked out between his lips. I know he’s being nosy and trying to act casual about it. “It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.” I don’t want to bring it back up right now. It still bothers me. I focus on the reports in front of me. “Nothing? You sure rushed out for nothing then.” Ambrose knows how
Chapter 39: Father-Son Silas I clap my hands and yell out. “Alright, everyone, that’s it for now.” I start walking back up to the front where my dad is standing. “Remember tonight we are running drills in the forest.” Everyone groans. We need to run rogue attack simulations, so we don’t have the same thing happen again. No one died, but it was too close for comfort. Something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye. “Brain, I guess you decided to stop milking that near-death injury and come to training.” I chuckle and take a few steps over to the onlooker. “What can I say? The ladies love to nurse an injured hero back to health.” Brian gives me a smirk. I wanted to rip his head off when I got her, but that battle changed how we saw each other. “Seriously, how are you healing?” I place a concerned hand on his shoulder. Brain lifts his shirt, and I see stapled flesh. “Staples come out tomorrow. Doc said it was so deep and seriou
Chapter 40: Monster Cookies Sydney “Is this really a good idea?” I whisper to myself as I slow my steps walking toward the packhouse kitchen. “Hurry up. Why are you so slow?” Thora tries to take over for a second. “Hey, knock it off. You just want to eat. Whatever she made is not going anywhere.” I push her back and maintain control. “You don’t know that. Beta Christine is nice, and she could have already given the good stuff away.” My mouth starts to salivate as Thora pushes forward again. “You are acting like a starving pup. We eat all the time.” I stop walking and stand still in the hall, taking back complete control. I’ve never put myself on a diet. With the consistent training and shifting, the need for calories was immense. Now with the added workload of the pack, I was eating even more, as they call it, brain food. “This is different. This is special. Just calm down, alright. Ever
Chapter 41: What is that feeling Silas “I’m not ready,” Syd yells out; she has this deer in the headlights look on her face as she stares at Dad and me. The room is quiet for a moment, and Syd quickly turns a lovely shade of red. Dad lets me out of the headlock. I can tell mom and dad are linking each other because mom shrugged. I’m about to link Syd when mom strikes first. “Sydney dear, what are you not ready for?” Again, we all look at Syd, and I didn’t think she could get this red. “Ummm… ahhh…Ummm.” Syd looks at me in a panic. I link her, “You, OK? What’s going on?” “No.” She snaps back. “Well, answer her?” I’m not a mind reader, and if she wasn’t going to tell me what was going on, I could help. Her emotions are all over the place; there’s confusion, panic, and embarrassment, but I have no clue why. “Ummm… I’m not ready for you both to leave in a few days.” I feel a sense of relief coming off of Syd. I hone
Chapter 42: The Moon and the Stars Sydney I can’t believe what I just heard. Silas said he loved me and said it in front of his parents. I need to control my face. I know I’m grinning like a mad woman, but I can’t help it. This is not what an Alpha acts like. Ugh, why do I get like this around him? “Thora, help fix our face.” I plead with her because I know I look crazy right now. “I can’t. Do you feel that… coming through the bond? Hehe,” My wolf was making it worse. I’m in front of a high-ranking Beta couple, and I’m acting like a love-sick kid. “Get a hold of yourself,” I scream to Thora and me. Now I was just feeling embarrassed that I, an Alpha, was acting so ridiculous over a simple word. I stare at the bowl in front of me, focusing on the mashed potatoes. “Does it taste alright, dear?” I look up and see everyone staring at me. “Yeah, it’s great.” I quickly put my fork in my mouth. I feel like I’m going to explode from em