Epilogue 2

Epilogue 2: Zara's POV

I could feel everyone's eyes on me, which instantly made me nervous. I hated feeling this way but I wasn't sure I could help it. I hated being the centre of attention and walking down an aisle and standing in front of all the pack members to take part in the Luna ceremony was exactly that, being the centre of attention. Harper had told me that since I was the true luna of the pack, the ceremony would be a little different and I wasn't sure how that would affect me as I hadn't exactly attended Natalie's ceremony. 

I weakly smiled at all the pack members assembled in the pack grounds and started walking down the aisle towards the raised stage at the front of the pack. I was barefoot to pay homage to the natural aspect of the pack and to respect the raw nature of the wolves. The grass was soft beneath my feet and I immediately compared the softness to the grass in the spirit world where I used to meet the moon goddess. Harper had instructed me to not look around and to keep my gaze focused on the stage. He asked me to not be distracted by anything the pack members said or did and I did exactly as he said even though it was proving to be quite hard. 

I heard deep howls of approval coming from every direction possible, followed by hoots of encouragement, and shrieks of children, and with every step I took, someone greeted me by throwing flower petals at me. I could feel myself blushing at the enthusiastic greeting and I desperately wanted to look over the people who were cheering me on and thank them or the very least smile at them. 

I follow Harper's instructions to heart and don't let my eyes waver from him. I keep my eyes on him and make my way slowly towards the stage set up in the pack ground. I faintly register passing Eva, Sebastian, and my friends to get to the stage. All the ceremonies related to the important titles in the pack are carried out only by the ruling alpha, and that is why only Harper is standing on the stage, wearing only a pair of white shorts, his hands clasped in front of his body, his stance coiled with anticipation and eagerness. I faintly smile to myself at his eager boyish attitude to do this ceremony, the first pack ceremony his heart has been fully devoted to because as he told me, having me as his mate, his luna, and spending the rest of his life with me made him look forward to living.

I am not a fool. I know people dole out empty promises to you to make you stay, to convince you that staying with them is a good idea, even when you know in your heart that it's not. In the past months, Harper hasn't only told me how important I am to him, he has shown me in every that he wants me, that he loves me. So, when I climb up the steps to the stage to complete the Luna ceremony, I have no second thoughts or doubts in my mind. 

Harper turned towards the pack when I stood beside him. My eyes involuntarily went straight for the people I knew. Natalie was standing with Addison and the latter was holding Mason in her arms, who was sleeping soundly in her arms. Addison had slowly accepted Mason as a part of her life. It would have been extremely hard for her otherwise, considering Mason was her mate's and half-brother's son. Addison faced a lot of problems after being accepted into the pack, after all, she was one of the rogue leaders who had been continuously attacking the pack and was the reason so many lives were lost. Even now, after so many months people couldn't stand to be in the same room with her. They only tolerated her because she was instrumental in rescuing me, was Harper's half-sister, and Natalie's mate, in that order. Harper and she had been slowly building their relationship, as surprising as that seemed to me at first, even though there are times when neither of them knows what to talk about. Addison has grieved about Damon and Aaron in her way, by hiding her emotions from the world. It's surprising and rare when she confides in me because apart from Natalie, I have worked hard to make this pack home from her. This has been incredibly hard because Eva has made no secret that she doesn't care about Addison at all, making family dinners awkward. I knew Eva would be unreceptive to Addison but I had hoped for Sebastian to be welcoming, considering Addison is her daughter as far as I know, neither father nor daughter has made any attempts to talk to each other and I have no plans to interfere in their family dynamics. 

"We are gathered here today for a ceremony you have all been waiting for. Today is the day this pack gets its true luna, Zara who is my true mate and who the goddess decreed to stand beside me and lead you all to your full potential. I have been extremely lucky in my lie because I have been appointed alpha of a pack whose members work for the betterment of the pack as a whole while keeping their interests aside. I have also tried to do the same for you; I have tried to keep my interests aside and make the welfare of the pack and its members my priority. This day marks the day where your true Luna will vow to do the same, make the welfare of this pack and its members her priority and I hope that you will welcome her with open arms." Harper's voice boomed across the clearing and every pack member listened to him with chilling focus. As soon as Harper said his piece, cheers, and howls rang across the sky which made my blood run warm and made my hair stand on end. 

To be honest, I hadn't expected such a warm welcome from the pack and until this moment, I hadn't realized how much their support meant to me. Harper turned to look at me as the roars quieted down with a smile on his face and a smile immediately graced my face at his proud and satisfied expression. Harper moved towards me and took my hand in his own and I faintly registered that the pack members had instantly become quiet. He led me to the center of the stage, where a normal-sized silver bowl I hadn't noticed before, was placed on a desk. 

We stand on the opposite sides of the bowl and I watch as Harper pulls out a silver knife from the pocket of his shorts. I knew that was a part of the ceremony but watching the knife in person still unnerved me. I wasn't in a hurry to have my palm sliced and I bet Harper could feel my apprehension through the mate bond because he smiled gently at me. 

Without any word, Harper slices his palm and I watch as blood pools in his hand. I watch, fascinated as rivulets of the dark red liquid start sliding down his palm. "Here, your turn." The blood-coated knife comes into my vision and I take it from him, without thinking twice about it. I take a deep breath slice the knife into my palm and watch my skin being sliced into two. My palm starts to sting almost immediately and I clench my palm to ward off some of the pain. That was great, Harper's encouragement echoes in my mind and I look up to see him smiling at me. 

I put down the knife on the table on which the silver bowl was kept and placed my stinging and bleeding hand in Harper's outstretched hand. The tingles that bloomed as soon as our skin touched almost made the pain bearable and I watched, rather I felt as Harper's blood mixed with mine and then slowly started dripping into the silver bowl placed below our hands. 

"I, Harper Cain, the white alpha of The Red Lakes pack, call upon the goddess to look over this luna ceremony. I stand here, in front of my pack members to place my true mate, Zara Hemming, as the rightful luna of this pack. I call upon you to bless this ceremony, bind both of us in the alpha-luna bond, and give Zara her rightful position as the luna of the pack. I stand before every one of my pack members and call upon you to bless my mate and the luna of this pack to have a long and peaceful time in leading this pack." He gently squeezed my hand and watched as my hand stung with pain and our mixed blood started dripping into the silver bowl at a quicker pace. 

Harper had already explained to me the process of this ceremony so I knew that this was my cue to speak and pledge my fealty to the pack and the pack members. The tricky part was that there was no pre-rehearsed script I had to speak from. Harper had told me I would have to say whatever words came to my mind at the moment and make myself respectful and as clear as possible. He advised me to be confident because the speech I would give right now would determine how the pack members would receive me as the Luna. So, I knew the importance of the words I was going to speak now and had been practicing them for a few days now, even though I couldn't recall a single word from my script right now. 

I look up from our joined hands into Harper's encouraging ones and feel the prickling stares of hundreds of people on my neck. I thought I would be nervous but when I speak, my voice is clear, determined, and without a trace of nervousness or hesitation. "I, Zara Hemming, vow to uphold the dignity and needs of the Red Lakes pack. I stand here before the mate the moon goddess bestowed on me, in front of all the pack members, and promise to treat every pack member with respect and love. I promise to always place the needs of the pack and the pack members before the needs of me and my family. I promise to lead the pack and serve the pack with honor, loyalty, and determination. I call upon the moon goddess to accept my oath and bless my reign with happiness and success for all the years to come."  As soon as I finish my little speech, applause breaks out across the pack grounds and I feel my cheeks blush at the approving roar of the pack members. 

Harper squeezes my hand yet again and releases it. I take my hand and my eyes stay riveted to the silver bowl filled with our mixed blood. Each pack member is supposed to put a little of the blood on their tongue, even the little kids. A year ago, I would have squirmed at the thought and thought the custom to be pagan but now as I spend time with the werewolves, I understand that this custom represents their acceptance of me and Harper as their leader. This means that they are pledging their allegiance to us. 

Harper pulls out a clean handkerchief from his shorts and hands it to me. I watch as he rubs his palm against his shorts to get rid of the blood. Being the white alpha, his cut must have already healed. It's my cut I have to worry about. I wipe the blood off my sliced hand and frown when it doesn't sting. When I finally clear all the fresh blood, I frown as I see my unsliced palm. When we were in bed last night, Harper had told me that if my hand healed up quickly, it would be a definite sign that the ceremony was successful and the goddess accepted my vows and blessed me as the luna of the pack. 

"Everything ok?" Harper's voice breaks my reverie my eyes snap up to look at him. In a daze, I show my healed palm to him and his eyes shine with pride as he recognizes what this means. As a human, seeing my palm heal so quickly is a stunning surprise in itself and I watch as Harper pulls my hand to his lips and kisses my palm gently, not caring about the dried blood, and a smile coats my lips as I watch him hold my hand. We stand side by side, Harper and me, and face the crowd of werewolves assembled to pay homage to me. "My fellow pack members, welcome Zara Hemming, Your true Luna." Harper cried and the wolves broke into applause and deep howls rang in the pack grounds. 

The next second, the celebrations quieten down, and one by one, all the pack members kneel in front of me, to show me their allegiance. It was all overwhelming, even though I knew that it was going to happen. Watching as hundreds of people kneel to you isn't something I could ever be used to. 

The beta couple, Aiden and Samantha rise from the crowd and climb up the stage. I watch their stiff body language and sigh internally. Aiden and Samantha have been having problems since graduation because Samantha plans to do a course in Interior design from a college that is two states away. This has been her plan for as long as I can remember and even though Aiden is supportive of Samantha following her dreams, he and his wolf aren't exactly leaping up at the chance to try out a long-distance relationship. As far as I know, they are still working through their issues of trying to meet up, of trying to maintain a semblance of the normalcy of a mate bond while being miles apart. 

They bow down in front of us and even though I expected this part too, it makes me uncomfortable to accept that my friends are kneeling before me as I am better than them just because I was mated to Harper. "I, Aiden Knight, the beta male of the pack, pledge my loyalty to you, Alpha and Luna."

"I, Samantha Adams, the beta female of the pack, pledge my loyalty to you, alpha and Luna." With their declaration, they get up and all the pack members rise before them. 

Aiden and Samantha Walk behind us and I watch as they both stick their index fingers into the silver bowl filled with mine and Harper's blood and put them in each other's mouths. As soon as they do it, I feel a mental window opening between me Aiden, and Samantha. My eyes widen as I realize that the blood has just helped me open the mind link with the two of them. I watched as the two of them divided the blood and walked down the stage to distribute the blood to all the pack members. As each of the pack members tastes our blood, a new link opens in my mind. 

Harper's hand slips into mine and I sigh out loud at the tingles coursing through my body. "I'm so proud of you today."

Before he can say anything, I lean up and kiss him. He staggers in surprise but quickly slides his free arm around my waist and pulls me closer to his body. I lean back and watch as his wolf fights for control. "I love you," I whisper against his lips and this is probably the first time I have stood tall and said these words to Harper's face, without any hesitation. Harper's arms tighten around me and I rest my head on his shoulder and feel as yet another pack member becomes connected to me via the mind link. I inhale Harper's scent and feel myself relaxing under his touch.