the mating ceremony

CHAPTER 4

Alexa's POV

The mating ceremony was more or less a shit show in my opinion. It was just a fancy gathering for wolves who hoped they would not be a reject of the goddess and finally get their plus one.

It didn't matter that most times, in these ceremonies, the plus ones are not always as caring as they are painted out to be.

Of course, while werewolves are forever in love with their mates and would never want to hurt them, some wolves are just dominant psychopaths who beat their mates into submission.

I was never a fan of these. Growing up, I hoped that I would just meet a nice man and settle down with him,mate or not. When I finally became a thing with Aries, I had sworn to heaven above and beyond that he was the one.

Stupid me already had a marriage proposal written out for when I clocked eighteen and took over my father's throne. Well...I was always delusional.

The mating ceremony was to be attended by the most influential and basically any maiden that was interested. More often than not, the mates turn out to be a human or a vampire, but that did not change the rules. Only werewolves were allowed to these ceremonies and if, probably at the end of the shenanigans, the mate was not found, it became the person's problem to travel far and beyond in search of his better half.

The safety of the pack always came first. It did not matter that they had a peace treat signed with every other realms, it was just a piece of paper. And the fact that the vampires were usually unstable and unpredictable made it all the more mandatory.

As I stared at myself in the mirror, I did not know what to expect.

A stupid part of me was still smitten by love and was hoping beyond hope that the moon goddess had her head in the right place and would make us mates.

The other rational part of me was furious about this whole set up. If the mating ceremony was about to be carried out, then it meant that finally, brave Armstrong was ready to retire and would give the throne to Aries in a few short weeks.

My throne.

I was pissed beyond comfort. The fact that I had to attend it made it all the more annoying. The gown I wore was a regular party gown. I had a lot of those in my closets before I got demoted.

When I got demoted, my room changed almost instantly. While the pretentious bimbo, Diana, got my room, I was stuck in the servants quarters, sharing a room with four girls who seemed to hate me more than the goddess who gave them such pathetic lives.

I was basically their emotional support animal.

They did everything they could to frustrate my stay in the room. They gossiped loudly about me, they stole my clothes, they shred my clothes, they dunked my bedsheets into toilet water, just classic childish stuff.

I didn't mind though, at least they did not have the guts to confront me face to face.

As I smoothed my clothes and gave myself a final once over, I prepared myself for whatever may happen outside.

Whatever happens, I won't cry, I won't let them get to me.

Nodding at myself and smiling slightly, I walked out, feeling my confidence sky rocket.

As I stepped into the big ball room, the confidence dropped at an alarming rate, leaving me with only a tiny piece that was wavering and barely holding on for dear life.

I had no idea just how out of date my wardrobe was. One thing female werewolves loved, was fashion. Getting what was in trend and sticking to it like moths would a light.

I stuck out like a sore thumb, being the only one wearing a gown from two years ago. Did I care? Not really.

I moved towards the snack bar. If I was doing this, I might as well get some food.

" I'm glad to see that you came" a voice called, the same annoying voice that had stopped me in the hallway because he was too much of a wuss to allow people to see us together.

" I had to, you had a knife to my throat" I said, taking a sip of the champagne. I wanted to get drunk today. That was probably the only way I would be able to handle the outcome of today.

I needed to get enough drinks into my system to get me slightly tipsy.

" Well, it's good you did. I will be going to check around now." He said. With that, he walked away.

The party dragged on slowly for hours, boring me more than I ever bargained for. As I settled into my seat, I finally smelt a lovely scent, behind me.

My heart skipped a bit. Was this it? Was I his mate? I followed the smell rapidly, my drunk self not able to place or give a particular name to the scent but it was heavenly. It made me weak in the knees and urged me further.

I finally got to the source of the smell, hugging the person.

It was a surprise waiter, holding the source of the scent, a turkey roasted to perfection.

My eyes filled with disappointment as I held myself from blushing in embarrassment.

From the far corner of the room, a growl was heard. It came from Aries. As the crowd parted, I could see him holding a girl firmly in his arms like he was afraid letting go would make her disappear.

My heart slowed. Everything slowed. I looked on, watching him dig his teeth into her neck and watching her moan in both pleasure and pain.

I wanted that.

The haze cast on me by the drinks started to wake off slowly. I watched them make their way towards the podium amidst cheers. I was the only one standing there, still sticking out like a sore thumb as I looked on in shock.

It all felt so surreal. Like it was a dream and not real life.

When I finally came back to my senses, I could tell that everyone was staring at me. Pointing fingers, pitying me.

I did not need to have super hearing to make out what they were saying.

" I told you the moon goddess has rejected her. She may never get a mate. Oh poor thing"

" It serves her right. She probably felt on top of the world before right?"

" Do you think they have chicken at the counter?"

My eyes were shaking, unable to control the amount of tears that threatened to spill out.

Quickly, I walked out, making my way out of the choking ball room faster than I ever had in my life.

I fell once, getting up quickly, my movements fueled by the looks on their faces.

When I finally got outside, I finally felt the air rush into my lungs.

I could finally breathe.