LUNA CEREMONY

The sun had just touched the horizon by the time the vampires were ready to head to wolf territory. After a lengthy discussion between Gaia and her elders about the dangers of going through with the bond. And then she had to discuss it with the council. A normal meeting in any other coven would’ve been met with head-first resistance, but such was not the case with the Sun coven. The coven had originally belonged to the highest rank of powerful witches dating back as early as the fifth century somewhere around 500 BC. For generations, they were held high above the covens that followed, roots tracing back to a hidden city discovered when the continents had shifted and formed different pieces of large land structures. The place where their city was hidden was later renamed the land of Africa and settled on a small island between southern Europe and northern Africa. The coven was led by Fiona’s mother, a powerful healing witch, but after the war, many lives were lost including that of the coven leader; that was where Gaia stepped up and took control. She signed the peace treaty with the council to agree to end the war and later spent time rebuilding her coven. It was William’s idea to allow other supernatural species to seek refuge and that’s where the mixing of their species began. Vampires weren’t finding mates in the same species anymore; they were finding them in the humans, the faes, the mages, the shapeshifters but never in the few numbers of wolves they took in. But it was too late by the time Gaia had realized what he had planned and for that, she had to live with the consequences for the rest of her life.

Looking at the time on her phone, she phased out of her office and into the field clearing where Thomas, two guards, and her coven elders awaited. She thought it was best to keep her family away for the time being. Delany had an unrelenting hatred for wolves, so she wanted no part in the ceremony, Fiona and Dario stayed behind to watch the coven in her absence and Nathaniel had stayed to babysit Kayden who was not old enough to travel beyond the wards. Daniel and Iris were the only two siblings that were coming along with her. Though Nathaniel didn’t seem to see a reason for it in the first place. Nothing was changing from the way they were so why was there a need for a ceremony? Nothing would change unless William and his army were gone and they knew that so why?

“Let’s go since everyone is here.”, Gaia siphoned magic from them to open the portal instead of using her mweya.

nun ul ber prone el verasyo

When the portal opened up in the clearing in front of Todium’s packhouse, most were startled but not surprised. The field was covered in white flowers that strangely reflected the stars around the field. There were many things Gaia had seen in her lifetime, but this was one of the most beautiful. Yellow fireflies flew around in the air as the cool night breeze surrounded them. There was a large stone with strange carvings seated in the far corner of the forest and from the looks of it, the entire Todium pack was there. Avalon immediately felt Gaia’s presence when she stepped through the portal and watched it close. Her eyes scanned the crowd, some watched them with fearful caution, some with curiosity, and even a few kind eyes. But most of them just openly glared at them. Her kind and especially her people were not new to this kind of behavior so if it did bother them, they didn’t show it. Avalon approached Gaia with eagerness to hold her in his arms. Gaia watched him with open curiosity as he grabbed her hands and brought her knuckles to his forehead before laying a kiss on them.

“Your beauty seems to multiply every time I lay my eyes on you.”, Avalon couldn’t help pulling her into his arms and laying a tender kiss on her face.

If it weren’t for the rich melanin in Gaia’s skin, everyone present would’ve seen how quickly the blush spread with how warm her cheeks and ears got. She couldn’t help the silent thanks sent to her mother for her brown skin. She held his fingers and phased them into his office. Avalon still had not gotten used to the effects of Gaia’s random bouts of phasing. She watched him gag in amusement as he held on to his desk. She felt sorry for him, so she walked over and rubbed his back until he stopped heaving.

“All you had to do was ask to go to my office and I would’ve gladly run here. Anything but this feeling would be better.”, Avalon couldn’t be mad at her though, it was one of the few chances he got to see Gaia anything but cold and detached. He leaned over and grabbed her face between his large hands and laid a gentle kiss on her lips. Gaia was always comforted knowing Avalon would never step over her boundaries without her consent. He went to pull away, but she grabbed behind his neck and pulled him in for a deeper kiss. Avalon reached down and grabbed behind her thighs, hoisting her onto his waist as he turned and sat down on the couch. Tentatively running his tongue over the seam of her lips, smiling when she opened for him. Their tongues clashed together as the kiss grew rougher and hotter. Gaia’s hand squeezed Avalon’s shoulder when he let out a small growl of pleasure. Avalon broke off the kiss in a gasp as he panted.

Gaia gave him an apologetic look, “I’m sorry love. I often forget you need to breathe.”

Avalon could only stare at her with starstruck eyes, “God you’re so fucking beautiful.”

Gaia let out a small chuckle and burrowed her face in his shoulder as she let herself finally relax. Avalon wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head on the back of the couch.

But people were waiting on them to complete the ceremony so they couldn’t stay like this for long, “We have a ceremony to complete so we cannot stay like this.”

She felt him sigh before he laid a kiss on her neck and moved to stand, “I guess I should be thankful it takes less than 30 minutes.”

“My elders’ council is here. I’d like to introduce them before it starts.”, she said to him as he moved to his desk. She, however, remained sitting on the couch.

“Thomas. Bring the elders and my brother to Avalon’s office.”

“Charles. Eliza and Luis. My office…. Now”

Iris had long run off with Keiho since they arrived. They were somewhere in the packhouse along with two guards.

Avalon’s people came through the door at the same time Gaia’s phased into the room. The other two vampires stood guard outside the door. The elders immediately took notice of the nasty look Eliza was giving to their Queen, and they were non too pleased with the blatant show of disrespect. Gaia, however, did not care for the childish tantrum Eliza was throwing for whatever reason, “Elders, again, this is my mate Alpha Avalon Carter. And Avalon, that brooding male over there is my brother Daniel.”

“You already know them. My beta Charles, my gamma Luis and the pack doctor Eliza.”

They exchanged several short nods of acknowledgment, “These are the elders of my coven. These 4 are who I seek out when I need advice or important decision that need to be brought up with the council. There were initially 6 members in total, but my parents have passed on already and i decided to leave the seats vacant.”

Gaia trusted no one outside her coven with anything regarding her parents. William had a powerful seer on his side. Any snippet of memory or information was enough for the witch to find out her parents were still alive. The beings of her coven were bound by the magic of the wards, but Avalon’s pack wasn’t. And William hated Gaia’s parents with every bone in his body. In his twisted sick mind, he had somehow convinced himself that they were responsible for keeping Gaia away from him. And with them gone, she’d finally return to him. She had already lost them once to his madness, and she would die before it happened again.

She would tell Avalon when the time was right.

Daniel suddenly spoke up from his silence to Eliza, “Did you perhaps mistake my sister for someone else, or were you trained to show such a high level of disrespect? Cast your glare away from my sister she-wolf or I will make sure you see nothing from here on out.”

“I don’t mix with your kind bloodsucker. You’re nothing monsters who selfishly kill innocent people for your petty enjoyment. You have no remorse for who or what you hurt in the process. It’s a shame the war only wiped out a third of your kind.”

“ELIZA!”, Avalon had already wanted to punish Eliza before for her disobedience, but Gaia had already handled it as she saw fit. He, however, did not expect she would act up as soon as they met again.

Just like before, Eliza didn’t know her place and Daniel was ready to put her in it. He was more surprised at the fact that his sister hadn’t killed her already. She was merciless and unforgiving to people like Eliza. He figured it was to show respect to the wolf she was about to be bonded to, but he owed them no such loyalty. He moved to kill her, but Gaia raised her hand to stop him. She knew with her brother’s loyalty to her, he would sooner kill the she-wolf than care about the consequences. She turned her gaze to Eliza, blue eyes brightly glowing, “It seems you have forgotten my last warning Ms. Roksel. Shall I entertain you and show you the consequences of such disrespect?”

Eliza was either really brave or foolish. Despite the intimidation coming off of Gaia she continued to act out,” You think I’m afraid of you? You’re all disgusting and quite frankly I don’t know why Alpha is going along with it. I was meant to be his wife. ME! Not you. I was meant to be Luna of this pack. I trained for it my entire life! And just a few months away from it being official, you show up. If you take my space, where does that leave me? Huh?!”

“And you Avalon. Your father wanted you to bond with me. I fit all the requirements to be your perfect Luna. You think he would’ve approved of your bond to her? A vampire of all things.? You know how much he hated their kind. They killed my parents...commited genocide during the war…her kind murdered YOUR mother….”

“ENOUGH ELIZA! “

Gaia’s vampire snarled in outrage as Eliza’s lack of respect became overbearing. Thomas who stood behind Gaia wasn’t concerned with a weak pup like Eliza. He was more focused on calming Gaia. Eliza’s words were getting to her somehow and it was slowly riling her up. Yet throughout the entire exchange, Charles and Luis remained silent.

“Gaia, I know you are upset but you cannot kill her.”

“What if he believes her? She’s not entirely wrong but even then. I’m not ready to show him this side of me.”

“When did it become your place to lecture me about what’s best for this pack? Or for me? You think I don’t remember how my mother died? I WAS THERE!!!”

Avalon took a deep breath to calm his enraged wolf. He did not take too kindly to the way Eliza was disrespecting his mate and neither did Avalon. But he had a duty to his pack so he couldn’t kill her, “Your marriage to me was arranged by our parents. A backup plan if I hadn’t found my mate by 30 and I found her. You knew I never loved you like that. I only ever saw you as a close friend, someone I grew up with. But if you continue to act this way to Gaia, I will not hesitate to remove you from your position. If you disregard my kindness after that, expect banishment. Go and prepare with the rest of the pack.”

Eliza’s eyes widened in disbelief as the weight of his words sunk in. He was choosing a vampire he had just met over her. Tears stung her eyes as she realized she loved him with all her heart and yet he never felt the same.

Luis spoke up for the first time since he entered, “You’ve gone too far this time Eliza. I understand how you feel. We’ve all lost somebody to the war, but you know deep down behind that wall of rage that no one was at fault.”

“He’s right Eli. People die all the time. It’s war.”, Charles sighed

She turned her enraged gaze on the vampires and headed out of Avalon’s office in a fit of embarrassed rage but not before she heard what Daniel said, “I don’t care how you feel. Act this way again and I will make sure you die a painful death.”

Gaia could feel the rage radiating off of her mate, so she walked over and ran her fingers through his dark hair, massaging the anger from his scalp. Smiling reassuringly at each other he kissed her open palm and calmed down.

After Eliza left and the situation was cleared the ceremony began. Gaia and Avalon swore their oath to the Gods under the light of the full moon and completed their bond. Their people might hate each other now but Gaia believed it was a hatred she could slowly rid them off. Their hatred didn’t seem as deep as Eliza’s and she realized with time, maybe they could get along. Avalon was willing to put in as much work as he could to make their pack and coven whole. But these things would take time and patience, and most of all trust. Avalon knew Gaia held secrets she had no intention of telling him for the time being. When the ceremony was over and his pack dispersed, he watched as she spoke to her brother and Jacob with a stern expression in what sounded like French. He watched as the portal opened and her brother along with the elders bowed to her and step through. Jacob walked over to a tree and leaned on the thick trunk with his arms folded in front of him surveying the area.

Avalon watched as Gaia phased in front of him with a wide smile on her face, grabbed his hand, and phased into his room, laughing as he landed full weight on top of her in his bed. Her soft laughter soon followed, but he saw the reserved caution behind her eyes. She was clearly hurt and afraid of something or someone. Whatever it was, he would die protecting her from it.