Page 9 of The Alpha's Lunar Crown

I've come to know why I never thought about weddings and the rest of it. When you already have a picture painted for you just the way you like it, you don't bother painting one for yourself. Aurora had everything planned out, giving me the luxury of being a passenger for the ride. What I didn't know was how much I internalized her plans as mine. How deeply her words are ingrained in my soul and how tangled our dreams and future have become.

The realization hit me like a blunt hammer, and I grip the table next to me for support, smiling at the guests in front of me while a cascade of chaotic events unfolds in my head.

The ceremony comes to an end, and I waste no time rushing out under the guise of unavoidable pack business. Reckless as it may be, I find myself driving to Aurora's house. I turn the house upside down, searching for a clue on her way about.

My mating ceremony is less than five hours away, and I am in the house of another woman looking through her things to see if I can find anything that'll point me to her.

You should've started sooner, my inner thoughts mock, and I let out a string of curses. How was I supposed to know it would come to this? When she ran off, I figured she needed some time to calm down, think things through, and come back when she was in a better state of mind. I couldn't exactly seek her out myself without raising suspicions, hence the commencement of a search for her. But as time went by, a new fear rose in me. What if she is truly gone?

The chances of that were next to zero, but it isn't completely impossible. What if this was the last straw, and she finally left? But where would she go without her belongings? She didn't take anything with her.

My phone vibrates for the hundredth time, and I finally pick it up to see a text from Liam asking where I am and how I need to start getting ready for the ceremony. I feel like a trapped animal. The feeling of helplessness and not being in control is alien to me.

I've always had total control of every part of my life, and now, one girl leaves, and I can't seem to find my bearing. I let out a frustrated yell, driving my fist through the wall. The pain is more intense than it should be, and my bones don't snap back in place fast enough. But it's also distracting me from the chaos in my mind, so I pay it no heed.

Deciding it's best to focus on the task at hand and deal with the others later, I make my way back to the pack house and prepare for the mating ceremony. Liam watches me the whole time, his eyes never leaving the bruise on my fist, but he doesn't say a word.

The full moon finally sets, and we move to the middle of the woods, a legendary spot said to host a balance of all the elements. It's a spot where the Moon Goddess and ancestors come to mingle with the living. It is the spot for sacred rituals and mating ceremonies.

The moon casts its silver light in the clearing, providing ample illumination to the spot. My father, Liam's family, and a few important members of the pack step into the clearing as core witnesses while the rest of the pack waits a few paces behind.

The ceremony begins with the exchange of oaths between Selene and I, a set of promises to love and protect each other before proceeding to the part I dread the most. The marking. I'll have to sink my teeth into the side of her neck, and she'll do the same to me, causing our wolf spirits to be bound to each other.

Selene moves her hair back, baring her neck to me. The movement sends a whiff of her scent down my nostrils: strawberries and jasmine. Nice but it doesn't trigger the primal beast in me. I want vanilla.

"Lucien?" she calls, angling her neck for me to bite. Sweat collects on my forehead. A neck has never seemed so dangerous in my life. It feels like I'm about to take a bite of poison.

"Go on," the minister urges, and I shut my eyes. Just as my canines extend to mark her, an agonizing scream pierces through the gathering, followed by a torn limb flying through space and landing on the floor in front of me.The entire place erupts in chaos, mothers are screaming for their children, and fathers are gathering their families and taking them to safety.

"What is happening?" Liam asks, standing next to me as the rest of the pack warriors, including the older ones, assemble, taking a battle stance.

My eyes narrow as I await the next attacker. "Silver Pack."

As if on cue, a large black wolf lunges out of the dark and makes a beeline for me. Others emerge, and the warriors lunge at them. Battle cries fill the space, and blood and scattered limbs follow. I try to shift, but for some reason, I can't.

I try harder, my eyes not leaving the wolf. Its eyes are glued to me, skillfully maneuvering its way around attackers without engaging. What the fuck is going on? I know my wolf has been sulking since the situation with Aurora, but this is hardly the time to put up an attitude. There are lives and properties involved, for fuck's sake.

My wolf does not share my concerns for life and valuables and continues to block me out. The wolf draws nearer, and for the first time, I am faced with an emotion I never thought possible for me to conceive: fear—raw, unfiltered fears course through me, chilling me to the bone. My heart is beating so fast that I can feel the blood rushing into my ears. My forehead is covered in sweat, but my skin feels cold from the nerves erratically firing through me.

I can't afford for my pack members to witness me like this, but at the same time, I am no coward. I won't run away. My wolf is not the only one who got trained in the camp. My human body suffered a great deal of training to be able to hold a wolf like mine. Surely, I can hold my own down in this form. I quickly scan my environment, finding a low-hanging branch to my left. I broke it off the tree and prepared myself for the attack.

I position myself, waiting for the wolf to get close, and he does. I waste no time in attacking, my makeshift weapon aiming for the exposed abdomen, but it swerves to the right, dodging my attack and trying to slash my side.

My reflexes are quick, and I move in time to dodge the attack. I regain my balance and prepare for the next attack. The wolf snarls at me, saliva dripping from the corner of his lips as he stalks me.

I had moments in training where I had to challenge a wolf to combat in my human form, but it was nothing like this. The fights weren't as hostile, and the attacker was not after my life.

The wolf attacks again, and this time, I crunch to the floor, jotting out the sharp end of my branch. Just as he is about to descend on me, I send the branch into his stomach, driving it deeper with so much force that blood gushes through the opening and onto my face. The wolf let out a pained growl before going silent.

The victory restores a bit of hope in me, so I hold tight to my weapon and throw myself into the battle without a second thought.

The chaos is everywhere, and with my wolf absent, I'm barely able to differentiate enemies from friends. I rely on the few wolves I could recognize and some of the pack members fighting in their human form, following their direction, but that is barely enough.

A claw swishes past my face, missing my eyes by a hair's breadth. I turn to defend myself, but a white wolf beats me to it, tearing out the attacker's heart from his chest in one swift move. Selene. She's the only white wolf capable of such strength.

Another wolf lunges at me, but she attacks it mid-air, sinking her claws into its side and drawing out an agonizing cry from it. I am quick to spot a black wolf attacking from her back, and I send my weapon driving through it, going straight for the neck where I know it'll stand no chance of survival.

It's a quick kill, and it makes me feel slightly better about having a girl save me twice. I spot Liam biting off the head of a huge wolf while fending off the one in front of me.

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