We were seated on the floor, our butts on the cold tiles, our faces buried in several layers of facial treatment. We pretty much look like aliens with the green treatment on our faces. Empty bottles were lying around in waste while Ava was telling us, rather loudly, how her mating ceremony went.
For a werewolf, Ava was pretty lightweight, so she was already tipsy. It was a struggle to get her to censor her story, as she proceeded to give us the X-rated version of the story. I wasn’t interested in hearing how she was tied up and how Ian had his wicked ways with her, so I tried as much as possible to tune her out.
I miss Richard.
Apparently, it was also in the law that the people to be mated shouldn’t see each other until during the ceremony. It is pretty ironic that a week ago, I wouldn’t give a damn where he went, but now I can't bear to part with him. The need to be with him was becoming unbearable. I needed to touch him and feel him inside. I can’t wait till we get fully bonded.
I blamed it on the full moon. The full moon is a period where all our senses become heightened, and, of course, our sexual drive increases. It is a period where we are laden with insatiable hunger, and right now, I was craving Richard. I could already feel the tingling in my skin that I get whenever there is a full moon. I couldn’t wait to bathe in its rays.
A knock went off at the door, and I had to go get it since everyone was already feeling woozy. The drink has been mixed with wolfbane. Wolfbane is every werewolf's kryptonite. But when diluted and treated, it is a popular aphrodisiac.
It was breakfast, and it came just at the right time. Someone must have signaled them beforehand, because there were three servings of toast, eggs, sausages, and bacon, and, of course, a cup of tea. Nothing beats a steaming cup of tea.
We cleared the plate, and the tea was able to wake Ava and Jessica up. We washed our faces, went downstairs to load the plates in the dishwasher, and assisted in the preparation of food. The kitchen was a beehive of activity; too many things were going on at once. Different scents wafted in the air, and it was making me feel dizzy.
I decided to cool off by the side, munching on some crackers, when I spotted a familiar back with long hair. Harry. I haven't seen him since he stomped on me angrily a few days ago. I had to find out the cause of his behavior.
I waved to him, but he pretended like he didn’t see me. Well, two can play the game. I continued waving at him until he could no longer hide and had to come towards me. "Look who crawled out of hiding." I tried to lighten the atmosphere. But he still remained stoic, his face set in a frown. I decided to stop. There was no point in trying.
"Good day, Luna." He greeted me coldly, bowed his head, and was about to take his leave.
"Is this how you are going to ignore me every day?" I queried him. "At least I have the right to know what I did wrong."
He was quiet for a while, looking everywhere except at my face, before he sighed. "You deceived me. You didn’t tell me you were the Alpha’s mate."
"How did I deceive you? You already knew I had a mate, so it doesn’t count as lying. Besides, does it really matter?" I countered. "So is that why you were avoiding me?"
"I didn’t want to get involved with the Alpha Mate and risk his wrath."
"Don’t be silly. You are my friend, so there is nothing to worry about."
He didn’t seem convinced, but he just shrugged. "Just promise to stop avoiding me whenever you see me."
"Sure. And congratulations." I gave him a smile as he took his leave.
After staring into space for a while, I came to the conclusion that I was bored. There was nothing I could do to pass the time.
I was thinking of hitting the gym, but if I am caught exerting myself in any way, they will haul my ass back to my room. I wasn’t supposed to do anything that would make me sweat or physically strain me. After considering the choices, I had no choice but to join them in the kitchen.
The air changed as I entered, with tension rising as they noticed I was in the kitchen. The noise reduced till it became a whisper, and I could swear I had my name on their lips. No one came to me or tried to assign me any work. The tension was so thick in the air, I could cut it with a knife.
This can’t continue to go on; it was time to break the ice. Clearing my throat, "Listen up, people." I began with the loudest voice I could muster. Everyone turned their heads to me, their curious eyes on me, wondering what was going on. "A lot of you may have heard of me, or about me. But for the sake of all those who don’t know, I will introduce myself. My name is Isabella. I am Richard’s mate, and as from tomorrow, I will be the Luna of this pack." They leaned forward, with eager faces, as if they were waiting to hear what I had to say.
I took a deep breath before I continued, "It is quite obvious I am not from around here, so I may not know a lot about the norms and traditions here, but I am willing to learn. So, I implore you to work with me and with us, and together, we can move the pack forward. I want us to have fun today, eat, and be merry." And with that, I concluded my speech.
A deafening applause filled the room after my speech. The tension has dissipated, and their faces are lit up with smiles. That seemed to break the ice as a lot of them came up to me and started congratulating me. They resumed their work, this time in high spirits. Different conversations were ongoing at different places.
I scanned the area, looking for where I could help, and my eyes met the bald woman from before. She was in the same corner as she was, cutting vegetables. She looked lonely, and never one to mind my business, I came closer to her. I didn’t have time to observe her the last time, but now looking at her, I noticed her body was littered with scars, big and small. Her right hand was bent in an awkward form, as if she had broken her hand and it had healed that way.
"Mind if I join you?" She was an Omega. She simply nodded and pointed to the array of utensils on the kitchen counter. I picked up a knife and got into the business of cutting vegetables.
I enjoyed the time I spent in the kitchen, creating wonderful goodness with them. All throughout, different pack members were coming to me, making me taste different things and hearing my opinion on them.
It was truly fun, and at the end, my hands were all sore and my back was aching, but we had different types of pastries cooling, ready to be served.
With nothing to do again, I dragged my battered body to the room and fell into bed, dozing off almost immediately as my body touched the soft foam.
I had a dream about Richard and me running around like wolves, carefree. We were joined by two pups, and they began to play hide and seek with us.
I was about to catch one of the pups when a rude knock interrupted my sleep. Goddamit! This was the third time I had been woken by a rude knock. Once I become Luna, I will ban everyone from knocking on our doors again.
What a clever way to wield your power, Kiayra chided me, not amused one bit.
Look who finally came crawling out of her hole. I thought you were going to sleep there forever.
Today is an important day, and I couldn’t miss it for anything. Thank girl... Now back to that intruder.
"Isabel! How can you sleep through your day? Open this door now, or we will be forced to break it." Ava! She is here so early. It was just barely... what?! How the hell is it past 5? I hadn't slept for that long.
"Isabel?" The pounding on the door resumed. I dragged my weary body to the door, and opened it. Ava barged inside, with some people following at her back.
"What were you still doing in bed? Don’t you know it is mating o'clock?"
Yeah. It is official. It is mating o’clock.