Chapter 11

“It worked,” I whisper to David with a smile, an unexpected feeling of absolute delight filling me at hearing his voice through the link. “It did,” he returns with a smile to match mine. “Are you alright?” I nod and reach up to wipe away my tears with the sleeve of my shirt. “I’m fine. I’m just happy.” “If you want, we can wait a bit before I name you Luna,” he offers and it’s sweet, but I shake my head. “I’m ready,” I say confidently. "I'm sure this is the right thing to do." He reaches forward, taking my hand in his and moves the cloth he had wrapped around it. “See,” he says, unwrapping it, his touch ever so gentle. “You’re completely healed already.” I look and realize that he's right, it's completely healed except for the thinnest scar and I can’t help but run my finger down the new mark. I hand't noticed, but the pain I had felt had already left. “It’s supposed to stay there until you leave the pack,” he says and I nod. “Will you have one?” I ask and he holds up his unwrapped hand for me to see. “Nope,” he tells me with a small smile. “I was born into the pack, and I’m the Alpha.” Interesting. “So babies?” I ask and he smiles. “They're born into the pack. As long as their ancestors had a blood bond with the Alpha, it automatically forms at birth," he tells me and I nod. That makes complete sense, really. Wolves are all about carrying on their lineage. "There’s an adoption bond, too, but the king has to do those. Ready to become my Luna?” I nod at him as he lifts the blade and takes my hand again. “This one is different. It’s just your thumb. I’ll cut yours and then you’re going to wipe the blood directly down my lips, I’ll say what I have to, and then you’ll cut my finger. The knife will feel hot in your hand, but it won’t hurt you.” “There’s more blood involved in all of this than I thought there would be,” I say with a nervous chuckle. I just drank our blood mixed together, but having to wipe my blood on him just makes me feel more uncomfortable for some reason. He smiles at me. “After I put my blood on your lips I’ll ask you if you swear, and you’ll agree. Alright?” I nod and he looks down at my hand, taking the tip of the blade and pressing it into the skin. Again, it burns, but it feels weird just being the tip of my finger. He lifts the blade away and, slowly, I bring my hand up to him. I press my bloody thumb to his full lips, staring into his blue eyes as I do. I slowly bring my hand down, wiping the blood down his lips and chin and pull my lips into my teeth nervously as he takes a shaky breath. “I, Alpha David Mingan of the Pink Moon Pack, select and name Celeste Raulin as my chosen Luna until the time she finds her mate and is marked by him. She is mine to protect and care for, above all else, a team of Alpha and Luna to care for and protect our pack together. It is spoken.” He holds his hand out to me and I take it gently in my own, taking the knife from him timidly. He was right, it does burn. I take the tip of the blade and place it on his skin, but I hesitate to cut him. “It’s fine, Celeste. You’re not hurting me, not really. It’s what has to be done.” I nod and press it into his thumb until I see the blood begin to come and quickly pull it away, tossing it to the ground beside us to get the burning feeling out of my hand. He looks at me with an apologetic smile and reaches up, gently pressing his bloodied thumb to my lips, gently cupping my face with his uncut hand. “Celeste, my Luna. As such, you will care for the pack, being their mother, caring for the needs of each member and protecting them. Do you swear?” he asks and drags his thumb down in the same way I just had. “Yes, I swear,” I say softly, my voice feeling weak. Immediately, I feel a bond begin to form between us, pulling our souls together. Quickly, he takes my hand in his and looks into my eyes as I feel a bond develop with the entire pack. It feels almost overwhelming and I close my eyes, trying to sort through everything I can feel. “I’m right here,” I hear David tell me. “I’m not leaving you.” I nod and mentally reach out to feel the bond. I realize that I can feel a strand to Audrey, and Rita. I can feel Beta Ralph and Ms. Carolyn. There’s a bond with Austin, too. Each strand that I feel must be another pack member. I focus on them and push them down, closing the link with everyone. With everyone except the link I have with David and I realize that it has grown even stronger, so strong that I'm not sure I could close him out if I wanted to. The bond is so overwhelming that I’m nearly breathless and I open my eyes to see David, who is staring at me intently, taking deep breaths himself. He’s still holding my hands and I realize that he’s gently running his finger across my knuckles. “Are you alright?” he asks, clearly concerned. It’s still hard to speak so I just nod to him, staring into his beautiful eyes, full of care. I want to meet my Alpha. I… I don’t know. It just feels so overwhelming right now. I want to meet my Alpha. “Willow,” I begin, my voice barely a whisper. He leans forward to hear me, but doesn’t let go of my hands as he gently rests his forehead on mine. “She wants me to shift. She wants to meet her Alpha.” “Ace would love to meet her,” he tells me with a smile, but he still regards me with so much caution. “Are you sure you’re alright to shift, though? It’s so soon?” “She’s sure,” I tell him, feeling the excitement from my wolf. He smiles, and releases my hand. As he stands, and reaches a hand out to me and pulls me up, pulling me close to him, wrapping his other hand behind my back. He leans down and I think he may kiss me for a moment, but he places a kiss on my head. “I’m going to go shift behind a tree,” he says, but his voice sounds shaky. I nod, but he doesn’t release me. I chew on my lip and look up at him, almost afraid to look into his bright eyes that suddenly seem so much brighter to me. “You need to let me go.” “Sorry,” he says with a flustered smile, but he releases me and slowly walks away. I walk the opposite direction behind a large oak tree and slowly remove my shoes and clothes, feeling so exposed, but also, stronger than I did earlier. Just focus and let me have control. It won’t hurt like before. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, letting her take over until I can feel my bones crack and shift. She’s right, it doesn’t hurt like before, though it is still uncomfortable. I realize after a moment that I don’t feel the chill of the cool, night air on my skin any longer and I crack open my eyes. Everything appears so clear and I look down to see two brown paws sitting on the ground. I realize that I’m truly not in control as I begin to walk around the tree and see the black wolf from earlier standing by the water. He turns and stands when he sees us and stalks towards us. As we reach each other, I realize that he’s bigger than my wolf, though not by too much- a stark contrast to our human forms. He leans forward and smells my neck, causing Willow to nuzzle into his chest. I feel Ace lean his head on top of ours and sigh in contentment. My Luna I hear him say softly in my head, his voice so gentle, almost a whisper. You’re so strong, Willow. You saved your human. She is special, Alpha. You must protect her. I will. I will protect you both, Luna, he tells me before turning and running off as we chase after him.