Chapter 4 - Jace
The entire pack is crowded in the forest clearing. Preparations have been underway since first light this morning, and the energy and excitement are high, filling the air with a sharp current of static.
The ceremony itself is not long, but the pack run and the feast that follow have everyone eager.
“It’s been a long time since this pack had an Alpha,” Miles whispers. “They’re frothing at the jaw to swear you in and celebrate.”
“They’re frothing at the jaw for the whole cow that’s been on the fire all day. The entire territory smells of tender meat,” I chuckle.
Miles smirks, “Can’t say I’m not looking forward to sinking my teeth into that as well.”
“Soon enough, my friend,” I grin, but my eyes are on Mira, not my Beta. She looks radiant in the moonlight. Her hair is glowing and her eyes bright and alert. She smells so fucking incredible, I can’t even smell the scent of the forest.
The three elders step up, wearing long red coats with massive hoods and gold lettering carefully stitched into the fabric.
It looks like a scene from a movie, and while I appreciate the drama of it, I find it tedious and time-consuming.
They could just swear me in at the packhouse.
The words would be the same. The meaning behind them would be identical.
This is for the pack, Miles reminds me. We spoke about it this afternoon. He soothed my impatience.
The elders stand before a massive, smooth stone, carved by our ancestors with symbols from many centuries ago.
The artwork is beautiful. It depicts wolves running through the forest, leaping off cliffs, and flying through clouds.
Ever since we were kids, we found the stone fascinating, wondering who had drawn these images and how long ago it had actually happened.
The writing isn’t anything I can read, but I know what it says from teachings in school. It’s the oath we take when we join the pack and the oath we take to the Moon Goddess, Selene. At the time of our first shift on our eighteenth birthday, we place our hands on the stone and we speak to her.
Yes, we are part of the pack before then, but when we shift, we can join the wolf pack. We can run under the moon together.
The stone is a sacred place, and all the ground around it has been cleared away. There is a wide clearing in the trees where the pack is gathered.
A bright, special energy pulses here when the moon is spilling her light over it.
When the elders call me to stand barefoot on the stone, I get a fright.
The stone is vibrating beneath the soles of my feet. I’ve never felt anything like it before.
I can feel that energy flowing into me. It seeps into my bones and shoots through my veins. My body shudders with pleasure.
I hold out my hand to offer Miranda help onto the stone, too, as they gently usher her to join me.
Despite the sour look on her face beneath the white veil she wears, she places her hand in mine and lets me lift her up.
Her long white cotton dress, embroidered with gold thread, is almost transparent in the light of the full moon, and her nipples are hard against it in the cool night air.
She is naked beneath her dress, as I am naked beneath the black cloak I am wearing.
On my back and over the hood are the same gold thread patterns as her dress. We are to be mated tonight.
Jux is going ballistic with anticipation of what he thinks is coming.
I constantly have to push him back, to tell him we aren’t taking her without her consent. But he’s convinced she wants this as much as we do.
The dress clings to her curves over her waist, then flares out over her full hips. I want to grab her hips and dig my fingers into her flesh. I want to press against her softness and ride her…
He’s making it hard to focus on anything else, and as she stands next to me, staring at the sea of faces looking up at us, I can hear her heart beating heavy and quick in her breast.
This afternoon, I tried to speak to her about becoming my Luna, about being my fated mate.
She was angry and resentful, pleading with me to choose someone else.
I think she still carries pain from the past. From what I did to her.
The scars of rejection are deep and complex, if not impossible, to erase.
Maybe I could have chosen someone else. There are a number of Omegas here who would die to become my Luna. But Mira is the one the Moon Goddess chose for me, and for the sake of my pack, for the sake of being the best Alpha I can be, I will honor what the Moon Goddess wants.
And so will Mira.
The entire pack is watching. They can barely stand still. Shifting from one foot to the other, they are ready to move into wolf form and join us on the run.
“Tonight, under the light of the New Moon, we call to the Goddess Selene to welcome in the new era. I call to the heart of our wolf, to her name, and ask that she bear witness to this great event.” Jeremy says, his voice booming loudly through the forest.
I clench my jaw, wishing they would hurry up and get on with it. Mira smells incredible, and Jux is clawing at my insides.
A thought slams into me while Jeremy drones on about honor and history and all those things…
When we shift, I won’t be able to control Jux. This is my first run with Mira…with Mika, and Jux is ready to devour her.
“First, Jace Greenwood, we, as your pack, honor your bloodline. We honor the Alpha that runs in your veins, and we respect and bow before you and your wolf, Jux.” Jeremy bows dramatically, and the entire pack bows, too.
Stooping low and placing their hands against the damp earth.
The stone beneath my feet vibrates strongly, and Mira lets out a curious little yelp.
She bows next to me, crouching and placing her hands on the stone surface as she hangs her head.
Without looking up, Jeremy shouts, “Do you take claim of this pack, Jace Greenwood?”
“I do,” I growl.
“Do you accept your position as Alpha, Jace Greenwood?”
“I do.” My heart hammers in my chest, and Jux spins with anticipation.
“Do you swear that every action from this moment forward will be for the pack, for the greater good of our survival and well-being, and for your Luna?”
“I do,” I growl, glancing at Mira, still bowed next to me. The sheer fabric of her dress is pressed against the curve of her back, and her delicate, yet full frame is visible beneath the cotton. I have to fight the urge not to reach out and run my fingers over her perfect shapes.
Jeremy stands, and the pack mimics him. The excitement is heightened. It’s almost unbearable.
“Repeat after me,” Jeremy says. I nod, keeping my face stern and my eyes focused on him.
“I, Jace Greenwood.”
“I Jace Greenwood…”
He speaks line for line, and I repeat. Each word I say floods me with strength. It’s as though Selene is looking right at me, her heart soaking into my skin.
“…from tonight, take up my position as Alpha of this pack. I will protect each member and our territory on the Silver Lake Reservation. I will honor my Luna, as chosen by the Moon Goddess. I will fight and die for every one of you to keep you safe…”
My heart is beating so loud it’s aching in my chest.
Jeremy turns to the pack. “You have heard his oath, and now I will hear yours.”
IN unison, the pack speaks their practiced oath. Their voices chorused through the trees, sending goosebumps rippling over my flesh.
Not one of them protests my position. They all accept me and honor me.
They bow a second time, and when they stand, tension is higher than ever.
Jeremy waits until the forest is silent, then he announces, “As the words of the Wolf King have already been spoken, acknowledging our Alpha as our Alpha…I present to you all…our Alpha, Jace Greenwood!”
Howls erupt in the still night air. Piercing the night, screaming into the dark. The forest is suddenly alive, awake, and throbbing with excitement.
I throw my head back and yell into the sky, and next to me, Mira does the same.
It takes a while for the pack to settle before Jeremy can speak again.
“And now for the bonding ceremony,” he says. “A moon wedding. Our Alpha will accept his fated mate beneath Selene’s gaze.”
“Place your hands in hers,” Jeremy says.
Mira turns to face me. She’s shivering, but not from the cold. Adrenalin is coursing through her beautiful body. I place my hands palm up, and she places hers palm down in mine.
Instantly, the current of our fate pulls us together at the point where our flesh touches. A low growl rumbles from Jux, up through my chest, and slips from my lips.
Mira gasps, her lips parting as her wolf bucks and paces in the same way mine does.
Her eyes are brighter now, glowing yellow and gold as her wolf shines forth.
Jeremy steps onto the stone behind us with a loop of gold cord in his hand. He begins to wrap the cord around our hands, binding them together.
“With each loop of gold, your fates are bound. With each knot, your lives are woven together. With each breath and each scent, with each passing second, you change. You are no longer two but one. The Alpha and his Luna. Joined for eternity, in this life and in the next. Selene sees you, honors your fate, and binds you beneath the light of her moon.”
My whole body is on fire. Magic courses through me in ways I can’t describe. It feels as though Mira has stepped into me, into my mind, into my heart. I can feel her, sense her, smell her. Her thoughts are in my head. Her fear, her panic, her lust…
“Miranda Nelson of the Rose Falls Pack, do you accept your fated mate, Jace Greenwood, Alpha, and your chosen?”
“I do,” she whispers, so softly that her voice is barely a breeze in the night.
“Jace Greenwood, Alpha of the Rose Falls Pack, do you accept your fated mate, Miranda Nelson, as your chosen?”
“I do,” I say, instantly feeling the golden thread tighten around our hands.
“You are bound, in the light of the moon, for all eternity.”