Page 43 of The Wolf Moon

I hesitated. “Our ceremony?”

“Our mating ceremony,” He stated cryptically. Roman released his grip on my chin, but I remained staring at him now suspiciously. “There are steps to take, like I told you.” He picked at the bandage still over my shoulder absently.

“What kind of steps?” I asked dubiously.

“You have the instinct for it down already. You proved that the night we completed the mark,” Roman described the situation lazily, next picking at my shirt lightly. I thought about his vague description hesitantly. “There’s a certain tradition we keep, once mated. Out in the woods. Under the moon. A hunt, of sorts.”

“I have the instinct? … When you made me bite you, I ran away,” I responded, considering his words carefully. Roman nodded briefly, still moving his gaze over my form until I realized he was inspecting my injuries. I folded my arms over my chest defensively, interrupting him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m determining if you’re fit for this hunt. We can do it now, if you want,” Roman said slowly, a sense of danger in his tone. He moved closer to me, lowering his face carefully until his scent all but enveloped me. “I’ll try to be gentle.”

I was both enthralled and then startled by sudden realization.

“You don’t mean…,” My face was already flushed from before, but now I felt the blush over my entire body down to my toes. Roman watched me with amusement, a smile just barely beginning to play on his lips at my reaction.

“I’m telling you I will accept you, seeing as you’re so determined to be. I will accept you right now. Just turn around and run. I’ll chase this time, I promise,” Roman told me deviously. I immediately stepped back, causing him to tense just as quickly.

“W-wait! I mean, hold on. I mean… I’ve never… well, I’m just saying, maybe… I’m just, I think maybe I’m not feeling too well,” I suddenly reached for my bandaged shoulder, making a show of a false pain, “Oh, yeah. It’s still pretty fresh because, you know, I’m not a shifted wolf and all. I probably should just… go back to the clinic…”

“Really?” Roman asked knowingly as I took another step back.

“Yeah, I’m just… I mean, don’t follow! I’ll be okay. I’m not running away… like in a ceremonial way…”

“Does this mean you’ve changed your mind about the title?” He asked, taking a slow step towards me with enough intent to raise my panic further.

“No, of course not! It’s just like you said… injuries and… I’m…” I turned and bolted for it. My initial panic that Roman would still take my fleeing as an invitation to ‘complete our ceremony’ was only eased when he didn’t follow me as threatened. I got all the way to the clinic window, stopping only when it was before me, and turned around in the direction I knew him to be. I panted, bending over to clasp my hands on my knees as I recovered.

I asked myself a question I probably should have been asking myself since the Wolf Moon. What the Hell have I gotten myself into?

Nineteen

Chapter 18

“What would you do iiif… you woke up aaand… your hands were made out of brooms?” I asked, leaning on the handle of my mop as I looked to the ceiling while considering my question. Once decided, I smirked and turned, grasping the mop determinedly before continuing to clean the floor of the mostly empty mess hall.

There was a group of wolves around me, only three, all doing various chores while preparing the mess hall for the day. Elle was an older wolf, maybe in her fifties, and dedicated to wiping down all the tables. She was an all work, no play type of person, and if it weren’t for my title at all she probably would have been beating me over the shoulders for conversing with the others instead of focusing entirely on mopping.

Sam wasn’t far from me, mopping another section, but he paused when considering the question at hand. He was only two years older than me, brown hair that reminded me of one of our family horses, and oddly enough two different colored eyes; one a deep blue and the other an average sable.

“Do you mean full length brooms? Like would the handle start where my hands were and then go all the way out, you know?” Sam asked, putting way more thought into the question than necessary.

“Mmmm… Yeah, sure,” I replied simply.

“I would be the best mess hall cleaner in existence,” Sam said with a dramatic sigh, “I would need to find my dustpan handed mate next.” April, the third wolf nearby, launched into laughter before getting a sharp look from Elle in the distance. She immediately cleared her throat and continued to wipe down and set the chairs at the tables.

It had been only a couple days since Roman had suggested we ‘complete our ceremony’ and once I was released from the clinic, I had been spending my time randomly assisting in chores around the pack in places I felt Roman wasn’t near. Each time I volunteered, wolves would assure me it wasn’t necessary. After all, the King Alpha didn’t spend his time mopping the mess hall. A Queen Luna was expected to be doing much more important things, whatever that was. But after a bit of pressure from me, they usually caved.

“Do you think they’ll give us first pick on food?” I asked April, raising my head to look towards the kitchen with interest. Sam stifled a laugh, making me throw a glance at him. “What? I’m hungry.”

“You’re the Queen Luna. You can have food whenever you want,” Sam said with great amusement, “First pick? Have you really been helping us clean just for food?”

I acted offended, raising my hand to my chest dramatically. “I would never give my aid just to get food. Anyway, I’m not just going to walk in there and demand it,” I continued to clean with renewed determination that would make Elle proud.

“Whatever you say,” Sam replied before continuing as well. I was thinking about what type of food had been prepared, considering just how much I was going to eat, when I felt something within me stretch out in sudden anticipation. I stopped mopping, standing up straight, and listened to the instinct within me. Roman was coming in my direction.

I dropped the mop and fled, escaping through a side door and moving around the building until I saw him in the distance. He was walking with Beta Caleb, listening as Caleb discussed with him some unknown topic. They both entered the mess hall without a glance my way, though I knew Roman must have felt me nearby as well.

“Why are you hiding from the King Alpha?” I heard Cate suddenly from behind me. I jumped with surprise, still not used to being unable to sense her presence.

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