CHAPTER 37: A FEAST
CHAPTER 37: A FEAST
Alana’s POV
“Put on some clothes Axel,” I repeated for the third time in five minutes.
Tyler had walked in on us right after Axel made it known to me that he was ready to mark me and ready for me to mark him.
I was thankful that he deemed it fit to have a conversation with me rather than just do it straight away.
For as long as I could remember, I had wanted the same thing. I wanted to be accepted in whichever pack I found myself in. I wanted my wolf to speak to me and I wanted someone to love and cherish me.
The Moon Goddess was allowing me that but there I was, rooted to the spot and unable to utter a word.
I wanted Axel. I wanted the bond. I wanted to mark him, and I wanted to be marked by him.
So why was I holding back? Why didn’t I just open my mouth and say it to him?
Something…an emotion…heartbreak flashed in his eyes for a brief second but vanished instantly and he turned to Tyler to accept the clothes he brought with him.
“What happened here?”
Axel’s gaze gave away nothing else, other than the tension that was thick enough for me to bite through.
“Emily got her wolf,” I cleared my throat and suddenly found my lost voice.
Tyler’s eyes went wide. “And you were here with her?” He asked, unbelieving.
“Yes,” I nodded.
“How?”
“Um…I don’t think I know how to answer that.”
“Shit. I’m sorry. What I meant to say was wow. Wow, Alana.”
Why everyone seemed surprised I was with Emily through her first shift was beyond me.
Speaking of the devil, Emily broke out from the bushes panting heavily with more fresh blood soaking her snout and the fur on her face and paws.
Tyler played with the new wolf as we all made it back into the pack in a stretch of uncomfortable silence.
Once the other pack mates were in view, the small crowd that was left of the game dropped quiet at the sight of the unfamiliar wolf trotting down with us.
Thankfully, Axel broke the deafening silence and announced. “Emily has gotten her wolf form.” His face was still flat, not giving a smile or any other expression. “And the Luna was there to help her through it.”
Whispers of awe and gratitude slowly filled the air before the crowd broke into howls and cheers, celebrating the addition to the pack wolves.
Mixed feelings rushed through me as pack manners came forth to offer thanks to me and congratulatory pats and jabs to Emily’s wolf.
I didn’t have this when I first turned. It’s not like I expected anything special to happen, but the thought of what it had been like sent a cold wave through me.
Coral ran in our direction beaming proudly at me.
“Luna, Alana, great job.” She gave me a curt nod before scratching Emily’s wolf playfully.
A younger female wolf just about Emily’s age came up with a small blanket for Emily and her eyes shot wide as though she was trying to scream at her friend.
Bones snapping and reforming sounded in the air for a minute before Emily’s small frame curled up on the floor.
As soon as her friend placed the blanket over her, she snapped to her feet and threw herself on me, forcing me to stagger back and grip her by the waist.
“Woah, there. Careful, Emily.”
“Thank you so much, Alana,” her eyes shone with unshed tears. “Thank you.” She turned to Axel. “Did you see me? I turned. And I got like three rabbits.”
Her excitement radiated through her and bounced off on everybody. It even drew a very small smile from Axel.
“Yes, I did, Emily. You were great out there. Light on your feet like an Alpha blood.”
Coral spoke next. “Tonight is going to be so much fun.”
“What's happening tonight?” I asked no one in particular but my eyes were on Axel.
“There’s going to be a feast. For Emily.”
“You all should head inside and do whatever it is you need to,” Axel said. “I’ll be right behind.”
We walked back to the house with Emily rambling about how awesome her shift had been to anybody who had ears to listen to. Not once did she talk about the pain she felt.
The feast was small but it was enough for a pang to course through me.
I tried to console myself that there wasn’t much that could have been done for me when I turned anyway, and that things weren’t the same anymore.
If I probably gained success at anything right now, the pack would celebrate me in the same way. But still, I thought about the other omegas in the pack.
Most of us got out wolves without anybody else noticing.
Crescent Moon pack was one of the largest packs on the continent so I couldn’t entirely blame Axel for everything that had happened. I mean, his mate was a part of his pack and was being maltreated and he hardly knew about it.
Britney was the high-ranked wolf in charge of overseeing the omegas but she was a raging bitch who bullied anything that looked like a threat to her ego.
Something had to change. All of it had to change.
“Luna,” the voice of an elderly woman who looked like she was in her mid-sixties smiled at me like she had been friends with me for a long time. “This is to say thank you for helping our Emily during her shift.”
She handed me a basket of assorted fruits, freshly handpicked.
“Thank you,…”
“Grace.” Her hand lingered on mine, her body radiating serene energy.
“Thank you, Grace, that means a lot,” I said and I flashed her a sincere smile that reached my eyes.
“Emily is a good kid. She helps me around the house sometimes. I can tell she’s very happy with her new friend, and it’s thanks to you.”
“I didn’t do much, but I appreciate it. Thanks again.”
The evening went by with pack members stopping by to say thanks on Emily’s behalf, some handing peace offerings.
Feeling a pair of eyes on me, I looked in a straight line through the crowd and into the shadows to see an all too familiar figure staring intently at me, gaze unwavering.
I could never mistake his muscular chest which was only partially in the moonlight for anyone else's. He held my gaze, eyes traveling down my body and back to my face. NôvelDrama.Org copyrighted © content.
I broke my gaze and nervously focused on anything other than him. I still felt his eyes on me all through the night but something else I felt for the very first time in a very long time was belonging.
The feeling that all of this was starting to feel like home and Crescent Moon pack was finally accepting me as their Luna.