The Tripartite Mate Bond Chapter 73: CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

“Where's Cora?” I asked Tatiana, a mother who had the cutest dimples and the moon shining on her face made her beauty all the more obvious. I took a mental note to see her children as I was sure they'll be as beautiful as her.

“She's preparing the moon dust for you, Luna. It's the final step before we leave for the stream” she replied and continued working on my hair

In less than thirty minutes, I was bathed, dressed and my hair packed up for the ceremony. Ten women from the pack were responsible for this and they treated me so nicely that I wondered where they had been all the while I was here. But I didn't dwell on that, this night was going to be special and the full moon was a testament to that.

I was wearing a white, satin gown that was free flowing and we were heading to the river where it'll take place. They had removed my power pearls against my protests. I couldn't tell them why they needed to leave it so I just let it be. I'll try to contain my emotions better.

“Wait, won't it be see-through when I'm drenched in water?” I asked Cressida, one of the women helping me prepare. She had a glowing ebony skin with dreadlocks that were nearly woven into each other.

She turned to me and placed her hand on my shoulder

“You know wolves would prefer being naked all the time, right? But as we try to blend into the world, we have to adjust some of our cultures. Naturally, in the way of the old, you would be going in naked and when you rise from the water, you'll be crowned in your wolf form for all to see and bow to,” she explained and that made me a little sad.

Another woman continued giving me the rundown of the event as she was doing before I interrupted them to get clarification for this sheer material I was clothed in.

“You will be challenged so we are going to –”

“Wait, what? Challenged for what?”

“For your position as Luna. It's a custom. Your mates didn't tell you? What have you been training in the private gym for all these while?”

I twisted my arm in trepidation. If I said the wrong thing, my secret might be out in the open.

“Well, the girls in the pack always made fun of me during normal training hours so I try to level up in the evening. The human body can adjust to anything if given the right treatment.”

“So how do you intend to win? You have to have a plan because I do not want to be ruled by Maya or any of her cronies so please tell me you or Alpha Kane has a plan!” Tatiana vented and I was left speechless.

“Wait, can't we tell the elders to overthrow that particular one? She's human. They've done it before” Cressida said.

“The human had already made a friend who fought in her place and she left the pack immediately afterwards to avoid confusion. And the Alphas are forbidden from helping you in that space of time. I doubt anyone apart from Omegas would be willing to fight for her. You should have played your game differently, Aurora” says Agatha and I was crestfallen. If they had given me all the details, I definitely would have done something differently but now it was almost too late. It's either I reveal my secret and risk exposure or I allow myself and my mates to be brutally injured which would still lead to another of our secrets spilling.

But then …

“Wait, you know those dragons are connected to me, right? And even though the witch hates me a little bit, her dragon is also with me. If anything happens to me, I don't think this pack will survive it. I'm yet to figure out my exact connection with them but I don't want you guys to find out the consequences, if there are any. So please mindlink the elders and tell them it's important for me not to fight” I told them, smiling with glee and I noticed Cressida doing exactly as I said.

“They have accepted. Thank the goddess!” She gushed out, making us all smile but for me, it only lasted a few seconds.

Even though I loved my nature as a dragon’s other half, I was aware of how different I was to my own people, their cultures and way of life totally different from who I am deep inside. First I was human, then I have three mates and now, I'm related to dragons and they don't even know I can bring out fire from every part of my body. To make matters worse, I couldn't perform the ceremony in the way that they needed me to. I couldn't be anymore different.

It was safe to say I was a deviation from everything they had ever known and they didn't even have a choice of accepting me or not. Once this ceremony is over, their wolves will recognize me as their leader and their human forms will follow suit, leaving me wondering if I'll ever truly win their hearts.

But this was a problem for another day as they finally finished the preparation and then proceeded to surround me, each with a pot of the mixture Cora was working on. I didn't ask what the moondust signified earlier but as they rubbed it all over my body, I would hazard a guess that this was related to fertility. After I and Ares' tryst earlier, the horniness in me was dulled a little bit but as they rubbed it into my skin, a sly smirk on their faces, I knew my mates were going to have a hard time concentrating on the ceremony. I felt excited and a weird anticipation for their reaction.

They finally finished applying it and my skin was shining with the shiny and slimy mixture, after which they covered my face with a veil. I felt like a traditional bride.

“We're done, let's go” Eliza said and they all divided into two equal groups, five before me and five after me.

Slowly and quietly, they began to sing, in unison and it was such a beautiful tune, making my skin erupt in goosebumps.

“Oh, Chosen one, we welcome you.

The queen of our hearts, we adore you

We've waited for you and yearned for your presence

Tell the moon to bless us as she will hear your voice.”

They sang it over and over again till we arrived at the river.

When I took over the pack's Luna duties, I learned that the pack was over five hundred wolves strong, the ones living outside the pack in human territories not among.

So I was shocked that almost a thousand wolves were gathered at the river bank, spread out and awaiting our arrival. I felt tense and my confidence took a deep dive. I didn't deserve these people, I have barely done anything to prove myself and here they were all gathered to give me a crown I had no right to. I wasn't even going to fight for it as was normal.

My footsteps faltered but I felt a hand on my shoulder and it was Cora.

She directed my face to the middle of the gathering and I saw my three mates as they wore white trousers and open buttoned shirts. They stared at my eyes in the dark night, right through my veil and somehow, I felt a rush of energy. Axel smiled at me and all my worries dissipated. Even if I wasn't worthy of the people, my mates were there to help me earn it.

So I raised my head a bit higher and Cora squeezed my shoulder one more time before we got down to the sandy shores of the beach.

It was indeed a beautiful night, with the moon and stars collaborating to give us a beautiful view.

As I got closer, three old men came out of the crowd, wearing just shorts and one of them had a knife with him. They had white, horizontal markings on their faces that made them look like the god of war. Suddenly, the air felt like a sacrificial horror movie but I took a deep breath and decided to trust my mates. They wouldn't let me get hurt.

The three of them separated and created a spot for me to stand before the altar that was erected and I did, awaiting the next steps.

One of the elders, the one with the knife, stood in front of me at the other end of the altar and began speaking in a loud voice. Thank goodness I insisted on my ear plugs. I told them I had ear problems that were going to be rectified by the plugs. I didn't put it in all the way though, I wanted to enjoy this ceremony in its entirety.

“DarkMoon!” He shouted and the whole pack shouted in response with one voice

“Ahoo!”

It seemed like I was in a military training ground. They did it twice again, making me wince. I hoped that wasn't noticeable.

“We are gathered before the beautiful moon goddess to crown her daughter, Aurora Wilson –”

“Arkonos” I cut in and I heard murmurs from the crowd following my correction of the elder.

I looked around in confusion as everyone began talking all over themselves.

I thought Kane would have informed them already but it was obvious he hadn't and now I was scared some people might be able to connect the dots.

Flynn had said the Arkonos name was nearly forgotten but what if there were historians here? I feared for someone to make a fuss about it in this crowd, the whole Pack would know, including the traitor. I wasn't ready for any hostilities, especially blood poachers.