Finding My Alpha

Song of the Moon Goddess’s Favor

One major part in getting the ceremony started was to be in harmony with each other. As the six of us huddled together in the middle of the room, our breathing slowly evened out until we were in sync. I changed my breathing every few breaths and my Luurstililies followed suit. Once I was satisfied, I gave Luna Misha the signal to proceed. She smiled nervously but did as she was supposed to. Breaking the huddle, she held her hands out to me and I took them.

“Moon goddess, mother of night, here our voices as we beseech you to bless this she-wolf and the bond she is about to make. I accept your daughter as my own. I offer her safety, love, and a family,” she said in a smooth tone.

I remembered from the few ceremonies we were able to be a part of, how the she-wolves would always wiggle excitedly after my mother had said those words. I never understood why until that moment. A tingling sensation traveled down my spine and I nodded. The moon goddess was with us and she was watching. We removed our clothes and put on the white two-piece swimsuits Luna Misha handed to us. Annie gathered my bonding dress and placed it in Haylee’s extended arms. Haylee was still looking rather peaked, but Annie cautioned me through the mind-link not to press it. We would definitely have to talk to her sooner rather than later. I gave our room a once over before walking out the door, I would never sleep here again after the ceremony was over.

The brisk evening air brushed against my skin as we exited out the back door. Six female Delta warriors stood waiting for us. They bowed and then walked into the forest behind them. We followed immediately after them and as we walked I raised my arms high above my head toward the rising full moon that was ever visible in the dimly lit sky. It was then that Annie started to sing in Ahrouni.

‘Golin thrort’in balssini cromousa, antissi promuu gatchitee ishtnoutki. Pousaan olbegeen nourskiin doublaen ortissee fromichtee groslonge atchtemshi.’

‘Dear moon goddess, mother above, see your daughter whom you love. She walks this path to you so that her love can be blessed anew,’ I translated through the mind-link so the others understood. ‘She will repeat these same lines over but the word see will change to hear, to love and then to touch. The song will continue until we reach the lake.’

They replied back through the mind-link with a few questions that I answered, but the questions stopped once the wind picked up. Annie had just finished the line stating ‘touch your daughter’ and the wind was indeed touching me. It wrapped around and caressed my skin in a way that felt like a hug. Though scantily clad, I hadn’t felt the coldness of the night since we left the pack house, but goosebumps suddenly arose all over my body. It was only I who felt the wind, while everyone stood around in awe. The dried leaves lifted from the ground and encircled my body. I was caught in my own personal whirlwind and it was magical to say the least. Just as fast as it had come the wind was gone. 

It was a ten minute walk to the lake and Annie sang the song in such a way that by the time it ended we were at the water’s edge. A gasp escaped my lips at the wondrous display before me. Thousands of white moonflowers were floating on the lake’s vast surface. Moonflowers were rare and hard to grow if there wasn’t enough moonlight. They only bloomed under a full moon and they withered away shortly before sunrise. Moonflowers were my favorite flower. When I was a pup, my mother would plant them once we settled into our newest settlement. She had a knack for growing these beautiful yet temperamental flowers and they would grow by the dozens around our camps. I turned to my sister and smiled.

“Annie, how? How did you get so many?” I asked.

“It was Casey. He knows they’re your favorite. He’s been cultivating them for months so that they would be ready for today,” she replied.

My heart swelled and I giggled at the teasing noises from my Luurstililies. Casey was amazing in so many ways. In my youth I found that Moonflowers were difficult to grow but even harder to keep alive, yet there were thousands of them fully bloomed and floating on the lake as if they’d belonged there the whole time. A strange nagging feeling started picking at the edge of my mind. Almost as if I’d forgotten something important. Since I wasn’t in charge of the night’s events there was bound to be something I’d forgotten to bring along or to do. I ignored it and walked into the icy water of the lake. Lake Shyan was shallow, only going four feet deep in most areas and five to six feet in the deepest parts, but the lake spanned on for miles, covering at least nine to ten acres of the Evermoon territory. The water was crystal clear and during the day so clear in fact that you could see the lake bottom with ease. With the full moon rising higher into the sky the lake bottom faded in and out of view. I walked in far enough for the water to come up to my calves before I sat down. 

My body shivered against the coldness of the water and I waited for my Luurstililies to follow suit. One by one they knelt at my side, each of them holding a bottle of rose water. I felt bad for Amari and Gibbenly, their poor little hands were shaking and I feared we may have to excuse them from this part of the ceremony. My fears were washed away by a wave of warmth that settled around me. I glanced over at Annie, who smiled sweetly.

‘I couldn’t very well let them freeze to death,’ she said through the mind link.

‘I told you your powers would come in handy,’ I said back and felt her roll her eyes.

Annie had a few powers of her own that were amplified by my presence, the power she was currently using was her ability to control heat. She could set the whole lake to boiling if she chose to. As far as we knew this ability held no bounds with or without my help. Annie could start and put out fires, control molten metals, raise and lower a person’s body temperature. All of this could be done without my help, but with it the ability was even stronger. Add in the full moon for some razzle dazzle and she could probably take over the world. But for now she was using her fire power to keep us from freezing our butts off.