New Beginnings

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 8

*THREE DAYS LATER*

My heat was finally over, and Jake was the last person I wanted to see. I climbed out of the shower and dried off before dressing in leggings and a t-shirt. I left the apartments and went downstairs, following the scent of lasagna as I went.

Everyone was gathered at the table eating, including Jake who I had shooed out of the apartment an hour earlier. I took the seat next to Jake and began eating once an omega brought me a plate. I noticed Tristan and Eden sitting across from us and smiled at them as we began making small talk.

After dinner, my mom followed me back up to the apartment while Jake went with his parents to his dad’s office.

“Did you use protection?” she asked as soon as the door was shut.

I groaned. “Mom, I’ve been mated and marked, does it matter?”

“No, I am just being your mom.”

“No, we didn’t use protection. Our wolves took over the first time and you know they don’t think about that stuff. So, we didn’t bother after that.”

She nods. “Okay, then. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, mom. Nervous about the Luna ceremony, but fine.”

“You’re going to do great, baby. You were born for this.”

I nod as Jake comes into the apartment.

“I’ll leave you two be,” my mom says as she hugs me before leaving the apartment.

*FOUR DAYS LATER*

I felt like a barbie doll. Scarlett was done with my makeup and hair, and I had just finished getting my Luna dress on. My mom donned the jewelry on me; the necklace had an aquamarine gemstone on it as did the matching bracelet, and the earring were plain white gold hoops.

My mom led me to a mirror and when I saw my reflection, I gasped. The blue aquamarine stones of my jewelry matched the dress perfectly.

A knock sounds on the door and Luna Sally opens it for Jake, who walks in as everyone else files out. “Ready?” he asks me. He is wearing a grey suit with a matching aquamarine tie. His hair is unruly but in a way that looks like he styled it that way.

“Not in the least bit,” I say. “Let’s do this.”

Jake leads me out of the apartment in the opposite direction of the stairs.

“Where are we going?” I ask, confused.

“The elevator.”

“There’s an elevator?!” I exclaim.

“I didn’t show you on your first day here?” he says. “I thought I did.”

“No, you didn’t!”

“Well, it leads to the first floor but only ranked members have codes for it,” he says as he punches in a code on the keypad.

“Where’s my code?” I ask as we step onto the elevator.

“You’ll get it tonight or tomorrow.”

I sigh as the elevator doors open up into the hallway between the dining rooms. Jake wraps his arm through mine, and we walk elbow-in-elbow to the back French doors that are already open.

Stepping outside the doors is like stepping into a fairytale. Twinkling lights were strung up on poles acting as a pathway to the stage, tiki torches were all around, tables were covered in white fancy cloths with bouquets of flowers on each table. Each place at the tables was donned with the most expensive-looking dinnerware I’d ever seen.

Music starts playing from the distance, and that’s our cue to start walking to the stage, so we do. Jake guides me gently, a smile playing on his lips as we walk. He releases my arm and lets me use his hand to climb the stairs before he follows behind me.

There’s a podium on the stage where Alpha Bill and Luna Sally are standing and behind them, a chalice and golden dagger on a table. Beta John and Beta Jessi, my mom, stand behind the Alpha and Luna, and Gamma Jasper and Gamma Jackie behind them. All eyes are on us as we make our way to center stage.

“Blue Moon pack members, we are gathered here tonight to welcome your new Alpha, my son, Jacob, and his mate, your Luna, Avon Knudson!” Alpha Bill’s voice booms out across the courtyard. He turns to Jake, taking the golden dagger in his hands.

“Do you, Jacob King, hereby swear to be a fair and just Alpha? Do you hereby swear to uphold to laws of our pack, to love and cherish each member of this pack, and to protect and serve this pack until your last breath?”

“I do,” Jake says with confidence.

Alpha Bill slices his left palm and lets a drop of blood fall into the chalice before handing the dagger to Jake. He releases my hand to accept the dagger and slices his left palm as well and they shake hands as their combined blood drips into the chalice. The chalice glows a dull red briefly before the light is gone.

Luna Sally turns to me after taking the dagger from Jake. “Do you, Avon Knudsen, hereby swear to uphold to laws of our pack, to love and cherish each member of this pack, and to protect and serve this pack until your last breath?” she asks as she slices her left palm.

“I do,” I say just as confidently as Jake did, and Luna Sally passes me the dagger. I copy her movements and slice my left palm. We shake hands over the chalice, allowing a drop of our combined blood to fall into the chalice. It glows bright red for a second before disappearing altogether.

“Blue Moon, I now present to you your new Alpha and Luna!” Alpha Bill exclaims. Cheers, hoots, hollers, and howls fill the air from around the territory, but with my sensitive hearing, I pick up on an unwelcome sound – a growl from one specific she-wolf.

Jake steps up to the podium. “As my first act as Alpha, would Gideon Bale, Kailani Wilson, and Zion Parks please join us on stage?” his voice fills the entire courtyard just as his father’s did.

The three of them began their walk to the stage but one stops short, uttering the word, “mate.” The female jumps up and into his arms, and he kisses her.

“What’s your name?” he breathes.

“Nika,” she responds.

“Zion, we haven’t got all night. Bring her with you,” Jake says, but his tone tells everyone he’s not being mean; he’s joking.

“Sorry Alpha,” he apologizes as he leads Nika with him onto the stage.

“No need to apologize, Zion. Gideon Bale, Kailani Wilson, do you hereby swear to uphold to laws of our pack and to protect and serve this pack until your last breath?”

“I do,” they say in unison. Beta John slits his left palm and passes the dagger to Gideon, who copies the motion and then passes it to Kailani. They each shake Beta John’s hand, and the mixed blood falls into the chalice, which glows a blue hue before the light disappears altogether.

“Zion Parks, Nika Walker, do you hereby swear to uphold to laws of our pack and to protect and serve this pack until your last breath?”

“I do,” they say together. Gamma Jasper slices his left palm and Zion does the same before passing the dagger to Gamma Jackie. Gamma Jasper and Zion shake hands and their mixed blood drops into the chalice, which glows green briefly. Gamma Jackie slits her palm and hands the dagger to Nika, who shakily copies the motion. They shake hands as their mixed blood drips into the chalice which glows green again.

“I now pronounce your new beta couple, Gideon Bale and Kailani Wilson, and your new Gamma couple, Zion Parks and Nika Walker!”

Cheers erupted once more as the former Betas and Gammas exited the stage.

“Please welcome your new ranked members, Alpha Jacob, Luna Avon, Betas Gideon and Kailani, and Gammas Zion and Nika!” Alpha Bill calls out, causing the cheers to become louder as howls from all over the territory joined in. “Let’s eat!” he bellowed, and applause followed.

We made our way off the stage to the ranked members table and sat down as omegas brought out trays of food and placed them in front of everyone.

“Who are our Deltas?” Zion asked, cutting right to the chase.

“We’ll discuss that in my office after dinner,” Jake said, and Zion nodded.

Chatter ensued during dinner, and I found I quite liked Kailani and Nika. Scarlett bounced over to our table, but her focus was on her parents.

“Mom, Dad…” she began. “I want to go to human college to be a nurse.”

Alpha Bill began choking on his food, and Luna Sally pounded him on his back. When he was finally able to breathe, he said, “why? There are plenty of werewolf medical schools, and you can even train here.”

“I want to branch out. And it’ll give me the opportunity to work with other supernaturals, not just werewolves and humans.”

Alpha Bill’s face showed a mixture of emotions, but the most evident was concern. “What if they find out about you? What if…”

“They won’t dad. I have perfect control over my wolf, and you know it. I graduated high school early, and I want to go to human medical school. I want to branch out,” she repeated.

“We’ll talk about this later.”

“Would it make you feel better if I told you that Kimmie was going?”

Alpha Bill sighed. “Fine. But you call every day at 8 PM. No exceptions.”

“Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Scarlett exclaimed, and I had to laugh at her excitement.

“Who’s Kimmie?” I asked as another female approached. She was short, even compared to my 5-foot 4-inch height. She couldn’t be more than 5 feet tall, but she was muscular with auburn hair and brown eyes. Her scent told me she wasn’t a werewolf, but she also wasn’t a human.

“I am,” she said, and her eyes glinted in the moonlight.

“You’re not a werewolf,” I said, confused. “Wait, I mean no offense by that. I just…”

Kimmie laughed. “It’s okay. No, I’m not a werewolf. I’m a werefox, as are my parents. Alpha Bill and Luna Sally were kind enough to give us refuge.

“We differ slightly from regular foxes in that while we do mate for life, families tend to stay together or near each other. When my grandparents were killed by dark witches, we fled and asked for refuge here, which we were obviously granted.

“I train with the rest of the pack, and because I have an animal side, I can mind link with the pack as well. My parents are nervous about me going to medical school elsewhere, but they know I’m an adult and can make my own choices. They also know that I know what to look out for when it comes to dark energy.”

Just as she finished, another girl came bounding over. She looked about Kimmie’s age, but she had a purple hue to her hair and purple eyes. “My parents said yes!” she exclaimed, and Scarlett and Kimmie hugged her, all three jumping up and down in excitement.

“Lyra, this is Luna Avon, my brother’s mate,” Scarlett introduced.

“Hello, Lyra,” I greeted.

“Luna,” she bowed to me.

“So, the three musketeers are going to medical school together, huh?” Alpha Bill mused jokingly.

“I’m sorry, Lyra, but are you…”

“Yes, I’m a witch, Luna Avon. But I’m a light witch, just as my parents are.”

“Any other supernaturals living here?” I asked, only half-joking.

“We have a werebear pair,” Jake told me, and my jaw dropped. “Oh, and two weretigers, but they are not mates that we know of.”

“I… I’ve never seen either of those.”

Jake’s eyes clouded over for a minute before returning to their natural green color. A few minutes later, a group of four walked up to us. Two were very lean and walked lithely with caramel colored skin, while the other two were huge and bulky, dark toned and easily close to 7 feet tall, if not more, and they had muscles that put Jake’s to shame.

“I’m Mira, a weretiger,” the lean female introduced. “I just turned 15,” she smiled and eyed the male.

“Marcellus, but I go by Marc, and she is indeed my partner,” he smiled and pulled her close to his body protectively.

“I’m Siobhan, a werebear,” the bulky female said.

“Byron.”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” I said honestly.

“You as well, Luna,” they said before bowing and walking away.

“Wow,” was all I could manage.

“Byron has never been really talkative; he came to us as a young cub and doesn’t talk about his past or his parents. He was probably ten when he came here, brought by Alpha Levi of Harvest Moon. He found him wandering their territory, lost and confused. After they nursed him back to health, he told them he wanted to go to Blue Moon, but he never said why. He’s 20 now.

“Siobhan came to us a few years ago with her parents who were poisoned. They succumbed to the poison, and we never found out who poisoned them. She, too, is 20 now,” Jake told me.

“And Marc and Mira?”

“They came to us needing a home. They were the sole survivors of an attack on their small town. Weretigers don’t usually settle in one place for long either, but their families did, and it cost them their lives. Mira and Marc were badly injured when they came here, and Dr. Fields got them healthy. They were pretty young. Marc was 16 and Mira was 13, so they’ve only been here two years.”

I didn’t know what to say to this new information.

“It’s a lot, I know. But they’re all happy now, or as happy as can be expected. They feel safe, and they have a sense of belonging. The rest of the pack treats them like equals and that’s all that matters.”

“Can they mind link like Kimmie can?” I asked.

“They can, yes.”

“Wow,” I said again.

“I have to call my parents every day, though, when we leave,” Scarlett tells Kimmie and Lyra.

“Speaking of which, when do you leave?” Alpha Bill asks.

“Um… about that…” she begins, then sighs. “In two days.”

“Two days?!” Alpha Bill exclaims. “I thought it’d be a month, at least, not two days!”

“Classes start in three days, dad.”

“How long is the course? Where are you going?”

“It’s a 12-month course at Sentara College of Nursing in Virginia.”

Alpha Bill sighs.

“Come on, guys, let’s go to my office to discuss things,” Jake says to Gideon, Kailani, Zion, Nika, and me.

We all get up and leave the table after I thank Alpha Bill, Luna Sally and Scarlett for the beautiful ceremony. We reach Jake’s new office which was formerly Alpha Bill’s, but Jake had already made changes to it, including the desk. He added some couches in the corner, as well.

“So… Deltas?” Zion asked again once the door was shut and locked.

“We currently have seven picks, but given the size of the pack, I feel like we should add some. So, I have a stack of files for us to go over to choose five more from,” Jake answers.

We each grabbed 5 files and began combing through them for the next several hours. Once we had it narrowed down to one each, Jake went over them and took one out.

“Alright, looks like we have our twelve Deltas,” he says, combining the five new ones with the existing files. Then he handed them to me.

“Archer, Nyla, Rayne, Zara, Atlas, Ace, Ronan, Talon, Kace, Briar, Nalani, and Mae.”

The following day, Jake is in this office and I’m walking down there to get my elevator code. The door is shut but I don’t bother knocking, I just open the door. And wish I hadn’t.

The she-wolf, Lexi is walking around his desk stark naked as he looks up at my entering. When she hears the door click shut behind me, she looks up and smirks.

“Lexi Washington, get out now!” Jake uses his Alpha tone.

“Wait!” I command, causing her to freeze in her spot.

She seizes the opportunity to open her mouth and speak. “But Alpha, why don’t we show your mate how it’s really done?” she asks.

I can’t help it; Aphrodite takes control and walks over and decks her in her jaw. “I don’t care who you are, where you come from, or what you had with him before I came here. It’s over now. And if you EVER come near Jake again, I’ll do a lot worse than break your jaw,” Aphrodite snarls in our Alpha/Luna tone, causing Lexi to fall to the ground under the weight of the command, baring her neck in submission as she whimpers.

“Y… yeth L…Luna,” she stammers.

“Now leave!”

Lexi struggles to her feet still whimpering as she scurries out the door. That’s when I realize she has no clothes with her.

“You!” Aphrodite bellows at Jake. “How could she come in, shut the door, and get that close to you without you even noticing?!”

“I was so wrapped up in what I was doing, I swear! The only reason I looked up when you came in is because of your scent!” he defends himself.

Aphrodite relinquishes control back to me and I nod. “Okay. Sorry about that. Aphrodite was out for blood.”

“I’m sorry, Avon. You know I would never cheat on you; I hope you do at least. I love you too much to do that.”

“You… you love me?”

“Yes, Avon. Of course, I do, how could I not?”

“I love you, too…” I whisper, and suddenly he’s in front of me, his lips on mine. His soft lips that taste so good move with my own lips, and his tongue begs for entrance, which I grant.

When we finally break apart for air, he begins to plant chaste kisses all over my face.

“I. Love. You. So. Much. More. Than. You. Will. Ever. Know,” he says each word between kisses. Aphrodite purrs in my head at his words.

I pull his hand towards the couches in the corner and sit him down on one while I sit across from him. “Now, explain why she is so obsessed with you,” I say.

He sighs. “I had a s****l relationship with her for six months, but I made it clear that that was all it was. When she started becoming attached, I ended it. She knew I wanted my mate. She began to follow me as much as she could and try to seduce me. I was her first though, and honestly, she was mine. But you will always be the only one I want from now on.”

“She’s not going to give up, I hope you know that.”

“And she’ll get herself banished or worse.”

I nod, and suddenly a wave of nausea rolls through my stomach. I run over to the trashcan and vomit up my stomach contents. Jake rushes over with a bottle of water and some tissue by the time I stand back up.

“Are you okay, Avon?” he asks, concerned.

I nod. “Yes, I feel fine now,” I tell him.

He gives me a worried look but nods. “Okay, love.”

I give him a forced smile, but it seems to convince him. But deep inside, I’m panicking. I feel suddenly anxious.

“So, what were you coming in here for?” Jake asks.

“Oh, my elevator code,” I say, and my voice sounds slightly shaky.

Jake doesn’t notice though, and tells me the code. “Don’t forget it or tell anyone. It’s also your code to the dungeon and the safe room, which you’ve already registered your retina to.”

“Okay, thank you, baby,” I say and give him a quick peck. “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay love,” he says, giving me another concerned look.

“I’m fine, baby, really,” I tell him.

“Okay. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I say before exiting the office.

Mom, can I meet you in your apartment? I asked her through the mind link; I could only hope she had what I needed.