Bonded at Midnight

Chapter 1. The Full Lunar Moon Celebration

"Life Can't Ever be All Bad or All Good. You Know, Eventually Things Have to Come Back to The Middle ~ Scott McCall "

{Aislinn Wilds, Point of View}

The clocks began to chime, the bells began to ring. The Lunar Moon Celebration was upon us. By 7:15 tonight the town of Winterfalls, New Hampshire would be decorated to celebrate the Full Lunar Moon. A yearly Celebration that takes place on the last snow fall in March. The air was buzzing with the sound of the orchestra rehearsaing, the smell of the delicious variety of food being cooked and finally a cold nipping breeze that blew in from my slightly cracked window. I sat upon my bed dreading the celebration.

Yesterday was my 18th birthday and I didn't get the opportunity to celebrate it. My Matháir rushed me to the townhall and registered me for the Lunar Games. The Lunar Games in my mind was a sick tradition that allowed the pack that protects our town the ability to come and pick their mates from a group of females who are all lined up and blindfolded. For me I was hoping and praying that I wouldn't be chosen. I didn't want to be mated to a abusive and rude mate who only wanted me for the soul purpose of giving them offspring. I wanted someone who loved me just for me, I wanted the same romance and love my tuismitheoirí had for each other. I was soon pulled from my daydreaming thoughts by a soft knock and the opening of the door.

I looked up to see the smiling faces of My Máthair, Breena and my Maimeó, Grace. They both entered my room holding a dress bag, a jewelry box, a fancy show box, a huge container filled with makeup and hair products and last but not least a black velvet box with a beautifully done engraving on the lid. The engraving and the black velvet could only mean that the blindfold laid within it.

The Games had a strict dress code that all the females partakers must follow. Each female must wear a fitted floor length gown that must be in the color of white, gold or rose gold. The gowns cannot be any shorter than the ankle, and must show the shoulders and back for some reason. The females all a must wear white, gold, silver or rose gold 4 inch heels that can be closed or open toed. All the females hair must be either up in a bridal braid or down and curled. Each females makeup must be a nude color without the use of black. We aren't allowed to wear any sort of shaw or arm covering, we are not allowed to wear big and distracting necklaces, earrings or bracelets. And the cherry on top of the s**t set of rules we must follow. We all had to wear a special handcrafted black satin blindfold that is to be worn the entire time of the embers games until either our chosen mates allow us to remove the blindfold or when the bells ring at 3am allowing everyone to know the end of the Lunar Games.

There was a entire set of rules everyone must follow within the Partakers Household. Any female that lived under the roof had to dress the Partaker. Every Partaker are told that they are not allowed to see what they look like until the entire family does. The males within in the household must leave the house until the eldest in the family goes and gets them. The partakers must behave in a strict manner and once the Partakers are chosen they must leave everything and everyone they love behind to live with their chosen mate.

My Máthair and my Maimeó brought me down into the Parlor where they began my hair and my makeup. I began to drift back into the land of useless and ridiculous thoughts when the feeling of anxiety began to take over. There is only a 1% chance that a female doesn't get chosen and usually it's because they are destined to not be a wolf's mate and gets to live a normal mundane lifestyle, that is what I'm secretly hoping for.

Time soon flew by as I stood in front of my Muintir all dressed up and ready for the celebration and the games. I was now finally able to look at myself in a full mirror. My Athair gave a countdown and I opened my eyes staring at myself in the mirror. I looked very beautiful that it made me tear up. My caramel hair were curled tightly and flowed over my back, my emerald green eyes had a beautiful nude eyeshadow and a simple but elegant wing. My cheeks had a rose colored kissed to them and my lips were rosy pink. I had a simple but gorgeous diamond pendent necklace and diamond studs. My heels were a cute white heel with some design to then. My gown was a rose gold silk gown that had some white detail on the bodice, the gown had a train but it hugged my body beautifully. My Máthair kissed my cheek and hugged me whispering into my ear about how beautiful I looked and how proud she was of me.

With hugs from my Muintir we all began to make our way to the town square where the celebration was held. My deartháir Cian wrapped his jacket around my shoulders to keep me warm during the celebration. I would have to remove it before the Games. As we made our way into the town square the atmosphere was filled with excitement and fun. But there was also a bitter sweet taste that each elegant dressed female had on their tongues. If a female were to be chosen this would be the very last time that we would ever see our families. The moment we become chosen we have to obey every word the wolf says or get punished for disrespecting them.

What a night this would be.