Falling Rain

10

Mason 

    The day I’ve been dreading is finally here. The Alpha and Luna ceremony. I wanted to put it off as long as possible for Rain’s sake. She is still only getting used to her new life and I didn’t want her to be overwhelmed by the pressure of having the Luna title. Eventually I knew it would have to happen but I’m worried about the toll it will take on her health. Her wolf has only recently started to speak to her again, even then it was only for a few minutes. 

    I left early this morning, Rain still fast asleep in bed. I have asked Annie to help her get ready for tonight, help her get her dress on and have her hair done. Whatever girls do.  

    I go to the training yards and find Alex and Troy, my two best friends. They have been busy with warrior training and I haven’t seen them in a while but I know they will give me the answer I want to my question. 

“Hey guys.. Got a minute?” I call over to them 

“Ohh look who it is!” Alex laughs and strides over. 

“I was wondering when we’d see you… finally pulled yourself out of the bedroom huh?” Troy winks at me as he walks towards me. 

“Yeah yeah, come on guys. I have something serious to talk to you about” 

“Where is our new Luna anyways?” 

“You don’t have her locked up in the bedroom still do you? Let the poor girl out” Alex smacks my shoulder. 

“We are only teasing you Mason.. What’s up?” Troy chuckles, straightening himself up. 

“I need to ask you something… As you know when a new Alpha takes over they must pick a new Beta and Gamma.. Would you two be mine?” 

“Ha! I told you! You owe me twenty bucks” Alex shouts at Troy. 

“Alright alright… I call Beta!” Troy snickers as he slaps a twenty dollar bill into Alex’s hand.

 “So when are we going to meet our Luna? Seriously you have had her hidden away for nearly two months now… what's the deal?” Alex asks as he sits down on the grass. 

They were both absent during the initial raid when I found Rain and then I ordered everyone to stay away so she was not disturbed. 

“She’s in a wheelchair, you dumbass. You’ve seen her in the gardens” Troy rolls his eyes at Alex. 

“You’re right, I have had her hidden away. I didn’t want to overwhelm her. She was in bad shape when I found her, it has taken some time for her to trust me and feel comfortable near me. She recently let me Mark her so we are making progress slowly. I need you two to make her feel welcome and help me keep the pack members at bay. You know they will all want to see the new Luna but I don’t want it to be too much for her. You are my best friends and the only ones I trust to help me keep her safe… will you help me?” 

“You know you don’t even have to ask.. You are like a brother to us Mason” Alex says with a serious look on his face. 

“Yeah man, Luna is in good hands with us. We will protect her with our lives” Troy nods 

“Do you want to meet her now?” I ask, getting up from the grass. 

    I walk them up to my room and make them wait outside. I see Rain sitting by the window, her long hair brushed down her back. 

“Hello beautiful.. I was hoping to introduce you to two very special people if you're up for it?” I ask her, she looks up at me and smiles. 

“Sure” 

I call for Alex and Troy to come inside, they take gingerly steps forward before bowing down low to Rain. 

“Queen Luna, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Alex, this is my cousin Troy. We are at your service” 

“Queen Luna” Troy says with another small bow. 

“It’s nice to meet you both” Rain smiles at them before turning to me. 

“They are my Beta and Gamma, as of tonight. I will be announcing it at the ceremony” I explain to her. 

“Oh I see. What happens to Kayden and Nathan?”

“They will be retired from their Beta and Gamma duties and be renamed as honorary warriors” I tell her. 

Annie comes into the room and scowls at us when she sees us. 

“You know you're not supposed to be here, especially before such an important ceremony! Shoo!” She shoves us out of the room, 

“I’ll see you soon, Rain!” I call out as the door closes behind us. 

“Your in trouble now” Alex teases  

“Don’t I know it!” I laugh and shake my head. 

“Cheer up, it’s only a few more hours till the ceremony” Troy pats my shoulder as we head back out to the training yards. I get a quick session in with them before I have to go to my office and finish up the last minute preparations. 

A knock on my door pulls me away from my screen. 

“Come in” 

My father comes in and sits down across from me. 

“I’ve been hearing rumors Mason… Do you not want to go through with this tonight?” He asks, he sounds sad. 

“Honestly dad.. I didn’t think I did… but now I realize how important it is.. I have people to protect… this is the best way to do that” 

    He sits silently for a while before nodding, “I’m glad you finally understand that power is dangerous.. But it can also be a blessing. We all have those we want to protect… just remember that you cannot protect her every second of the day. People get hurt, there is no escaping that reality” His voice sounds so serious, it was only a handful of times where he would ever sound this way. The first time I remember such a serious tone was when he found me in the woods… the day he took me into his home and made me a part of his family. 

“I hope I can do the job half a good as you did Father” 

“You will do it better.. You have strong instincts. You’ve trained harder than anyone in the pack and it shows. You are the strongest wolf here Mason” 

“Thank you Father” I say as he leaves me to my work. 

    A few hours go by of mindless computer work. I glance at my watch and see it’s past noon by now, I need to shower and get ready. I head to the guest room where mom has had my things set out on the bed. I jump into the shower and wash off the grime from training and stretch out my back. I hate doing computer work, it’s such a pain in the ass and it makes my back ache. 

    I am happy to see mom has laid out a simple pair of jeans and a dress shirt, rather than a suit. 

    She must know I wouldn’t wear it anyways, besides this ceremony is more about introducing Rain to the pack then it is about me. 

    I pull on the clothes and head outside to the ceremony area, seeing if there is anything they need help setting up. I walk across the trailing yard where the stage has been set up. 

“Did you hear she’s a cripple?” I can hear some omegas talking from behind the stage. 

“I’ve seen her in the garden.. She just sits in a wheelchair and stares off into space” 

“Alpha Mason could do so much better than a cripple. Why didn’t he just reject her?”

“Are you two about finished?” I snarl at them, they both jump clearly not knowing I was there or that they could be heard. 

“Oh Alpha Mason.. I’m so sorry” The first one bows and looks remorseful. The other one just stares me down, like she is trying to fan the flames. 

“I do not recall asking you to voice your opinions. Rejecting your Mate because of something so trivial. Pathetic, show some respect to your Luna!” I snap at them, the one girl doesn’t look away from me. The other one is flinching backwards with every single word I snap at them. 

“I’m so sorry Alpha, please I mean no disrespect” She bows and scurries off somewhere out of my sight. 

“What are you still doing here?” I ask the remaining girl. She’s got a lot of sass, it’s written on her smug face. 

“I’m just wondering what you could love about her so much. Being able to overlook the fact that she is a cripple is no small feat. I just can’t help but wonder what kind of hold she has on you… what she does so well that makes you stay put..” She chuckles and walks away before I can think of anything to say to her. 

    I feel her watching me for a while before people start to show up and start the feast. I see mom with Rain and make my way over to them. 

“Wow.. you look absolutely beautiful Rain” I say as I approach them. She is wearing a cream silky dress that hugs her perfectly. Her hair is in a long braided crown that sweeps over her shoulder. Her plump lips have red lipstick lightly coating them, not too much but just enough to make them look like ripe cherries. Her long eyelashes look even longer with the smallest amount of mascara, she wears a simple chain necklace strung with a single pearl, around her thin neck. She looks like a romantic movie star from the old days to me. 

“You look pretty good yourself” She smiles, a blush creeping on her pale cheeks. I lean down and kiss her lightly on the lips. If they looked good to me before, now I want to devour her like a fresh cherry in the middle of summer. I want to quench my thirst for her, it takes everything I have to pull back from her. 

She smiles at me and lets out a deep breath, nodding to herself. 

“Are you ready?” I ask her as I roll her chair to the stage and carry her in the chair up the two steps. 

“Yes..” She nods at me, she has a look of determination on her face that I don’t recognize. 

    I walk to center stage and tap the mic briefly, getting everyone’s attention. Before I can speak dad takes the mic from me, patting my shoulder and winking at me.

“Thank you all so much for coming… I have asked you all to come this evening to help me and my Luna celebrate the welcoming of a new area. We welcome our very own Mason as King Alpha, Mason and his beautiful new Queen Luna Rain into our pack. It is such an honor to be able to pass on my title to none other than my son. A warrior who has proved his strength and leadership more than once. He will make a good King to all under his rule. Please join us in welcoming his Queen Luna, Rain” Dad gestures over to Rain sitting in her chair. I smile at her and start to walk over but dad grabs my shoulder, rooting me to the spot. I watch with confusion as Rain slowly, on shaky feet, stands up in her chair and with mom's aide, she walks to me. 

    I can hear whispering from the crowd watching but I don’t care what they're saying at the moment. My eyes are glued on Rain, she struggles to get to me, about four feet away from me, she looks at Annie and nods. She takes the last few steps on her own, collapsing in my arms once she reaches me. I easily grab her by the waist and steady her. I can see the tears in her eyes, she must have been in pain but she pushed through it, for me. 

The crowd starts to clap, I can hear Alex and Troy cheering, along with some other warriors and Parker is clapping vigorously form the side of the stage. 

“I’m so proud of you Rain” I tell her as I hold her weight in my one arm. She is still very light but putting on a tiny bit of weight. 

“I’ve been practicing so much.. I thought I'd be able to do it, I’m sorry Mason” She whispers as she clutches to my shirt. 

“What are you sorry for? That was amazing.. Watching you take your first steps in front of me… I think you are such a strong woman, and now it’s showing clearly. You just told the entire pack who you are. Queen Luna”