The Gold Luna: A Feud Between Brothers

The Full Moon Claiming Ceremony

Arya

I twirl in the mirror as I stare at the beautiful dress Mum picked out for me. I can barely contain the smile on my face as I stare in the mirror. A beautiful woman with rosy cheeks and golden eyes stares back at me. Her lips look red this evening, and her hair has been styled in a long traditional braid to represent how traditional this night is for any werewolf female.

I stare at the part I am meant to be marked tonight and sigh. I don't know if I am ready for Felix's mark. Funny how I thought I would wear Finn's mark one day, and now I am wearing Felix's.

Mum purposefully picked out that dress to make sure my long neck is on full display tonight. I love the woman staring back at me today. She looks confident and ready for this new life, unlike the woman who stared back at me in the mirror two years ago. This woman has regained the weight she lost, and her hips look fuller and more defined while her waist is as small as ever.

This is the woman I was before Finn came into the picture, and now I hear he is back. And of all the nights that Finn could have picked to be back, he specifically picked this one.

‘He won’t ruin our night. He already made his choice when he left, and we too have made ours,’ Mystic says to me, and I have to agree. We won’t let Finn ruin anything for us. Felix is ready to place his mark on our neck, and Finn won't do anything about it.

“Are you ready?” Mum asks me.

She appears in the mirror beside me. “You look so beautiful, my love, and Felix is a lucky man to have you.”

“I am lucky to have him too. He is a good alpha and mate,” I tell her, and she smiles.

“He is indeed.”

I turn around, and Mum does look beautiful too tonight. The black dress she picked for the evening is majestic, and her black hair is braided into a crown on top of her head. Her chocolate skin is glistening and has this shade to it that I have always admired. Mum has the most curly black hair in the family, while mine had to be straight because of my dad.

Mum takes my hand and leads me out of the bedroom. Dad is waiting for me downstairs, and he is dressed in his most expensive suit. I must say he does look very dashing tonight with his blond hair perfectly styled in a sleek pushback. Mum giggles when she stares at her mate. These two were lovebirds even before they discovered they were mates. Mum always says she felt a tingle for him even before they had their wolves.

‘Aren’t they adorable?’ Mystic gushes, and I smile.

‘Of course they are. This will be us and Felix.’

I can’t wait for the big ceremony.

The little moment is over, and we are all out of the house, Benjamin included, even though he didn’t want to come tonight because he knows he won’t meet his mate this night either.

“Other pack members will be present. You might finally meet her tonight,” Mum encourages, and Benjamin groans.

“You have said that even at the other ceremonies, and I never met her.” He sulks. The talk of his mate is always a touchy issue for him. He is the only sibling who hasn’t met his mate yet.

“What will you do when you finally meet her?” I ask out of curiosity.

“Mark her, of course, then take her somewhere and…”

“We get it..”

Mum and Dad groan, knowing his next words too. He can be so blunt sometimes without a damn filter on that mouth.

Dad parks the car out front of the packhouse. It’s lively with some music playing in the background. Lanterns have been placed all over the lawn, and the moon is high above, giving us its divine energy. Tonight I will officially be known as the Luna of the Divine pack.

The atmosphere feels different tonight, and everything keeps staring at me with smiles on their faces. I can only wonder how many of them are actually fake. I know the women in the pack don’t like me much because I am mated to Felix.

“Since Felix is taken, I hope I can get lucky with Finn.” I hear one of the females say in the far distance. Blame it on werewolf hearing.

As if you can ever get lucky with Finn. This is thought from the best friend, and I rein in my gift before it’s too late. I would rather not listen to the thoughts of others.

“I am sure Finn will take notice of you,” the best friend replies to her with a broad smile, and I nearly snort. As much drama as this is, I don’t want to hear the name Finn from one of these ladies' mouths again.

His name makes my body so repulsive that I feel as though my whole body is scorched by it.

As long as he doesn’t ruin my night, we will be fine.

‘And we won’t let him,’

Felix is already standing on the high, flat platform addressing the pack members. His eyes are focused on me as he speaks.

“Tonight is such a special night. Not only for ones marking their mates but the pack at large. We will finally have a Luna, and all I want is for everyone to treat her with the respect she deserves. Let me invite her to the stage, my beautiful mate Arya Brooks of the Brooks family.”

The pack cheers, clapping their hands with a few whistles in the background.

I look at Dad, and he gives me the encouraging stare that says, ‘Go ahead.’

I breathe out before I take the step. Felix is on the stage with his hands stretched out and looking at me with his sexy ice-blue eyes. I place my hand in his palm, and there is no sort of spark or reaction. It's cold as compared to the ones I felt with Finn. I am not meant to remember, but I do, including how my body reacted to them and all the trails they traced.

I yelp when he pulls me forward and into his arms. He stares directly into my eyes.

“I love you, my mate,” he whispers, and I smile.

“I love you too,” I whisper.

The pack is in awe at the view of us, and I know they heard our love confessions to each other clearly.

The elders join us on the stage; the ceremony officially begins. I first have to complete the luna ceremony, and then Felix has to mark me as his mate.

The elder begins his chants to the moon goddess, and I can feel her energy pumping through my veins and mystically feel more powerful than before. We can feel the status change from being an omega to being a luna, which is a status lower than the alpha but more powerful than the beta. Her power grows in my veins, and the pain is so much that I can’t hold it anymore. The pain forces a growl out of me that forces everyone to their knees.

I look at Felix in fear. I have never heard or seen this happen before. He holds my hand, and I feel the pain in his eyes even though he holds on tightly.

I growl at him too, and he stays strong. The chants growl and soon force me to shift into my pure grey wolf. Mystic is barking and growling at everything. The thoughts of the pack flood my mind, and I lose control of what I can and can’t hold back.

The barks draw to whimpers, and the power is almost paralyzing, but I fight through, and I hear Felix’s voice stand out.

“You have to accept her power, Arya.”

I accept your power. I chant, the pain instantly stops, I feel the numb buzz on my fingertips, and finally, the ceremony is done. The crowd cheers, and it’s finally official.

Shifting back to my human form, a cloak is dropped on my body, and Felix fastens it in the middle.

The marking had begun. Felix first kisses me before he traces his lips to my neck and kisses the sensitive spot where his mark is meant to be. He sucks and pulls it between his teeth, teasing me into getting wet. My knees buckle, and he holds me up. My eyes shut instantly, and I cannot see only feel.

"I have got you, my luna," he whispers before his teeth sink into my neck. Excruciating pain soon turns to excruciating ecstasy. I moan loudly as I feel and see stars. Felix sucks a little more before he pulls his teeth out and licks the marks to seal it up. As he begins to lick my eyes open, the shimmering aqua blue eyes land on me and nearly make me flinch.

They are so damn bright that I instantly know who they belong to Finn Monroe.