Alpha's Winter Promise

Episode 9 - Untouchable - Atticus' POV

Evening has fallen as Benni and I get comfortable in our ‘eagle nest’ for the duration of the First Night Ceremony.

I am, for the first time since being here, in my element. We are positioned on the roof of a cafe just down from the training facility and along the main procession route.

Since we aren’t trying to be a hidden threat, I take the opportunity to stretch and pull a black sweatshirt over my head and then run the earpiece wire underneath it. I grimace while putting it in. This brand is uncomfortable, and I make a mental note to look into a different supplier when we get home.

We wouldn’t have to use them at all had it just been my pack on security detail, but with a mixed batch of warriors peppered through the venue it was the only way we had to quickly communicate.

Benni hands me a coffee. “Hey look at what I found downstairs. I thought you said you lost it in the locker room?”

My mouth falls open in disbelief. “Where was it?”

“Oh, the barista had it. I joked that it looked like a book my brother lost, and she said it's been left there earlier today and I could have it if I wanted.”

“Does Miranda know you are this charming?”

Benni lets out a booming belly laugh. “You don’t think I got the girl on my good looks alone, did you?”

I snort and shoo him back to his position further down the rooftop.

Now it felt like the book was something of a miracle. I flip it open and i’m greeted with that same very light peppermint scent. My dog-eared page was still there, but it looks like my mystery book club friend had put another chapter under their belt. Something about it just makes me feel a weird sense of joy.

I put the book back in my duffle bag as I get the alert that the procession is nearing our location. I bring my binoculars up to my face and start scanning the area for any potential threats. With as many families as there are here, there is a potential to wipe it entire bloodlines of shifters so the extra precautions are warranted.

This is a solemn rite.

The singers leading the procession are vocalizing a wordless hymn layered with intertwining harmonies that were symbolic of each of the major packs and their ancient bloodlines. The blue moon cast an otherworldly glow, like it’s presence had been summoned by the music.

I scanned the crowd again, faces refecting back serenity and awe.

Next came the of-age unmated Alphas, Betas, and Gammas of each pack. Each trio, dressed inky night sky black, is escorting the banner representing their people. As each bearer reached the square they created a ring, facing outwards toward the crowd.

I heard the song shift, taking a more light hearted tone as the next part of the procession came into view.

Children - boys and girls dressed in silvery grey, skipped and tossed handfuls of white flower petals in front of them.

Twenty years ago, I had been in their shoes. A knot forms in my chest when I recall the sounds and the sights, especially a head of red hair bounding ahead of me in the swirl of flower petals, perpetually out of reach.

I take a swig of my coffee. I don’t know why I’m such a hard time focusing. Through my earpiece, the warriors are checking in with periodic all-clears.

The children form the next circle facing inward, and holding hands with each other.

The song shifts again, this time accompanied by a drum beat that feels like the slow beat of a heart.

The maidens have arrived.

There is a line of young women dressed in white, but each dress is different and reflecting the taste of the wearer. There are all shapes and sizes, but the common thread is they are all the handmaidens of the goddess this evening.

But, pride of place falls to the last maiden as a representation of the goddess herself.

“Olivia” her name escapes my lips.

Her hair is cascading down her back in loose waves, and she has a coronet of silver resting on her forehead. Her dress is reminiscent of a Greek statue, the silvery white fabric almost translucent. It flows across her body like a river, each curve an enticing mystery. And I wonder how her body would feel with only a slip of silk between her skin and my hands.

She leaves a trail of smoke in her wake from the censor ball she is holding aloft in her right hand, it’s silvery chain held up in her left and glittering under the lanterns that line the procession way.

I am not close enough to see the details of her face and looking through the binoculars at her feels a bit like I was spying on the moon goddess herself, something taboo.

She is an untouchable treasure.

She is every goddess that every existed, rolled into one. She is Helen of Troy and the world should be going to war for her favor.

Jericho is quiet tonight. For once he doesn’t poke at me about reading too many romance novels.

The maidens file in to create the final ring of the circle, leaving way for Olivia to be in the center.

The men, facing outward protecting the pack, the children in the middle both the past and the future, maidens facing inward, the heart of the pack. And at the center is faith in the Moon Goddess to continue strengthening our bonds and bloodlines.

The chorus shifts one last time - this is now a tune that every pack member knows in their heart and the entire crowd and the procession all join in song together, lifting their voices.

Olivia walks the circle three times clockwise, swinging the censor at each cardinal point. She reaches the center again as the music swells, her arms raised and as they fall, so does silence.

I can’t hear her voice from here, but I know that this is the Call of Mates. The young men and the women turn to face each other, the rings moving in opposite directions. And by then end of it, a dozen fated mates have been paired up.

And just like that the spell is broken - families rush forward to celebrate with the newly matched pairs, food appears from seemingly nowhere and drinks start to pour.

“Dude, that was intense.” Trust Benni to be so eloquent.

All I can do is nod, thankful that the night is masking the my unshed tears.

“Oh and don’t worry bro, I covered for you while you were entranced with the Ice Princess.” I felt my face heat up with embarrassment. “Really though, you become an i***t where anything to do with her is concerned. This was a job tonight and you let yourself get distracted. What are you going to do about it?”

He’s not wrong. And all the doubts I had about a future with her were just compounded tonight. She’s forever an entity completely out of my league.

“Well, first, we are going to get to doing our leg of the patrols, and then tomorrow I’ll see the match-maker.”

He just grunts at me and hands me my bag. I sling it over my shoulder and we head out for the remainder of the evening.