THE ALPHA'S FORSAKEN ORACLE

CHAPTER SIX: THE CEREMONY

(Solomon's POV)

The full moon ceremony began at sunset with Mirabel's hand locked firmly in mine, both of us scanning the gathered crowd for any remaining threats. Philip was imprisoned in the pack house basement, still protesting his innocence despite overwhelming evidence, but my instincts were screaming that we had missed something important.

Halfway through the traditional ritual prayers, Mirabel suddenly went rigid beside me and I knew immediately she was having another vision. I tightened my grip on her hand and let the images flow into my mind through our connection, expecting to see something about the ceremony itself.

Instead I saw something far worse; rogues, dozens of them, moving through the forest toward Moonstone territory with weapons and clear hostile intent. They would arrive within the hour, right when the ceremony was at its peak and everyone was distracted and vulnerable. This was the real attack, I realized with cold horror, Philip's assassination attempt had been a distraction to pull our attention away from the actual threat.

"Vincent!" I shouted, interrupting the ceremony without caring about protocol or respect. “We have a much bigger problem.”

Every head turned toward me and I saw annoyance flash across Vincent's face before he registered my expression and went instantly alert. “What is it?”

"Rogue attack," I said grimly. “Mirabel just had a vision; fifty wolves approaching from the eastern border, heavily armed and organized. They will be here in less than an hour and they are coming for blood.”

The clearing erupted into controlled chaos as warriors rushed to prepare defenses and non-combatants were hustled toward reinforced shelters. Vincent was shouting orders with focused intensity, organizing his forces with the tactical skill that had made him Alpha, and I found myself automatically moving to help because whatever history lay between us, I was still a warrior and this was still home.

"You should go," I told Mirabel quietly as we worked. “Get back to Shadow Court where it is safe. There is no reason for you to risk yourself in this fight.”

"I am not leaving you," Mirabel said with absolute conviction. “My visions might show us something crucial that helps turn the battle, and besides, I am not the helpless prophet everyone thinks I am. I know how to fight.”

Vincent organized the warriors into defensive positions and then did something that shocked me. He asked me to lead the border defense, essentially giving me command of his best fighters and trusting me with the pack's survival despite everything that had happened between us.

"I will hold the line," I promised, and meant it with everything I had.

The rogues arrived exactly when Mirabel's vision had predicted, a massive force that moved with military precision rather than typical rogue chaos. Someone had trained and organized them, given them purpose beyond simple survival, and that terrified me more than their numbers.

The battle became brutal quickly, rogues slamming into our defensive positions while we fought desperately to hold them back. I moved through the chaos with deadly efficiency, my wolf larger and stronger than most, but there were simply too many of them and they kept coming with grim determination.

"Solomon!" Mirabel shouted suddenly. “I saw how to win but it is dangerous and requires perfect timing!”

"Tell me," I said, cutting down another attacker.

"There is a cliff two hundred yards north," she said rapidly. “If you lead them there and trigger a rockslide with their own explosives at exactly the right moment, it will take out most of their force. But the timing has to be perfect or you will die.”

It was insane and desperate and exactly what we needed. “How do I know when to run?”

"I will tell you based on the vision," Mirabel said with absolute certainty. “Do you trust me?”

I looked at this woman who had walked into my life just days ago and changed everything, and the answer came without hesitation. “Completely.”

We grabbed the captured explosives and ran north with thirty rogues pursuing us. At the cliff I planted the charges while Mirabel tracked our pursuers and the vision simultaneously. "Now!" she commanded. “Light it and run—twenty-three seconds then dive behind that boulder!”

I obeyed without question, lighting the fuse and sprinting while counting in my head. At exactly twenty-three seconds I dove behind the boulder and pulled Mirabel down with me, and then the world exploded in fire and thunder as the cliff collapsed, burying our enemies under tons of rock.

In the aftermath, covered in dust and blood but miraculously alive, the words escaped before I could stop them: “Marry me.”

Mirabel's eyes went wide with shock. “What?”

"Marry me," I repeated with absolute conviction. “I know it is fast but the moon goddess does not make mistakes about true mates. You are mine and I am yours, and I am done pretending otherwise.”

Her smile was brilliant and certain and more beautiful than anything I had ever seen. “Yes. Yes, I will marry you, Solomon.”

I kissed her then, sealing the promise between us, and felt our true mate bond flare into full awareness, stronger than anything I had imagined possible.