The Lunar Destiny Series

Chapter 29

It was still in the A.M., about ten o’ clock in the morning. I got settled at Lio’s and put my things in the basement where I usually did. I came back upstairs and went to the kitchen. Kira, Baltasar, Naremi, Gleasus, and his mate Torin were all having breakfast at the table. Lio was helping clean the dishes. Everyone looked up from their plates at me and gave nods and smiles.

“Good morning Astraia, are you hungry? There’s plenty of food left.” Naremi said. I shook my head no and smiled warmly.

“Thank you, but I already ate breakfast.” I said.

Naremi nodded but suddenly had a surprised look on her face.

“Naremi what’s the matter?” I asked.

“I just remembered that there was something I needed to do with you.” She said getting up from her chair.

“Um, with me?” I said, confused. I didn’t know what she was talking about because she’d never made any plans with me that I could think of.

“The sooner you start teaching her the better.”

Lio said, looking over his shoulder at Naremi.

“Mm hm. Come little one, we’ve got lots to do.” She said before coming up to me and shoving me out of the kitchen before I could ask any questions.

Once we were outside on the porch, she looked at me for a moment concentrating seemingly.

“Naremi, will you please tell me what’s going on?” I said becoming impatient.

“When you accepted Lio’s proposal, that made it clear you wanted to be a part of us. I am to teach you the ways of our pack. Even though you are human, you are coming into a very dangerous world. There are rules and customs you must follow. Lio has given me the honor of teaching his life mate our customs.”

She smiled then and her eyes held a strong warmth to them.

“Naremi, are you really okay with this?”

I felt it would be insensitive not to ask at least. I never wanted to ask her if she was ever intimate with Lio or if she wanted to be with him like all of the others. I was too afraid to hear the truth. Naremi looked away from me and walked down the porch steps. Had I upset her?

“Naremi wait!” I said going down the steps behind her.

She spun around to face me. She started to giggle but I didn’t find her sudden mood change amusing.

“Astraia, why do you insist on trying to fix something that isn’t broken?” She said, shaking her head.

“I just assumed that you may have been with Lio too and, deep down you aren’t okay with this.” I sounded unsure of myself but at least I’d gotten the subject out in the open.

“I know you get worried about retaliation from the females in our pack, but that day Lio presented you to the pack as his you were safe from confrontation. In fact, the moment you had his heart you were safe. If I wasn’t okay with teaching you our ways, Lio would not have chosen me. Believe me when I tell you that I consider you a friend, Astraia. Yes, I was with Lio some time ago. I’ll miss my time with him, but you are his true mate. I would never try to get in the way so don’t worry about me child, alright?”

I smiled and relaxed. My suspicions were confirmed but I couldn’t let my new knowledge ruin my friendship with her. She and I were the closest of all Lio’s people.

“Now follow me, we’ll start with customs for the mating ceremony since that will come up soon enough.”

I followed Naremi deeper into the forest and I listened as she explained the steps it would take to bind Lio and I together.

“Of course the traditional wedding ceremony must take place first. If it didn’t happen this way the whole process would fall apart.” She said.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“There are certain aspects of the mating ritual that would risk our exposure if you were to marry afterwards. I’ll get into that shortly.”

Naremi started down a mossy, withered path and I followed her closely. We walked for about a quarter of a mile before we stopped in front of a large tree that bore very strange fruit. I had never seen any fruit like these. The fruit was pink and the size of a large navel orange. The outside looked like it had stripes similar to a watermelon. My eyes were wide with astonishment. Naremi touched the tree and gazed up at it.

“Naremi, what kind of fruit tree is this? I’ve never seen any fruit like this.” I sounded just as amazed as I felt.

“This is our Tembikai Pokok Strawberi; that simply means ‘watermelon strawberry tree.’ This fruit tree has been around as long as our pack has been. It’s a sacred fruit that only grows in this very spot and is part of the mating ceremony.” She said.

Naremi turned to face me again.

“You and Lio will share one of these fruits before you make the bond. This fruit is sacred to us because it has been proven to make human females more fertile and increases the chances to bear children with the werewolf gene. It is also a very strong aphrodisiac.”

She said with a wink. I felt myself starting to blush and shook my head.

“Now I’ll show you where the final steps will take place…” She said with a smile.

She led me further down the mossy path until we came to a curtain of vines hanging down from two curved trees. I watched her pull them to the side and look back at me.

“Go on.”

Naremi said, tilting her head towards the mysterious opening in the trees. I hesitantly walked through. A large blue stone that looked like a large table stood in the center of stone benches; they resembled this large stone. I looked up and noticed that the tops of the trees were enclosed in this place except for an opening that had a clear view of the night sky. I had an unsettling feeling we were going to have an audience during this ceremony.

“This is where you and Lio will become mates for life. All of the pack will be present to witness the ceremony just as your family will be present for the wedding.”

She said walking towards the large stone table. I clasped my fingers together in front of myself and silently watched Naremi walk a slow circle around the large blue stone. She ran her hand along the edge of the stone as she walked.

“I can’t recall the last time a mating ceremony has been held, it’s been years. You’ll be the first human in our history to become the Teman Sejiwa of a Wolf King. What makes you so special is that you are his true mate. No alpha or any member of our pack has had a destined mate that was human.”

Naremi said with a slight smile. She came to stand in front of the stone and leaned against it. It was tall enough that it came up to the middle of her back. She took a loc of her bouncy red hair and began running two of her fingers through it.

I was silent for a moment while I thought about what she had said just now. I wanted to know more. I walked over to the front row of benches and sat down on the one closest to Naremi.

“Tell me, what happens during the ceremony?”

I asked. She started to grin.

“With your shy and timid nature I have some concerns…” She said; her smile fading. I frowned a little.

“What concerns?” I asked.

“I’m concerned that once you know everything that the ceremony requires of you and what happens after the ceremony, you will back out. If you do that you’ll not only break Lio’s heart, you’ll lose my friendship. Lolita destroyed him once already. When she had him right where she wanted him, she attempted a Ku. That betrayal made him withdraw from his humanity. You may think what you’ve seen Lio do to his enemies so far is the most brutal you’ve ever witnessed,”

Naremi paused before she shook her head and looked away from me.

“I’ve seen him do much worse. Some would say he did ‘heartless’ things to his enemies. When he met you, he started to let himself come back little by little. Astraia, I never want to see him in that place of darkness and despair again. Trust me, you don’t want to see him at his worst.” She said.

I couldn’t help but hear a warning in her voice. No, more like a threat. She’d diverted from my original questions completely and I still wanted answers. Did she have so little faith in me?

“Naremi I understand your concerns, but I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. I love him. Now please, explain the ceremony to me. I’m sure I can handle it.”

She looked at me unsure for a moment before giving me an abrupt nod.

“Alright, we’ll see just how well you handle the details. On your wedding night, you and Lio will make the mating bond. From the forest pathway you will enter this sacred place, but you must enter bare-naked as the day you were born. It is symbolic of your comfort and trust with the pack and our king.”

My eyes widened momentarily out of shock and Naremi hiked her eyebrow sternly.

“Sorry, continue.” I said.

“I was about to mention that the bond must be made on the night of the full moon for it to work. Lio gains more power and strength when the moon is full, as does his pack. The extra power boost will aid him in making the bond between you. Now, back to what I was saying before. You will enter this place bare, but you will find us here bare as well. We will shift into our true forms and hunt that night as per our tradition. It will also be in celebration of your union. The difference the ceremony makes on the full moon is that after the hunt, we spend the night in wolf form keeping watch for anyone who may have the idea to harm you. It is vital to keep you safe after the bond is made and I will tell you why in a minute.” She said hopping up on the large stone and crossing her legs.

“Now, once you reach the ceremonial stone here, Lio will be standing right where I am waiting for you. The Tembikai Pokok Strawberi fruit will be picked for you and Lio to consume before the bond is made. After the sacred fruit is eaten, Lio will make love to you atop this ceremonial stone before the eyes of our pack. At the peak of your pleasure he will place his mark upon you, and you will be nearing the final step to becoming his Teman Sejiwa.”

She said smiling at the end of her sentence. I was still frozen on the part where she mentioned that Lio and I would be…’Together’ in front of his entire pack.

My hands covered my face for a moment while I took slow, deep breaths.

“Are you going to be alright, Astraia?” Naremi finally asked, concerned.

I took my hands away from my face and looked up at her.

“We have to have s*x in front of everyone? How can I even begin to prepare myself for that Naremi? I’ve never even had s*x in front of a camera. I can barely stand seeing all of your people walk around nude.” I said

Naremi shook her head before hopping down from the ceremonial stone. She came and sat down beside me and I gave her my full attention.

“Do you really love him, Astraia?” She asked.

“Yes, I really do love him, Naremi. I love him more than I’ve ever loved any man.”

She nodded.

“Well then, nothing should get in the way of you doing what you need to do to become Lio’s mate for life. The way he looks at you, treats you…To him? You’re all he’s ever wanted. Don’t let your doubts and fears ruin what you have, because you can only find a love like this once in this life Astraia.”

She said, placing her hand on my shoulder.

She was right, but that didn’t stop me from feeling more hesitant than I already had been. Could I really do this? Could I take all modesty and throw it out the window in the name of love? It seemed like a huge gamble, but Lio really could be the one. I didn’t want to risk losing him because of fear.

As the day moved on, Naremi began teaching me about some of the customs, the meanings of specific gestures, and important things to remember during pack meetings. After those things she went into statuses and ranks within the pack, the importance of touch between pack members and what certain ones meant. She briefly went over pack law and much more. I thought my head would explode but by the end of the day, I had a better understanding of Lio’s people.

Everything was surrounding their wolf side but some aspects of their customs were very human. They never lost their humanity; they just aren’t as attached to it as humans are.