The Phoenix Wolf and his Luna

The Ritual

Fallon’s POV

I stared at what could only be Broadway’s brother. He was tall, really tall, with heterochromia. Interesting, I had never seen a wolf with it, one eye was brown and the other green. His suit was tailored to fit his body, even through the black jacket I could see the muscles that lined his arms.

He stood confused as he looked at me. I knew it was because he could barely get my scent. I wasn’t a rogue, so I still had some. I didn’t know that until I met Broadway. I was just banished from the pack grounds, not the pack, so my scent was just muted. My wolf was pushing me to go to him, be marked and mate right here in the office, but my own body was frozen.

The last time I had uttered the words I was rejected, cut in the face, and my family abandoned me. I had hoped I would never have to go through this again, but here we were. No way would an Alpha want me. My best friend hadn’t spoken to me since last night. Why would he? Not to mention my face. It was always a joke when I went to law school. Even Logan had a fun little nickname for me.

“Fallon Denai Singh,” I finally said. “Of the Mercury pack.”

The man furrowed his eyebrows looking at Broadway, who just shrugged.

“Alpha Cillian Geoff Donahue of Titan pack.”

My eyes went huge. I turned to look at Broadway, who scrunched his face in embarrassment. We never told each other our pack names, and he never mentioned the fact that his brother was one of the richest wolves in the US. I mean I knew he had connections, especially after meeting Nat, but this took it to a whole new level. It also explained why he never talked about his father.

“Let’s get this over with.” I closed my eyes and braced myself for the pain of rejection. At this point, I would definitely just die. There was no point, no wolf could survive two rejections.

“Get what over with?” Cillian asked. I could hear the anger in his voice.

I opened my eyes to find three men all staring at me. Vlad had a small smile on his face, Broadway was glaring at his brother, and Cillian was shaking his head trying to control his wolf.

“You’re going to reject me, right? So, you need my full name and my pack. You have it. Can we get this over with? I’ve got to go release my family’s spirits.”

Vlad groaned but didn’t say anything. He was already upset to hear that Frankie had pinned me to the truck and it took a lot of coaxing to get him to keep from going to kill my brother. He was strong enough.

“I’m not rejecting you… do you... do you want to reject me?” Cillian’s face dropped.

I shook my head. I would never put myself through that kind of pain, nor wish that kind of pain on anyone. He stepped closer, pushing my hair from my face. His eyes flashed silver as he looked over my face, his eyes landed on my scar. My skin heated when he dipped down to brush his lips over the jagged skin.

I heard Vlad and Broadway leave the room. Cillian kept his eyes locked on mine. Our wolves had already begun forming a bond. I could feel his strength and fear already. Or maybe my own fear was creeping into it. After what felt like hours, Vlad came back to tell us of the ceremony. I was already dressed in my white clothes, Vlad had changed. I knew Noe would be meeting us there with the kids. That was a conversation I wasn’t ready to have.

Alpha Cillian kept his hand on the small of my back, letting me lead the way to the clearing where we would burn the bodies of pack members. I hadn’t been to a ceremony in years. The last one I attended was when I was a kid and there was an attack. We lost five warriors that day. I wanted to complain, not really understanding what was going on. Now I wish I had that innocence back, and never felt the loss.

Alpha James spoke the ritual words, purifying their bodies. I held hands with Vlad holding one torch, while Noe and Raelynn held the other. We locked eyes as we lowered the torches. The calming smell of rosemary, mint and holly filled the clearing. I leaned into Vlad, knowing I would fall to the ground as I watched the people who had loved me and protected me burn. Their spirits were guided by the smoke to find the heavens, but that did nothing for me.

I felt someone lift me into their arms, my body falling deeper into the comfort of the warmth. I couldn’t see anything but blurs through the tears, and the deep rumbles that came from the warm body. There was arguing, but I couldn’t hear it. I just wanted to sleep. I turned my head into the vibrating chest and inhaled the scent. It was oddly sweet like the citrus tea that Harvey always made when we were very stressed from school. My wolf loved it. It was Cillian.

He set me on a bed, pulling the blankets up to my chin, and an instant later I was asleep.

Ian’s POV

Seeing my mate almost tumble to the ground, my heart hurt. She was hurting and there was nothing I could do about it. It was a part of the ritual. Usually, the one closest to the lost soul was the most affected. She must have really loved them.

I swept her into my arms, loving how well her small body warmed my heart. I was walking to the packhouse when a man with black curls and dark brown skin stepped in front of me. His square face held hatred, and his deep gray eyes reminded me of my mate. Maybe he was her father, or uncle.

“Alpha, there is an escort waiting to take her back to her apartment. She is not allowed on pack grounds. We made an exception for the ceremony, but now it is time to send her back.” He tried to be respectful, but everything about him pissed me off.

“Who are you to tell me, an Alpha, what I can and can’t do, Wolf?” I growled out, pulling Fallon’s body closer to mine.

“Delta Devin Singh.”

There was a snicker from behind me, I knew it was Broadway, I didn’t even need to look back. The last name is what got me. Singh. Just like Fallon’s name. Was this her father? If she had parents, why was she so affected by the spell? Was his cold personality towards her the reason she was a lone wolf? I could barely get her scent, enough to recognize her as my mate, but it was muted. She smelled like raspberries and vanilla.

“As she is affected by the spell, I will watch over her, not in some apartment. I do not take too well to being told what to do. You’ll do well to remember that, Delta.”

I moved away from the Delta, continuing my way to the packhouse. When I made it to my room, I placed Fallon on my bed, tucking her into the blanket. I hadn’t slept in it, but maybe just being around me would help her wolf heal.

I sat in the chair across the large room. I was used to being up all night alone, but I had never been so excited about talking to someone. DJ padded into the room, rubbing his eyes. He was always so intuitive, no matter how late it was, he could always tell when I came home. He was so much like my sister, it frightened me. A fox.

“Daddy, who is the lady in your bed? She smells good.” He said, climbing up in my lap. I wrapped him in my arms, kissing his head.

“Do you remember what I told you about my mum?”

He nodded. I had told him about how Mum was the Luna of the pack, the mother. It was supposed to be her job to help the Alpha lead the pack, as his equal. That was the usual way. My father being the tyrant he was, he led the pack with an iron fist. Alone. Mum was nothing but his ‘breeding w***e’. He claimed she was too soft and that led to mistakes. There was no room for mistakes, and punishment would be death.

“Is she going to be our Luna, Daddy?”

I smiled, “She’s going to be whatever she wants to be.”

He snuggled in closer to me, letting out a big yawn and fell back asleep. I settled him closer to me. My family. My wolf grumbled in excitement.