Between 2 worlds: where the moon finds me

"She isn't coming, Lucas," someone called out from behind the crowd, his voice crackling mid-way. Whispers began to erupt. It had been almost an hour, and everyone else was present except his mate, Aria. "He's greedy. If not, how does he expect her to carry on with this ceremony?" In their eyes lay emotions... emotions Lucas hated to be associated with. The guests scoffed and scowled at him. He even caught a whimper of someone calling him "an excuse for a werewolf." "Selfish bastard," a pup screamed across the room—obviously, he had heard it from all the insults hurled at Lucas all night. That was the last straw. A lump formed in his throat as he climbed down from the altar. All he did was love his mate. Now here he was, abandoned by the one he never imagined life without. He felt tears well behind his eyes. It was bad enough that everyone would now remember him as the first rejected male mate; he wasn't about to add more spice to that memory by crying. --- "Ria, what are you going to do now?" Cassie asked, her voice breaking the silence that had lingered after the priest delivered the message from the Moon Goddess. Aria stared into the distance, her face expressionless. They hadn't heard from the Moon Goddess in forever, and now, out of the blue, a message from her. Cassie moved to touch her, but her hand froze in the air when Aria's voice—firm and smooth—followed, though she didn't look at her as she spoke. "I have to go." Cassie's face fell. Her eyes blurred with forming tears as she fixed her gaze on the moist, muddy sand of the cave floor. "What if you don't return? What about Lucas?" Cassie's lips quivered. "My people need me, and I believe Lucas would understand that." Aria turned back into her tent, leaving Cassie at the entrance. Every pup in the pack—including Cassie—knew the story. The story of the war that had driven them into hiding for the past ten years. The same war that took their parents when Aria was just six months old. Aria walked back out. Cassie stood there, face bowed. Her elder sister's sword was strapped around her waist, and a bow hung over her shoulders. "I'm heading to the training ground," Aria muttered and walked on without waiting for a response. Finally, she had a chance to give her people freedom and a place to call home. She would do whatever it took—or die trying. She thought this as the distance between her and her sister stretched. Beside tents, pups sat next to their mothers, eyes hollow from hunger. Her heart lurched. Her parents would want her to do this, for sure. But what about Lucas? Her eyes were sunken by the time she reached the training field, her sword stabbing absently at the dummies. Every arrow she shot missed the bullseye. Enough to convince her it was useless to train on a day like this. She grunted, plucking her arrows from the darts as she made to leave. "Going somewhere?" Lucas held a mischievous grin, walking into the open field from behind a tall rock. "Hey," she smiled weakly. "Tough crowd," he smirked. "This sure can't be how excited you feel about our mating ceremony tonight." He chuckled. Aria raised her gaze to meet his. Those ocean-turquoise eyes that gave her strength in weak moments. That carried comfort and warmth. She let her gaze fall to the fallen feathers from the dummy she had tortured earlier. "Something came up." The words flowed from her lips barely above a whisper, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes as she traced lines in the sand. A string of tension rent the air. Lucas's aura shifted from cheerful to something Aria hated to be a part of. "Is this about the priest's message?" Lucas asked, breaking the silence. She raised a brow. "Everyone's been talking about it," he added calmly, closing the distance between them. Aria nodded. His hands dropped softly onto her shoulders. "You must refuse, Ria. Let another go in your stead... We've waited so long for this moment." He reached for her palms, soft as though they'd never held a sword a single day, massaging above them slowly with his thumb. "I can't wait to start forever with you... I love you..." "But my people need me," Aria cut him off mid-sentence. "Nobody survives outside those gates, Aria." His grip tightened around her wrist. "There's no telling how desperately I need you too, Ria." He leaned in closer, his lips grazing her ear, sending hot chills down Aria's spine. "The Moon Goddess chose me because I'm royalty and I'm pure... No one else can replace me," she whispered back. His voice turned hoarse. "Then let me have you, here and now... That's our chance to stay together." She swallowed hard. He pressed her against his chest. "I want to be inside you." Her hairs stood at his voice. His lips slid down to her neck. "I want to taste you." "Lucas... stop." Her frail attempt at protesting betrayed her. She wanted this too. She had imagined a lot of nasty things with Lucas, and now she begged for strength from the Moon Goddess. He reached for her breast, squeezing gently as he worked his way to her throbbing n*****s. "I've waited long enough. I can't wait anymore, Ria." She pushed him back—hard. "Not now." Her voice quivered, her body still burning from his touch. She sprinted out of the field. "I'll be waiting for you at the pack square tonight!" he called out. She exhaled repeatedly as she made her way to the priest's tent, trying to soothe the flame that burned between her legs. Her steps slowed instinctively as she heard voices whispering behind Priest Enzo's tent. "I don't think she's ready. Her mating ceremony with Lucas, the Gamma Ralph's son, is tonight," an elder—probably Elder Fasek, if she had to guess—whispered to the rest. She rolled her eyes. "Like he actually cares." "Can't the Moon Goddess choose someone else? She's a woman, after all," another elder blurted out, throwing caution to the wind. She grunted—loud, louder than she had intended. A pause followed. No use hiding now, she thought. They already knew someone was lurking in the shadows. "There I was, thinking I was trusted by my pack members," she said, stepping into the circle of elders, her voice stinging deep into their skin. Right there in the center, the priest sat, his aura presiding over the rest. The elders turned their eyes away from her direction almost immediately. "What do you want, child?" Priest Enzo's voice was calm—too calm for someone in a meeting that spoke against her. Aria glared at the elders. The priest raised his hand in the air, flicking his fingers dismissively. Each elder bowed to the priest and Aria, stumbling over each other as they made to leave. The last elder gone, Aria dragged a seat closer to Priest Enzo. "I want directions. I have questions." Her tone was firm, undeniably careless of long, unnecessary conversations. "I have nothing more to say, child." He continued, "The Bloodstone is in the Trifite Tree on the east side of the forest." His eyes found hers, his gaze softening. "It's not going to be easy, child. Are you sure you can do this?" Aria searched Priest Enzo's eyes. The man who became the governing power after the death of her parents. In his eyes, she saw belief, hope, and something that smothered the fear beginning to form in her heart. "I can do anything I set my mind to, Priest. You should know me well enough by now." She didn't miss a beat. Priest Enzo nodded. "Prepare, child. By dusk tonight, we shall begin the procession ritual." "Dusk?" Her jaw dropped. The priest, shocked by the strain in her voice, glanced briefly at her. "Yes, dusk," he repeated, now stretching back in his chair, signaling the end of their conversation. Aria stood, dazed. Her stomach twisted for what felt like forever before she finally mustered enough strength to walk back to her kid sister, who was probably weak from crying all day. "Cas, love, come join me." Aria poured the wine liquid she had just returned with into round plates. Cassie sat at the edge of their sleeping bag, sniffling quietly. Aria walked over to her, her fingers scuffling Cassie's hair. "You really don't want me to leave, do you?" She nodded, pouting her lips. Aria chuckled. Handing her a plate, "It'll be fine." Cassie took a gulp, peeking above the plate at Aria after each sip, her eyes laced with fear—fear that if she let Aria out of her sight, she'd disappear. Aria felt a lump form in her chest. "When will we head to the pack square?" Cassie asked, now holding an empty plate. Aria shifted to the side of her room where she kept her weapons and began gathering them, ignoring Cassie's question. Cas stared, contemplating whether it was normal to carry weapons to a mating ceremony. Her eyes falt ered. "Aria, I'm feeling dizzy." She muttered weakly. Aria glanced at her quickly. "It'll be over soon," she cooed. A tear slipped from Cassie's eyes as they gave way to darkness. "Don't leave me, Sis."