Chapter 2 | Coronation Ceremony

~Nyla~

By 5 AM the next morning, every dressing room in the palace was cluttered with hair and makeup products. The Omegas were hustling around while Skylar and Maya fussed about spa soaks and wraps in flowers and seaweeds.

Maya was like me, not a human or a werewolf. Wyatt found her the same day he found me and agreed to take her in when I asked him to. Having her around was like having a piece of my home with me. To the outsiders, she was a rude, violent woman who wouldn't waste a second snapping their heads off. Wyatt never liked her around me. But she was different with me, she loved me and put me before her own needs or safety. I would do the same for her.

"Our soon-to-be Luna Queen will get a full body treatment." She said to the girls who were ready to pamper me.

"No scented oils and all, please. I feel nauseous." I told them before closing my eyes. 

Ever since I woke up, I have been feeling the jitters. Probably I wasn't ready for the responsibilities that came with the Luna Queen title. Or maybe I wasn't after all ready for this wolf pup growing inside me. Whatever it was, I wanted this mild panic attack to go away soon.

While the girls did all the work, I dozed off in exhaustion. Wyatt and I stayed up all last night thinking about how our lives were going to change. He was more than ready to claim his father's title and was extremely excited and wouldn't stop talking. His mother came knocking at our door at the crack of dawn while we were still talking.

After two hours of scrubbing, cleaning up, manicures and pedicures, Maya and Skylar took turns to annoy the pack's top hairstylist about what hairdo would look best on me for the occasion.

"I already know how I want my hair done," I interrupted them and pointed to my dress, "That dress will look best if my hair is straightened out to longer waves. I am bored with tight curls anyway. And those heavy updos give me a headache." I seemed to struggle a lot with smells and headaches this month.

"As you say, Your Majesty," Skylar grinned.

"I am so excited about this dress!" Maya squealed and brought it for me to put on.

I wondered what Wyatt was going to wear. He looked darn hot in his crisp shirts and impeccable suits. I was sure he would look equally dazzling today in the traditional wear as well.

"Oh, wow!" I exclaimed, along with Skylar and Maya, when I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I guess we look our best when we are happy and smiling, but with this dress and makeup, anyone would look gorgeous. I was proud of my hair that hung like a dark river, touching my waist. The wispy ringlets around my face and the subtle highlights on the top looked too perfect.

"I love this, Kylee! Thank you so much." I hugged the Omega who did such a fantastic job with my hair. 

She was a human, just like many other Omegas in the pack. Wyatt told me that sometimes the pups don't inherit the werewolf gene, despite having two werewolf parents. Such pups were weaker, even with good training, and fell terribly short in strength and speed when fighting against werewolves and vampires. If they didn't turn by the age of thirteen, which was the age to confirm for sure that they lacked the gene, they were assigned Omega tasks.

Kylee had become more than just my hairstylist. She was my guide to help me understand the human ways. I learned a lot from her about the human's ability to hear and smell and how it compared to an alpha versus an omega wolf.

Apparently, the alphas didn't just have superior training or strength, they also had a stronger sense of hearing and smell than the other wolves. I was really poor at remembering these things, despite seeing how Wyatt could hear someone talk at the palace entrance while we were dining in the Great Hall at times.

I wasn't just poor at remembering so many details. I was also not very good at fighting or using weapons. Maya and I started training with the pack warriors the day Wyatt accepted me as his mate. I was too scared of the speed at which the weapons moved. It was hard to pick something new after living for twenty-two years as a completely different entity.

That wasn't the case with Maya. She was strong and fast, and she took Wyatt by surprise when she fought and won a duel just two weeks after starting her training.

"I think you can also be as fast and strong if Maya is your kind and managed to learn so quickly. You just need confidence and rest will take care of itself with some hard work."

With his encouragement and Maya's support, I did get better over the months, but I was still not as good as her. She picked new skills every month and turned into a killing machine in half a year. Now, even Beta Vance fears her abilities and keeps asking Wyatt if she was really a human as she claims to be.

"Snap out of it!" Skylar shook me lightly, complaining about my recent tendency to drift off into thoughts too often.

"You two look so pretty! We are rocking these traditional outfits," I said.

"Let's take a picture," Skylar said, grabbing her phone.

"We look so colorful. Am I not a little too flashy in this yellow?" Maya cringed at herself when looking at our selfie. She was never happy with her selfies. Skylar and I knew very well our words of assurance were wasted on her, but we still tried.

"You look fabulous, woman!" Skylar said.

"And this edgy asymmetric haircut suits you really well. So badass and beautiful at the same time," I added. She was convinced for a moment before finding something else to complain about.

"But this neck is plunging too deep, don't you think?" She asked me.

"It's called a plunging neckline. Hello? You wanted a sexy 'plunging' neckline dress, remember?!" She did not care about going traditional when shopping for a dress.

Skylar, on the other hand, walked out of the room confidently in her halter-neck mermaid dress in pear green. The color of her clear blue eyes popped out, and those ash blonde locks were so fine and glossy. She was as gorgeous as her brother.

My dress and the finished look were supposed to be a surprise for Wyatt, but I think he already knew I would be wearing purple. It was my favorite color. I stopped wearing it too often only because he mocked my lingerie, calling them a little too purple.

Well, he would forget all about the color when he sees how hot this dress is. I had my doubts about pulling off a sexy dress during the last month of pregnancy, but not anymore. An ornately embroidered high-waisted dress with sheer full sleeves and multiple tulle layers that pour into a huge, flowing splash of purple and gray. 

"Absolutely stunning!" The Queen smiled warmly and took my hands into hers as I walked out of the dressing room.

She froze the next moment, and so did Skylar.

"What's wrong?" The expression on their faces scared me.

"Got a mindlink from Wyatt. The pack borders have been attacked by the Storm Moon Pack. He had to leave." The Queen responded.

"He said not to worry as it could be a false alarm," Skylar assured me.

Attack by the Storm Moon Pack. The name sent chills down my spine. It was only last night that Wyatt told me about them. 

"Nyla...!" Maya wrapped her arm around me as I leaned against the pillar for support.

"I think my water just broke."