THARGELIA FESTIVAL (MOON RITUALS)
Amanda’s POV
It was the custom of the twelve packs in the Wolf Kingdom of Calabar to gather yearly precisely during the wolf moon. The wolf moon falls on the seventeenth day in January.
It was an auspicious month and everyone looked forward to it. Our ancestors believed that when we honor the gods, they would bless the land, and protect our territories from attacks from other supernatural kingdoms and human hunters. Most wolves find their mates on these auspicious days, infertile couples are blessed and the festival also unites the twelve-packs and prevents hostility amongst them.
However, out of the twelve packs, only eleven packs participate in the festival. The only pack that did not join the festival was the Shadow pack. They stopped being a part of the festival since Alpha Blake took over as alpha of the shadow pack, he stopped attending the events with his subordinates. No one questioned his decision because he was feared and there was some rumor that he did black magic which no one could prove.
The Alpha of the other packs unanimously tried to avoid the shadow pack and Alpha Blake no one wanted to openly challenge him, they all feared starting a war with his pack. The shadow pack was the strongest among the twelve packs. It was believed that Alpha Blake had no fear of the gods, while some said he was the devil, others believed he was up to no good. But, no one dared to confirm if the rumor was true or false.
However, the shadow pack's lack of involvement did not stop the other eleven packs from observing the festival, in fact, every year the success rate of the festival becomes higher. We also rotated where the ceremony would be held. To allow every pack to act as a host
This year the Blue Moon pack which is also my pack will be hosting the Festival. The ceremony usually starts two days before the main event. The main event is the Luna ceremony where mated wolves are marked, we also perform some liberation on the mated and marked couple which binds them more together. It is believed that the liberation liquid poured on the couple is the blood of a year-old lamb with no defects mixed with some rare herbs.
After the two days ceremony which is marked in each pack. The packs would appoint some delegates to represent them at the main ceremony. The delegates sent must include the Alpha and his beta, some of the high-ranked officials, and a few low-ranked members, also included, are the wolves that have reached mating age but are not yet mated. The age you are expected to find the scent of your mate is usually eighteen and above, then all those selected in each pack would now make a trip to the Pack chosen for the main ritual.
Firstly the night before the Thargelia ritual, the luna ceremony would take place. It was the only day chosen for the alphas to mark their lunas. The alpha cannot mark his Luna on any other day, the rule also applied to the female alpha too. The luna would then be presented to the wolf Kingdom, it was important as the lunas had huge responsibilities to the packs too.
During the Luna ceremony, other mated wolves can also mark their mates but only after the alpha must have marked his Luna except on occasions where there is no alpha getting mated.
The Luna ceremony was something we all looked forward to in the kingdom. Especially if the alpha is marking his mate and this year an Alpha male would be marking an Alpha female for the first time since almost a century ago.
This year's Luna celebration was supposed to be mine. I was supposed to be marked by Alpha Williams during the ceremony, but unfortunately, it was canceled at the last minute.
I am now left with the duty to announce before the Gathering that the ceremony would not be taking place. The thing about this year's Luna ceremony was this since two alphas were involved, it was decided that no other couples would be marking their mates. It was once in a lifetime occurrence and the council in charge of the ceremony decided that only Alpha Williams and I would be the sole celebrant.
I shudder to think of what my fate will be tonight. To announce the cancellation at such last minute.
“ I curse you, William,” I murmured to myself as I made my way toward the Auditorium where the ceremony was scheduled.
Everyone had already arrived and was seated in their allocated seats. I missed their arrival because I was nursing my broken heart but now I have to face my worst fear.
As I walked into the hall, everyone stood as an act of respect for me since they were all gathered in my territory, except for Dimitri who remained seated and smirked at me as I walked past him. He was a good friend of Alpha William and I knew he would stand by his friend. I never got along with him even when I was still betrothed to William, now that we have broken up I wonder what he has planned for me. He never hid his hatred for me but openly challenged me whenever he was near.
I try to keep my head high, pretending Not to hear the murmuring going around in the hall. As soon as I got to my seat and sat down, every other person did the same. As the alpha of the Blue Moon pack where the ceremony was taking place, I was expected to make a speech and declare the event open.
Even though I was unsure of myself I stood up to make my speech “It is my pleasure as the alpha of the Blue Moon pack to welcome you all to this year's ceremony. On behalf of myself, my father, the council members, and my subordinates I declare the event open.”
Everyone clapped except for a few. “What is the purpose of tonight's event, Alpha Amanda?” I heard Dimitri shout
I turned to him, confused by his statement.
“Don't act as if you don't know what I'm talking about, you were supposed to be having your Luna ceremony tonight, and alpha William is nowhere in the crowd. so tell us what is happening.” he rose from his seat and stared down at me.
I hated this fool, how could he be so malicious, he did not even pretend to wait for some time before challenging me. Forcing a smile, I said, “It has been canceled.” I took a deep breath "Alpha William and I are no longer a couple."
There was a hush sound in the hall immediately followed by everyone talking at once.
“How can you be the alpha when you cannot keep a man,” Dimitri said with a loud voice. "This is beyond ridiculous, a female alpha ruling over a pack." He mocked
“Enough of your nonsense Dimitri. Amanda is still the alpha and you are a guest here.” my father shouted at him. He always got my back and today he made it known again.
“She is not doing a good job then. Your pack has the highest number of females and most are unmated." Dimitri challenged
“And so what, they are more trained warriors than most men. And you know that it is the goddess that chooses a mate for every one of us." my father was infuriated, I could hear the strain in his voice.
“We could still allow those that have found their mates to perform their marking ceremony today even though we had not planned on it, it can still be done. Getting rejected is not foreign to us. It can happen to anyone” Alpha Czar said, his pack was the black forest pack and he was the only alpha that took Dimitri in even though he was rogue, giving him a place to live.
“That is a good idea”, an elder in my pack said. I could see the relief on their faces to have to shut Dimitri up and save my pack from the shame my broken engagement caused them.
The unmarked mates were called out and asked if they would like to take part in the Luna ceremony. Two pairs accepted immediately while another pair rejected the offer since their families were not around to witness it happen.
“ What a waste of time.” Dimitri shouted, “Seems you want to distract us from how alpha Amanda is unable to take care of her pack. Just to save face, you want your guests to mark their mates on the day set aside for Amanda. If there is an unforeseen attack, tell me how she will be able to defend her pack against it.” he sneered at me.
“ Are you challenging me to a fight?” I asked angrily.
“ And if I was,” Dimitri smirked. “Anyway, I won't waste my time fighting a woman who can barely find a mate.”
Quick laughter erupted around us. From the corner of my eyes, I saw my father flinch.
I drew out my sword and took a fighting stance. I was not going to allow Dimitri to troll me and disregard my father, and my pack's honor.
“Fight!, fight! fight!..” the voices around us roared.
“You will regret ever asking for his.” Dimitri barked at me.
I glanced at my father, worried that I might have taken the wrong step. my father always warned me about my quick temper. But he gave me a nod of approval, this boosted my morale even though I knew Dimitri as a rogue had a better experience and a better chance to win, I would not give up without a fight.
We left the hall and I went into the field, the rest of the guests formed a circle around us. I could see the lust for blood in some of them and I knew they wanted mine, not his. I attacked first, gave Dimitri a blow with the tip of my sword, and felt satisfied when his lips started to bleed.
“Is that the best you can do?” He wiped the blood away with his hand and howled.
I lurched forward and tore his arm with my sword.
His smile disappeared and he struck me hard, and I fell flat on my buttocks. I felt dizzy and tried to focus.
“What a loser, you are not worthy to rule yourself, talk more of a pack.”
“No wonder alpha William rejected her.” someone said in the crowd
“She is weak and ugly.” I heard a lady say, and her friends giggled loudly.
Unable to bear the shame, I ran as fast as I could into the woods, blinded by the tears streaming down my face,
SACRED FORESTBlake’s POVMy name is Blake McCullough, the Alpha of the shadow moon pack. I took over from my father as the alpha of our pack at the age of nineteen after my father's sudden death from a heart attack.I had to leave everything and come back home to take up my duty as the leader of the pack. As the only son of my father and his direct heir, I was duty-bound to return whether I wanted out or not. However, I could relinquish my position and the council of elders would appoint someone else to take over, someone that has shown great leadership skills and is very honorable.But, I was not about to give up on being alpha. I had great plans and a vision for my pack and that was the reason why I left for the city at the age of fourteen, almost a year after I shifted for the first time.My father had not agreed with my decision to leave and this caused lots of problems for us. I did not want to leave without his blessings so I involved his council of elders. I explained in detai
MAKE ME YOUR LUNAAmanda's povI could not believe what I was saying. It felt weird asking Alpha to make me his Luna, I was a more traditional person who believed the man should do the asking and wooing. But here I was proposing to this man whom I barely knew personally except for all I have heard through rumors and grapevines as a notorious werewolf who was brutal, evil, and could kill anyone at will.However, I stood staring at him, I liked him a lot, and I did not feel any darkness emit from him as I usually did around Dimitri. I was convinced that he was my second chance mate, even my wolf was acting weird around him. Did he feel the same about me, I could not tell if he did."You are joking right." Alpha Blake said snapping me out of my reverie. "You don't look like someone bold enough to ask a man out, talk more of making proposals." He smirked."I would do anything for my pack even sacrificing myself," I replied. It was more than just saving my pack from humiliation, I also had
SHE IS MINENARRATOR’S POVWilliam could not bear the thought that Amanda wants to have nothing to do with him anymore. Just thinking about it made him angry, she had never said no to him before, Amanda had always been the dutiful girlfriend any man could have asked for. This made it more difficult to accept her decision to break up permanently with him. Earlier on, when Marcus brought the message that Amanda was rejecting him as her mate, he had called it a bluff. because he always believed that she would always wait for him no matter what. But the more he thought about it, the more worried he became. As the female warrior that she was, other alphas and elites in other packs would also want to have her as a mate and he was not ready to let her go. The council of elders in William's pack insisted that he will go back to The Blue Moon Pack where the festival will be held, they said that he had to apologize to Amanda and her pack members, especially her father, and then reclaim
CANCELLED?Amanda stormed out of the hall, her anger radiating with each step she took. The weight of disappointment and humiliation she had faced in these few days weighed heavily on her shoulders. She hated that Alpha William had the guts to come back after what he had done to her and worst he demands that she marries him not bothering to apologize for what he had put her through. Worst he followed her as she walked out of the hall shouting and insisting she calms down."Amanda, stop acting like a child, let's talk," William said, his voice filled with desperation.Amanda turned around, her eyes blazing with fury. "Talk? What more is there to say, William? You humiliated me in front of everyone!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with anger.William took a step closer, his tone filled with remorse. "I didn't mean for it to go this way, Amanda. Everything happened so fast and I had to cancel. It is not like I said I would never marry you, I just wanted the date shifted.”“You chose
TAKING A STANDAmanda's heart pounded in her chest as she listened to alpha drake, her emotion conflicting with each minute that passed. “Amanda is my mate, and I have come to claim what is mine.There was silence everywhere before the hall erupted with murmuring and soon everyone was talking over each other as tensions flared among the pack members. Murmurs of discontent filled the air, threatening to escalate into a full-blown confrontation. The alphas from each pack present, fueled by their own pride and resentment, stood at the forefront, demanding that Alpha Drake be thrown out for his perceived disregard for tradition.Caleb, Amanda's father, stepped forward, his voice towering above others. "Enough!" he boomed, silencing the commotion momentarily. "We will not resort to violence or hasty judgments. This matter concerns my daughter and her voice shall be heard."The crowd fell into an uneasy silence, their eyes fixed on Caleb, awaiting his decision. He glanced over at Amanda, w
BATTLE FOR HERTension hung thick in the air as Alpha Drake's challenge to Alpha William re-echoed through the hall. The gathered pack members held their breath, their eyes darting between the two alphas, waiting for a response. William's gaze hardened as he assessed Drake, his animosity toward him clear. The outcome of the fight was more than just about who will become Amanda's mate, it would also determine who would become more revered in the territory, it was a fight that Alpha William could not afford to lose, and neither could he reject to fight Alpha Drake."You would put Amanda's fate on the line in a duel?" William's voice held a hint of frustration. "So be it. I accept your challenge."The murmurs of approval rippled through the crowd, with many expressing their excitement at the prospect of witnessing such a high-stakes battle. However, Marcus Alpha William’s beta Marcus mind-linked him, his expression clouded with concern."Alpha William, are you sure about this?" Marcus qu
LUNADrake's victory in the duel was met with a wave of uncertainty from the other packs and celebration from his pack members. As his eyes searched the area for Amanda, they locked onto hers. An electric current seemed to pass between them at that moment, and Amanda felt her heart skip a beat. The intensity of Drake's gaze sent shivers down her spine, and she could sense the deep connection between them.However, as quickly as their eyes met, Drake averted his gaze, leaving Amanda feeling uncertain and confused. Doubts crept into her mind. Was it just her imagination? Did he truly feel the mate bond as strongly as she did, or was she reading too much into the situation?Amanda tried to push the thoughts aside, reminding herself of the complicated circumstances they found themselves in. Drake had won the duel and proven himself as a strong and capable alpha, but their journey was far from over. The future of their packs and their struggles loomed ahead.As soon as the elders declared
MARKING HIS MATEIt was time for the Luna mark as soon as the Luna ceremony ended. The luna mark was a bite mark given by a male mate to his female mate. It was usually done in private, but since Drake and Amanda were both Alphas of their respective parks, they were expected to do it in the presence of the council of elders and their subordinates. The mark from Alpha Drake would be the physical symbol of their bond, to be sealed upon Amanda's skin. Drake tilted Amanda’s head to the right, revealing her bare neck nape.A hush fell over the hall as everyone watched, their gazes fixed upon the two figures at the center of attention. The air grew heavy with anticipation; the energy emanating from them could be felt. Alpha Drake Marking his Luna Amanda would ensure that their souls are entwined for eternity.Drake drew closer, his hand gently cupping Amanda's cheek, his touch sending a shiver down her spine. Their eyes locked, conveying a depth of emotion that words alone could never capt