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87. Cherish
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The Beta's Prize 88. Cherish
Finally after days of manic preparation and everyone involved being close to exhaustion the full moon was almost upon us. The town square, a collection of wooden buildings and cobbled streets with a traditional well in the middle was a throbbing sea of people. The crowds were enormous. Luckily we had Jackson, his huge voice guided the proceedings as Ivan and I had to sit there like statues. There was a full ritual to be followed for starting a Pack. Ivan had to offer his blood into a dish, a small nick made into his wrist which he tried not to wince at. The blood flowed quickly, splattering into the bowl with a sound that sent both of us spinning back into the world of the Cage and its violence. Somehow the whole place smelt of apples, it turns out that apple orchards surround the town of Cragstone. /Meant to be/ purred Halo, the apple-scented man we adored having his scent amplified wherever we went during harvest season. With the bowl the town elders were brought forward and aske
The Beta's Prize 89. Ivan
Thank the heavens for Cherish because my mind has just been blown. Did I, or did I not just see an entire tree emerge out of a well, growing and expanding to the size of an ancient, centuries old landmark? I'm meant to know what's going on but I'm as dumbstruck as every tiny child gasping and pointing, not quite daring to touch the tree. I have never seen such a demonstration of the Moon Goddess, it has never been refrred to in any of the history books. It was beyond breathtaking. I may need to question every single person here to make sure I haven’t hallucinated the whole thing. As Cherish clears her throat my eyes are drawn to her. In her deep emerald green gown, her hair plaited and twisted into an intricately regal style. She kept insisting I had changed, grown more stately in my manner but she didn’t realise she had done the same. Our mate-bond could have suffered as we both rapidly evolve into these new roles but we have stuck together, kept close and honest and here we are.
The Beta's Prize 90. Ivan
Jackson approached, glasses of wine in hand, “what a night Alpha Ivan, Luna Cherish,” although I almost spilt my drink as Cherish squealed and grabbed at my sleeve. “Look, look here comes Penelope!” “Where is her brunette friend?” Jackson murmured and I had to shrug my shoulders in ignorance. All of us on the podium watched as the pretty blonde in the navy dressed weaved her way past man after man. “You know she hasn’t said a word since we rescued her,” Jackson muttered worriedly. “Just wait,” Cherished breathed, her hand on her heart. I don’t know if she knew but we all studied Kharkov as she stepped ever closer towards him. He didn’t look to be enjoying himself, his eyes to the sky, uncomfortably moving from left to right. As Penelope approached her eyes were fixed on him, not on any of the other men she was not connecting with. His huge shoulders made him stand out in the line-up. We heard more squeals of “Mate!” from the other row but nothing was distracting Penelope now. The c
The Beta's Prize 91. Cherish
I found Violent having a little cry in one of the inns. She was being comforted by Martha, stroking her brown hair softly. I had missed her travelling down the other line of dancers, so caught up in watching Penelope’s bond with Kharkov. so many young woman around her had found a mate and she had felt useless. “Has the Moon Goddess just decided I am too fucked up to deserve a mate?” Violet sobbed into Martha’s lap, the mint green darkening with damp patches of tears. “Hush dear there was a whole line of men you did not dance with tonight.” “I don’t know why I got my hopes up. I stayed away from that line because some of the men there were ones who used to visit the hellhole we were caged in.” I let out a soft gasp at the realisation. Maybe I did have rose-tinted glasses regarding mate-bonds and love. Perhaps being endlessly bound to another soul for eternity is not the happy experience I have known so far. There is always the chance one's mate could be a poor character, a brute or
The Beta's Prize 92. Ivan
Eight weeks have flown by. We are almost in a routine. There are established meetings, briefings and we are slowly learning as much as we can about our new home. Another full moon has passed around our huge apple tree at the centre of Cragstone. We have plans in place to rotate the full moon dances from town to town so everywhere benefits from the limelighht. It gives us a chance to make contact with all of the south and central regions too. Right now we have left our lovely packhouse at Cragstone behind and are in the deepest south of the region. We have come so far south some areas had not even heard of the newly formed pack though they knew of the Cage and Ivan the Inferno. Now we travelled, not just as the Battalion but with ecstatic village elders from every major town we found no resistance. People seemed nostalgic to be part of a pack again, even those that may have left due to upset or bad behaviour in their youth. It was a pack of second chances. But behind closed doors J
The Beta's Prize 93. Cherish
Bella, Lucien and their children were just so charming. Their happiness radiated, lifting us all. Even so I had worries on my mind that distracted me from fully enjoying my time with them. Violet had shied away from the last Full Moon celebrations completely, terrified of being mated to a man who had abused her in the past. No amount of consoling or gentle persuasion could convince her that the Moon Goddess would surely not be so cruel. Tonight she wore my old maroon dress, her brown hair bobbing through the crowd along with those distinctively green cat-shaped eyes. She donned gloves to keep herself private and unmolested. She reminded me of myself back at the start of my time in the Cage. So afraid of the world, assuming every man, even Ivan was out to maim me. So there was no rush. She could wear her gloves as long as she wanted. Martha kept me updated on both her and Penelope. Thankfully Penelope had fully regained her voice, as confirmed by the lusty moans we all heard roarin
The Beta's Prize 94. Cherish
I grasped Ivan’s hand, forcing myself to step away and not interrupt their moment. Unlike the timid blue-eyed Penelope and Kharkov theirs was not an instant heated connection. Like a tango they seemed to dance around each other, each sizing the other up. “Mate,” Lyon said again, softer, more gentle than the first time as I noticed his eyes were almost entirely ruby red. It should have been quite the terrifying sight but Violet slowly started smiling, placing her hand towards Lyon’s. He ducked his curly black head of hair down and slowly, gently peeled away the long elbow-length gloves she had been wearing for so many weeks. As her skin made contact with his fingers both of them gasped. Their connection was growing every second. Lyon’s whole world had suddenly expanded to accommodate another person within. Perhaps now he was ready to be part of this pack. Even in White Forest people like Bella could not start again. Saving both the Alpha and Luna’s life had not been enough for them
The Beta's Prize 95. Ivan
If I felt pressure to be a good leader and make the Shadowlands safe before, knowing Cherish was bringing our child into the world only sent it skyrocketing. She had joked she wouldn’t need any rest, lots of exercise. She was unfortunately wrong as within a week of having her pregnancy confirmed she was ruthlessly ill. The remaining human elements of her body struggled with the demands of a shifter pregnancy with the severity of her nausea leaving her stuck in the packhouse. She had the company of Martha, Penelope, and Violet. Martha told us not to worry, though Cherish would be able to carry our baby it was still an extreme experience for her body to go through. Still, she looked immaculate, snuggled under the white covers as the dawning sun peeped through the curtain, a pale lilac cotton nightdress on. Sat in the crook of my arm, her fingers lazily trailed up and down my bare chest, toying with my chest hair. Every breath I took had that gorgeous hint of berries, if she wasn’t so p
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