Ceremony

“He is here again”, I murmured to myself as I could feel the air shift in the room. I pulled my nightgown down to cover myself as cold and warmth enveloped me in a soothing embrace. It felt like a warm blanket had been wrapped around me. He smelled faintly of dark vanilla and something musky, something warm. I could feel his breath on my skin before the bed dipped. He pulled me closer and wrapped his hands around me. I closed my eyes and waited for his soothing murmurs in my ears. “Did you miss me”? He moaned into my ears. Alora Lance has been haunted by a faceless man who visits her dreams for as long as she can remember. His touch is electric, and his presence is peaceful and intoxicating but her waking life is anything but magical. She has nothing except a leaking roof over her head and a ruthless landlord threatening eviction. Then one day, she finds herself in a mating ceremony she was not supposed to attend. One accidental step into a world that should not exist. And everything changes. Dragged into a world that doesn't make sense in real life, Alora finds herself pulled into a past she knows nothing about and the enigmatic gaze of the man that had haunted her dreams except this is not a dream, it's a nightmare she may never escape, especially when the Alpha of the Bloodfang Pack marks her with a single look. And in his eyes, she is no longer invisible. She begins to question everything about her life and her past.

Today was supposed to be my marking ceremony. Instead, it became my funeral. Eliza had run me down with her car. She dragged my broken body into the storage room. "Stay here. When the ceremony is over, I'll let you out." She wanted to take my place, to be marked by Greyson, as his Luna. Greyson loved me. But his family could never allow their precious Alpha son to marry a lowborn Omega. "Millie," murmured, his voice thick with guilt. "I have to obey my family and give them an heir first -- with Eliza. You know... she's Alpha blood. "Once the pup turns one, I'll marry you." And I marked the days one by one, counting down to our forever. He claimed it was a mere duty, but but their feverish nights suggested she was his preferred addiction. A month later, Eliza was pregnant. Ten months after that, she bore the Alpha's heir. Another twelve agonizing months dragged by, and finally, it was the day he was supposed to claim me. But now, I was lying here on the floor, my body shattered. Greyson's voice cut through the phone, sharp and impatient. "Why aren't you here yet? Haven't you been desperate to marry me?" "I've let the pup's birthday incident slide -- are you still going to sulk about it?" "If you don't show up, I'll mark Eliza instead." I wasn’t coming, Greyson. I couldn’t -- I was already dead. But he believed I was simply having a tantrum.

The scent of pine and damp earth clung to the air as the full moon created long shadows across the Ancient Clearing. Tonight, was supposed to be our marking ceremony, a sacred ritual binding Alpha Anderson and his chosen Luna before the eyes of the Frostmoon Pack. “My heart,” his gaze locked on Leah, who stood under the moonlight “has always belonged to another. My first love, the one whose spirit has been weakened by the venom of wolfsbane, is my Luna.” He drew Leah closer, his hand possessively circling her waist. Under the watchful gaze of the moon, he smiled. “Our traditions are clear,” he continued, “Only the woman who stands with me at this altar, witnessed by all, shall be my Luna. Though I had always thought that Irene was my mate which I mistakenly marked a time ago. But thanks to the goddess for making me see clearly before it was too late.” They exchanged vows beneath the trees, witnessed by the werewolves and the Moon Goddess. The silver crowns were placed, the ceremonial kiss sealed their bond. I stood hidden in the shadows of the surrounding forest. For twelve years, from the moment my wolf recognized his at eighteen until my thirtieth moon cycle, my love for Anderson had never changed. But his heart, it was clear, belonged to Leah. If that was the truth, then I would release him. He had never truly seen me, never truly cared. Yet, the act of my departure seemed to unravel him in ways I couldn’t understand.

It's my seventh year of secretly dating Liam Ferguson, my brother's friend. We're about to have our marking ceremony soon. I happily prepare for it, wanting to surprise him. However, during a gathering with friends, I accidentally overhear something. "If you ask me, there's no denying Alpha Liam's good looks and charm. To think he managed to make the Silver Snow pack's Alpha's sister his stand-in lover and bed partner!" "What are you going to do with Maya now that Nina's back, Liam? Andrew won't let you off the hook if he finds out you've been fooling around with his sister…" The following day, Liam takes me to Nina White's welcome-back party. He's gentle, considerate, and affectionate with me. His love for me seems so deep that I wonder whether I'm imagining things. Then, Nina "accidentally" spills scalding soup on my arm and runs out in tears. I'm the injured one, but she feels wronged. However, Liam shoves me aside and runs after her in a panic. I return home with a burned arm and open the door to the basement—Liam has never allowed me in there. I see Nina's photos plastered on the walls. There are even photos of them doing the deed in various positions. He looks so wild. I call Andrew with a heart full of despair. "I've made up my mind about the marriage with the Alpha heir of the Storm Tribe. I'll do it!"

Five years after I rejected my mate, Shawn, he had become the Lycan King — and most importantly, he now had a beautiful mate. During the Werewolf Alumni Reunion, someone suddenly brought me up. “What’s Kendra been busy with? She hasn’t shown up at a single reunion in years.” Someone sneered. “She’s too busy seducing alphas from other packs — on airplanes.” “On airplanes?” “Yeah. She’s a werewolf flight attendant with FullMoon Airways. They cater to alphas and lunas from all kinds of packs. I’ve seen her on board before. You wouldn’t believe how flattering she acts around those prestigious wolves.” “Really? Kendra’s a werewolf attendant? No surprise — she’s always dreamed of being claimed by some single alpha.” Hearing that, Shawn, sitting at the center of the table, flinched slightly. His fists tightened. “A werewolf attendant?” he murmured. “Yeah, Shawn... but haven’t you gotten over her by now? It’s been years.” He froze for a second, then quickly composed himself and held his mate’s hand beside him. Everyone’s attention turned to the flickering moonstone ring on her finger. “I’ve long forgotten her,” he said flatly. “Come to my bonding ceremony next month. There will be a sacred ritual at the temple.” “Wow...” Applause filled the hall. But only I, whose soul had been drifting in the air all along, slowly lowered my head upon hearing the news.

Aurora Chandrakant is the daughter of Kaven head of the royal pack warriors. When her and her twin brother were 12 years old, they both began their training with their father. All her life her dad shows her nothing but attention and love but for some reason as years goes by that her mother becomes colder to her. Every night she will have the same dream about a baby being left at the door but not only she can’t recognize anyone face, but there is no one she can ask about this dream. Prince Alexander Heinrich is the next in line for being King of the West side packs. His father is always hard on him to be the King that he is now with the packs. He’s cruel and abusive to Alexander. The packs in their kingdom don’t really care for his way of taking care of them. They meet on her first day of training with her father. The first moment Alexander see Aurora he had a feeling that she could be his mate but when she first shifts that he will be positive. Alexander tells his father of her and setting up the Luna ceremony from them to mark each other letting the pack know of her being their Luna but his father refuses it. He doesn’t care that Aurora is to his opinion a lower ranking wolf and wants Alexander to choose a female of higher ranking to be his Luna. Like Kimberly Stone daughter of the Alpha of the Black pine pack. Now Alexander must choose between his true mate or being with someone he can’t even stand to be around, but his father forces his decision to whom he will be with.

Just as the Silverwolf Pack was about to fall into ruin, Blaise Larkin approached me and asked me to be his mate. I'd had a crush on Blaise for as long as I could remember. Now that my wildest dreams were about to come true, I was happy to form a mate bond with him. As I was the sole daughter of the Eastern Pack's Alpha, I was able to provide him with a mountain of resources by becoming Blaise's mate. One month after our bonding ceremony, I was expecting a pup. I was ecstatic, but before I could share the news with Blaise, I overheard something soul-shattering. "I wonder who fathered the pup of our pregnant Luna." "She probably got involved with some filthy Rogue. There's no way Alpha Blaise will let her give birth to that mutt, right?" If it weren't for those werewolves, I wouldn't know that Blaise was pretending we never mated. When I demanded answers in a deranged manner, he threw me into the underground prison and forced me to atone for the death of his first love. "If you didn't insist on becoming my mate, Susie wouldn't have left the pack—she also wouldn't have gotten slaughtered by Rogues!" Eight months later, I lost my pup in the cell I was imprisoned in and died, soaking in my own blood. When I opened my eyes once again, I found myself back on the day Blaise asked me to be his mate.

My Alpha mate Kieran’s new assistant was his childhood friend. She kept using work reports as an excuse to flirt with Kieran. Kieran yelled at her and said that if it weren't for their childhood friendship, he'd kick her out of the pack immediately. I was his one true mate. But just days later, he put his childhood friend Meredith's name on my life's work - my breakthrough research on silver poisoning treatment. When I confronted him about it, he just brushed it off, telling me to think about the bigger picture. At the annual Healer Excellence Awards ceremony, Meredith wore a designer gown and walked on stage as the chief healer to accept the award. Kieran sat in the audience, leading the applause for her. All the camera flashes and congratulations became a joke at my expense. The next day, as I was about to board my flight overseas, Kieran rushed to the airport like a madman to stop me. His eyes were bloodshot as he gripped my wrist: "I was just having fun with Meredith. You're the only Luna of this pack. But if you really leave like this, I'll have you removed from the pack healer registry." His words hit me like a punch to the gut. I spoke each word deliberately. "Kieran, you're way too full of yourself." After landing, I dialed another number: "Alpha Garrett, let's begin the plan to establish the new healing center."

I was born an Alpha’s daughter, raised with strength, honor, and the knowledge that leadership was in my blood. But my heart had other plans. I fell in love with Kael—a wolf who had never even dreamed of becoming an Alpha. He wasn’t the strongest. He wasn’t the fiercest. But I saw something in him that no one else did. He had a heart that cared, a mind that strategized, and a quiet strength waiting to be awakened. At first, Kael didn’t care for power. He didn’t want the burden of leading. But when the Stormcrest Pack was left without an Alpha, when the pack needed a leader, he had no choice but to step up. And I was there. I trained with him. I fought beside him. I built him into the Alpha he never planned to be. When others doubted him, I stood by his side, proving them wrong. I gave up my own place in my father’s pack to be with him, believing that together, we could lead. But love wasn’t enough. On the night of his Alpha ceremony, I waited, my heart pounding, believing this was our moment. That he would finally claim me as his mate. That he would acknowledge everything we had built together. But under the full moon, in front of the entire pack, Kael looked me in the eyes and rejected me Humiliated and heartbroken, I had nowhere to go. No pack to return to. No future. I ran. That’s when I stumbled into Shadowfang territory. And that’s when I met him. Alpha Asher. Cold. Ruthless. Feared.

"Where have you been hiding, little wolf?" He stared at me with his amber eyes, a vicious smile on his lips. I faced him, chin held high. "Move out of my way." "I could kill you, you know..." His fingers dipped to my inner thighs before his hands came to rest at the joint between my legs and hips, and his fingers squeezed. His large hands moved over my breasts and stomach, running over my skin as if it was made from the softest velvet. then he whispered words into my ear". ____ Lola is a wolf shifter who is cursed and wants to leave the confines of Wolf Creek. During the First Moon Ceremony, she discovers that Tyler Grant, the man who has caused her pain in the past, is her true mate and the future leader of her pack. Although fate seems cruel, Lola learns of a rumor that a mating bond could break her curse. Despite daring to hope, Tyler betrays Lola and shatters her dreams. Left beaten and abandoned, Lola comes across a mysterious feral shifter who agrees to help her. However, this help comes at a high price that Lola is unsure she wants to pay. Lola realizes that she can only trust herself when her former pack begins to hunt her down. She believes that having friends is not worth the pain because she has been betrayed by everyone she has known. Despite her mother's warnings, Lola is determined to uncover the truth about her father and embarks on a journey.