The mating ceremony was scheduled for the next full moon.
Three weeks away. Three weeks of preparation, of learning, of becoming the Luna the pack needed.
Sasha took charge immediately.
"You need a dress. Not just any dress—a ceremony dress. White, probably, but with pack colors. And flowers in your hair. And—" She was already making lists. "We need to invite the neighboring packs. And prepare the feast. And—"
"Sasha." I caught her arm. "Breathe."
She laughed. "Sorry. I get excited. It's been so long since we've had a proper Luna ceremony."
"How long?"
"Decades. Kael's parents were the last. His mother was a wonderful Luna." She smiled softly. "She would have loved you."
I thought about the photograph I'd found. The woman with Kael's eyes.
"I wish I could have met her."
"She's watching." Sasha squeezed my hand. "They all are."
---
The weeks flew by.
Training with Jax every morning. Learning pack history with the elders every afternoon. Ceremony preparations with Sasha every evening.
Kael was busy too meetings with other Alphas, patrol schedules, the endless work of running a pack. But every night, he came home to me.
And every night, he showed me exactly how much he'd missed me.
"You're wearing me out," I gasped one night, tangled in sweaty sheets.
"Never." He kissed my throat. "You're wearing me in. There's a difference."
"There's really not."
"There really is." He pulled me closer. "You're part of me now. Every day, deeper. I can't get enough."
"Good." I kissed him back. "Because I'm not going anywhere."
The night before the ceremony, I couldn't sleep.
Kael was asleep beside me—exhausted from the week, finally resting. But I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, thoughts racing.
What if I'm not enough?
What if the pack doesn't accept me?
What if I fail?
A warm presence in my mind. Kael, reaching through the bond even in sleep.
You're enough. They accept you. You won't fail.
I smiled. Even unconscious, he was protecting me.
I closed my eyes and let his presence carry me to sleep.
The ceremony began at moonrise.
I stood at the edge of the clearing, dressed in white. Flowers in my hair, just as Sasha had planned. Pack colors woven through the fabric—deep red and gold, the Bloodmoon colors.
Sasha stood beside me, eyes bright.
"Ready?"
"No."
"Good. That means it matters."
She led me forward.
The pack was gathered in a circle, torches lighting the darkness. In the center, Kael waited.
He wore traditional Alpha attire leather and fur, his chest bare, tattoos visible in the firelight. He looked like something from a dream. Something ancient. Something mine.
Our eyes met across the clearing.
The bond blazed.
---
The ceremony was simple. Ancient.
The elders spoke words in a language I didn't know. Kael answered in the same tongue. Then it was my turn.
"Elena Stone." The eldest elder faced me. "Do you accept this wolf as your mate? Your Alpha? Your forever?"
I looked at Kael. At the man who'd waited ten years for me. Who'd protected me. Loved me. Healed me.
"I do."
"Do you pledge your life to him? Your loyalty? Your love?"
"I do."
"Do you accept the pack as your family? Your responsibility? Your home?"
"I do."
The elder smiled. "Then by the power of the Moon, I declare you bound. Forever."
Kael stepped forward. Took my face in his hands.
"Mine," he whispered.
"Yours."
He kissed me.
The pack erupted. Cheers. Howls. Celebration.
But all I could feel was him.
The feast lasted until dawn.
Food. Drink. Dancing. Laughter. I was passed from pack member to pack member, hugged and welcomed and loved.
Kael stayed close. His hand always on me somewhere my back, my waist, my hand.
"Overwhelmed?" he asked at one point.
"Happy-overwhelmed." I leaned into him. "This is…..I didn't know I could feel this."
"Feel what?"
"Home." I looked at him. "Really, truly home."
He kissed me. Long and slow.
"Good. Because you're never leaving."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Finally, near dawn, we escaped.
Back to the cabin. To our room. To privacy.
He laid me on the bed gently, reverently.
"Elena Stone."
"Kael Stone."
"My wife."
"My husband."
He kissed me. And showed me, again and again, exactly what forever meant.