Child of the Chosen One

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Samuel's POV

Emily stays attached to my hip, her arm wrapped around my waist as I lead her to the backyard. Ilene and my mother have spent the morning preparing for the ceremony, setting up chairs and tables and a large area with food and drinks. They have a big archway with an altar that holds a large bowl, a knife and two towels. If you ask me, it looks nearly like a wedding ceremony and I am intrigued as to know what Em's and my wedding ceremony will look like. If my mother and Ilene are decorating it, I am sure it will be grand. 

All my life, I never thought I was going to even consider the idea of marriage. But since I have met Emily and have allowed her into my heart, I know there will be a day we get married. It is something that Emily wants. She wants our uniting to be legal and written in paper. I can understand that. 

"You never told me there was going to be a ceremony, honey." She hisses at me, maintaining a smile as pack members come and congratulate her.

"It's nothing to fret about, Em. It will be short and the rest of the day will be spent celebrating." I turn her body so she is standing in front of me. I grab her face in my hands and lean forward to press a kiss on her forehead. Emily places her hands on my chest, gathering the fabric of my polo into tight fists.  

"I don't like having the attention on me." She mumbles, bowing her head as if to hide from everyone. I want nothing more than to take away her discomfort, but if this ceremony is not completed, she will not be known at the Luna and that is a threat to her. 

"It will be over soon. I promise." I know I shouldn't be the one to make promises, I hardly ever keep them. But I will make sure that her discomfort is as short as possible. "Let's begin!" I shout and everyone falls silent, looking at Emily and me. They then take their seats and I lead Emily so we both stand under the archway. My father stands behind us, just like a pastor would for a wedding. I hold Emily's hands as she looks at the knife that sits on the table, her hands shaking with nerves. 

It's going to be okay, Em. I whisper into her mind. She nods her head but doesn't look away from the knife. 

"Welcome! Today, we have the opportunity to officially anoint Emily Fell Luna of the Colorado Pack." Pack members clap and I offer Emily a smile as she looks up into my eyes. I give her a nod for encouragement as my father walks over to grab the knife. He then takes her left hand from my grasp and presses the blade to her palm. She lets out a whimper and grows tense. With a quick movement, the slashes her hand. "Do you, Emily, promise to put the Pack's needs before your own, to protect it and to make sure it doesn't fall to ruin?" He asks Emily as he holds her hand over the bowl, allowing blood to drip into it. 

"I promise." She whispers. I then give my father my own hand and he gives it the same cut. He then presses our palms together, still over the bowl. 

"Do you, Samuel, take Emily to be your Luna, to stand by your side and be your partner is all the decisions of the pack?"   

"I do." I smile at Emily as she stares at our hands, our intermixed blood dripping into the bowl. 

"Then it is my pleasure to present the new Luna of the Colorado Pack, Emily Fell!" Everyone cheers and I can't help but grab her by the waist and pull her into my chest, pressing my lips onto hers. She lets out a moan and wraps her arms around my neck. I feel the stickiness of our blood on the back of my neck as she grabs onto my hair, but I don't mind. When I have her in my arms, nothing else matters. 

Before we can make things uncomfortable for the pack, I pull back and press a kiss to her nose. "I told you it wasn't that bad." She blushes, bowing her head as she peeks at our family and friends from the corner of her eyes. I grab the two towels on the table and gingerly rub off the blood from both of our hands. The cut is now sealed and all that is left is dry, crusted blood. "Come, lets get you something to eat." I tell her, leading her towards our table with Blake and Ilene. 

Ilene jumps to her feet, running over to throw her arms around Emily. "Congratulations! You're officially Luna now. How do you feel?" I drop Emily's hand and press a kiss to the top of her head before I leave the two girls to chat. I sit next to Blake and he gives me a pat on the back.

"I don't even know who you are anymore." He says, sipping a class of champagne. I look over a him, raising my eyebrows. "That girl has changed you. I never thought you would be one to fall in love." Blake has a smile on his lips as he says this and I have to thump him on the back of his head. 

"Shut up." I growl at him, shaking my head. I watch Emily as she smiles at Ilene, eating up whatever it is her new friend is talking about. Feeling my eyes on her, she turns and looks at me, her smile dropping a bit as our eyes meet. I mimic her smile and she bits her bottom lip, looking away from me. 

"She is quite the young lady." I hear my grandma say, placing a hand on my shoulder. I look over at her, biting my teeth as I fight the urge to snap at her. Today is Emily's day and I will do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't get ruined. 

"She's the best thing in my life." I tell her. She gives me a soft smile before she nods her head. 

"It's only a matter of time until you harm her." I let out a growl and look away from her, settling my eyes on my mate. "That is who you are. You do nothing but hurt people. She is no different. She will be destroyed by the darkness you hold. She will suffer because of you." Emily snaps her head over towards us, eyes wide as I feel my heart rate pick up. 

Kill her. The voice tells me. I look at my grandmother and bare my teeth, feeling my wolf fighting to come out. You've been waiting so long to kill her. Do it now. The voice commands. I feel my eyes haze over with anger, seeing nothing but the old lady in front of me and I feel the sudden need to sink my teeth into her neck and cease her breathing. 

Just as I calculate the motions, I feel a soft hand land on my shoulder. My wolf calms and all my angers subsides. I look over to see Emily standing behind me. "Come get food with me." She offers a small smile and I nearly jump to my feet in response. I need to get away from my grandmother if I want to keep her alive. 

"I'm sorry." I say to Emily as she pulls me towards the tables filled with food. She looks at me over her shoulder, a smile on her face. 

"Twice in one day, I should consider myself lucky." I raise an eyebrow in confusion. Twice in one day that I want to kill my own grandmother? How does that make her lucky? "You've apologized twice. Either I'm lucky or it's a bloody miracle." I can't help but laugh, shaking my head. 

My mother, who is in line ahead of us at the food table, looks over at us in confusion. "What was that?" She asks. 

"What was what?" Emily responds, wrapping her arms around my waist, laying her head on my chest. 

"Did you just choke and sneeze at the same time?" My mom asks me. Emily giggles and I smile down at my mate. 

"No dear sister. I believe it was a laugh." I hear Phoenix say, giving me a pat on the back. 

"That's impossible." Aunt River says, coming out of nowhere to stare at me with wide eyes. "I have never heard you laugh." She whispers, a small smile coming across her face as tears gather in her eyes. 

Emily is pulled out of my arms and I glower at my mother as she wraps Emily into a motherly hug. "Thank you so much. You have truly made me a happy mother." Catherine says.