Fate Smiles on My Alpha (Book 1 of the Fate Series) - Completed

Chapter 12 - The Nύptíís

With one last look at Keegan, she ran downstairs and grabbed her hoodie.  After doing her warm up stretches, she slid out of the patio doors and immediately the fresh scent of nature assailed her senses, the cool wind of the early dawn blew a strand of her hair from her ponytail.  She surveyed the area and started to jog along the path that will lead to the pack house.  Keegan showed her the path some days ago during one of their walks.  She wanted to see to the arrangements for when they will have the mating ritual.  The lake was a long stretch that extended up till the back section of the territory.  A variety of nature sounds soothed her; the splash of colors on the horizon as morning broke was a welcoming caress to a new day.  Today was when her life will irreversibly change.  She and Keegan will begin their lives together.  She was groomed to be a Luna.  Her father had taught her everything she needed to know and what she was expected to do.  Not even when she doubted if she was going to shift or not, he knew and was assenting to the fact that she was destined to find her mate and gift him with renewed strength and power which will only be revealed after the Nύptíís.  This was the reward after the punishment her ancestors had suffered for their folly.  Her mother was the best thing that ever happened to his father.  She was his one true mate even though she was human.  She possessed the gift of telepathy almost like communicating through the mind link.  She wondered what those gifts would be.  In her distraction, she reached the clearing and was now enthralled in the spectacular view of the Sacred Lake.   All packs in the vicinity of Arcadia, had to have a special portion of The Stagno (meaning lake in Latin.)  It is a revered place where the Luna Dea would sometimes make an appearance.

A makeshift bamboo chuppah canopy arch was erected on the middle of a grassy knoll near the edge of the lake; a carpet bed of flower petals leading to it.  The arch was draped in white and red woven fabrics adorned by floral arrangements on the corners.  They will be surrounded by members of the pack as they officially welcome her as Luna.  The ceremony will have to be concluded by midnight.  She smiled at the attention to detail by her mother and soon to be mother in law.  Bamboo was used for the arch as a symbol of strength and longevity.  White fabric for purity of the love they share and red for their passionate nature.  Everything seems to be in order.  She thought.  Now she can go back to Keegan at the lake house.  As she slowly turned towards the path where she came from, she heard footfalls that crunched from the dry leaves.  Her hackles rose and she was getting ready to shift.  She was now on defensive stance as she searched frantically for the intruder.  No one but deafening silence followed. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.  Maybe one of the fighters doing their rounds.  But something felt off somehow.  Ahh, must be the fact that I’m nervous gets me all jumpy.  Better head back to my B.

She slowly trotted back to the house.  The heat of the early morning sun warmed her back.  Halfway through her jog, she felt it again; like she was being watched or even followed.  She sped up and as she was nearly coming out of the dirt path, she made a mistake of looking up and there in one of the heavy branch of tree, she saw what she thought was the apparition of the most reviled person in this world.  She ran even faster and when she looked back, he was gone.  As soon as she faced front, she continued to run but failed to notice the heavy and muscled body that hit her with a loud thud sending her crashing to the damp earth.  The fall stole the breath from her lungs and when she was about to scream, hungry lips crashed into her own.

*****

Keegan worked the 18 hours of the previous day.  Everything was handled well by Dan Heeley in his absence.  But his mate, being the true Luna that she is, insisted that it was better for him to look after his patients.  He couldn’t say no to her.   His hand stretched and reached for Queran but was startled awake when he saw and felt the cool rumpled sheets and no Queran.  He quickly got out of the bed and rushed to the bathroom in search of her.  For some reason his blood ran cold and fear clawed at his heart.   He grabbed his torn jeans and scoped the lake house.  Not being able to find her, he stopped and opened his mind link.  “Baby, baby where the hell are you?”   He waited.  The seconds felt like minutes, the minutes felt like hours and the hours felt like a fucking eternity.  WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?  He caught the whiff of her scent out the back.  He came out the patio doors and trailed towards the path.  Like an experienced tracker, he sniffed and smelled her sweat mixed with her fear.  He immediately shifted and followed her trail.  Out the clearing, he was relieved to see her running back but she was not facing front like she was being chased.  An unknown scent hit him and when he looked back at Queran he wasted no time; in mid shift, he tackled her.  A squeak escaped from her shaking lips which he abruptly silenced them with his own.  “You’re safe baby, I got you..I got you.”