Iris: Child of prophecy

Chapter Thirty-four.

I smiled at the mirror. They certainly did justice. It was perfection.

The three she-wolves supported me as I walked out of the room and down the stairs. The packed house was like it was before yesterday. Quiet and empty.

"They're all in the pack decagon, waiting for you," Naomi informed me, noticing my curiosity.

"The decagon?"

"It's close to the waterfall" I nodded.

As we were about to step out, madam Louise called out from behind us.

"Don't forget the jewelry, it's from us grandmas," she gestured to a few older she-wolves.

A smile touched my face as I glanced at them, in comparison to me they might as well be babes, but it still warmed my heart their kind motherly gesture.

I gasped when I saw the earrings. They were simple but extremely beautiful. It was perfect. She put them one for me a kissed my powdered-covered cheeks. Giving me a silent go-ahead, I touched my naked neck and smiled. As I stepped out, Absalom waited for me with a startled look on his face.

"You look absolutely stunning Luna." He leaned in to kiss the back of my hand.

"Why thank you Absalom." He nodded, extending his hands and leading me to the hexagon.

The walk was long but worth it. Each step taken corresponds with each increasing heartbeat. I was alone now. Absalom had left me to walk down the aisle on my own. The little wolves helping with my immensely long dress had arranged it behind me and let me guide it myself. I maneuvered just okay with the long skirts and ensured my walk was as close to graceful as I could manage. Suddenly extremely thankful for all the etiquette lessons my mother gave me, well us.

She wished us to be as far away from wolves as we could. Those were the happy times. Times before puberty, living in childish innocence, times when I really had a family. For the first time, I felt bad about my unfortunate destiny. I mean, I've not had the best relationship with my sisters, well neither of us has but do they deserve to die for a fight that has lasted for so long? I pushed the thought to the back of my head and focused on my mate. He was wearing a white suit. I suspect it's matching the color of my wolf, just as I adorned black to match his. It did make my wolf pleased.

When I reached the end, the moment we locked eyes, I suddenly felt extremely shy and nervous. What is this feeling? My stomach is doing flip-flops and I am struggling to keep my knees straight. He took my hands in his and had the cockiest look.

"You look beautiful," he whispered in my ears and we turned to face the pack, my dress forming a carpet in front of us.

I cleared my throat and tried to ignore the tingling sensation where his hands held mine. "So what now?"

"You become part of the pack," he said matter-of-factly.

I pursed my lips and gave him a questioning look. "Uh... I think I got that much. Isn't someone supposed to like officiate?"

His brow went up. "I'm the highest rank and authority in this pack, so no. You're going to be doing a lot of bleeding." He smiled down at me.

Say what?

"You're joking, right?" I laughed.

"No, Iris, it's a two-way process. You drink the blood of the pack through my veins and they drink yours."

"And I'm hearing this now? Can't you just drink it for them? What are we, vampires?" I scoffed, grabbing my hands away from his. What the hell were all these traditions? Even the witches didn't cast spells with all these dramatics.

"It's tradition, Iris," his gaze becoming dangerously dark.

"Oh, tradition?" I laughed. "You seem to have a lot of traditions in this pack, huh?"

"So you're saying you won't do it?" He asked.

I bit my lower lip and looked at the pack. "How much blood are we talking about?"

"Like a bucket full," he shrugged.

"A bucket full! Are you kidding me? What do you want to do with a bucket full? Swim in it?" I whisper-yelled.

"There are a lot of wolves, Iris," he folded his arms. "This is the tradition. Are you still interested?"

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? You can't just spring this up on a girl," I glared at him. Who did he think I was, a blood bank?

"Should it matter?" He asked.

"Yes, it should!" I stomped my heeled foot on the ground.

"So you're not going to do it?" He had a playful smirk on his face. I struggled to find the joke and since I could not see what was so funny, it made me mad.

I clenched my teeth and sighed. "I never said that, fine just get it over with." I let my canines come out. Lifting my wrist to my mouth to dip my teeth in and draw blood. Malik's hand wrapped around my wrist and he pulled me to him, looking down into my eyes, he smiled.

"I wasn't serious, little witch," He grinned.

I frowned. "I don't understand. What am I supposed to do?"

"Mark me and drink blood. That and the water from the waterfall is enough for you to create your connection."

"That I can do," I smiled, grabbing his purple shirt and ripping a few buttons to expose his neck. Thank goodness for the heels. I would've been too short otherwise. I dug my teeth into the dip in his collarbone and sucked in the blood that flowed freely. It all came rushing in, all the thoughts and the emotions. At first, it was too much. Filled my head with all these connections I wasn't used to, but Malik's grip on me, his hand on my naked shoulders, calmed me.

I stepped away and stared at him, stared at the pack. So this is what it feels like to be in the subconscious of a pack?

The power within, the authority, and the dominance radiating from everyone was visible to me now. I looked up at Malik. He was smiling down at me with such affection and love and while I wanted to revel in it, the thought gnawing at me since I heard the truth pushed into my head. Is that how he looked at his other mates?

Gosh, I wished for the days of him being a baby daddy. At least then, I was not also afraid of affection and bonds. Now I had to live with the fact that he wasn't in fact my second half, at least not exclusively. While I was born to him, he wasn't born to just me.

The moon goddess just made it that way for her revenge. Gee, I wish I never pryed for the answers, goodness knows I am not ready for this.

"Iris, honey, are you okay?" Malik asked me. I nodded quickly.

After a few more stuff, we walked to the waterfall together, hand in hand.

"Now it's time to build a connection with the moon goddess and me." He smiled.

This was it. This would definitely break my mother's hold on my mind, but why was I wary? I wasn't completely sure of anything anymore.

"Just open yourself to the experience. It shouldn't be hard. While we are in the water, you'll see your truest self, you'll see your deepest memories and desires." I looked up at him.

"Ready?" I nodded.

No, I'm not ready. I don't know if I'm making the right decision. I just hope that this experience clarifies my ambitions and purpose. Because right now I wasn't sure who the villain in my story was anymore. It's all just too confusing.

I grabbed Malik's hands tighter as we ran towards the fall. Jumping into the water, the only thing that engulfed my cerebrum was the internal struggle within me.

Who is the true villain in my story? Who is the true victim in my story?

Was it mother? Or was it the moon goddess?

If only I knew at that moment that it was either and it also wasn't either. The end wouldn't have been as painful as it was. The real villain of the story is not even in my struggle.

This, I could be certain, was a battle, a battle without good or evil, a battle that could never have been black or white.