The Faults in Us (completed)

28~ The Luna Ceremony

The next morning, I woke up bright and early. Compared to my old self, who woke up at noon, this was pretty refreshing. Rick was softly snoring next to me and I decided to let him get some precious sleep. 

We never knew when they could attack. 

I walked downstairs and grabbed some breakfast from the mess hall. The pack was busy with preparations for the ceremony and the party later. Little pups were running around, all excited. I smiled and waved as they passed me. 

It had been a while since I had seen them all so happy and excited. 

A few people greeted me with respect as I passed, a few ignored me. They probably heard that I couldn't shift anymore. I tried not to think too much about it. I wandered all around, past the packhouse and to the prison. I greeted the guards outside and had a small talk with them. 

The prison mostly held rouges who had tried to attack the pack, but to my surprise, it now held humans too. Apparently, they were people who had found out about our existence. They weren't mistreated or locked up in a cell, the prison had special rooms for them where they lived peacefully. 

Of course, there were people who had found out about us that weren't in custody, but there was nothing we could do about that. Not many people would believe them if they spilled, anyway. 

I continued walking towards the pack hospital and met the pack's head doctor, Wendy. The last time we had met was complete chaos, so it was nice to have a peaceful chat. She was about a year older than me and had a brilliant sense of humour. We clicked instantly, but I didn't remember seeing her here before. 

When I asked her about it, she said she had transferred from another pack that Rick had taken over. It wasn't by force, it was a peaceful merge. 'I'm glad to hear that,' I said, breathing a sigh of relief. I didn't want her to think of Rick as an enemy or anyone else for the matter. 

We chatted idly for a few more minutes about my "death" and sudden shift. 'I was shocked when you woke up,' Wendy said, 'I wasn't aware that you had vampire blood in your system, though I knew about the ghoul part. I thought Alpha was going to go ballistic.'

I laughed. 'It must've been quite shocking,' I agreed, 'but I was petrified when I realized he was going to jump.' Wendy shook her head in disappointment. 

'He can't live without you,' she said, 'he's been keeping track of you all those years you weren't here. You were constantly on his mind, he didn't even look at another girl.' I sighed. 

'Did you try to shoot your shot with him?' I asked. 

'Yes,' she replied honestly, 'but he shut me down immediately and I never tried again. I'm sorry if I offended you, I didn't know he was your mate.' I laughed. 

'Don't worry about it,' I said, 'I understand why you would like him. I hope you find your mate soon.' She smiled, then politely left since she had patients to tend to and I had to start heading back to prepare for the Luna ceremony. 

I took my time walking back, looking around and taking everything in. When I finally walked into the packhouse, I was greeted by a very hassled Luna.

'Where were you?!' she said, 'The ceremony starts in less than an hour and you need to get dressed!' I stared at her pleadingly. 

'Do I HAVE to?' I whined. She gave me a stubborn look and I sighed. 'Fine,' I said, 'what am I wearing?'

'Well, you have two options,' she said, 'either a super fancy cockatiel dress, or tank top and shorts.' I gave her "that" smile. She laughed. 

'Tank top and shorts it is,' she said. 

'You know it,' I said. 'is Rick up yet?' 

'Yeah,' she replied, 'he's getting some last-minute work done in his office. If you're planning to go there, just tell him to come upstairs and grab some breakfast.'