His Rogue Luna

Forty Eight

Ataraxia
(n.) The state of blissful and serene calmness.

Kieran POV

I woke up late morning the next day, feeling the suns rays hit me through a gap in the curtains. The yellow light casted a glow about the room, directly hitting me on my chest where my sleeping mate still lay. I smiled, looking down at her mussed hair all over her face, the rich brown strands tickling my exposed skin.

Flashes of last night played in my head and I absentmindedly reached a hand to touch my neck, shivering when I felt her mark on me.

Artemis had woken me in the middle of the night, her eyes pitch black with raw hunger. She took the lead that time, with me under her and she had marked me while riding me. It was quite the surprise, one that I enjoyed very much.

Now, we were mated and marked so there was only one thing left to complete.

The Joining Ceremony.

Although the pack had already acknowledged and accepted her as their Luna, this ceremony was a long and old tradition in our pack that I was very eager to complete. I could make the preparations to have it done tonight since I knew some pack members were excitedly planning for it already.

'Tonight sounds good. It's a a full moon as well,' I looked down at my mate, surprised to hear her sweet voice in my head.

She had her eyes closed, but a smile on her pink lips that told me she was very much awake. I ran a hand through her hair and her eyes fluttered open, amber irises watching me.

"Are you sure?" I asked. I didn't want her to feel pressured to do something because I wanted to.

"Of course I'm sure," she reassured, grabbing my hand to press a soft kiss into my palm. I felt a large grin grow on my face as I mind linked everyone to prepare for the ceremony tonight. I could already feel the pack excitement through the bonds.

"You're so cute," she giggled, bringing me out of my thoughts. I growled lowly, playfully nipping at her fingers that traced my lips.

"I'm not cute. I'm an alpha. I'm fearless and ruthless," she barked out a laugh as I puffed my chest jokingly. For a moment, I marvelled at the joyful sound filling the air and admired how her golden eyes crinkled at the corners, glowing brighter than the sunlight streaming in.

"You're funny Kieran," she shook her head to herself, sitting up. The blankets fell away and I watched unashamedly as she stretched her naked body, feeling a pure sensation of satisfaction when I saw the amount of hickeys and love bites that littered her skin.

She caught my gaze and smirked down at me.

"You don't look too bad either," I looked down at my chest, noticing a few small lovebites here and there, but nothing nearly as noticeable as hers were.

"Other side, Alpha," She snickered, getting up and sauntering to the bathroom. I didn't fully register her words, instead following her like a lovesick puppy into the bathroom.

It wasn't until I caught my reflection in the mirror did I realise what she meant.

My back and shoulders were covered in scratch marks and I even had a bite mark on my left shoulder. My wolf growled lowly, pleased that our mate was feisty.

Needless to say, we spent our time in the shower recreating what we did last night, this time rougher and faster under the spray of the hot water.

By the time we were dressed and seated at the breakfast bar, it was close to noon and nearly lunch time. After a quick meal, Artemis had gone to speak to Quin about a border issue between rival packs. I headed to the training grounds.

"Ah so nice of you to join us, Alpha," Zane smirked at me as I approached. I was just glad Apollo was preoccupied because his teasing would be insufferable.

"It must have been so difficult and hard to leave your mate all by herself," Vaughn added, joining the little joke at my expense.

"You know what else was hard-," We all groaned as Apollo had dropped his weapon at the table to jog over and add his contribution to the conversation.

"We all heard everything. There's no point denying," he argued defensively, holding his hands up in surrender. Despite the fact that they were all laughing at me, I couldn't help the warm feeling that spread over my chest as I felt at ease around my friends for the first time in a while.

"Come on, lets train," Zane urged, ever eager to beat us in combat.

For a while, we sparred in pairs, Zane demanding to be paired with me so he could attempt to best me. Of course, as the alpha I was naturally the strongest and the fastest out of all the pack members, but after the sixth time in a row of throwing him on his back, I wondered if Zane was okay.

"What's up with you today?" I asked, giving him a hand to pull himself up. Once he righted himself, he dusted dirt off his trousers, looking at me funny.

"I should be asking you that. You've turned freakishly strong and fast overnight," he squinted at me, and I just grew more confused.

"Do you think it's all that spirit wolf he got last night?" Apollo snickered, earning a punch in the gut from Vaughn. Although my cousin didn't say anything, he also gave me a pointed look that said Apollo might have a point.

I touched the mark on my neck, the spot humming with energy as if to prove Apollo's point further. I rolled my shoulders, trying to see if I felt any different and aside from my wolf being a lot happier and calmer, I felt no real changes.

"I don't feel any different," I argued.

"You look different though," Zane countered, giving me a stupid all knowing smirk.

"Asides from the blatant signs of your passionate night-," he gestured to the scratch marks visible all over my naked torso. "You also have a permanent smile and more light in your eyes," I blinked at him, not sure what to say.

"Yeah man, it's good to see you happy. You deserve it," Apollo added, uncharacteristically somber all of a sudden. It was only then that I realised how much I had worried and scared them.

Before the self loathing and guilt could set in, I quickly changed the course of my thoughts to look at my friends and family and truly appreciate them.

"I don't think I've ever told you how much you guys mean to me," I began. "But without any of you, I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have found my happiness."

For a second, they all stared at me, surprised before wide grins broke out across their faces. Vaughn gave me a large pat on the back and Apollo fake sniffled.

"Group hug!" He exclaimed, pulling Zane into the tight circle and squeezing us all together. I still couldn't believe this unserious dramatic idiot was my beta and managed to run the whole pack for so long.

"Is there room for one more?" I heard a sweet voice ask. I quickly pulled myself out of the tangle of limbs to pull Artemis into mine, nuzzling her hair and inhaling her scent.

"Of course Luna, there's always room for you," Apollo said, walking over to us to once again to wrap  his arms around both of us and squeeze tightly. I would have shoved him off if it wasn't for my mates laughter.

Eventually, my clingy beta let us go but decided to steer my mate away from me by slinging an arm over her shoulders and guiding her to the weapons table.

"Hey, that's my mate you're stealing!" I called out.

"Apollo and Artemis are twins according to Greek mythology. Let me spend some time with my lost half before you hog her for the night," I couldn't remain annoyed at him for long since Artemis was smiling widely up at him and was listening to his eager rant.

The scene before me was quite picturesque. My mate was happily engaging with pack mates while our soldiers trained all around us, everyone feeling excited for the upcoming festivities tonight.

I just had a nagging feeling at the back of my mind saying it was all going to go horribly wrong; that something was coming.

Unfortunately, I didn't have to wait long to find out.