Before <b>I </b>could ask what she meant, she turned to Alexander. “And you, Alpha. The boy who watched from afar has be the man who would move mountains for his mate.”
Alexander’s hand found mine again, squeezing gently.
Willow closed her eyes, her hands hovering over the bowl of water. The liquid began to shimmer, though neither of us had touched the table.
She set down her cup and reached for a leather–bound calendar. “Two lunar cycles from now,” she finally announced. “When the moon is full and your energies are at their peak.”
“Two months?” Alexander couldn’t hide his disappointment.
I squeezed his hand, secretly relieved. Two months would give us time to prepare, to heal further from the wounds of the past.
“The full moon of October,” Madame Willow confirmed. “A wolf’s moon. Powerful for Alpha pairs.
Especially,” she added with a significant look at me, “for those who have known great loss and found themselves again.”
My throat tightened. “Is there… anything specific we need to prepare?” I asked, trying to steady my voice.
Her eyes softened as she reached across the table to take my free hand. “Just your hearts, dear one. And
perhaps start collecting items that represent your journey together. The ceremony will require physical
tokens of your bond.”
We spent another hour with Madame Willow, learning about the ancient binding ritual that would officially join us as Alpha and Luna of the ckwood Pack. By the time we left, my earlier nervousness had transformed into quiet anticipation.
“Two months,” Alexander sighed as we walked back to the car. “I was hoping for sooner.”
Iughed, bumping his shoulder yfully. “Patience, Alpha. We have the rest of our lives together.”
His eyes darkened as he pulled me against him. “I’ve waited for you for years, Summer. Two more months feels like torture.”
“We’re already living together,” I reminded him. “Already sharing a bed.”
“It’s not the same as the binding,” he murmured against my hair. “Once weplete the ceremony, nothing will ever separate us again. Not packw, not councils, nothing.”
The intensity in his voice made me shiver. “Then I guess it’s worth waiting for.”
When we returned to the pack house, Alexander immediately called a meeting to share the news. Pack members gathered in the great hall, excitement buzzing through the air as my mate announced our
official bonding date.
“In two full moons,” he proimed, his voice carrying throughout the hall, “Summer will officially
be my Luna in the sacred bonding ceremony. I expect each of you to wee her not just as my
mate, but as your Luna–deserving of all the respect and loyalty that titlemands.”
The pack erupted in cheers and howls of approval. I blushed at the attention, still not entirelyfortable being the center of so much focus after years of being pushed to the shadows by Foster.
Lyra approached us, her pregnancy now very visible as she waddled toward me with a beaming smile.
“Perfect timing!” she eximed, hugging me awkwardly around her swollen belly. “I’ll have dropped this little wolf by then and can be your maid of honor without looking like I swallowed a basketball.”
Iughed, genuinely happy. “There’s no one I’d rather have standing beside me.”
“This calls for a celebration,” Beta Ethan announced, appearing at Alexander’s side with sses of champagne. He handed one to Alexander and me, then raised his own. “To our Alpha and Luna!”
“To Alpha and Luna!” the pack echoed, raising their sses.
As I looked around at the smiling faces, I felt a sense of belonging I hadn’t experienced since before Felix’s death. These wolves–this pack–had be my family. And in two months, it would be official in every way.
Later, after Alexander and Ethan had gone to discuss some pack business, Lyra pulled me into a quiet corner of the great hall.
she asked, her voice low but her eyes dancing with barely suppressed glee. “Have you heard what happened to Natalia?”