My Omega Queen
Chapter 9: The Feas

POV: Emily

The way towards the village was silent. We were walking side by side and I had a hard time focusing on my escape plans since they were being mingled with Accalia’s unpure thoughts. Wendy was sweeping the sidewalk we passed on and I could see that her face was struck with pity and sadness.

“Don’t worry about me, Wendy. As I said, I’ll be fine. He might not be as bad as we thought.” I mind-linked her.

“Oh, my sweet child. Mate bonds are just like this… you can’t really escape it. Sometimes they’re a blessing, sometimes a curse, depending on what you make of it. May the Goddess watch you and keep you safe.” She replied.

Then we reached the village square, where the feast was almost ready to start: most of the wolves were sitting at the table, sharing thoughts and gossips. Nathan and the elders were guiding people to free spots, when he noticed me. Nathan looked at me for a second and with a worrying look came running towards me. I could hear a slight rumbling growl besides me but I paid it no mind and rushed to hug Nathan. Our hugs met in the middle.

“Where the hell have you been, Emily?! I have been looking everywhere for you.”

“Did you try the dungeon?” I said, trying to force a smile.

Nathan’s face goes blank for a split second, then he suddenly screams with anger: “What?!! He took you to the -” and here I stepped to stop his loud mouth with my hand, as people around were already looking our way.

“Shhh” I mutter, gesturing for him to talk quieter. “It’s ok now. We’re past that. How has the mating season been for you?” I say, trying to change the subject. But meanwhile, I remember the scene I’ve witnessed and I break eye contact.

Nathan clenches his fists and then sighs, relaxing his body: “I’ll ask Kyle about what happened later, it’s not alright what he did. I’m sure you have a good explanation for what happened in the forest.” and then he also looks away for a second before saying: “I, uhm, I found my mate.”

I don’t think I’ve had the time to process it, so it still hurts a little hearing this, but in the end, it’s a normal occurence in our world. I try to gather up my courage and smile: “Oh, really? I’m so glad for you! I can’t wait to meet her!”

“Thanks! She must be around here. How about y-” he suddenly stops and bares his neck. The goosebumps on my arms can only mean one thing: he’s behind me.

“You must be the Beta.” Edward says, with a cold voice.

“Yes, Alpha King, my name is Nathan, Beta of the B***d Moon Pack. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, Nathan. Unfortunately, I have to disrupt your conversation and take my mate to our places, as the feast is about to begin.” and he grabs my shoulder.

Nathan takes a moment to realise what’s going on and he looks at me in awe, then smiles. But it wasn’t a pity smile, it was more… relieved, maybe.

“Of course” he nods and guides us towards the stage area, where Kyle and his parents had already been standing on. At first, it seemed like they wanted to intervene when I got on the stage, but Kyle stopped them. The elders followed us onto the stage and then all the mumblings and noise around quieted down. Many of the people from the tables were staring me down, probably thinking I got lost. And I wish I had.

The ceremony began with Kyle stepping in the middle and clearing his voice: “Hello, everyone. I’m going to introduce myself, as some of you might be new. My name is Kyle Bloodmoon, Alpha of the B***d Moon Pack. We have gathered today to celebrate this year’s mating season and the mated pairs that have met during these days. As per ritual, we will begin with performing the introduction of the mated, foreign wolves into our pack. Please stand up and form a line onto the stage.”

During the time it took for them to arrange themselves, I had a bit of time to look around and I noticed Grace sitting at a table with unknown people. She was looking worried at me. However, the guy she was sitting by hugged her and she smiled at him. So she found her mate, huh. I’m so glad, he seems to be nice.

Meanwhile, the line has formed. There were about 13 people waiting for the introduction. By turn, they stepped forward besides Kyle, said their vows, swearing to protect the pack and be loyal to their Alpha and then shared a b***d bond with Kyle. This is done by touching their hands which are cut using a silver knife. From that moment, their mind-link with the pack is formed and the other pack members have to familiarize themselves with their smell. It takes awhile to pass through all 13 of them, but eventually it gets done.

Kyle washes his hand and says: “Since we have done our introductions, we unfortunately also have to say goodbye to some of our own pack members.” I gulp. “We will be saying goodbye to 6 of our members. Those are:

Pack Warrior Ava, who will be going to the Scarlet Claws Pack

Gamma Robert, who shall be going to the Silvertail Pack

Omega Elijah, who shall be going to the Scarlet Claws Pack

Omega Mena, who shall be going to the Blackpelt Pack

Omega Rick, who shall be going to the Midnight Pack

Omega Grace, who shall be going to the Midnight Pack

We wish you good luck. Thank you all for attending. Let’s indulge ourselves with a little feast to celebrate the new pairs.” and Kyle starts descending the stairs, towards the high-ranking table. Everyone starts clapping.

I was shocked by the fact that Grace is also coming to the Midnight Pack, and very happy nonetheless. At least I won’t be alone. Even so, there was no mention of me. Maybe I’m not going? And just as I was thinking this, Edward put a hand on my shoulder and straightened his voice, making everyone go quiet again, announcing with a soft smile, but also a bit-annoyed voice: “Alpha Kyle might have forgotten, but your sweet Emily will also be joining the Midnight Pack, to be by my side, as the Luna of the Midnight Pack and your Queen.”

My heart’s beating a thousand times per second. Edward can feel it as he tightens his grip on my shoulder. Most of the people attending were extremely surprised by this. The reactions were very diverse: some were genuinely happy and started clapping and whistleing, yet others wore a disgusted face. Some females even got up and left the square. By tradition, this is one of the moments when a challenge for my position would be acceptable, as in it would not be to death. However, nobody stepped forward. I could feel Accalia being quite disappointed, as she feels like our Omega rank in the Pack is unfit for her, even if I keep telling her that all baby wolves adopted by a pack can only be Omegas regardless of their aura. Their only chance to promote is by challenging others, and I am very much against that.

The feast went on. We climbed down the stage and sat at the high-ranking table. Somehow the atmosphere felt pretty heavy between Edward and Kyle. We ate our food in silence and then the party began. I got up, trying to go to Grace and Alice, but Edward grabbed my hand, giving me the tingles:

“Should I have someone escort you?” he asked with a questioning look. “I mean, are you going to try and… “leave”?”

“Pff, no, of course not. I just want to see my friends and say my goodbyes.” I answer, even though the idea of escaping in this crowd didn’t sound too bad.

He squints his eyes, but eventually he lets go: “I will watch you from here then.”

I nod. It’s not so uncommon for male wolves to be protective of their unmarked female, so I let this attitude go for now. I make my way towards Grace. When I get close, the whole table gets up and knees.

“Whoa, you don’t have to do that. Please.” I say, surprised. They look at each other and get up. Grace and Alice, who also came to say goodbye, hug me tightly.

“I’m glad you found your mate, Emily. You’ll be a great Luna and an awesome Queen!” says Grace, teary.

“I’ll be so lonely without you girls. Make sure to visit!” cries Alice.

“These are the Midnight Pack members that came for the mating season, Emily!” and Grace uses her hand to show me the people at the table, who say in unison: “Nice to meet you, Luna!”

“And this is my mate, Andy” and she points towards the guy to her left.

“Nice to meet everyone! Please call me Emily, or Em”

We spent most of the day and evening partying and sharing thoughts. At one point, Edward suddenly got up and came to our table saying:

“It’s time to leave.”